So long regular season; hello Playoff football
By Martin Richardson
And now, the end is near, and so I face, the final curtain…
Playoff football is here and we’re at the end of the fantasy football season. We’ve had some real fun along the way with some weird and wonderful games and players creeping up and being better than we ever thought possible.
Shout out to people who banked on Cedric Tillman when it mattered most. Or knew that Brock Bowers was going to more productive than Sam LaPorta or even Trey McBride.
So, in what could be that last in a regular season Under the Radar article, let’s take a look at some players who you may not be able to trust if you’ve crept into the playoff window and want to ensure you make it to that championship game.
BAKER MAYFIELD
.@Raiders intercept Baker Mayfield in the end zone!
— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2024
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For the most part of the season, Baker has been very reliable, he even flirted with being the best QB in fantasy football for a few weeks, which isn’t surprising really given how injuries have ravaged this team. Chris Godwin was lost for the season on that needless play in the same game as Mike Evans was injured too. Which left the Bucs scrambling for offensive options. It was only until after the bye week in week 11 that the Bucs halted a slump of losses. But, other than the 49ers, which was a weird game, Mayfield was hitting big game after big game: 4 touchdowns against the Saints and 3 against the Falcons, but in most of those games he was not throwing interceptions or fumbles.
In these recent games, after the bye, he’s thrown 4 interceptions and had two fumbles, limiting just how impactful he can be for fantasy players. Granted the threw 3 touchdowns against the Raiders, but he also had those interceptions and a fumble, so he was actually just an average QB when fantasy players need him most.
Now, as a Bucs fan watching him most weeks, it is clear how much he wants to win and have that chip on his shoulder that we have all come to love about Baker. I do however, wonder if he is trying to hard to get the Bucs over the hump and into the playoffs. With a challenging game against the Chargers coming up in the playoff window for fantasy players, this is the kind of game that Baker could do one of two things: throw at least three touchdowns in a clean game, or, he could have three picks in the first half the Derwin James will be in Bucs fans nightmares for weeks to come.
JAYDEN REED
How badly did last week hurt your fantasy matchup? One target, zero receptions. Zero points. That was tough one.
But that is exactly what Reed has been all season; he’s only had four games hitting double figures, and that’s including one over 20, the other three have been solid performances rather than top ones. In all his other games, he has limited yards and the occasional touchdown. In some games, he had as little as 23 yards before a touchdown boosted the scores.
I honestly have no idea what to expect from Reed and the Packers offense in the fantasy playoff bracket. They are up against a solid Seahawks team, with the Vikings looming the week after. Reed has the potential, like I mentioned with Baker, to have that monster game, but, as it shown last week, he could be absent when you need him the most.
MARVIN HARRISON JR
You’ll perhaps be noticing a theme with the players I’ve picked in this fantasy play off special and Marvin Harrison Jr falls into this category. He’s been very hit and miss in recent weeks and if you spent a high draft pick on him in the summer, you’re probably infuriated with him.
With three better games in his last six, against the Dolphins (111 yards and a touchdown), the Jets (54 yards and a touchdown) and Vikings (60 yards and a touchdown) he’s just not been hitting the high totals that he needs to be a top fantasy player on a regular basis. The only saving grace for Harrison Jr if he’s not getting touchdowns, is that he makes the most of what he gets. When he makes a reception, you can more or less guarantee that he gets yards, the issue is that he’s not getting the ball enough to amass the points you need in fantasy. 40-60 yards in a game is all well and good, but without a touchdown in the mix he really isn’t someone you can trust to make a decisive impact on your fantasy roster. Even when you look at two of his better games, he’s getting less yards than the likes of Quentin Johnston, it’s those touchdowns that are propping up his numbers. If he’s not getting those, then he’s probably costing you a game here and there.
TRAVIS KELCE
I made a point weeks and weeks ago about how you just can’t trust Kelce to get those big numbers for fantasy players anymore and how Noah Gray appears to be the heir apparent to the Kelce role. With Gray’s four total touchdowns against the Bills and Panthers, Gray has been more productive of late for fantasy players. But it’s Travis Kelce and this guy uses the regular season as a warmup for the postseason.
That doesn’t help you now though.
Add to this that the Chiefs are just scraping through game. I know they’re winning these games, but I’m not convinced by them at all.
With that in mind, I don’t think that anyone who has Kelce can trust him to be that key difference maker if you’re in the playoffs. He is too much of a boom (14 targets and a touchdown against the Raiders) or bust (4 targets against the Bills) to make him a consistently top fantasy player. The only solace is he’s playing the Browns this week, and if anyone can make a player look good it’s the bang average Browns.
FINALLY....
Good luck if you are in the playoffs, I hope you make it to the promised land of that championship game. And if you are doing it with someone that has crept into these articles, keep them in your lineups and show that you know ball just as much as the guy who took CeeDee Lamb first overall, or thought that Travis Etienne was the best way to go instead of Joe Mixon or JK Dobbins.
MARTIN RICHARDSON
NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST
A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31