Tag: Fantasy football

By James Fotheringham (@NFLHypeTrain)

Welcome to the fantasy recap and week 4 reminded us that fantasy football is unpredictable, unbelievable and at times unbearable. Some key injuries to big players, some massive duds, weather causing issues, unlikely heroes and bonkers scores made it an intense week and we are here to guide you through just some of the chaos.

NB: Scores based on PPR leagues

Fantasy Stars:

Geno Smith (SEA) – 23cmp/320yds/2td + 7rsh/49yds/1td 32pts

Prior to the season there was a proper QB battle between Smith and Drew Lock with people expecting Lock to emerge the victor, however Smith earned the role and has been deserving of it on his performances this season and this was a mad game, with a mad stat-line and a scorigami to boot.

Josh Jacobs (LVR) – 28rsh/144yds/2td + 5rec/31yds 35pts

Josh Jacobs was another player essentially written off at the start of the season, or at least whose stock was sinking, but here he was the key man against the Broncos and with 172 total yards, he may have silenced a lot of doubters.

TJ Hockensen (DET) – 8rec/179yds/2td 40pts

TJ Sock-it-to-em-son. A record breaking day for the Lions tight end and in a year where Tight Ends have been much maligned, he really balled out. 2tds, 179yards a 2pt conversion and yet still was on the losing side. It was remarkable.

Surprise Packages:

Mo Alie-Cox (IND) – 6rec/85yds/2td 27pts

Big Mo was in beast mode this week with arguably the one bright spark in an otherwise poor Colts performance. They have some depth in that tight end room which makes up for the lack of it when it comes to wide receivers. The issue has always been consistency, but when he hits, he can really go ham.

Jared Goff (DET) – 26cmp/378yds/4td + 1rsh/1yds 34pts

After being a success last week, Jared Goff this time proved he could put up massive fantasy numbers without any of his main offensive weapons. Swift, St Brown, Chark all missing and yet 34pts, almost grabbing a win and making Jamaal Williams and Josh Reynolds look like stars and propping up a career day for Hockenson was incredible to behold.

Jamal Agnew (JAX) – 4rec/50yds/2td 21pts

The Jags are such an odd team this season. We will get to the struggle Trevor Lawrence had in this game but Jamal Agnew was the player who gave them a head start in this game. So often a gadget player, this time when used normally he had the speed and skill to get to the endzone twice and leave the Jones very much struggling to keep up.

Disappointments:

Trevor Lawrence (JAX) – 11cmp/174yds/2td/1int + 2rsh/7yds/4fum(lost) 3pts

I can give Lawrence a pass as it was a wet day but after hyping him up last week, losing 4 fumbles and throwing an interception was not the way to show that you should be considered a stud. He will have sunnier days.  

Jonathan Taylor (IND) – 20rsh/40yds + 1rec/1yds 2pts

This may be the most panic inducing stat-line of the lot. Taylor had 20 carrier, could only get 42 yards, no TDs, only 1 reception and then left the game with an injury. He’d been almost a non-factor and now could find himself a non-factor on Thursday against the Broncos. For so many he was the 1.01 but right now, there are alarm bells ringing.

Terry McLaurin – 2rec/15yds 4pts

Plenty of spot start wide receivers failed this week but one of the worst true misses this week was McLaurin only getting 2 catches for 15 yards. Jahan Dotson went off injured in this game and they were playing catch-up and having to throw a lot but he was just marked out of the game and could not get clear. With Samuel looking decent so far this season, the draft capital placed on McLaurin is looking rather questionable now.

Waiver Wire pickups:

QB – Zach Wilson (NYJ) – If Jared Goff hasn’t been claimed, he is the pick here and arguably every week until he’s owned. However, assuming he’s taken the next option this week may be Zach Wilson. He proved against Pittsburgh that he’s able to survive a game and lead the team to wins. He has weapons and doesn’t seem too worse for wear now he’s removed a bit of the rust. A matchup against the Dolphins who have given up the 2^nd most fantasy points to QBs in fantasy this year make his a viable option.

Other QB Options – Geno Smith @NO.  

RB – Tyler Allgeier (ATL) – Allgeier, Caleb Huntley and Avery Williams will all benefit from the absence of Cordarelle Patterson after he landed on IR. Allgeier is the most intriguing of these and Huntly projects as the goal line back and did a great job of that against the Browns, but Allgeier has the explosiveness to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

WR – Corey Davis (NYJ) – Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore and Corey Davis is actually quite a balanced set and with Zach Wilson as a start of the week, the ~30% owned Davis is the one to pick up. Only 4pts behind Wilson as the 2^nd highest scoring receiver and yet many are afraid to pick him up. At worst he will scoop up garbage time points.

TE – Will Dissly (SEA) – We really should have seen this coming. For a number of seasons now Will Dissly has started the season on fire and looked like a TE1, only to get an early injury and be out for the season and completely forgotten. While he’s healthy and times are good with Geno Smith, cash in. He’s barely 5% owned and he is TE9 on the season ahead of Waller, Knox and Pitts.

DST Options – Vikings vsCHI, Jaguars vsHOU, Titans @WAS, Broncos vsIND.

Welcome to the fantasy recap and week 3 was an odd one. We had unusual names at the top end of position rankings on the week, some big names faltering and only 8 players topping 25pts. We’re here to guide you through the hits and misses and waiver wire options you can take a punt on rather than taking a punt to the rear like Trent Sherfield. I just hope the picks are a solid as his buns were!

NB: Scores based on PPR leagues

Fantasy Stars:

Lamar Jackson (BAL) – 18cmp/218yds/4td + 11rsh/107yds/1td 39pts

For the second week in a row Lamar Jackson proves to be a cut above the rest when it comes to fantasy scoring. Jalen Hurts was the next best scorer on 28 which goes to show how good Lamar was this week. He also supported a 33pt week for Mark Andrews who had 8rec for 89yds and 2tds.

Khalil Herbert (CHI) – 20rsh/157yds/2td + 2rec/12yds 31pts

David Montgomery was ruled out through injury very early into the game and without a 1a/1b system the shackles were off for Herbert and he capitalised on that opportunity. He’s on a bunch of waiver wires but after this week is done he will be closer to 70% owned I reckon.

Devonta Smith (PHI) – 8rec/169yds/1td 31pts

AJ Brown had been “the man” in Philly up to this point but this week the Eagles showed they had more tricks up their sleeve and reminded everyone that they already had a quality receiver in Devonta Smith. A dominant first half display left the Commanders whimpering and after a goose egg in week 1, he’s proven now that it was simply a blip.

Surprise Packages:

Mack Hollins (LVR) – 8rec/158yds/2td + 1cmp/4yds 30pts

With Hunter Renfrow out, Hollins stepped up to be the compliment to Davante Adams and Darren Waller and ended up outperforming the pair of them. This could be a one off while Renfrow is injured, or it could muddy the water as there will be 4 mouths to feed. For this week though, he was sensational.

David Njoku (CLE) – 9rec/89yds/1td 28pts

Njoku had been a relative non-factor in the opening 2 games for the Browns but against the Steelers he was a focal point and got a td grab to cement a monster score. He’s going to be frustratingly inconsistent for fantasy but if you catch him on weeks like this he can be a difference maker.

Trevor Lawrence (JAX) – 28cmp/262yds/3td + 3rsh/7yds 25pts

After week 1 I was worried for the Jags, now after week 3 I’m excited. The defence seems solid and Lawrence has been allowed to play well. No interceptions for the 2^nd week in a row and while his completion percentage dipped a bit, his game management and passing ability seem to be remarkably improved. Meanwhile the LA Chargers DST scored -4 in some leagues… ouch.

Disappointments:

Justin Fields (CHI) – 8cmp/106yds/2int + 8rsh/47yds 3pts

The Bears passing offence hasn’t had the greatest of starts and yet the team are sat at 2-1 with arguable the worst QB stats and receiving stats of the 32 teams. The coaching staff doesn’t seem to be interested in passing the ball and even the running plays are mostly being left to the backs with not many designed QB runs. He could be a decent QB for all we know, but he’s being stifled and until that changes he can’t even be started in Superflex leagues, other positions are more valuable.

Darrel Henderson (LAR) – 4rsh/17yds 2pts

After being the featured starter in week 1, to a time share in week 2, to the backup in week 3, Henderson has a worrying trend that suggests he’s going to be volatile all year. Cam Akers had triple the number of attempts for 4x the yards and got the td. Cooper Kupp had one rush which was further than Hendersons efforts combined so until the Rams offence settles a bit, it’s hard to trust any RB there.

DJ Moore – 1rec/2yds + 2rsh/13yds 3pts Are the Panthers rubbish or does DJ Moore just not have it? After starting with 2 weeks of 3rec for 43yds (only 1 week with a td grab) he managed to drop himself below his floor and into the basement. When your QB only completes 12 passes for 170yds it’s not going to help matter and when most of those yards were chunk plays for Laviska Shenault then it just looks worse. If the Panthers can’t find a way to utilise Moore, they’re going to be looking quickly towards the draft.

Waiver Wire pickups:

QB – Jared Goff (DET) – Goff has been remarkably solid this season and so far is a top 12 QB. With consistent weapons like Amon-Ra St Brown he has a solid floor but with question marks over DeAndre Swift this week the impetus will go more on Goff connecting with St Brown, Hockensen, Jamaal Williams and co.

Other QB Options – Matt Ryan vsTEN, Mitch Trubisky vsNYJ, Marcus Mariota vsCLE.

RB – Khalil Herbert (CHI) – I mentioned him ealerier but he’s such a must own that I’m putting him down again. Alternatively, Alexander Mattison, Jamaal Williams and Samaje Perine would each see significant roles for the short term with the leaders of their backfields potentially missing time through injury and lasts weeks choice in JD McKissic had a 10pt week so if he’s still there, he’s an option.

WR – Romeo Doubs (GBP) – Doubs saw a lot of hype pre-season when Aaron Rodgers talked him up and Christian Watson got injured, but this week Doubs finally saw the usage that suggests the hype was genuine. Green Bay need weapons and he’s becoming a trusted on for Aaron Rodgers so grab him while you can. Other potential options are DJ Chark seeing more usage if the Lions are missing a key player, Nico Collins making a move for Houston and Josh Palmer making the most of Allens absence for the Chargers.

TE – Tyler Conklin (NYJ) – Good luck if you need a TE as it’s been slim pickings at the best of times but if you don’t want to play the roulette with Njoku, a solid performer week on week has been Tyler Conklin for the Jets. 12, 12 and 20pts with Joe Flacco at QB. Zach Wilson may be back but I don’t think they will move away from using him now.

DST Options – Packers @NE, Jets @PIT, Colts vsTEN, Giants vsCHI.