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.
Brace yourself and take cover. These players could blow up in your face this week.
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Fantasy Football Lineup Landmines: Week 18
The superstar wide receiver has been outstanding this season. Hill is the WR2 for the year, averaging 19.9 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. While he has been unbelievable, the wide receiver has cooled off lately. Since suffering an ankle injury against the Tennessee Titans in Week 14, Hill has been the WR36, averaging 78.7 receiving yards and 11 fantasy points per game. He has scored fewer than 10.7 fantasy points in all but one game over the past month, failing to find the end zone.
By comparison, Hill averaged 123.4 receiving yards and 22.2 fantasy points per game over the first 13 weeks, scoring 20 or more in 75% of the contests. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills have held wide receivers to 24.5 fantasy points per game, the seventh-fewest in the NFL. They kept CeeDee Lamb in check a few weeks ago, surrendering only 53 receiving yards to the superstar. Hill had only 8.7 fantasy points in the Week 4 matchup against Buffalo. Fantasy players shouldn’t be surprised if he struggles again on Sunday night.
Last week, Higgins had only 2.4 half-point PPR fantasy points in Ja’Marr Chase‘s return to the lineup after a one-week absence. Unfortunately, a hamstring injury forced the former Clemson to play only 41% of the snaps in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. While he had over 20 fantasy points in the previous back-to-back games, Higgins did that as the No. 1 wide receiver. By comparison, the star wide receiver scored fewer than 9.5 fantasy points in all but one game that Chase suited up.
Unfortunately, Cincinnati was eliminated from the playoffs last week, making Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Browns meaningless for the Bengals. More importantly, the Browns have shut down wide receivers this season, giving up the second-fewest fantasy points per game to the position (21.8). They have held Garrett Wilson and DJ Moore to 14.6 combined fantasy points over the past three weeks. Expect Higgins to have a poor fantasy performance in what could be his final game with the team, if he plays at all.
Dallas can secure the NFC East division title and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a win over the Washington Commanders. Therefore, fantasy players can feel confident starting most of their Cowboys in this fantasy-friendly matchup against their division rivals. However, the one exception is Ferguson. The second-year tight end has played well in his first season as the starter, averaging 8.2 half-point PPR fantasy points per game, making him the TE8 for the year. However, he has scored single-digit fantasy points in six of the past seven games.
More importantly, Ferguson has struggled despite not seeing a drop in targets. The tight end has had at least six targets in five consecutive games, including eight or more in all but one. Meanwhile, Washington’s pass defense has been awful this season, except when covering tight ends, surrendering only 8.1 fantasy points per game, the fifth-fewest in the NFL. Furthermore, the Commanders haven’t given up a receiving touchdown to a tight end since Week 9. Ferguson had only one reception and four fantasy points in the Thanksgiving matchup against Washington. Expect another quiet performance.
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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.