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October 1, 2024, 10:51 am
Every week I will do a quick drive thru of the all the games and cover the relevant fantasy points. I will look at things that might be fluky or here to stay and try and point everyone in the right direction for the future. We never want to overreact to a small-sample size, but sometimes getting in too early is still better than missing the boat entirely.
Cowboys 20 – Giants 15
The line was DAL by 5.5 and they won by five, which is about right for this season. The Cowboys did just enough to win and almost let the game slip through their fingers as Brandon Aubrey missed a 50-yard gimme to cover the spread. Dak Prescott was solid, but got outplayed by Daniel Jones. Jones still isn’t running the ball effectively and has 24 rushes through four games for just 70 yards. His three yards per carry average is well short of his career rate of 5.5 YPC. The running game continues to spiral as Rico Dowdle is the RB1 for what it’s worth. CeeDee Lamb got on track with nearly a 100 yards and a score on a 55-yard bomb. Jake Ferguson is the defacto WR2 and is one of the few TEs putting up reliable numbers each week, now he just has to score. The Giants looked great and that’s mostly because of Malik Nabers who has become a target machine. Unfortunately, while he was putting a massive line, he suffered a concussion trying to snag a ball on the sideline. Since the Giants get some extra rest, it’s possible he plays in Week 5, but doubtful. Wan’Dale Robinson has emerged as legit WR2 and had 11 grabs on 14 targets. The Giants are dinking-and-dunking and it’s working as Robinson and Nabers had 29 of 40 targets. Devin Singletary was held in check, but as I mentioned in the my preview, never bank on RBs in the Thursday game.
Pickup of the game: Wan’Dale Robinson – Priority High
Broncos 10– Jets 9
The weather gets the blame for this game being terrible, but it might also be the defenses. Bo Nix had one of the worst stat lines in history and had negative passing yards at half. He finished with 60, which was somehow an improvement. The Broncos are a fantasy wasteland and you want to avoid playing any and all if you can. Javonte Williams looked good and got 16 of the 31 carries. Tyler Badie for hurt and Jaleel McLaughlin was ineffective. Williams is a desperate flex option if the matchup isn’t terrible. The Jets looked much better than the Broncos, but still lost the game. Aaron Rodgers was fine and didn’t throw an INT, but he also didn’t have a TD either. Garrett Wilson continues to struggle and while Patrick Surtain is the reason this week, he’s out of excuses. He’s still a start, but he’s more of a buy-low than anything. He has the talent. Braelon Allen had eight rushes to Breece Hall’s 10 and this might be more of a dreaded timeshare than we previously thought. This was the worst game of Hall’s career, so if it happens again, maybe it’s time to panic. Hall should be fine even if Allen starts getting 30/40% of the work, he’s that good. Mike Williams is almost back and looked very fast with four grabs for 67 yards. The Allen Lazard run might be coming to an end, but he still got loose for 58 yards and five grabs. Lazard is a hold and Williams is still a stash. Tyler Conklin fizzled out after a big Week 3 and he might be the odd man out.
Pickup of the game – None unless Braelon Allen is somehow on the wire
Vikings 31 – Packers 29
A tale of two halves as the Vikings ran roughshod over the Packers while Jordan Love got his sea legs. The real story was cast-off Sam Darnold racking up another three TDs to lead the league. He’s thrown a touchdown on a whopping 10.5 percent of his attempts through four games; no other quarterback has a TD rate above 6.8 percent. He’s got this offense humming and the return of Jordan Addison and his two TDs gave this team some extra gas in the tank. Justin Jefferson started slow, but finished with 85 yards and a TD. This was a big revenge games for Aaron Jones and he let em know with everything except a TD. You have to start Darnold in fantasy even over Patrick Mahomes, he’s playing that well. Maybe, you avoid him in the Jets revenge game overseas next week, but after that it’s a cakewalk. Ty Chandler got left out in the cold and he’s just a stash until Jones gets hurt. The Packers started slow and it didn’t help that Love threw three picks, but losing Christian Watson was a huge blow. He might end up on the IR. Jayden Reed is the clear-cut WR1 on this team and he could end up as the WR1 for fantasy, he’s that explosive. Reed is averaging an insane 19.8 yards per reception and 15.5 yards per target this season Everyone is fighting for second and that could end up being Dontayvion Wicks who saw a team-leading 13 targets, although he only pulled in five. I would grab Wicks if he was dropped. Josh Jacobs didn’t get going in a negative game script, but he will be fine going forward, but Emmanuel Wilson is carving out a nice role. He’s also a pickup in deeper leagues. Love isn’t back all the way, but he was slinging it and had four TDs. He should put together a full game next week.
Pickup of the game – WR Dontayvion Wicks – Priority High
Falcons 26 – Saints 24
This game was crazy from the jump as the Falcons D scored the first TD. Taysom Hill got loose for two TDs before getting hurt and it’s clear the Saints love using him around the end zone. Alvin Kamara did a little bit of everything again and as long as he can stay healthy, a top-five RB season is assured. Derek Carr turned into a pumpkin again and threw zero TDs and one INT. Everyone may have jumped the gun on crowning the Saints’ offense. Chris Olave shook off a hamstring issue to go for 87 yards on eight grabs and Rashid Shaheed got involved after a goose egg last week with almost an identical stat line to Olave. Olave is a locked and loaded WR2 while Shaheed is much more volatile week-to-week. Is Bijan Robinson overrated? Much like Garrett Wilson, he’s running out of favor. He had four grabs for 46 yards, but didn’t score and was ineffective in the run game. It’s crazy that CMC, Hall and Robinson were the top-three picks in 90% of drafts and all did nothing this week. Tyler Allgeier won’t go away and is a flex play in deeper leagues. The Falcons won this game despite scoring zero offensive TDs. I still don’t get it. Kirk Cousins is fine, but not great and he might never be again. Drake London is the real deal, but he still needs TDs to be elite and Darnell Mooney keeps hanging around with yards and no scores. Kyle Pitts is dead for fantasy and I weep for you if you start him. Ray-Ray McCloud probably deserves a roster spot, but his floor isn’t assured.
Pickup of the Game – WR Ray-Ray McCloud– Priority Low
Buccaneers 33- Eagles 16
This was another game that was over quickly the Eagles couldn’t stop anything and were pretty useless on both sides of the ball. They are in big trouble as long as AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith are out. Saquon Barkley did his best to carry the load, but he couldn’t score despite over 100 all-purpose yards. He’s going to win leagues if he can stay healthy. Jalen Hurts didn’t do much, but hard to blame him minus his two best weapons. Dallas Goedert was bound to see some extra work and he was fine, but it was Paris Campbell who found the end zone and is just barely on the radar if the Eagles don’t get their WRs back soon, but a Week 5 bye, both could be back next game. The Buccs look like they are in mid-season form and Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have resumed their roles as the best one-two punch in football. Baker Mayfield is right there with Sam Darnold as dark horse MVP candidates as Baker ran for one and threw for two more scores. He looks great out there and is spreading the ball around, hitting eight different receivers and four for at least 50 yards. Evans finally had a breakout game after being so-so for three straight and Godwin is unstoppable. Bucky Irving and Rachaad White split 20 carries and it could be game script that gave White some extra work. Irving is the player to roster and start in this backfield.
Pickup of the game – WR Paris Campbell – Priority Low
Bengals 34 – Panthers 24
The Bengals are back. Not really, but kind of. Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase over the middle and Chase did the rest and he scampered for a 63-yard score. They look great and are the most feared QB/WR combo in football again. This was a get-right game and time will tell how the offense holds up against stiffer competition, but a win is a win. Tee Higgins is back and is still ramping up. He should find the end zone soon. Chase Brown and Zach Moss evenly split 30 carries and it appears that Brown is going to overtake the veteran. He dominated the YPC 5.3 to 3.4 and looks much more explosive. Moss now has eight rushing attempts inside the 10 yard line, the ninth most in the league and just two touchdowns to show for it. The Panthers weren’t quite as smooth as the previous week, but Andy Dalton has resurrected Diontae Johnson and dragging Xavier Leggette with him. It’s crazy how much a competent QB is worth, yet we spent a decade clowning Dalton for not being good enough to win a playoff game. Chuba Hubbard has finally gotten going, but Jonathan Brooks is coming, Hubbard is a great sell-high if you can get solid value. Leggette should be picked up and was a great dark horse rookie WR candidate before the season.
Pickup of the game – WR Xavier Leggette – Priority Medium,
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