Biggest Week 17 Busts: Fantasy Football Reactions for Trevor Lawrence, Saquon Barkley, Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Evan Engram

The 17th week of the 2022 NFL season has come and gone. Hopefully, you woke up on Monday morning feeling very good about how your matchup went. However, this week's slate of games was certainly stress-inducing for many fantasy football managers.

Part of that stress was caused by a group of players who drastically underachieved in Week 17. These players simply did not meet fantasy expectations, and it cost their managers in a big way. Let's take a look at the biggest busts from Week 17, as well as whether or not we can still have some trust in these players heading into the final week of the season. All point totals are based on the PPR scoring system.

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Fantasy Football Quarterback Busts

Kirk Cousins, 11.95 FPTS

Cousins looked awful on Sunday afternoon, completing just 18 of 31 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions against the Packers. He also lost a fumble and took two sacks. Fortunately, his Week 18 opponent is the Bears, on whom he dropped 296 yards and a touchdown back in Week 5.

Trevor Lawrence, 6.0 FPTS

We've seen a trend this season in which quarterbacks have quiet outings against the Texans. Between applying a run-heavy script and facing an underrated Houston secondary, there hasn't been much room for signal-callers to thrive. This was most certainly the case for Lawrence, who threw for 152 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception in the Jaguars' 31-3 win.

Fantasy Football Running Back Busts

Saquon Barkley, 7.3 FPTS

The Giants decimated the Colts, but Barkley wasn't a major factor, amassing just 58 rushing yards while losing five yards through the air. One would imagine he should get back on track in Week 18 when the Giants take an aggressive approach against the Eagles.

Dalvin Cook, 6.4 FPTS

The Vikings' woes weren't contained to the passing game. Cook tallied 27 rushing and 17 receiving yards during Sunday's loss to Green Bay. He has been inconsistent this season but should bounce back against a suspect Bears run defense in Week 18.

Miles Sanders, 6.1 FPTS

The Eagles' offense, sans Jalen Hurts, struggled to get much going against the Saints on Sunday. Miles Sanders was held in check once again, rushing 12 times for 61 yards while failing to register a target. He's averaging just 4.7 fantasy points over his last three games and drops to the low-end RB2 range ahead of the Eagles' Week 18 meeting with the Giants.

Rhamondre Stevenson, 7.1 FPTS

David Montgomery, 5.6 FPTS

The Lions' defense is very bad against the run, so this looked like a favorable spot for Montgomery. Instead, the Bears ran the ball with Justin Fields almost constantly, leaving just six rushes and 24 yards for their lead back. He also caught two passes. Montgomery has talent and projects as a low-end RB2 in Week 18, but his fantasy value is certainly muddled due to Fields' rushing upside.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Busts

Justin Jefferson, 2.5 FPTS

Jaire Alexander backed up his smack talk by holding Jefferson to five targets, one catch, and 15 yards on Sunday. It was a historically bad game for the Pro Bowl receiver, who had previously never caught one pass or fewer in a single game throughout his three-year career.

DK Metcalf, 1.3 FPTS

Sauce Gardner held Metcalf to an uncharacteristically quiet outing. The star receiver hauled in just one of five targets for a mere three yards in the Seahawks' win on Sunday. He should bounce back in a more favorable matchup against the Rams next week.

Garrett Wilson, 4.8 FPTS

There had been optimism that the return of Mike White could once again elevate Wilson's game. Instead, White showed that he might be even worse than Zach Wilson. The quarterback and receiver linked up for just three completions despite a whopping 11 targets. Wilson has a favorable matchup against the Dolphins in Week 18, but if White's poor quarterback play continues, the rookie will likely rank as a WR3.

Fantasy Football Tight End Busts

Evan Engram, 3.9 FPTS

After stringing together four huge games, Engram was quiet against the Texans in Week 17. He finished with just 16 receiving yards and 13 rushing yards in the win. Jacksonville will have to pass the ball more often in a must-win game against the Titans next Saturday, which bodes well for Engram's fantasy value.

Tyler Higbee, 4.1 FPTS

Higbee also came back down to earth Sunday, catching three passes for just 11 yards. He'll rank as a fringe top-12 tight end in fantasy football heading into Week 18 versus Seattle.

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