Week four of the 2019 NFL Season has come and gone and for a majority of the teams, they have hit the quarter pole in the season and team evaluations are going on all over the league. As a fantasy football owner, it is incumbent upon all of us to do the same thing and evaluate our teams, see what players are working, who isn’t, what moves you think you can make in order to continue your early season success or what moves you need to do to turn what has not been successful season around. Recognizing who are your early season heroes and who are your villains will go a long way in determining how you can best go forward. With that being said, here are some of those heroes and villains after the first four weeks.
(As always, all scores discussed in this article use a ½ PPR scoring structure)
Heroes:
Jame-is pretty good after all
After watching last weeks Bucs-Rams game that ended with a college basketball score it looks as though Bucs QB Jameis Winston is starting to fit pretty good into Bruce Ariens offense. Coming off his week three performance against the Giants where he threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns, while racking up 25 fantasy points, Winston was even better against the Rams last Sunday. Throwing for 385 yards and four touchdowns, Winston once again was a fantasy football monster, as he amassed 29 points, the best point output for any QB this week. With the great offensive mind that Ariens brings to the Bucs, look for Winston to continue to impress; with one glaring note of caution, Winston has five interceptions through four games so be cautious about when to start Winston and probably expect a turnover or two as part of his game.
Lots of Chubb-le Stopping this Runner
How do you score 40 points against a very good Baltimore Ravens defense, where your best receiver (Odell Beckham) only catches two passes for 20 yards? Well you can just lean on the two headed monster of Nick Chubb and Jarvis Landry (more on him later). In perhaps the best game of his career, Chubb finished with 165 yards and three touchdowns on only 20 carries. His 38 fantasy points was a beautiful thing to see in your starting lineup and his 82 points through the first four games of the season ranks him fourth in the NFL among running backs. His fantasy RB position is secure as he is a must start as RB1 in all fantasy leagues and with more games like his performance on Sunday, the return of Kareem Hunt later in the season, should not threaten Chubb’s workload much.
The Jaguars have been Fournette that this RB is Back
The Denver Broncos defense has been pretty good to start the season, they are a top five team against the pass and were about average when it came to the defending the rush. That all fell apart this past Sunday, as Leonard Fournette ran over, ran through, ran around, pretty much is still running on a Denver defense that averaged 109 yards per game allowed on the ground. After having the clamps put on in the first half, Fournette exploded for 190 yards on 21 carries, highlighted by an electrifying 81-yard run that was stopped 12 yards short of the goal line because you know running for 93 yards on one carry is a long run!! His 25.5 fantasy point outburst against the Broncos bodes well for future performances, particularly this week against the 24th ranked Carolina rush defense that has given up an average of just under 13 points this season to opposing teams top running back Fournette was an intrical part of the Jaguars offense and with 31 total touches in last week’s game and he is starting to look like a very capable safety blanket for rookie QB Gardner Minshew.
Sheparding in the Receptions
When the Giants traded away Odell Beckham Jr. before the season, they immediately moved on giving Sterling Shepard a contract extension, thereby cementing his place as the Giants #1 receiver. After a mediocre game one and a DNP for game two, Shepard returned to find that he would now be catching passes from a new QB, out is Eli Manning, in is rookie Daniel Jones. Since Jones has taken the starting over the starting QB position, Shepard has 14 catches for 176 yards and 1 touchdown. He even has 44 rushing yards, as a result of the new offense that the Giants are running with a QB that is more mobile. His 39 fantasy points over his last two weeks is a good sign that his could be slowly working his way into WR1 status, he is not there yet, but all the signs are pointing in the right direction.
What’s the best way to make Ernie a great tackler…Schobert!!
In his fourth season in the NFL, Cleveland LB Joe Schobert has firmly established himself as one the premier tacklers in the NFL and an absolute must start at the linebacker position for those who are in IDP leagues. Schobert tied for first in the NFL in tackles in 2017 with 144 and then followed that up with 103, while only playing in 13 games in 2018. That machine has continued to roll this season, as he has registered 44 tackles through the first 4 games of the season, on a pace for 176 this season (Yay Math!!). Schobert was at his tackling best in Week four vs. the Ravens as he recorded 17 tackles, while even throwing in a sack. His 23.5 points last week to go along with his 16-point average through four games puts him in the top five of all fantasy football linebackers.
Honorable Heroes for Week 4
Wayne Gallman (RB) – New York Giants – 18 rushes 63 yards, 1 TD, 6 receptions 55 yards, 1 TD, 24.8 Fantasy Points
Robert Woods (WR) – Los Angeles Rams – 13 receptions 164 yards, 23.6 Fantasy Points
Jarvis Landry (WR) – Cleveland Browns – 8 receptions 167 yards, 20.7 Fantasy Points
Chris Godwin (WR) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 12 receptions 172 yards, 2 TDs, 35.2 Fantasy Points
Austin Hooper (TE) – Atlanta Falcons – 6 receptions 66 yards, 2 TDs, 21.6 Fantasy Points
Vonn Bell (S) – New Orleans Saints – Last two weeks – 29 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 touchdown, 40 total Fantasy Points
Villains
Deshaun Dethrowing Deball not so Degood
Look, I understand that the Carolina Panthers are currently, and by a pretty wide margin, the best passing defense in the NFL, but for a guy who was seen as one of the three best fantasy QBs in the league, he has to start being more consistent or else he will most definitely lose his status as a must start week-to-week. This past Sunday, Watson passed for 166 yards, no touchdowns and one fumble; but for a one yard touchdown run, he would have netted a single digit fantasy score. This makes two great fantasy football performances (WKs 1 & 3) and two duds (WKs 2 & 4). For those that believe in the symmetry of numbers, that makes for a potentially good week coming up against the Atlanta Falcons, despite them currently ranked as seventh in the NFL in passing.
Kirk (or is it Kurt) Cousins is Not Good at Passing the Ball
When the Minnesota Vikings signed Kirk Cousins to a fully guaranteed $84 million contract before last season, they believed that they were getting the guy who passed for nearly 5,000 yards back in 2016. Surround him with top flight wide receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs and a strong running back in Dalvin Cook and watch the offensive fireworks happen. Unfortunately, through his first 19 games as the Vikings QB, it looks like he is not going to live up to the reputation that comes along with the big contract. Last Sunday against the Bears was a prime example of how ineffective Cousins has been. He threw for a pedestrian 233 yards and no touchdowns, while fumbling once. Unlike what was previously said about Deshaun Watson, Cousins did not get into the endzone, so he finished with a miniscule 7.3 fantasy points. It is crazy to think that Cousins’ best fantasy performance this year was in week one where he threw for the massive total of 98 yards, but because he had one touchdown pass and one TD run, that gave him the most points he has had through the first four weeks of the season. This week he faces a New York Giants defense that has gotten torched this year in the passing game, so if we don’t see a turnaround this week, that 27% rostered number on ESPN will drop faster than Kirk’s fantasy point output.
Ridley’s Believe it or Not…I am not
Calvin Ridley had a great rookie season in 2018; playing alongside the great Julio Jones, Ridley caught 64 passes for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns. Finishing 20th among Wide Receivers in total fantasy points (1/2 PPR) according to Fantasydata.com. So, it looked like 2019 was definitely going to be the year that he really busts loose and steps into the upper echelon of fantasy WRs. Games one and two this season did not dissuade us from that notion as he combined for 12 receptions for 169 yards and 2 TDs, amassing 35 fantasy points. Then the wheels seem to have fallen off the wagon, in weeks three and four respectively, Ridley has combined for 4 total receptions for 38 yards and only 6 fantasy points against two very mediocre pass defenses in Indianapolis and Tennessee. If he is going to get back to the WR that we all know he can be, he will have to do it against the Houston Texans, who can be beaten, particularly if they focus too much on Julio Jones. So, I am not willing to say that Ridley is not a viable flex receiver at the moment, but a couple more performances like he has had the last two weeks might make all that change.
Delanie Walker…Tennessee Stranger
Week one got us so excited about the prospects of Delanie Walker returning full strength from a dislocated and fractured ankle that ended his season towards the end of the first game of the 2018 season. He caught five passes for 55 yards, two of those passes going for touchdowns, a great sign that the 35-year-old Tight End still had something in the tank. However, much like some of the other players this week on the Villains list, Walker has not shown any signs of consistency that would allow you to think that he is a must start on your fantasy roster each week. It all bottomed out for him this past Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, where walker would only be targeted twice, catching one pass for four yards, he had more receptions than fantasy points (Remember, ½ PPR scoring). He was only involved in a third of the snaps on offence during the Titans 24-10 so it is no doubt that his output was going to be low. Here’s to hoping that he gets a little more involved in the Tennessee gamelan this week as the Titans host the Buffalo Bills.
Dishonorable Villains:
Dark Prescott (QB) – Dallas Cowboys – 22/33 223 yards, 1 Interception, 7.6 Fantasy Points
Josh Allen (QB) – Buffalo Bills – 13/28 153 yards, 3 Interceptions, 8.7 Fantasy Points (Saved by a rushing TD)
Adam Thielen (WR) – Minnesota Vikings – 2 receptions 6 yards, 1.6 Fantasy Points (13 receptions through four games in 2019; 40 through four games in 2018)
Odell Beckham Jr. (WR) – Cleveland Browns – 2 receptions 20 yards, 3 Fantasy Points
Week four is now history and we look forward to a big slate of games coming up. There are heroes among us and there are villains lurking around every corner. How will you know the difference? How will you know who will swoop in and save your fantasy team? How will you know who will sabotage it? Its all about education and preparation, if you are able to gather the most information and use it effectively, then you will have a great week and I promise, you will be in the best position to win week in and week out. Stay with Fantasy in Frames on this ride and you will always receive the information you need to find your hero and stay away from those dreaded villains.