As fantasy managers, we often face difficult decisions. To sit, or not to sit? In an age where data is coming at us more frequently than ever, it’s easy for information to become over-saturated or lost in translation. This article series will be here each week to help you cut through the jungle of statistics to help you make more educated lineup decisions. Welcome to the “Panic Meter.”
Each week, we’ll feature several underperforming players with an assigned grade corresponding to the appropriate level of panic for the respective player/performance. Below is a scale with grades between 0 and 4 and a strategy that correlates to the specific grade.
| PANIC METER GRADE | STRATEGY/PLAN OF ACTION |
| 0 | This past week was not ideal, but it can be chalked up as an anomaly. Don’t even think about benching them. |
| 1 | Panic is setting in. The leash becomes shorter but said player is still in consideration as a starter. Make sure a Plan-B is in place. |
| 2 | Officially panicked, exploring trade options and possibly benching for a more proven/reliable option. |
| 3 | Fire sale. Get rid of them for whatever you can before it’s too late. They can no longer be trusted as a starter. A borderline drop-candidate. |
| 4 | Sever all ties. Smash the drop button so hard that the man ends up in the shadow realm. |
Zonovan Knight (RB – NYJ) | Panic Meter: 1
Zonovan Knight managed 23 total yards, zero catches on zero targets and 2.3 PPR points in week 15. This seems like a panic-worthy performance on the surface until you realize Saquon Barkley, David Montgomery, Travis Etienne, Aaron Jones and Dalvin Cook all finished with under nine PPR points against the Lions since Week 9. Knight still out-snapped and out-touched the next closest Jets RB by a significant amount. Week 15 is the only time since Knight took over the backfield that he has finished with less than two catches and 13.0 PPR points. He remains a solid play moving forward.
Brandon Aiyuk (WR – SF) | Panic Meter: 1
After Brandon Aiyuk’s worst performance of the season (two catches, 19 yards, 3.9 PPR points), it’s fair to be worried about him. In a game without Deebo Samuel, most would have expected Aiyuk to step up. Instead, he was an afterthought. It was the third time in the last four games that he finished with less than 12.0 PPR points. He hasn’t recorded 70+ yards in a game since week 10. Panic is moderate because it can certainly get worse than that. However, his recent production is not ideal. He has yet to catch more than two passes with Brock Purdy at QB. He moves from a solid WR2 to a questionable WR3.
Pat Friermuth (TE – PIT) | Panic Meter: 1
Zero targets, zero catches – Pat Friermuth could not have picked a worse time to have his most catastrophic performance of the season. Nonetheless, he remains one of the top players at his position. Besides this anomaly, he’s had just one game below six PPR points this season. He has double-digit points in seven of his 13 games this season. Despite a horribly timed dud in week 15, Friermuth remains a TE1.
Miles Sanders (RB – PHI) | Panic Meter: 1
Speaking of horribly times duds, 29 total yards and 1.9 PPR points on 12 touches was a worst-case scenario for Miles Sanders. It was by far his worst game of the season. He did not record a touch until halfway through the second quarter. As tempting as it is to panic, this is nothing more than an outlier. No other Eagles RB recorded more than five touches in week 15. He is still the RB1 of a powerhouse offense and will have much more weekly scoring opportunities than the average RB. He remains a must-start RB1/high-end RB2.
Nick Chubb (RB – CLE) | Panic Meter: 2
In week 15, Nick Chubb finished with less than 10.0 PPR points for the third time in his last four games. It also makes three in a row. To add insult to injury, he finished without a catch for the second time in his past three games. That marks two out of three in games with Deshaun Watson at the helm. He has yet to deliver an RB1 performance with Watson at QB. Obviously, there is cause for concern. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do. It’s too late to trade him, you can’t drop him and he still needs to be started no matter what. Currently, he is more of a high-upside flex than an RB1.
Mark Andrews (TE – BAL) | Panic Meter: 3
Mark Andrews has finished with single-digit PPR points in five of his last seven games. He hasn’t reached 13 points or scored a TD since Week 6. He has two consecutive games with less than 6.5 PPR points. For someone who is supposed to be an elite player, panic doesn’t get much higher. His decline in production can’t be blamed on Tyler Huntley because Lamar Jackson played in four of the seven games in the aforementioned stretch. You’re likely not going to find a superior TE option, so you’ll likely have to weather the storm if you’ve survived to this point. However, names like Juwan Johnson, Evan Engram and Dawson Knox are genuinely worth consideration over Andrews.
Cut list | Panic Meter: 4
Dameon Pierce, Tyler Huntley, Gabe Davis, Parris Campbell, Foster Moreau
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