Worst players at every position for Week 6

This was an interesting week for bad things happening in football. Last night, we saw perhaps the strangest fake punt in football history, and to the surprise of nobody, it didn't work. However, that play would’ve fit in perfectly with this team.

The PFF Worst Team of the Week highlights those players that seemed like smart decisions to start, but in the end, left you wanting just a little (or sometimes more than a little) more. It’s time to recognize those players.

(Note: Changes might be made following our review process and once Monday Night Football games have been analyzed and graded.)

Quarterback: Kirk Cousins, Redskins (-6.8)

This might come as a surprise to many, but after a really tough outing yesterday, this is Cousins’ first appearance on the WTOTW. Cousins completed just 58.1 percent of his passes, with the number dropping to 40 percent when he was under any kind of pressure. On passes that traveled more than 10 yards in the air, he was a dreadful 3-for-12 for 46 yards and an interception. His 4.6 yards per attempt was the lowest mark among all QBs this week.

Running back: Charcandrick West, Chiefs (-3.9)

Touted by many as Jamaal Charles’ replacement for the Chiefs, West did very little to back up that claim yesterday, gaining a mere 33 yards on only nine rush attempts. What’s worse were his measly 9 yards gained after contact, and zero missed tackles forced. To cap it all off, he fumbled in Vikings’ territory late in the game with the Chiefs down by six points. Not a strong starting debut for West.

Fullback: Malcolm Johnson, Browns (-3.0)

Johnson is back! It’s been a couple of weeks since he’s been a part of this team, but he returns as the only fullback this week to grade below -0.5. The majority of his grade comes from poor run blocking (-2.9 grade), as he was frequently beaten inside on his lead blocks, and gave up tackles for no gain or less.

Tight end: Timothy Wright, Lions (-4.2)

Wright played 65 snaps yesterday, which was the most he’s ever played in an NFL game. He responded with his worst overall game grade. While Wright did catch a touchdown for the Lions, his receiving totals leave a bit more to be desired. He was targeted six times and caught only three of them for a meager 17 yards, while gaining only seven of them after the catch. Of the other three attempts, two of them were bad drops. He did not add much in the run blocking game, either, finishing with a -1.8 grade.

Wide receivers: Chris Conley, Chiefs (-2.0) and Mike Wallace, Vikings (-2.0)

How rare that the two worst receivers this week played in the same game? Make no mistake about it, these two both deserve to be here. Conley was targeted seven times and caught three passes for 16 yards. He gained a minuscule 3 yards after contact, and dropped two passes. Wallace struggled even more, catching only two of seven targets for 23 yards with zero yards after the catch. He also had one drop. Not a game to remember for either player, but at least Conley’s just a rookie.

Tackles: Mike Remmers, Panthers (-5.2) and Tony Hills, Saints (-5.0)

Remmers allowed no sacks or hits, which might seem like a good day’s work, but his six QB hurries allowed proved it had more to do with QB Cam Newton’s athletic ability, and less to do with his pass blocking prowess. In the run game, Remmers was beaten multiple times for defensive stops, and didn’t really have any positive plays. Hills surrendered three QB hurries, and was also beaten two other times on pass plays. Hills was easily beaten twice on screen blocks, and surrendered a tackle for minimal gain. Overall, his grade was a result of playing below average at every aspect of offensive line play (-1.9 pass block grade, -1.0 screen block, -1.4 run block).

Guards: D.J. Fluker, Chargers (-5.2) and Kenny Wiggins, Chargers (-5.0)

These two struggled all day long against that Packers' defense. Fluker surrendered only one QB hit, and one QB hurry, but he was beaten four additional times when pass blocking. He also struggled to get any run block movement—finishing with a -2.3 grade there—and added a false start and a face mask penalty to his poor performance. Wiggins allowed two hits and two hurries, but was beaten three additional times where he was saved by QB Philip Rivers’ quick release. He finished with an equally poor -2.3 run block grade.

Center: Josh LeRibeus, Redskins (-5.1)

C Kory Lichtensteiger is out with an injury, and wouldn’t you know it, his backup replaces him on this team. LeRibeus surrendered a QB hit and three hurries, and was beaten time and time again on run plays. He also had a false start penalty. The Redskins are having a tough time this season when it comes to the center position.

Each week, we put forward a hybrid defense that features two edge rushers (4-3 defensive ends or 3-4 outside linebackers), three players on the “interior” of the defensive line (3-4 defensive ends or defensive tackles), and two linebackers (all inside linebackers and 4-3 outside linebackers).

Defensive interior – ends: Frostee Rucker, Cardinals (-3.7) and Kendall Reyes, Chargers (-2.4)

Rucker makes this team due to his poor run defense grade (-3.1). He was consistently sealed out of play by the Steelers’ OG David DeCastro, and was never able to make much of an impact. Rucker only managed one QB hurry on 20 pass rushes. Reyes didn’t make a single defensive stop all game, and had just one QB hurry on 28 pass rush attempts.

Defensive interior – tackle: Sealver Siliga, Patriots (-3.0)

Siliga didn’t fare too well as a pass rusher, with only one QB hurry on the night (23 pass rushes). In the run game, he was unable to do much either, failing to record a defensive stop or a tackle. Siliga was often blocked completely out of the play by Colts’ offensive linemen. He also missed a tackle on a potential sack.

Edge rushers: Derrick Morgan, Titans (-3.3) and Jared Odrick, Jaguars (-2.6)

Morgan rushed the passer 30 times yesterday, and failed to record a single QB pressure. His -2.1 pass rush grade is certainly the main reason for his low grade, but he also finished with a -1.4 run defense grade. He made only two defensive stops and missed a tackle, and was often getting blocked out of plays. Odrick played 57 snaps yesterday, although you’d be excused if you thought he played five. He didn’t record a single QB pressure, didn’t make a single defensive stop—he didn’t even record a tackle. He was basically invisible on the field, aside from one batted pass.

Linebackers: Donald Butler, Chargers (-3.8) and Perry Riley, Redskins (-3.3)

Butler made only expected or negative plays yesterday, failing to grade positively on anything. He allowed five catches on six targets for 94 yards and multiple first downs in the coverage game. Against the run, he was blocked out of most plays and managed to record only one defensive stop. Riley also made just one stop in his game, and was picked-on in coverage. He surrendered four receptions on four targets for 50 yards, with 43 of them coming after the catch.

Cornerbacks: Dre Kirkpatrick, Bengals (-3.6) and Antwon Blake, Steelers (-3.4)

Kirkpatrick didn’t have an extremely bad day in coverage, allowing seven receptions on 11 targets for 82 yards, with only 26 of them coming after the catch. In the run game, though, he missed two tackles and finished with a -1.9 grade. Blake was picked on all game by QB Carson Palmer, allowing 9-of-13 targets to be caught. He surrendered 163 yards and a touchdown, with 98 yards coming in the air.

Safeties: John Cyprien, Jaguars (-5.5) and Isa Abdul-Quddus, Lions (-4.1)

Cyprien had an equally tough time in coverage as he did in run defense yesterday. He allowed four catches on five targets for 65 yards and a touchdown, which led to a -2.3 grade. In the run game, he missed two tackles and was generally blocked out of the play. Abdul-Quddus mostly struggled in coverage, allowing six catches on nine targets for 112 yards and a -3.1 grade. He also missed a tackle.

Kicker: Nick Folk, Jets

Folk missed a 49-yard field goal, but he makes the team this week mostly due to forcing only two touchbacks on seven kickoffs.

Punter: Dustin Colquitt, Chiefs

Colquitt had six punts that averaged only 41.7 yards each.

Returner: David Johnson, Cardinals

Johnson muffed two kickoff returns.

To see the best players at every position for Week 6, click here.