December 13, 2017

Fantasy football busts and disappointments from Week 14 of the 2017 NFL season. Steve Rebeiro reviews which stud players turned duds and how concerned we should be.

Welcome to Disaster Recovery, where each week I'll examine why your studs played like duds. This isn't a place to find out why you should have benched a player for somebody on your bench. Disaster Recovery is to examine the guys who you didn't think twice about benching, and deciding if you should be panicking at all about their value moving forward.

The players covered in this column will usually have to be in the RotoBaller top-10 at their respective positions, but it may vary depending on the status of the players each week.

Once again, we saw many players produce well in Week 14, so this weeks duds are light.

Week 14 Duds

Jimmy Graham (TE, SEA) (#3 TE)

What Happened: Graham was held without a catch on just two targets in a loss to the Seahawks.

How Did It Happen: Jacksonville has defended tight ends fairly well this season, giving up just four touchdowns to tight ends this season and only one since their Week 8 bye. Russell Wilson relied heavily on his receivers, as Lockett, Baldwin, and Richardson all went for at least 70 yards. There wasn't much room for Graham to work.

Panic Meter: Low. Entering Sunday, Graham had scored nine touchdowns in his last eight games. He has established himself as a high-end TE1 even though he hasn't had over 60 yards since Week 4. The tight end position has been to much of a wasteland to even consider benching Graham during the playoffs. He'll be a TE1 once again even against the Rams.

Larry Fitzgerald (WR, AZ) (#9 WR)

What Happened: Fitzgerald caught five of seven targets for 44 yards in a low scoring win against the Titans on Sunday.

How Did It Happen: The Cardinals offense was a disaster. Fitzgerald actually led all Cardinal receivers in targets, receptions, and yards. He was also tied for the team lead in touchdowns with zero. The Titans defense came to play and didn't let Arizona get anything going offensively.

Panic Meter: Medium. Fitzgerald's game log with Gabbert at the helm in bizarre. In Gabbert's first and third games, Fitzgerald caught 19 of 20 total targets for 189 yards and two touchdowns. In his second and fourth games, Fitzgerald has caught eight of 15 targets for 56 yards. Points for Fitzgerald with Gabbert under center will be sporadic and a tough matchup against Washington next week may scare owners with other options away. Fitzgerald isn't a top 10 play by any means, but still a decent WR2 play even with Gabbert.

Brandin Cooks (WR, NE) (#5 WR)

What Happened: Cooks caught just one of his seven targets for 38 yards in a surprising loss to Miami.

How Did It Happen: Cooks would have went catch-less if not for a big play on the final drive of the night. Tom Brady struggled against the Dolphins pass defense, completing only 24 of 43 passes and relying heavily on running backs Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis for most of the passing downs. While many of us expected Cooks to flourish without Gronk in the lineup, it was the opposite, as the whole Patriots passing offense took a dip in Week 14.

Panic Meter: Medium. I'm not overly concerned here, but we have to proceed with caution considering Cooks actually improved on his Week 13 performance. Cooks has appeared in the duds quite a few times this season despite being an overall productive fantasy option. He has been the 12th best receiver in standard scoring and 15th in PPR. Cooks has by no means been a bust, but hasn't lived up to the hype that some may have expected when he was traded to New England.

The good news for Cooks owners is that he hasn't had a three-peat of true dud performances in his entire career. But Cooks has been a hot and cold fantasy option since coming into the league. It would be a bold move to bench Cooks even in a tough matchup against Pittsburgh, but sometimes the boldest moves are what win championships. I'd still hesitantly roll out Cooks in the fantasy semi-finals.

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