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Coming up big in Week 16 could make a fantasy manager your fan for life. Alvin Kamara certainly won leagues and hearts all over the world with his Week 16 outing. So did Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs, Josh Allen, and others.
These guys weren't under-the-radar players forced into the lineups with fingers crossed. These were stud players who came up largest when the most was on the line. But not all studs showed out this past week. In fact, Adams and Diggs specifically were outliers in some regards. The stud wide receivers in the NFL really struggled as a unit in Week 16, leaving managers asking what else they could have done.
Normally, the answer is nothing. This late in the year, studs are slotted into a lineup and forgotten about assuming they are healthy. So when big-name guys fall short of expectations, it stings that much more. If you lost because your opponent had Kamara, you can live with it. If you lost because your top guys didn't deliver, it leaves a nastier taste in your mouth. Here are Week 16's studs turned duds.
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
We weren't sure if Hill was going to suit up for this one thanks to a hamstring injury. He was a full-go but didn't produce up to his levels and what managers have come to expect from him. Hill totaled 65 yards on four receptions as the entirety of the Kansas City offense left us wanting more. The Chiefs may decide to sit all their best players for Week 17 as well, meaning it would be three straight underwhelming outings for Hill to finish out the season (though he did find the end zone in Week 15). As the vast majority of fantasy leagues don't utilize Week 17, this won't come into play, and we can somewhat set in stone the final fantasy rankings for the year. Hill ranks as the number one wide receiver in non-PPR and is just edged out by Davante Adams to finish second in PPR. Keep in mind, when we look back at stats in the offseason or prior to next season, everyone will indeed include Week 17 production even though it may not have been used. So it is worth taking just a glimpse at where players ranked after 16 weeks were completed.
DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
Managers in PPR leagues can stomach what Hopkins produced, but everyone else was left with a big, fat dud. Hopkins did catch eight balls but only gained 48 yards on the day as Arizona fell in a sizable upset. There was a brief injury concern that pushed Hopkins to the sideline in the middle of the game, but he returned to lead the team in targets and catches. His six yards-per-catch average likely had more to do with the San Francisco defense than the upper-body injury he sustained midgame. Hopkins finishes as the number six receiver in non-PPR and number four in PPR, cementing his status as a fantasy stud regardless of the Week 16 performance.
DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
As the Seattle offense continues to struggle, so too does Metcalf. He collected six catches for 59 yards against his team's nemesis: the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle still won the game, clinched a division title, and is in position to perhaps collect the NFC's lone playoff bye. From a fantasy perspective, though, this was another bad one. It was the first time all season Metcalf had two subpar games in a row. Despite the downturn in the fantasy playoffs, Metcalf finishes as the number five WR in standard and number six in PPR.
Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
We know it was a down year for fantasy running backs when Jacobs wraps as the number eight overall player at the position in standard scoring and number nine in PPR. Jacobs averaged 3.8 yards per carry for the year. It's the 10th-lowest figure in the league of anyone with at least 80 carries. It's a backhanded compliment for sure, but for Jacobs, being available was probably his biggest strength. With so few guys available week in and week out, it kind of worked to deliver that level of production. Week 16, however, did his managers no favors.
He rushed for 69 yards and didn't make a catch. He had a touchdown lined up at the end of the game which would have salvaged his fantasy day but pulled up short to try to set up his team with a game-winning field goal. The Raiders still managed to lose, though whether it was a good play for fantasy obviously has no bearing whatsoever on whether it was a smart football play. It's funny to think that this move came from the same guy who trolled fantasy managers earlier in December by posting that he wasn't going to play in a game where he was marked active. Jacobs did not make any friends in the fantasy community this month, though he likely couldn't care less.
A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans
Despite playing in a run-heavy offense, Brown had been superb this season. Since returning from injury in Week 6, he failed to reach the end zone or collect at least 85 yards only one time. This makes it two. Brown doesn't see the volume of most of the other players in his tier of fantasy WR, yet he does the most with his chances. He isn't a stud in PPR leagues but ranks as the number 10 WR in standard and number seven in points per game. Brown felt like he should have had the blueprint of a high ceiling, low floor player, but that wasn't actually the case. He was a very safe play all year, which makes this dud feel even worse.
Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams
Woods doesn't feel like a stud player, though his production was certainly on that level this season. Prior to this outing, he had been playing well, including a very nice day in the fantasy semifinals. Week 16 was a dud. He tallied 49 yards from scrimmage. It speaks to the boom-or-bust nature of Woods' game. He doesn't show the consistency that many of his positional peers do. It didn't help that Jared Goff suffered a thumb injury on his throwing hand during the game. Goff was off with his passes and will be out for Week 17 despite a playoff berth being on the line for LA. For Woods, he finishes as the 11th-ranked WR in standard and 12th in PPR thanks to his versatility. He gets more out of the running game than any other top receiver. Woods was given 24 carries this season, which was as many as all 10 of the fantasy wide receivers ahead of him combined.
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