Arguably, the most frustrating thing in fantasy football is seeing someone in your starting lineup struggle that week. Therefore, the logic behind this article is simple – identify fantasy football lineup landmines.
These are players you’re leaning towards starting this week but could end up being a landmine that blows up and destroys your starting lineup, potentially costing you your matchup.
Fantasy Football Lineup Landmines
Brian Robinson Jr. (RB – WAS)
Robinson was outstanding to start the year. He was the RB3, averaging 20 touches for 97.5 scrimmage yards, 1.5 touchdowns, and 20.5 half-point fantasy points per game over the first two weeks. Unfortunately, his numbers have plummeted since the hot start. Over the past five weeks, Robinson is the RB18, averaging 11.2 touches for 48.6 scrimmage yards and 9.3 fantasy points per game, scoring three total touchdowns. Furthermore, the second-year running back averaged 3.95 yards per rushing attempt and 1.27 yards before contact per attempt over the first two weeks but only 3.73 and 0.75 over the past five contests (per Fantasy Points Data).
While he scored 12.1 fantasy points in the Week 4 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Robinson averaged only 3.2 yards per rushing attempt and 1.93 yards after contact per attempt in that contest. Furthermore, he needed a touchdown to score double-digit fantasy points in a game that went into overtime. Meanwhile, the Eagles have held running backs to only 11.4 fantasy points per game this season, the fewest in the NFL. Last week, the Commanders gave Chris Rodriguez Jr. seven rushing attempts compared to eight for Robinson. Washington’s backfield might be on its way to a full-blown committee.
Marquise Brown (WR – ARI)
I loved Brown during draft season and still do moving forward. The former Oklahoma star was the WR14 over the first five weeks, averaging 12.7 half-point PPR fantasy points per game despite a poor performance in Week 1. Brown’s success has come from a massive target share. He has a 26.5% target share since Week 1, the 15th-highest in the NFL (per Fantasy Points Data). Unfortunately, the veteran has struggled over the past few weeks because of the drop-off in Joshua Dobbs‘ accuracy. Over the past two weeks, Brown has a 21.3% target share but only a 62.5% catchable target rate.
Thankfully, Kyler Murray should make his season debut in a few weeks. Yet, it won’t be this week against the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile, the Ravens have held wide receivers to 23.9 fantasy points per game, the seventh-fewest in the NFL. More importantly, Baltimore has shut down opposing passing attacks with sub-par quarterbacks, holding the Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Tennessee Titans’ wide receivers to only 13.7 fantasy points per game. Brown’s schedule is awful for the next few weeks but gets more appealing around when Murray should make his season debut.
Evan Engram (TE – JAC)
Engram might have one of the widest ranges of outcomes depending on your league’s scoring. He is the TE6 in PPR, the TE8 in half-point PPR, and the TE12 in non-PPR scoring this season. The reason is that the veteran ranks third among tight ends in receptions (41) but last in receiving touchdowns (zero). Unfortunately, his production has slipped over the past few weeks. Engram scored at least 7.4 half-point PPR fantasy points in the first four games. Yet, he has scored under 7.7 fantasy points in the past three contests.
More importantly, the veteran has an awful matchup this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers have held tight ends to only 5.7 fantasy points per game, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. They also surrendered only one receiving touchdown to the position. Tight ends have totaled more than 5.5 fantasy points against the Steelers only twice this season. One of those games was in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens. Mark Andrews had six receptions on 10 targets for 65 receiving yards and 9.5 fantasy points in that contest. If Zay Jones plays this week, fantasy players should avoid starting Engram like the plague.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.