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Top 10 potential lineup busts to avoid playing in fantasy football. Justin lists NFL players to consider keeping out of lineups for the NFL's Wildcard Weekend.
It's officially playoff time. As you set your daily fantasy lineups and figure out your rosters for any other playoff formats you're in, it becomes even more important to make the right decisions with such a limited pool of players to choose from.
Eight teams play this weekend, so for this week's column I'm going to be highlighting eight players who might be worth avoiding this week. I'm going to select one player per team, because that just feels like a logical thing to do.
Below are eight lineup busts and avoids for Wildcard Weekend of NFL action.
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Top 8 Busts - NFL Wildcard Weekend
Tennessee Titans: Derrick Henry, Running Back
DeMarco Murray is out this week, which means Derrick Henry will take the lead back role for the Titans. Henry has the ability to break off a big play or two, but I'm just not sold on him as an every down back yet. The Chiefs pass defense struggled during the regular season, but they were respectable against running backs, giving up the 13th-fewest points to opposing backs in 2017. This game has the looks of one where the passing attacks take center stage. Take out the 66-yard touchdown catch last week and Henry has been a complete non-factor in that phase of the game.
Kansas City Chiefs: Kareem Hunt, Running Back
For the record, I think this has the look of a game where Kansas City scores a lot, which means picking an offensive player to struggle is a little tough. I'm trying not to dig too deep with these picks this week though, so I'm not going to tell you to avoid playing Orson Charles. The Titans gave up the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game at 88.8, while their pass defense ranked just 25th in passing yards per game. For that reason, Alex Smith, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce are safe from this list, which leaves me with Hunt or one of the back-up wide receivers. I think Hunt's got a chance to perform well, especially if the Chiefs get an early lead, but there's also a good chance that Hunt looks like he did during the tough days of mid-season.
Atlanta Falcons: Julio Jones, Wide Receiver
Jones is already banged-up. If he plays against the Rams, it's worth noting that he won't be at 100 percent. It's also worth noting that Jones is a top receiver but can be incredibly inconsistent at times. If we were still playing season-long fantasy, you wouldn't be sitting Jones. In daily? I think there's better bang for your buck and Jones could always end up struggling, especially if Matt Ryan continues to just be an "ehh, he's okay" guy. (By the way, I thought about putting Ryan in this place, but there are two quarterbacks still to come who deserve your mistrust more.)
Los Angeles Rams: Robert Woods, Wide Receiver
Woods was a big part of L.A.'s success earlier in the season, but he's taken a backseat since returning from a shoulder injury. He found the end zone against Seattle, but his yardage marks were down--he posted his two lowest totals in Weeks 15 and 16 since October 1. Todd Gurley is on a hot streak and is a big part of both the run game and the pass game for the Rams, which limits what Woods is able to do. Cooper Kupp has become a big part of the offense as well, though his status for Saturday's game is still in question. If he's out, Woods probably has enough value to see lineups, but if the Rams receiving corp is still crowded and losing touches to Gurley then Woods becomes a risky play.
Buffalo Bills: Tyrod Taylor, Quarterback
Of all the decisions that went into making this article, this was the easiest. The Jacksonville Jaguars have the best defense against fantasy quarterbacks. They're at home. Tyrod Taylor is far from a bad quarterback, but he's not an elite quarterback, and the Jaguars have made quarterbacks of Taylor's skill level look very, very pedestrian all season. That should continue in the playoffs. Taylor only threw for two touchdowns in December. That Buffalo is likely to be without running back LeSean McCoy could help Taylor as he's forced to throw more and scramble more, but it could also hurt him as the team finds itself in more third-and-long situations. Taylor is my least favorite option at quarterback this week.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Blake Bortles, Quarterback
In second on my list of least favorite quarterbacks this week? Bortles. The Bills defense gave up the seventh-fewest points to fantasy quarterbacks this season, a number that ranks as the third best mark among playoff teams. I know there's been all this talk about how Bortles has turned a corner. I get it, but Bortles also threw five interceptions over the past two weeks in losses to San Francisco and Tennessee. I'm normally not going to focus so much on such a small sample size, but I wonder if the real statistical blip was Bortles's streak of strong play. I'm avoiding Bortles this week.
Carolina Panthers: Greg Olsen, Tight End
I thought about Christian McCaffrey here, but I think his versatility makes him a good play. Greg Olsen is currently the second highest priced tight end on DraftKings, but he was only "good" for one of the four games he played in after finally returning from a foot injury, and that's not even including the Jets game where he clearly returned too early. I know Olsen has a long history of performing like a top tight end, but it's really, really hard to trust him at his current cost in a playoff game against the Saints. Olsen only hauled in one of his nine targets in Week 17. I'm just not sure about this.
New Orleans Saints: Mark Ingram, Running Back
At one point this season, Ingram rushed for at least 75 yards in six consecutive games. He found the end zone in five of those. In the six games since that streak? Only one game with that many yards (85 against Carolina, which is obviously important to remember since he plays Carolina again this week) and three games in which Ingram didn't find the end zone. His yards-per-carry have been down the past two weeks and Alvin Kamara continues to assert himself as THE key piece of the New Orleans offense. Ingram is trending down at the exact wrong time.
