5 Stars Who Could Flop in the Fantasy Football Playoffs

Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Putting Julio Jones on this list feels so dirty, and for so many reasons.

First, the Atlanta Falcons top target is a generational talent with the ability to dominant any defensive back that lines up across from him.

On the other hand, he’s also been statistically underwhelming as the Falcons have struggled to score touchdowns, ranking just 20th in the NFL in passing touchdowns with 13. Oh, and only one of those has been from Jones.

Finally, his playoff schedule features two games against the New Orleans Saints defense and rookie corner Marshon Lattimore, a matchup that on the surface seems crazy advantageous to the Falcons' superstar. But this is not the Saints defense of old, and Lattimore is no ordinary rookie.

The Saints currently rank second in the NFL in Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play, and Lattimore has graded out as the top corner in all of football this season according to Pro Football Focus. When shadowing opposing team’s top receiver, he has allowed a passer rating against of just 37.4! He’s done this against targets like Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin, and Jordy Nelson (without Aaron Rodgers).

So it sets up to be an intriguing matchup in Week 14 and Week 16: an underwhelming Julio Jones against an emerging star in the rookie Lattimore. Jones is another player that teams simply can’t afford to sit, but you certainly wish he got to face the Saints defense from the past decade, who probably would have struggled to stop the 2017 Browns from scoring 40 points.