Week four is almost in the books! Albeit low-scoring, the Sunday Night Football game between the Patriots and Buccaneers was undoubtedly one to remember. Clearly, the most imminent fantasy takeaway is the impending MVP season from Ronald Jones. Alright, in all seriousness, here’s a rundown of some of the storylines.
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The Surprises
Tyreek goes off … AGAIN
When you draft Tyreek Hill, you know you’re going to have to withstand days such as his three catches for 14 yard week two. However … the reason Hill’s ADP was borderline first round, was because of days such as Sunday. 11 catches, 186 yards and three touchdowns from Cheetah. The craziest part? This wasn’t even his highest yardage total of the season … he had 197 in week one.
Where do we go from here?
Start Hill every week, be glad you didn’t sell him low after two disappointing weeks and as long as he is healthy, make sure he’s starting for your team.
Cordarelle Patterson: More than a kick return specialist
Patterson is your week four fantasy RB1. In Atlanta’s heartbreaking loss he touched the ball 11 times, totaling 116 yards and three scores.
Where do we go from here?
Patterson is an every-week start for your fantasy team at this point. He’s the lone bright spot in the Atlanta Falcons offense, which is proving to be a near fantasy wasteland. I suspect they’ll ride him until the wheels fall off.
J-E-T-S!
The Jets upset the Tennessee Titans 27-24 in overtime. Jamison Crowder and Corey Davis combined for 40 PPR points. Is this win a sign of things to come for the Jets? My gut says no, but the pass catchers should continue to be useful as Zach Wilson improves.
Where do we go from here?
Even in a win, Michael Carter couldn’t muster more than 13 carries and 2.9 yards per attempt. That’s discouraging. Corey Davis, however, should continue to be a nice piece as the Jets WR1. I really thought this could be Denzel Mims week, too. Alas, it was not. I really feel as though Mims could hold some semblance of fantasy value outside of the Jets, but I’m not rostering him in the hopes of that.
Deebo Samuel: Future fantasy WR1?
I’ve been trying to tell you, these Samuel games are not flukes! If you were reading my content throughout the summer, you know I was drafting Samuel ahead of Aiyuk and it’s because of his near-generational abilities after the catch. *Stats*
Where do we go from here?
I’d caution against selling Samuel high here. I really do think this is a near-sustainable pace. He’s incredibly efficient with the football, the Niners run game has been gutted by injuries, and San Francisco’s quarterbacks can’t seem to find George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. Those two will get theirs, but Samuel is a weekly top-20 WR until further notice.
The Disappointments
D’Andre Swift Falls Flat
In his worst fantasy performance of the season, Swift scored just 8.9 points. That number could have been a lot worse if not for his six targets. Swift carried the ball 8 times for 16 yards. Jamaal Williams took 14 carries for 66 yards.
Where do we go from here?
You temper your expectations for Swift. You understand that he’s a talented running back in a timeshare on a football team that probably won’t win a ton of games. Talent is talent, and he’ll likely have a few more big games, and he has a high floor because of his pass-catching upside, but I’d be surprised if he finishes the season as an RB1.
Travis Kelce goes MIA
The Chiefs played like, well, the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Patrick Mahomes threw for five touchdowns and they won convincingly. However, Travis Kelce was left out of the mix. He snagged four catches for 23 yards on six targets.
Where do we go from here?
Repeat after me: I am not benching Travis Kelce. Yes, there will be weeks where he is outscored by Mo Alie-Cox (see: yesterday) but those are not excuses to waiver from your strategy. You drafted him (likely) in the first round for a reason, and he has paid dividends. This weekend was nothing more than an outlier.
Kyle Pitts: Buy low target
Atlanta’s unicorn scored just nine points this week. He caught four of his nine targets and was one foot down from making it five. He was blanketed in the end zone and Cordarelle Patterson stole the show in Atlanta. Pitts was on the field for nearly all of Atlanta’s offensive snaps, but he just couldn’t get it done in the box score.
Where do we go from here?
We buy Kyle Pitts low. If the Falcons continue down this road of losing games, they’ll be forced, sooner or later, to trot out their young talent and maximize their opportunities for development. These four weeks are Pitts’ floor, but his ceiling remains astronomically high. He’s made some great catches this season and could become a focal point of the Falcons offense sooner than you may think.
The Browns win, fantasy managers are disappointed
The Minnesota Vikings have proven to be relatively porous for opposing quarterbacks this season. Baker Mayfield, however, finished with just 155 yards and no touchdowns. Nick Chubb ran the ball 21 times for 100 yards, Kareem Hunt went 14 for 69 and a touchdown. Cleveland’s leading receiver was Rashard Higgins with four catches for 63 yards.
Where do we go from here?
Browns fans would have told you this early into his career, but this game really drove home the point: Cleveland’s offense starts and ends with Nick Chubb. Where he lacks in the passing game, he makes up in spades in consistency. Odell Beckham Jr., on the other hand, had a rough go. Statistically speaking, Baker Mayfield has performed better without OBJ on the field than when he is there. OBJ is no longer a surefire starter, even in deep(er) leagues. Until he breaks out, OBJ is staying on my bench.
Week 4 By the Numbers
0: Points scored by the Houston Texans. It took four games, but the Texans have regressed to where many projected. Sell Brandin Cooks high if you still can and stream the defense of any team facing the Texans.
5: The number of touchdowns Patrick Mahomes threw. You drafted him to be the best quarterback in fantasy and he paid dividends this weekend. He only needed to throw 30 passes to handle Philadelphia, so the yards didn’t add up as one may have hoped, but those who started Mahomes are elated with this performance nonetheless.
8: The number of footballs kicked through the uprights by Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass. Matt Prater and he led fantasy kickers in week four, reinforcing the strategy of choosing kickers on teams who are favorites and/or in games with high projected point totals.
428: The number of career offensive touches for Cordarelle Patterson, and possibly the reason why he appears to be hitting his stride at age 30. Some running backs surpass this number in two seasons, but Patterson is writing a different story. He scored three receiving touchdowns Sunday en route to xyz fantasy points. His production is impossible to ignore and right now Patterson should be a weekly fantasy starter.
544: The number of touches for which Derrick Henry is on pace. The all-time leader for single-season touches is James Wilder, with 492 touches in 1984. My job is to always have something to say as it relates to fantasy but this … this is just … otherworldly.
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