We are down to the final week of the NFL season and this is truly the most important week for many teams in the NFL, because it will either set the tone for next season, or it will lead to the playoffs. With only one more week we can look at teams’ entire seasons and look at each teams MVP and their most disappointing players on the season.
In our latest edition of power rankings, we are looking at one of these and that will be the most disappointing player. Every single team has their players that are disappointing and disappointing is different for every circumstance. Disappointing could range from having a bad season, or just failing to live up to expectations and in this list, we will be talking about both.
Note: No offensive linemen made the most disappointing list because that would be a much more comprehensive list without statistics readily available for everyone.
Rank Kansas City Chiefs (14-1)
1 Prev. (1 ⏤)
Week 16 Result: 17-14 W against Atlanta
Most Disappointing Player: Frank Clark
With the way Clark’s contract is set up he is not quite making the big bucks yet, ($12 million base) but he has not quite lived up to the production that is contract expects of him. This does not mean he is having a bad season, in fact, he is having a decent season, but for a player signing a $100 million contract more than sacks is expected. Clark has six sacks on the season, sitting second on the team, as well as eight tackles for losses. Clark provides a presence on the edge to help out this defense, but he has not brought that presence expected of him when he signed the big contract. Kansas City has locked up a playoff spot already, so if he excels in the playoffs than the regular season will not matter but come next regular season, they need to expect better.
Rank Green Bay Packers (12-3)
2 Prev. (2 ⏤)
Week 16 Result: 40-14 W against Tennessee
Most Disappointing Player: Preston Smith
Last offseason the Packers went out and signed Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith in hopes of forming a two headed sack machine. Both Smith’s did well last season with Za’Darius racking up 13.5 sacks and Preston with 12.0. This season only one of them has showed up consistently and it has not been Preston. Preston only has four sacks on the season with 10 QB hits, if there is one saving grace for him it has been that he is second on the team with seven tackles for losses. Smith has had a good season even if it is not as good as last year, but the expectation when signing with the team was to be part of a two-headed monster that this season is non-existent. Since week 10 Smith has 3.5 sacks and six tackles for losses, but he needs to become more consistent.
Rank Buffalo Bills (12-3)
3 Prev. (3 ⏤)
Week 16 Result: 38-9 W against New England
Most Disappointing Player: Devin Singletary
Singletary is only in his second season and there is such a thing called sophomore slump, that may be a little of what we have seen from him this season. To be fair, the Bills offense is completely different from last season as in they are not run first, now they are a much more balanced offense with Josh Allen putting together his best season yet. This meant that Singletary would see the ball less and he has. Even though he sees the ball less he is doing what he needs to do, the big disappointment is that he could and should be doing more. He is providing more in the pass game and holding on to the ball, but Singletary is yet another example of disappointing not meaning bad, just meaning they expect more out of him.
Rank Baltimore Ravens (10-5)
4 Prev. (6 ↑2)
Week 16 Result: 27-13 W against New York Giants
Most Disappointing Player: Mark Ingram
There was a lot of confusion in Baltimore after the draft and the Ravens took RB J.K. Dobbins, what was his role going to be? Well, it started out slow but running back is the position with the most turnover and that eventually happened. Dobbins started to get more playing time to go along with Gus Edwards and Mark Ingram was put as a somewhat afterthought. Ingram’s plays a role bigger than on field presence, but after a 1,000-yard season last year the question entering this season was can he do it again. Whether it’s bad luck or not, Ingram has run for 260 yards in 10 games this season, fourth on the team. Ingram still averages 4.1 YPC but based off last season his performance is not anywhere near the level expected. Let’s see if anything changes over the final week and possibly playoffs.
Rank Seattle Seahawks (11-4)
5 Prev. (5 ⏤)
Week 16 Result: 20-9 W against Los Angeles Rams
Most Disappointing Player: Tre Flowers
Flowers is in his third season and we saw some good improvement from his rookie to his sophomore, we expected a similar jump this season and we just have not gotten that. Flowers got injured and is currently on IR, so he has only played in 11 games, but he has a career low in tackles, pass deflections, and completion percentage allowed. Flowers of course was not the only reason that this defense was performing so poorly in the pass game, but he did not help them get any better. The defense is playing much better in the pass game as of late, so assuming Flowers is healthy enough to come back let’s see if his return will help this defense or if it hurts.
Rank New Orleans Saints (11-4)
6 Prev. (9 ↑3)
Week 16 Result: 52-33 W against Minnesota
Most Disappointing Player: Michael Thomas
Thomas is a bit of a tough one to put here because he has been injured for basically the entire season, one that kept him out of games and limited his effectiveness when he was in the game. Now, he is back on the IR and would not be eligible to return until the playoffs. Hopefully, for Saints fans, he is back at full health come playoff time so Brees can have his number one weapon. The pass game of the Saints has not been nearly as effective without Thomas in the lineup and while they managed to win games, they are much better with him in the lineup. If a fully healthy Thomas returns for the playoffs, then the Saints will be one team that others will not want to play.
Rank Pittsburgh Steelers (12-3)
7 Prev. (10 ↑3)
Week 16 Result: 28-24 W against Indianapolis
Most Disappointing Player: JuJu Smith-Schuster
Pittsburgh was confident getting rid of Antonio Brown because they had a number one receiver in Smith-Schuster, or at least they thought. Last season he only put together 552 yards in 12 games, so based off last season he is playing better, but not like a number one. JuJu has 766 yards on the season to go along with eight touchdowns which is not bad, but he has really become more of an afterthought for the offense. In the win against Indy, he racked up 96 yards, but before that he only had one game above 50 yards since week 11 and that was only 55 yards. If the team were not throwing that would be reasonable, but this offense has gone to pass heavy, so these numbers for the supposed top receiver are not where they need to be.
Rank Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-5)
8 Prev. (11 ↑3)
Week 16 Result: 47-7 W against Detroit
Most Disappointing Player: Leonard Fournette
When the Buccaneers picked up Leonard Fournette it made this offense even more dangerous than it was before. While it was thought he would be the starter, Arians made it clear Jones was still the man and so far, that has proven to be a very wise decision. Because of this Fournette was not getting starter reps, so of course his numbers would be lower, but these are low even for a backup. Fournette has 354 yards on 92 attempts rushing for an average of 3.8 YPC to go along with zero fumbles. The numbers are not bad, but in this offense with so many weapons he should provide a spark when called upon and while he has put up decent numbers, his presence needs to be felt more.
Rank Miami Dolphins (10-5)
9 Prev. (12 ↑3)
Week 16 Result: 26-25 W against Las Vegas
Most Disappointing Player: Tua Tagovailoa
Is calling Tua a disappointment a bit of a cheap shot, yes, it is, but when the team has overperformed to a level like the Dolphins have it is hard to choose. Tua has now played in as many games as Ryan Fitzpatrick and all of his stats are inherently worse than Fitz including getting benched. Two times this season has Tua started a game that Fitz has had to come in and finish to give the Dolphins their best chance to win. I fully understand him being a rookie and having a reliever like Fitz, but if he is not ready than he should not be the starter yet. Being able to pull Fitz off the bench means Tua has not faced much adversity and if the starter can’t face adversity then he should not be the starter. Now, Tua has not had a bad season when he has been playing, but there is still room to grow and with how well the Dolphins are playing someone had to be the most disappointing.
Rank Tennessee Titans (10-5)
10 Prev. (4 ↓6)
Week 16 Result: 40-14 L against Green Bay
Most Disappointing Player: Jadeveon Clowney
Clowney is out for the rest of the season which means he cannot turn this notion around, but before the injury he was not worth all the fuss. Over the offseason the big topic was where was he going to go with his talents, now the topic becomes why did we offer him this much money. While Clowney was good at setting the edge and helping out in the run game, he did absolutely nothing to help in the pass game. For a “game changer” like himself, that is a bit of an issue. Clowney played in eight games this season and the defense was not any better with him on the field and if they were it was only marginally better. Luckily, for the Titans, Clowney was signed to a one year deal, so they should not have to deal with him next season unless he signs a new contract.
Rank Indianapolis Colts (10-5)
11 Prev. (8 ↓3)
Week 16 Result: 28-24 L against Pittsburgh
Most Disappointing Player: Philip Rivers
This one may be cheating a little, but not many players on the Colts have been disappointing, at least out of the players we had high expectations for. This includes Rivers who did have a disappointing first couple of weeks of the season but has now turned that around into a good season. Leaving the weapons he had out in Los Angeles made it a lot tougher to have a great season through the air and while he hasn’t had a great season he has had a very good one. Losing one of his biggest threats in Marlon Mack early in the season must have been rough, but he has made up for that loss. Again, no player has necessarily been disappointing to that degree, but they will have to play better to make it deep into the playoffs, or even make the postseason.
Rank Cleveland Browns (10-5)
12 Prev. (7 ↓5)
Week 16 Result: 23-16 L against New York Jets
Most Disappointing Player: Odell Beckham Jr.
OBJ is supposed to be one of the best receivers in the game today and ever since he went to Cleveland, he has not looked like that. Unfortunately, his season ended prematurely due to injury, but when he was on the field the team was not better. Part of that is because Baker was trying to force Beckham the ball so he would be involved. They were 5-2 with Beckham, but now that he is no longer available the team has become better balanced on the offensive end which makes them an all-around better team. Who knows how is and the team’s season would have played out had he not got injured, but we can only look toward the future of this team with a healthy Beckham.
Rank Chicago Bears (8-7)
13 Prev. (17 ↑4)
Week 16 Result: 41-17 W against Jacksonville
Most Disappointing Player: Eddie Jackson
If this list was made about three weeks ago then the player would most definitely have been Mitchell Trubisky, but over the past couple weeks he has seemingly changed as a QB. There was still an option for Foles to be the player, but Eddie Jackson has had a rough season in the secondary. Jackson has had trouble in the pass game this season, only deflecting five passes this season while being responsible for a 71.4% catch rate. The last two seasons Jackson was great in the deep third responding to the pass, but this season something has changed, and part of his struggles have led to the Bears not being a great defense. The best thing he has done is tackle better and that is partly due to moving from free to strong safety, if he can get his pass coverage to how it was, he could be one of the elite safeties in the game.
Rank Los Angeles Rams (9-6)
14 Prev. (13 ↓1)
Week 16 Result: 20-9 L against Seattle
Most Disappointing Player: Jared Goff
In a lot of ways Goff is actually having one if his best seasons of his career, but on the other end he is massively underperforming. In 2018 Goff led the Rams to having one of the best offenses in NFL history, while we weren’t expecting that same level of offense, we expected more than what we have gotten. Goff has never been the type to rack up a ton of touchdowns because he has always had a run game to find the endzone and that is somewhat the case this season, but with the weapons available to him this offense should be much better than it is. Goff has a career high in completion percentage, but his less than two to one TD/INT ratio leads a lot to be desired. Now with the injury we don’t even know if they will make the playoffs, but we know that Goff can be better than what he is showing.
Rank Arizona Cardinals (8-7)
15 Prev. (14 ↓1)
Week 16 Result: 20-12 L against San Francisco
Most Disappointing Player: Patrick Peterson
Patrick Peterson used to be one of the best corners in the league and while he is still an above average corner, he is no longer one of the elites. He hasn’t been there for a while, but this season he has slipped once again. Peterson gets targeted more than he ever has, and he has given up a higher catch percentage as well as more touchdowns. He has had a bit of a better season than 2019, but knowing what he was once capable of, his level of play has gone down and therefore has disappointed.
Rank Las Vegas Raiders (7-8)
16 Prev. (16 ⏤)
Week 16 Result: 26-25 L against Miami
Most Disappointing Player: Henry Ruggs III
It’s tough to call a rookie a disappointment, that is unless they were a high draft pick that started immediately and did not have a great season. On top of that Ruggs was the first WR drafted ahead of CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Juedy, and Justin Jefferson, all of whom had a better season. Ruggs played in over half of the games and he only managed 414 yards, fourth on the team, to go along with two touchdowns. These numbers are really not terrible, especially for a rookie, but a rookie drafted ahead of other great receivers this season was not a great look. There is still time for Ruggs to grow into an NFL receiver, but based off their expectations he was a huge disappointment.
Rank Minnesota Vikings (6-9)
17 Prev. (18 ↑1)
Week 16 Result: 52-33 L against New Orleans
Most Disappointing Player: Yannick Ngakoue
Coming into the season the Vikings were thought of as for sure playoff contenders and possible Super Bowl contenders. Then the season started, and that idea went out of people’s heads real quick. Part of why people thought their chances were so good is because they acquired Ngakoue from the Jaguars. Srictly off of sack numbers he was not bad, but outside of that he was not really providing anything to this defense that were getting beat up by every offense. Once they decided to get rid of him their defense actually started playing much better which makes him an even bigger disappointment because they had to get rid of a lot to bring him in. It may not have been first round pick bad, but they did not get the production out of him that they were expecting after the trade.
Rank San Francisco 49ers (6-9)
18 Prev. (21 ↑3)
Week 16 Result: 20-12 W against Arizona
Most Disappointing Player: Deebo Samuel
You can never predict other players injuries, but when it is one of your best players it makes things so much tougher. Samuel was not disappointing because of his on-field production, but because he could not stay on the field. Samuel played in seven games over the season and in only one of them did he record over 75 yards. That is not great production on the field, not being able to stay on the field is one of the worst abilities. Hopefully, coming off of this season he will only get stronger overall, but as of this season it was a disappointment.
Rank Dallas Cowboys (6-9)
19 Prev. (25 ↑6)
Week 16 Result: 37-17 W against Philadelphia
Most Disappointing Player: Leighton Vander Esch
Vander Esch was a tackling machine his rookie season in 2018 and it was supposed to be the same in the past two seasons, but injuries have derailed that. He has only managed to play 10 games this season and he has only averaged six tackles a game and in the run game he has not helped the Cowboys at all—they rank 32nd in run defense. Vander Esch is supposed to help the run defense off the edge, but that is not what he has been doing and that is one of the biggest roles on the team for him. They are looking for next season to be a bounce back, but this season was a rough one even without the injuries.
Rank Washington Football Team (6-9)
20 Prev. (15 ↓5)
Week 16 Result: 20-13 L against Carolina
Most Disappointing Player: Dwayne Haskins
Haskins was such a disappointment that he is no longer on the team. Long story short, Haskins started the season as a starter and captain, got benched for Alex Smith, had another shot after Smith’s injury and got benched for Heinicke to released. It’s been a wild ride for Haskins, but it has to be considered a disappointment, especially since he was a former first-round pick. It is yet to be seen whether or not Haskins will get another chance in the NFL, but with everything that happened this season it has to be looked at as a monumental failure on his part.
Rank New England Patriots (6-9)
21 Prev. (19 ↓2)
Week 16 Result: 38-9 L against Buffalo
Most Disappointing Player: Cam Newton
It’s a little unfair to say Newton is the most disappointing considering the weapons he has to work with, but anytime you have a one to two TD/INT ratio there is an issue. Newton has done okay with the weapons that he has, but his biggest tool this season has been his legs and he has utilized them to the fullest. Newton is the team’s second leading rusher and has 12 rushing touchdowns on the season. With his play this season he will most likely not be on the team next season and his play is not all his fault, but it definitely cannot be seen as a success. It may not be a failure, but a disappointment for sure.
Rank New York Giants (5-10)
22 Prev. (20 ↓2)
Week 16 Result: 27-13 L against Baltimore
Most Disappointing Player: Daniel Jones
Entering his second season, this was supposed to be the season Daniel Jones took a leap forward and while technically that may have happened, he has had a rough go at things. Jones has a better completion percentage and has led the team to a better record, but he only has nine TDs to go along with nine INTs. Jones does not have the best weapons to work with and things got tough once Barkley went down, but this was not a great sophomore season for Jones. This is the offseason to go out and get Jones weapons, give him a chance with real weapons to prove whether or not he can be the franchise QB.
Rank Los Angeles Chargers (6-9)
23 Prev. (24 ↑1)
Week 16 Result: 19-16 W against Denver
Most Disappointing Player: Michael Badgley
Kicking in the NFL is not an easy job, make your kicks and you did your job, but miss your kicks and you get scrutinized for failing an “easy job”. People should know that this is not an easy role to be in and especially for a team that plays a number of close games like the Chargers did this season. Many games this season the Chargers have had a chance to win, but the kicks did not go their way and they came out on the losing side of things. While it looks and is bad, Badgley has earned them some wins as well, but the kicker this season has been the difference from an above .500 team to a below .500 team.
Rank Carolina Panthers (5-10)
24 Prev. (27 ↑3)
Week 16 Result: 20-13 W against Washington
Most Disappointing Player: Rasul Douglas
This is Douglas’s first season in Carolina, and they had high expectations for him. While he does have a career high in tackles, he is not having a great season defending the pass. Douglas has allowed a 63.3 completion percentage as well as six touchdowns through the air. He is not having a bad season and he is one of their better corners that the Panthers have, but the play has not been the play of a top corner and has been one of the downfalls in the passing game. The Panthers defense has room to grow entering next season and getting better play out of Douglas is one step on how to become better.
Rank Denver Broncos (5-10)
25 Prev. (26 ↑1)
Week 16 Result: 19-16 L against Los Angeles Chargers
Most Disappointing Player: Drew Lock
Is the reason Lock has not played the best due to his ability or the team around him? Well, it’s probably a mix of both but they cannot be happy with the performances he has given this season. The offensive line has not helped him, they have forced him to get rid of the ball quickly, but that is not an excuse for everything that has happened. Lock has played some great games this season, but most of his games have involved him being good or below average. Lock was injured for part of the season and may be playing through an injury currently, but this was when he was supposed to take a leap. He has dealt with injuries to his receivers as well, but in 14 games he has a 57% completion rate, less than 2,600 yards, and more interceptions than touchdowns. Lock is only in his second season so there is still time to grow, but this was a massive downturn from a relatively good rookie season.
Rank Detroit Lions (5-10)
26 Prev. (22 ↓4)
Week 16 Result: 48-19 L against Buffalo
Most Disappointing Player: Tracy Walker
The Lions were not expecting to have a great defense this season after getting rid of their top corner in Darius Slay, but they were at least hoping to be better than what they have provided. Walker is the leading tackler on the team, which is good, but for a safety you are also expecting to see some coverage and his coverage has been less than admirable. Walker has held the closest opponents to a 63.8 completion percentage but opposing QBs have the highest QBR on him than any other Lions defender. This does not always mean he is the worst, but he has also given up the most touchdowns on the season, so while Walker has been good, he has been a little disappointing, even if it is not all his fault.
Rank Cincinnati Bengals (4-10-1)
27 Prev. (29 ↑2)
Week 16 Result: 37-31 W against Houston
Most Disappointing Player: A.J. Green
After the amount of injuries Green has dealt with, were we really expecting him to look like a top 10 receiver again. No, we were not, but we were expecting him to be better than he has been. Green entered the season as the number two option on the team and now with the emergence of Tee Higgins he has turned into the third option. For a third option he has not been awful, but the most concerning part has been his catch percentage which is at a measly 48%. Most of those are not on him, but when getting the ball consistently to your former number one receiver becomes tough then it classifies as a disappointment. The best thing for the Bengals will be if Green decides to stay based on the promise of Joe Burrow, but with the injury we could be seeing the end of Green’s time in Cincinnati very soon.
Rank Philadelphia Eagles (4-10-1)
28 Prev. (23 ↓5)
Week 16 Result: 37-17 L against Dallas
Most Disappointing Player: Carson Wentz
Who else was it going to be for the Eagles, the once thought franchise QB has now turned into a backup and the biggest topic going into the offseason is what will they do with the contract? The struggles of the Eagles and Wentz is not all Wents’s fault, but he did not really help his own cause during the season. Injuries and bad decision making by coaches have not made his job any easier, but Wentz was by far the biggest disappointment of the entire NFL season. The offense was not balanced with him in the lineup, it was pass heavy and he had less than a 60% pass percentage, 16 TD to 15 INT, and less than 2,700 passing yards. Wentz took a massive step backward this season and now his future with the Eagles is up in the air.
Rank Atlanta Falcons (4-11)
29 Prev. (28 ↓1)
Week 16 Result: 17-14 L against Kansas City
Most Disappointing Player: Isaiah Oliver
In reality the entire secondary could be on here for disappointing, but they have a very young secondary, so this was somewhat expected. Oliver is in his third season and after a good jump from his rookie to sophomore season we were expecting a similar jump this season. While Oliver has had his good moments, he needs to become more consistent if he wants to be the leader of the secondary. Anything will be looked at as bad when it comes to the Falcons pass defense, but some were looked upon to do more than they have done. With this defense still being young they should only be getting better and if Oliver increases his consistency next season, they could be good.
Rank Houston Texans (4-11)
30 Prev. (30 ⏤)
Week 16 Result: 37-31 L against Cincinnati
Most Disappointing Player: David Johnson
David Johnson has not necessarily had a bad season, but when you are the one traded for DeAndre Hopkins then expectations become huge. If we want to compare the seasons, then Johnson has been a major disappointment and while that is not the case the logic stays consistent. In 11 games Johnson has 607 yards and five touchdowns but getting rid of one of the best receivers in the game for this production automatically means disappointment. This was a bad trade from the get-go and the trade is the only reason why Johnson has been a disappointment.
Rank New York Jets (2-13)
31 Prev. (31 ⏤)
Week 16 Result: 23-16 W against Cleveland
Most Disappointing Player: Sam Darnold
The Jets do not have a good roster, but that excuse can only go so far for Darnold who is in his third season. All the other first round picks from that season (with exception to Rosen) have turned out good seasons, yes, they have better rosters, but it is still an issue. Darnold is only 23 years old and after taking a minor step forward last season, he has regressed majorly this season. Over the past two games Darnold has attempted to salvage this season and keep his job for next season, but he could be on the hot seat. For a QB drafted as highly as him and not seeing any major improvements that is a major disappointment.
Rank Jacksonville Jaguars (1-14)
32 Prev. (32 ⏤)
Week 16 Result: 41-17 L against Chicago
Most Disappointing Player: Josh Allen
Getting rid of Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell meant that they would not have much of a pass rush this season and therefore they would need second year player Josh Allen to have an even better season than his 2019 campaign. While Allen has dealt with injuries this season, while he was on the field his production was nowhere near the level of last season. In 2019 Allen had 10.5 sacks and that was partly because he had someone on the other side to take pressure off, this season in eight games he had 2.5 sacks. Out of the player they expected the most out of this season, he has not lived up to expectations. Hopefully, this is just a sophomore slump and next season he will be better, but this season is not where anyone wanted.