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Eight potential lineup busts to avoid starting in fantasy football. Justin Carter lists NFL players to consider sitting or benching as Wild Card round lineup disappointments.
The NFL's regular season is over, but there's still daily fantasy for you to tackle, which means there are still players who need to be avoided when constructing those lineups because of bad matchups, poor recent play, and other factors.
With eight teams playing this week, I've decided to highlight one guy from each team who I'll be avoiding as much as a I can when building my lineups this weekend.
Here are eight lineup busts and avoids for the NFL's Wild Card Round.
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Top Eight Busts - NFL Wild Card Round
Indianapolis Colts: Marlon Mack (Running Back)
Mack has 100-yard efforts in two of the last three games, but the Texans held him to 33 yards on 14 carries the last time the teams played. Overall, Houston allows the seventh-fewest fantasy points to running back on the season, and with a banged-up secondary that should allow the Colts to pass the ball effectively, I'd avoid the Colts run game and embrace their passing attack.
Houston Texans: Keke Coutee (Wide Receiver)
Coutee is expected to return for Saturday's game after not having played since Week 12. Coutee's NFL debut had people thinking he was the perfect piece to get this offense running like one of the NFL's best with an 11-catch, 109-yard effort, but he hasn't reached those numbers since. The Colts allow the third-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers and quarterback Deshaun Watson should spend a lot of time looking in the direction of DeAndre Hopkins, setting Coutee up for a disappointing return.
Seattle Seahawks: Tyler Lockett (Wide Receiver)
The Cowboys allowed the sixth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers during the regular season, and while Lockett did catch four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown when the teams met earlier in the year, that was before Doug Baldwin was worked back into the offense. Over the last five games, Lockett received just two targets three times, and while he found the end zone in two of those three games, there are likely better options than a touchdown-dependent Lockett during the Wild Card round.
Dallas Cowboys: Blake Jarwin (Tight End)
Let's talk about recency bias.
Jarwin had seven catches for 119 yards and three touchdowns last week, and it's possible that someone looks at that and says oh, the Cowboys got themselves a Jason Witten replacement! But Jarwin had never caught a touchdown before Sunday's game, and while he's seen an uptick in usage lately, he gets a tough matchup against Seattle, who allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends and just one touchdown over the season's final three games.
Los Angeles Chargers: Melvin Gordon (Running Back)
This is obviously the biggest "uhh, should I really be picking this guy to bust" pick of the week, but Gordon is going to be an expensive piece in DFS lineups while going against a Ravens defense that allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs this season. Gordon is likely to still put up good numbers as he's useful as a runner and a receiver, but Baltimore presents such a tough test that playing Gordon and paying his salary is going to hurt your team-building while not really giving you the same upside as Ezekiel Elliott or some of the lower cost options like Lamar Miller or Tarik Cohen.
Baltimore Ravens: Wide Receivers
Of the four wide receivers who'll receive playing time this week for Baltimore, only one (John Brown) has a 100-yard game this year, and those came way back in Weeks 4 and 7. With Lamar Jackson under center, the Ravens run game has taken center stage, and against a tough Chargers passing defense there's really no reason to put any Ravens wide receivers in any lineups unless you're just going for the most off the wall lineup possible.
Philadelphia Eagles: Nick Foles (Quarterback)
Yeah, Foles was the Super Bowl MVP last year, but there's no quarterback who scares me more this weekend. The Bears held opposing quarterbacks to the second-fewest fantasy points per game during the season, and while Foles threw six touchdowns to two interceptions over his last two starts of the year, his other three games in place of Carson Wentz resulted in just one touchdown pass and a pair of picks. It's possible we get a good Nick Foles this week, but it seems more likely that the Bears defense makes it a long, long day for the Eagles offense.
Chicago Bears: Trey Burton (Tight End)
No playoff team allowed fewer fantasy points to tight ends than the Eagles. Meanwhile, Trey Burton last topped 50 yards back in Week 7. Since then, he's averaging 24.4 receiving yards per game and has caught a pair of touchdowns. One factor that's hurt Burton? The return of Adam Shaheen, who last week saw his highest snap share of the season (57.4 percent) at the same time that Burton had his lowest (69.1 percent).
