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Disaster Recovery Week 16 - Studs Turned Duds

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.

With most teams playing in championship games in Week 16, the duds stung more than usual. Here are a few of the worst plays from Week 16 and how owners still playing into Week 17 should feel.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Week 16 Duds

DeVonta Freeman (RB, ATL) (#11 RB)

What Happened: Freeman ran 11 times for 36 yards and caught two passes for 20 yards in a loss to New Orleans.

How Did It Happen: The Saints made it a point to shut down the Falcons run game and succeeded. Since Atlanta found themselves playing from behind the entire game, there was no reason to force the run and only ran the ball 20 times on the day. Freeman only ran the ball twice in the final 23 minutes of the game.

Panic Meter: Low. Freeman came on strong over the last two games and likely was a big part of his owners making to the title game. This is a painful dud from Freeman in the most crucial point in the season, but I'm still plugging him into my Week 17 lineup. The Falcons will be fighting for their lives in Week 17, and they'll need all they can get from Freeman.

 

Kenyan Drake (RB, MIA) (#10 RB)

What Happened: Drake ran 13 times for 57 yards and failed to catch a pass in Miami's loss to the Chiefs.

How Did It Happen: Honestly, bad play-calling. Drake has been red hot in recent weeks and Jay Cutler hasn't been red hot in recent years. The Dolphins never found themselves in an insurmountable hole until very late in the game. So why did Jay Cutler throw the ball 38 times, and why did Drake only run 13 times when he was averaging 4.4 yards per rush? It was a puzzling game for Miami.

Panic Meter: Low. Drake tore up defenses in the three previous weeks, and still put up decent rushing numbers despite his lack of touches. Miami should feed him in Week 17 to assure themselves that he can be their feature back moving forward. He remains a solid play against the Bills in Week 17.

 

Adam Thielen (WR, MIN) (#6 WR)

What Happened: Thielen caught two of his six targets for just 24 yards in a win at Green Bay.

How Did It Happen: Thielen and Case Keenum failed to connect on his lone deep ball target. Minnesota got out to a quick 10-0 lead and played this game pretty conservatively. Keenum channeled his inner Fisherball and rekindled the magic of his 2016 season, going 14 for 25 with 139 yards and a touchdown. Thielen wasn't needed in this one.

Panic Meter: Medium. Amazingly enough, Minnesota still hasn't clinched a first round bye despite owning the tie-breaker with New Orleans and Los Angeles. Anyone who can look past Thielen's dreadful past two weeks shouldn't hesitate to play him as the Vikings still have something to play for.

 

Brandin Cooks (WR, NE) (#8 WR)

What Happened: Cooks caught just two of his five targets for 19 yards in a win over Buffalo.

How Did It Happen: It wasn't a huge passing day for Buffalo and Cooks fell victim of it. Dion Lewis carried the New England offense, running 24 times for 129 yards and catching all five of his targets for 24 yards. Lewis scored two touchdowns on the day and stole the thunder from the rest of the Patriots offense. Cooks wasn't needed in this victory.

Panic Meter: High. I've included Cooks in this column many this season, but he normally gets brushed off. But we can't brush off the fact that Cooks is averaging just two receptions for 34 yards over his last four games, and three have been complete duds. Cooks seemed solid for his ADP until recent weeks. He hasn't had a dominant game since Week 12. Given Cooks hasn't been a consistent option over the last four games, it is hard to trust him for a championship matchup in a game that isn't that important for New England.

 

More Week 17 Lineup Prep




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