Week #16 is now in the books. How did your daily fantasy football team do? Hopefully, you were on the “good” side of the surprises that emerged this week, what we call our fantasy diamonds. But if you ended up drafting some busts, don’t worry. There’s still one more week of the regular season, and when it comes to daily fantasy football, there are a few extra weeks during the postseason for you to play, too. Here are this week’s busts and diamonds to help you adjust your strategy moving forward for the last few weeks of fantasy play.
There are Always Busts Out There
Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
Newton has been a little hit or miss this season, but this was an exceptionally poor game from him. He threw only 198 yards with 1 passing TD. And while Newton is usually good for several rushing yards, he had 36 yards rushing here with 0 TDs. Newton threw 2 interceptions and was sacked twice. Highlighting just how bad his performance was, Newton threw 43 times, but only had 18 completions. It was a very disappointing performance from a QB that typically contributes quite a few fantasy points per game.
Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Jones has had an amazing season, but this was a below average performance from him. He had only 60 yards receiving with 0 TDs. He was targeted 7 times but had only 4 completions. While his TD number is pretty low this season, he has been very consistent when putting up yards. Jones has been averaging over 100 yards per game in receiving this season, so we had much higher expectations from him this game.
DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans
Murray has been a force to be reckoned with this season. He’s run into some bumps along the road over the past few games this season, though. Still, he’s been averaging well over 85 yards per game this season and has a total of 9 TDs. This game, he only put up 42 yards in rushing on 14 attempts. The redeeming feature for Murray this game was the fact that he caught 2 passes for a total of 18 yards. This still wasn’t enough to help him contribute at the level he was expected to.
Diamonds are Your Best Friend
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
Rodgers had yet another outstanding game this weekend. He threw 4 TDs, and had another rushing TD, helping the Packers to beat the rival Minnesota Vikings. He had 347 yards passing, going 28 for 38 in his attempts. He also picked up 13 yards in rushing to help boost his stats a tiny bit. The downside of Rodgers this week was that he was sacked 4 times, but many leagues do not count that as negative points for the QB. Rodgers is having a great season, even if the Packers are struggling at times.
Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings performed well against the Packers on Saturday, and Thielen was one of the top performers from a fantasy point of view. He had 202 yards in receiving and a total of 2 TDs. He also picked up an extra 19 yards in kickoff returns, if your league counts those in their fantasy total. Thielen was targeted 15 times and caught the ball 12 times. For someone who has averaged just over 50 yards per game so far this season, this was an exceptional game.
Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
In the QB position, Wilson was another pleasant surprise. He threw 350 yards and 4 TDs, picking up 36 yards of rushing along the way. There were no interceptions, although he was sacked 6 times and had a fumble for a loss. The fumble hurt his fantasy standing a little, but the 4 TDs more than made up for that. He threw 29 completions on 45 attempts. The Seahawks might have lost this close game against the Arizona Cardinals, but Wilson really stood out in this game.
