Week 17 Fantasy Football Losers

Week 17 is in the past, and with that, the majority of fantasy football leagues have reached their conclusions. Many fantasy owners drafted players for their game-changing abilities, but they vanished when owners needed them most. There were many injuries throughout the season that may have impacted how your fantasy team played. Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo missed the majority of the season. Joe Burrow and Brock Purdy did not return until around November, and Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes were absent once the playoffs began. While those players were not on the field for crucial parts of a short fantasy football season, there were plenty of stars who helped owners make the playoffs, and then packed up shop before the job was over. At the end of the day, these players do not care for their impact on fantasy football; they want to win and make the playoffs, but here are some names that may have cost owners a chance at fantasy immortality.

RB Jahmyr Gibbs – (6.4 Fantasy Points)

The Lions were eliminated from the playoffs after the Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Vikings, led by Max Brosmer. Maybe it was the complacency of playing a QB who got shut out by the Seahawks, but the Lions did not show up to play, turning the ball over six times. Jahmyr Gibbs was guilty of one fumble lost, but the Lions' run game could not get anything going. David Montgomery and Gibbs combined for 27 carries for 66 yards, amounting to less than two and a half yards per carry. Gibbs alone had 41 yards on the ground, with his longest rush only being eight yards. Even Gibbs’ usage in the passing game was missing as he was only targeted three times, bringing in two of them for 23 yards. Gibbs is still worthy of a top-five pick in drafts moving forward, but there are definitely some growing pains and inconsistency without former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

WR Ladd McConkey – (4.1 Fantasy Points)

Ladd McConkey was not targeted until about the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter, grabbing a 31-yard bomb on the first play of the drive. McConkey would only be targeted one more time for the rest of the game, summing up a disappointing second season, after a stellar rookie year. Week 17 marked McConkey’s eighth game in 2025 with fewer than 10 fantasy points, seventh game with fewer than 40 receiving yards, and eighth consecutive game with fewer than five receptions. The lack of offensive line stability in LA and the breakout of Quentin Johnston were not beneficial for McConkey’s success, but maybe 2026 has something more to offer for those who still believe in the 2024 second-round pick out of Georgia.

QB Jalen Hurts – (8.9), RB Saquon Barkley – (6.8 Fantasy Points)

Another week of Eagles’ football means another week of a stale Eagles’ offense. The only player to score more than 10 fantasy points for the Eagles was A.J. Brown, who had five receptions for 68 yards, totaling 11.8 fantasy points. While the final score of 13-12 showed little to no scoring, it makes more sense that yards came at a price. Jalen Hurts completed less than 50% of his passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Hurts’ success had him in the top 10 of fantasy quarterbacks, but in championship weekend, he finished as QB25, and his second game in 2025 under 10 fantasy points. As for Saquon Barkley, it would be dumb to bench the RB who rushed for 2,000 yards a year ago. However, Barkley has only broken 20 fantasy points twice all season, scoring less than 15 points in eight matchups. To be fair, Barkley has rushed the ball 60 fewer times than last season, but his long, explosive runs that were expected in 2025 seemed to be left back in 2024. With just 68 yards on 19 carries, the bland box score and overall season production hurt his draft stock as fans begin prepping for 2026.

RB James Cook – (8.7 Fantasy Points)

James Cook is leading the league in rushing yards with 1,600 yards and sits as RB6 on the season with 294 fantasy points. Cook has rushed for nine 100-yard games in 2025, but found himself on the south side of 80 yards for the first time since Week 10 and 11, where he had 53 and 48 yards, respectively. While 20 rushes for 74 yards is not bad in real life, fantasy owners are annoyed as he could not produce a touchdown. Cook helped get owners to the championship with a two-week average of 17 rushes for 112 yards and two touchdowns in Weeks 15 and 16, but fell flat in the big game. Expect owners to be even more annoyed if Cook has a great game in Week 18 against the Jets for the last game played at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

WR Drake London – (1.4), TE Kyle Pitts – (3.6 Fantasy Points)

The Rams only had an answer when covering receivers in the Monday Night Football loss to the Falcons. Even when their biggest worry should have been Bijan Robinson, and how elusive he is, Kirk Cousins completed 13 passes for 126 yards. 20 of those yards were split between Drake London and Kyle Pitts on three combined receptions. While London was absent due to a knee injury for more than a month, he was on the field for 98% of the offensive snaps, only mustering one catch on two targets for four yards. Before his injury, London was averaging 19.78 fantasy points per game, but he has scored a combined seven points in the two games since his return. While he was not one to help owners in the playoffs, it seemed like he was ready to return to his normal WR1 ways as they complicate the NFC South race for the Panthers and Buccaneers. As for Kyle Pitts, the starting TE had four bad games in Weeks 9-12, averaging just over five points per game, but followed it up with an amazing four-week stretch in Weeks 13-16, averaging 23.87 per game. The key is getting Pitts the ball, and Cousins was simply unable to do so. It did not matter as the Falcons won the game largely because of Robinson’s performance, but owners have a sour taste after potentially relying on Pitts and London.

RB Josh Jacobs – (1.3 Fantasy Points)

Josh Jacobs is a questionable add to this list, but only because of his lack of usage, most likely due to a lingering knee and ankle issue that the Packers are trying to push through. Granted, the Ravens had a fire under them, as the real possibility of missing the playoffs was looming, so the defense came to play. In place of the injured Jordan Love, Malik Willis played a masterful game before he exited due to reaggravating his shoulder injury. However, all Green Bay RBs combined for seven carries for 19 yards. Jacobs has not had a 100-yard game yet this season, but is ranked as RB12 due to his 14 total touchdowns. It would have been smarter to assume Jacobs was not going to play much after the Packers pulled him in Chicago, but you know what they say when you assume.