We’re now just moving past the quarter mark of the fantasy football year, but it already feels like it’s been an eternity. The rollercoaster that is the 2024 season keeps on giving its riders the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. From standout performances to brutal injuries. Unexpected players on the rise to fantasy stars on the decline. We’re on to the next week, so time to strap in and take one last look at the previous week to help keep us on our toes.
The Mark Andrews Mystery
The tight end landscape in fantasy football has always been one of the toughest terrains to navigate. But not if you rostered Mark Andrews. Barring injury, the veteran TE was one of the most reliable and talented tight ends in the league. So the fall off this year is truly puzzling. His 74% snap count in Week 1 dipped to 46% in Week 4. He has back-to-back games with no catches and only has 9.5 fantasy points total on the year. He’s gone from Lamar Jackson‘s favorite target to an afterthought in the Ravens’ offense. If this were pretty much any other player, fantasy managers would hit the drop button without hesitation. But that’s hard to do with Andrews and the TE position as a whole, and rostering two tight ends isn’t ideal. Fantasy managers who drafted Andrews are in a pickle, and there is no real good answer for what to do.
The Bengals’ Backfield Surprise
Over the first three weeks of the season, Zack Moss was the clear leader in Cincinnati’s running back r00m, totaling 131 snaps to Chase Brown‘s 45 snaps. Moss led the way again in Week 4, but it moved to exactly a 60/40 split. What’s more, Brown got the red zone carry and touchdown on the first drive of the game, and finished the contest with two scores. Both players saw 15 carries (Brown ran for 80 yards and Moss for 51 yards), but Moss salvaged his day with four catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. It’ll be interesting to see how both players are utilized moving forward, but if Week 4 is any indicator, it’s looking closer to a 60/40 split than the 75/25 advantage Moss saw to start the year.
Denver’s Defense is in Play
Setting aside Denver’s 26-20 loss to Seattle in the season opener, the Broncos’ defense has allowed just 29 points over the next three games. Granted, two games were against the Steelers and Jets (in rainy conditions), but they held the Buccaneers to just 7 points. For reference, Tampa Bay has scored an average of 30 points in three wins against the Commanders, Lions and Eagles, with their only loss coming to the Broncos. Denver’s defense is for real. And the best part is the schedule over the next four weeks: the Raiders, Chargers, Saints and Panthers. The Broncos face the Browns, Colts and Chargers near the end of the year, just as the fantasy playoffs begin.
Dontayvion Wicks Back in the Mix
Dontayvion Wicks averaged nearly 50% of the offensive snaps for the Packers in the first three weeks of the season. With the news that Christian Watson could be going on IR with an ankle injury, that number is going to shoot up to 70-80% like it did on Sunday when Watson got hurt. Wicks went into the season as the WR4 in Green Bay, technically, but he’s flashed potential going back to last year and was a popular late-round draft pick. He may have been dropped after two goose eggs in Weeks 1 and 3, but now’s the time to scoop him up if he’s on waivers. He hauled in two touchdowns on Sunday and is currently the WR3 heading into the Monday night games. With a healthy Jordan Love back, Wicks is certainly a worth flex option most weeks.
The Case for Kareem Hunt
The Chiefs signed Kareem Hunt off the street two weeks ago and he’s already leading the team in running back snaps (45% in Week 4). It seems that the Carson Steele experiment is over after he fumbled early in the game Sunday and Samaje Perine has just 70 total snaps in four games. In his first game back with the Chiefs, Hunt looked spry, running for 69 yards on 14 carries and caught two passes for 16 yards. Until further notice, Hunt is the running back to roster in KC and could very well lead the team’s rushing attack until Isiah Pacheco returns from injury.
Rhamondre Stevenson is Fumbling his Opportunity
After the first two weeks it looked as if Mondre SZN was in full swing. He was the RB9 with 36.1 fantasy points in that two-game stretch. He followed that up with 0.3 points in Week 3 (negative points in some formats) and had just 43 rushing yards against San Francisco on Sunday. The good news is he had five targets and he’ll continue to be a low-end RB2 option as long as he continues to see targets. The bad news is he’s fumbled in four straight games, which most of the time will get you benched in the NFL. He remains the Patriots’ best offensive weapon, so he’s one of the few players who might be able to get away with the turnover issues, but don’t be shocked if Antonio Gibson and even JaMycal Hasty start to eat into his opportunities.
Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield Enter QB1 Status
I think we’ve seen enough in four weeks to proclaim that Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield should be started in standard 1QB leagues. In Superflex formats they’ve already been rostered, but I think they’ve moved past the streaming category and into starting contention in any scenario. Both players are in the top 5 at the position so far this year and Darnold is the only quarterback to throw multiple touchdowns in each game this season. Fantasy managers who have been struggling at QB with players like Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, even Patrick Mahomes, should consider picking up Darnold or Mayfield and starting them in favorable matchups.
Suave Season Incoming?
The Dallas backfield has been a mess so far this year, but there is a slight glimmer of hope for Rico “Suave” Dowdle. The bruising back scored his first touchdown of the season Thursday night and saw more than double the amount of carries as Ezekiel Elliott, who played a season-low 10 snaps. The wrench in the equation is the emergence of fullback Hunter Luepke, who played 52% of the offensive snaps. If Dowdle keeps averaging around 45% of snaps he won’t be able to have real standout performances, but if the Cowboys decide to funnel more of the run game through him he could pay off as a low-end RB2 down the road. The next three weeks are brutal matchups for running backs, the Steelers, Lions and 49ers, but then the schedule eases up. Dowdle could be a buy-low option.
Tank Bigsby Earning Bigger Role
The usage doesn’t necessarily jump off the page for Tank Bigsby, but the production and types of opportunities do. Bigbsy has played just 43 snaps compared to Travis Etienne‘s 159 snaps, and missed Week 2 entirely, but has managed to amass 172 rushing yards compared to 214 yards for Etienne. Bigsby got both carries inside the 5-yard line on Sunday, a concerning stat for Etienne managers. The second-year RB is making a case for more playing time, and if Etienne were to get banged up and miss time (he left Sunday briefly with a shoulder injury), Bigbsy jumps into the weekly starter category.
Hit the Bricks, Kyle Pitts
Another year, another gamble on the youth and talent of Kyle Pitts, another letdown so far. The 23-year-old tight end has 20 total fantasy points through four weeks and just left Sunday’s game with a dud. Like Mark Andrews, it’s hard to just cut bait with Pitts, especially since the tight end position is so volatile, but he should be on benches at the very least. And the latest words from Falcons head coach Raheem Morris aren’t exactly reassuring.
#Falcons HC Raheem Morris on Kyle Pitts’ zero-catch game, and how cognizant Morris is about getting Pitts involved:
“It was just about going out there and winning the game… Stats are for losers, man. I don’t get involved in that stuff.” pic.twitter.com/8wk9TYmU7a
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) September 29, 2024
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/SMx8hel
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