After a fun Sunday of football, it’s time to discuss the players who let us down. In this column, I’ll identify the biggest disappointments of the week, and I’ll assign each player a grade from 0 to 5 that corresponds to my strategy of choice. Of course, I’ll leave out those whose disappointing performances were to injury, as you can read about those players in our weekly injury report.

Since your league’s trade deadline has probably passed, here’s the revised version of the panic meter that we’ll be working with the rest of the season!

 
So with the panic meter laid out, let’s get started!

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Russell Wilson (SEA): 1.5
I’ll kick the final installment of this column off with a hot take: Wilson has fallen out of QB1 territory and into high-end QB2 territory, and you should seriously consider your alternatives in 1QB leagues.

Between Weeks 10 to 14, Wilson ranks as the overall QB17. That’s below the likes of Matthew Stafford (QB14) and Taysom Hill (QB15). Even Tom Brady (QB16), who had a bye during that span, ranks higher than Wilson.

So what’s gone wrong? After letting Russ cook earlier in the season, the Seahawks have pivoted back to their run-focused ways. Wilson is averaging 33.8 passing attempts per game through the last six weeks; he was averaging 37.1 per game until Week 10.

Russell Wilson has had five straight weeks with under 300 passing yards.

He had five 300-yard passing games in the first 8 games this season.

He ranks in the bottom 10 in the NFL in Total QBR, interceptions, and sacks in the last 5 games. pic.twitter.com/9kLGlKkGU4

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 20, 2020

If you’re still fighting for a fantasy championship with Wilson on your roster, you may want to consider streaming. The Seahawks will play the Rams in Week 16, who Wilson scored only 9.9 fantasy points against in Week 10. He has too much upside to be truly “unstartable,” but I don’t know how you roll Wilson out with any confidence next week.

Kareem Hunt (CLE): 0.5
Hunt busted against the Giants. He ran the ball seven times for 21 yards and caught just three passes for seven more yards. I was actually somewhat excited about Hunt heading into this one, as the Giants had been much more vulnerable to running backs through the air than on the ground. Unfortunately, Hunt failed to deliver, and Nick Chubb did most of the heavy lifting in the backfield.

Even D’Ernest Johnson, who had four carries, ran for more yards than Hunt (24).

That said, this game feels more like an outlier than a red flag. Hunt scored 26 half-PPR points just a week ago, and he came into Week 15 averaging a solid-if-unspectacular 12.5 half-PPR points per game.

Fortunately, Hunt and the Browns will play the Jets next week. You should feel confident about starting Hunt against their struggling defense.

Ezekiel Elliott (DAL): 2.5
I don’t feature injured players in this column, but I’m making an exception for Elliott. He failed to practice all week heading into this one, was ruled questionable on Friday, and didn’t suit up on Sunday. There’s a real chance that he won’t play next Sunday, either.

Elliott reported that he felt a “tug” on Saturday and knew he wouldn’t be explosive enough to start. He still watched the game from the sidelines, like any good teammate would, and did his best to support backup Tony Pollard. After the game, Elliott said he has no intention to call it quits on 2020 just yet.

“Oh no, I’m not shutting it down,” he told reporters, “we’ll see how it goes and I’ll see if I can get out there next week.”

That said, Pollard has flashed a ton of upside this season. It’ll be difficult for Mike McCarthy to keep him off the field.

Tony Pollard has more games of 130+ yards this season than Ezekiel Elliott.

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 20, 2020

If he’s healthy, Elliott will play the Eagles next Sunday. Their defense was giving up the 10th-fewest half-PPR points per game to opposing running backs entering Week 15. Elliott is a shaky RB2/FLEX at best for the matchup, and he doesn’t have much upside. Don’t burn a roster spot on him if you need help elsewhere to win your matchup — or your league.

Kenyan Drake (ARI): 1
Drake earned fewer rushing attempts than teammate Chase Edmonds. Edmonds failed to practice until Friday and was ruled questionable for this game with an ankle injury. The fact that a banged-up Edmonds outsnapped, outworked, and outproduced Drake should concern you, especially when Drake must also compete with Kyler Murray for rushing attempts.

The Cardinals will play the 49ers next week. Drake posted a respectable 13.5 half-PPR points against them in Week 1, but he played on 71% of the snaps in that game compared to 50% in Week 15. He’s not a bad low-end RB2, but it’s not an upside matchup for him, so I would at least weigh your other options before committing to him as a starter.

Amari Cooper (DAL): 0
The Dallas Cowboys scored 41 points against the San Francisco 49ers, and Andy Dalton threw for a pair of passing scores in the victory. Yet Amari Cooper caught just two passes for 10 yards. He was targeted three times. The Cowboys gave him two carries as well, which he turned into negative seven yards.

Cooper had been incredibly consistent up until this week. He was averaging 13.6 half-PPR points per game over his last five games, and he’d caught at least one touchdown in his three most recent matchups. The numbers point to a rebound for Cooper.

He’ll get the Eagles next week. He caught only one pass for five yards against them back in Week 8, but I’ll give him a pass because Ben DiNucci was under center for that one. Cooper should bounce back from his Week 15 dud, and he is a lower-end WR2/higher-end WR3 for me.

Tyler Lockett (SEA): 1.5
Lockett entered Week 15 as the overall WR11. However, from Weeks 8 to 14, Lockett ranks as the WR37. He ranks as the WR46 through the last two weeks of that span. That might cut it as a WR3/FLEX in a very deep league, but it’s not the high-upside production we were getting from him earlier in the year.

As Russell Wilson’s passing volume has decreased, Lockett’s targets have fallen as well. Lockett was averaging 9.7 targets per game until Week 8, but he’s averaged just 6.9 per game since then.

Lockett’s saving grace is that Seattle’s final matchup comes against the Los Angeles Rams. Jalen Ramsey should cover D.K. Metcalf like he did in Week 10, and that should open up Lockett to lead the team in receiving again. He caught five passes for 66 yards against them and was targeted nine times.

Robby Anderson (CAR): 0
Anderson had a bad game on Saturday. He caught just two passes for 21 yards, while his teammate, D.J. Moore, caught six for 131.

That’s what happens when you line up against Jaire Alexander.

Jaire Alexander's 30 forced incompletions since the beginning of the 2019 season is 2nd most among all players.#GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/GxvP38uvZj

— PFF GB Packers (@PFF_Packers) December 19, 2020

It was unclear whether Alexander would draw Moore or Anderson for most of the day, so I was cautiously optimistic about Anderson entering this game. That optimism proved ill-founded.

I still have faith in Anderson because he’s the higher-volume option in Carolina. He leads the receiving corps in targets per game (8.5) and receptions per game (6.1); while Moore has the advantage in receiving yards (81.2), Anderson is less of a bust risk. Unless he’s against a shutdown corner like Alexander.

Anderson will play the Washington Football Team next week. Their defense has been rock-solid all year, and they were giving up the fourth-fewest half-PPR points per game to wideouts entering Week 15. That’s a knock on Anderson for sure, but don’t fade him heading into next week because of his Week 15 dud.

T.J. Hockenson (DET): 0
Hockenson caught only two passes for 18 yards on Sunday, and he also fumbled the ball. The Lions couldn’t do much against the Titans, as they allowed Ryan Tannehill to score five touchdowns in the 46-25 defeat.

Last week was Hockenson’s worst game of the year, and he should bounce back from the outlier showing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coming into Week 15, they were giving up the 10th-most half-PPR points to the position, so you should feel comfortable with leaving Hockenson in as your TE1 for next week.

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Isaiah Sirois is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Isaiah, check out his archive and follow him @is_sirois.