Bi-Weekly Fantasy Football Recap - Tuesday 10/03
TLDR:
Don’t have time to read the entire newsletter? Below you will find all the major fantasy football news so far this week
Player Recaps:
Team Recaps:
Reddit Recaps:
Injury Report:
*Read the full breakdown of everything below!
Player Recaps:
QB Kyler Murray Is Not Expected To Come Off PUP List
Cardinals’ QB Kyler Murray is not expected to come off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list when he becomes eligible Monday and still is considered weeks away from playing. Murray has not practiced since tearing his right ACL in December against the New England Patriots. Given the PUP activation rules, it seems like Murray will return in late October at the earliest.
After a player has missed four games on the PUP list, his team has a five-week period during which the injured player can resume practicing. Once the player starts practicing, the team has three weeks to decide whether to activate him to the 53-man roster. If the player never returns to practice or returns but isn't healthy enough to rejoin the active roster by the end of those deadlines, he must remain on the PUP list for the entire season.
RB Kyren Williams Is The First Rams Player To Score 5 TDs In First 4 Games Since Marshall Faulk
RB Kyren Williams currently has 5 rushing TDs this season (2 of which he scored this Sunday). That's the most by a Rams player through the first 4 games since RB Marshall Faulk in 2000. Williams’ usage is off the charts, he is currently averaging 16 carries a game and has rushed for 245 yards so far. On top of that, he also is averaging 5 targets a game and has 11 receptions for 101 yards and a receiving TD. He is looking like a real league winner already though 4 games.
QB Zach Wilson Is Looking Like He Regained His Confidence
Fun fact of this weekend: Jets’ QB Zach Wilson is the only opposing QB to have more completions, more passing yards, more TD passes and fewer interceptions than Patrick Mahomes in his entire career — college or pro (out of 127 total starts, including postseason). Zach Wilson actually looked pretty decent in Sunday’s night game against the Chiefs and was force feeding WR Garrett Wilson who finished the evening with 14 targets. Seeing Zach Wilson have a good game should make some managers feel a little better about starting Jets’ offensive players moving forward. Zach Wilson has regained a little of his confidence after playing much better and seems to have his team’s support moving forward.
RB Jonathan Taylor Will Resume Practicing This Week
Colts’ RB Jonathan Taylor will resume practicing with the team Wednesday and could play as soon as Sunday's game against the Titans, coach Shane Steichen said. Taylor has been on the reserve-PUP list since Week 1, prohibiting him from playing or practicing with the Colts for the first four weeks of the season. Taylor can now practice and be evaluated by the Colts for up to 21 days before he is required to be activated to the 53-man roster. HC Steichen said he had a productive conversation with Taylor, who has been in a bitter dispute with the team over the lack of a contract extension. "He's super excited to be back with his teammates, and I look forward to having him," Steichen said. When asked whether there was a chance Taylor could play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, Steichen said, "Could be, yes."
Team Recaps:
Desmond Ridder To Remain Falcons’ Starting QB
After Sunday’s 23-7 loss to the Jaguars in London, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said the team has to get the offense “jump-started” after scoring a total of 13 points in back-to-back losses. He also went on to say that the team will not have a change at quarterback and that Desmond Ridder will remain as their starter when they host the Texans next weekend. As far as fantasy goes, RB Bijan Robinson appears to be the only Falcons player worth starting, everyone else (including WR Drake London) is not worth starting on your team as of right now while Ridder remains at QB.
Bears’ WR Chase Claypool Will Stay Away From Team As They Prepare For Their Next Game
Bears’ HC Matt Eberflus told ESPN1000 in Chicago that WR Chase Claypool will remain away from the team this week as they prepare for Thursday night’s game vs. the Commanders. Claypool, who has had a tumultuous start to his season, was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game and is now on the trading block. The Bears are currently asking for a 5th-or-6th round pick in return and GM Ryan Poles has been actively calling teams he believes are in the market for a receiver. It seems like Claypools’ time in Chicago will be short lived.
Packers Workout RB James Robinson
News came out this Monday that the Green Bay Packers held a workout with RB James Robinson. Robinson, who played three seasons with the Jaguars before being traded to the New York Jets last year, is currently a free agent. No official signing was reported as of Monday afternoon, however the Packers could view Robinson as a potential veteran option to pair with Aaron Jones, who has already missed two games to injury, and A.J. Dillon, who is struggling a lot at running back. It’s possible Robinson could even be a practice squad option as well.
Reddit Recap:
Each week we read every Reddit post on r/fantasyfootball and all the comments. We then summarize the most important threads and discussions below.
Week 4 Overreactions
Now that week 4 is in the books, people on Reddit shared their hottest takes from this week’s games:
QB Joe Burrow is quiet quitting after getting his big contract
Everyone one the Steelers’ offense can be dropped
After Mostert fumbled twice, De’Von Achane will take his role as their RB1
Nico Collins can be your WR1
CJ Stroud is a set and forget QB
WR Chris Olave cannot be trusted until Carr is fully healthy
RB Kyren Williams is a true league winner
WR Puka Nacua is looking like the single greatest waiver wire pickup since James Connor took over the year Bell sat out
QB Justin Fields will continue to bounce back and pop off over the next month against weak defenses
WR Mike Williams tearing his ACL is going to hurt Keenan Allen more than people think
The Cowboys defense will continue to put up fantasy points similar to a RB
WR Jaylen Waddle will be a disappointment this season
RB Christian McCaffery will have the highest scoring fantasy football season ever
RB David Montgomery is a true RB1
TE George Kittle is benchable right now
Top Waiver Wire Adds After Week 4
Whether you’re dealing with injuries, low scoring, or just need a fresh start here are the players you should target to pick up this week:
QB CJ Stroud (Texans) - 32% rostered ESPN / 47% rostered Yahoo
WR Jameson Williams (Lions) - 16% rostered ESPN / 32% rostered Yahoo
QB Jordan Love (Packers) - 61% rostered ESPN / 76% rostered Yahoo
TE Jake Ferguson (Cowboys) - 24% rostered ESPN / 53% rostered Yahoo
K Brandon Aubrey (Cowboys) - 34% rostered ESPN / 50% rostered Yahoo
RB Jaleel McLaughlin (Broncos) - 0.5% rostered ESPN / 4% rostered Yahoo
TE Zach Ertz (Cardinals) - 57% rostered ESPN / 26% rostered Yahoo
WR Joshua Palmer (Chargers) - 47% rostered ESPN / 61% rostered Yahoo
RB Tyjae Spears (Titans) - 20% rostered ESPN / 24% rostered Yahoo
WR Jayden Reed (Packers) - 22% rostered ESPN / 24% rostered Yahoo
Buy, Sell, Hold Player Discussion
As we approach week 5, some players have managers wondering what to do with them. Here are players people are curious about as well the consensus from Redditors on what to do with them:
RB Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots) - Buy / Hold
WR Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins) - Buy / Hold
WR Nico Collins (Texans) - Buy
RB Jerome Ford (Browns) - Hold
TE Dallas Goedert (Eagles) - Sell
RB Raheem Mostert (Dolphins) - Hold
WR Christian Kirk (Jaguars) - Hold
WR Romeo Doubs (Packers) - Buy
WR DJ Moore (Bears) - Sell
CJ Stroud (Texans) - Buy / Hold
RB Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions) - Hold
Fantasy Football Rules People Stick To No Matter What
Everyone approaches fantasy football differently each year. Some people have certain tactics or rules they set for themselves and follow no matter what happens. Here are some of the top rules that people on Reddit live and die by during the season:
Never start a player that was questionable with a hamstring injury
Don't chase points when playing the wire, chase touches and opportunities
Don’t draft RB Cam Akers or TE Kyle Pitts
Don’t draft injured players
Never draft a RB that's 28 years old or older.
Never draft a WR1 that's projected to be in the bottom 8-10 offense.
Never draft a WR age 31 or older
Never draft a RB coming back from a major knee injury that year.
Never draft a RB that has had 370 touches the year before.
Never draft a RB who had 1800 touches for his career.
Spend big and spend early on the waiver wire. The top waiver guys nearly always hit early in the season. Go get them. Sometimes you'll miss, but it is absolutely worth it in the long run.
Stay away from Patriots RBs
Try not to draft players on really bad teams even if they are really good
Although having a stud is great, make sure to prioritize depth on your bench
Always roster more RBs than you think you should
Don’t panic swap who to start minutes before a game. You’ll often regret it.
Start your studs, stop paying attention to matchup difficulty
Stream defenses each week based on the best matchup
Players Who Fantasy Owners Are Dropping
Now that we are 4 weeks into the season, we’ve had a large enough sample size to make some assumptions about certain players. Some players should be cut at this point, here is who Redditors are dropping:
RB Ezekiel Elliott (Patriots)
WR Brandin Cooks (Cowboys)
RB Dalvin Cook (Jets)
RB Joshua Kelley (Chargers)
QB Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars)
RB Antonio Gibson (Commanders)
TE Dallas Goedert (Eagles)
K Justin Tucker (Ravens)
WR Jahan Dotson (Commanders)
TE Dalton Kincaid (Bills)
RB AJ Dillon (Packers)
Players Who Were Originally Doubted But Now Have Earned Fantasy Owners’ Trust
There have been some players fantasy managers were originally nervous about starting but now after seeing that player perform the last couple weeks, they are feeling good about them. Here are players Redditors' are going to keep in their lineup until they prove they are not worth starting otherwise:
TE Sam LaPorta (Lions)
RB D’Andre Swift (Eagles)
RB Kyren Williams (Rams)
WR Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown (Cardinals)
QB Anthony Richardson (Colts)
WR Nico Collins (Texans)
RB De’Von Achane (Dolphins)
QB CJ Stroud (Texans)
RB David Montgomery (Lions)
WR Evan Engram (Jaguars)
RB James Cook (Bills)
K Brandon Aubrey (Cowboys)
Reddit Predicts Who The Best IR Stashes Are
Outside of the big names like Cooper Kupp and Jonathan Taylor, people on Reddit wanted to know who is worth stashing in your IR for later in the season. These are the players majority of Reddit are currently stashing:
QB Kyler Murray (Cardinals) - The Cardinals have played fairly decent so far even with backup QB Joshua Dobbs as their starter. Once Murray is back he will reclaim the starting role and hopefully lead the Cardinals to more victories.
RB Keaton Mitchell (Ravens) - He is shifty, accelerates fast, and should get lots of volume given the Ravens' backfield is dealing with injuries.
RB Jeff Wilson Jr (Dolphins) - He’s on a high powered offense who loves running the ball and should get plenty of attempts even in their split backfield.
WR Diontae Johnson (Steelers) - Since he was injured, no one else has stepped up other than WR George Pickens, but even he needs support. Johnson should be an instant WR2/WR3 when he gets back.
TE Jelani Woods (Colts) - QB Anthony Richardson looks like a competent passer and Colts current TE (Granson) is 3rd in team targets and overall TE13 on season. Jelani Woods is 6'7 and quite literally will be a big target for Richardson to pass to.
What’s Going On With TE Dallas Goedert
Through the first four weeks, Eagles' TE Dallas Goedert has put up the following fantasy points:
(Full PPR)
Week 1: 0 points
Week 2: 8.2 points
Week 3: 9.1 points
Week 4: 4.5 points
(0.5 PPR)
Week 1: 0 points
Week 2: 5.2 points
Week 3: 6.6 points
Week 4: 3.5 points
He was drafted as a top 5 TE but as you can see he's been underwhelming so far. So what's going on? Well a handful of things:
The Eagles have a new offensive coordinator
The Eagles have a tougher schedule this year due to last season’s success
They have too many mouths to feed
Goedert is the clear 3rd target in their offense
The Eagles are running the ball a lot this year because they have been doing it effectively
Although he hasn’t put up great statlines so far, he is still one of the better TEs in the league so you should continue to start him for now. He is averaging 4.75 targets a game and is one one of the leagues’ best offenses so he should have some big weeks as the season goes on.
Injury Updates:
QB Justin Herbert Suffered A Fractured Finger During Sunday’s Game
Chargers QB Justin Herbert suffered a fractured finger on his left, non-throwing hand, sources say. The finger apparently also suffered a gruesome nail injury. Herbert somehow finished the game and with their bye coming up, he probably should not miss any time.
WR Mike Evans Leaves Game Early Sunday
During Sunday’s game against the Saints, Buccaneers WR Mike Evans left the game early due to a hamstring injury. Evans was having a very good start to the season so hopefully he doesn’t miss serious time. There is no official word on the status of his injury, however one report believes that this hamstring injury is mild which bodes well for his return post-bye. Evans will undergo an MRI this week to confirm the seriousness of it.
TE Pat Freiermuth Expected To Miss 2-3 Weeks
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a hamstring injury, per team sources. Freiermuth has had a slow start to the year and this injury further complicates things for fantasy managers who own him. Some people are dropping him now, outside of the injury the Steelers' offense has looked horrible so far and it doesn't look like their offense will have fantasy relevant players as of now.
RB Javonte Williams Leaves Game Early With Hip Injury
Broncos’ RB Javonte Williams left Sunday's win over Chicago early with a hip injury (hip flexor). However, the team believes he is not expected to miss much time if any at all. If he does happen to miss any time, backup RB Samaje Perine will lead the Denver backfield.
WR Tee Higgins Suffers Rib Fracture
Bengals WR Tee Higgins, who left their game early, suffered a rib fracture according to reports. This injury could keep him off the field for a bit as it is not usually a quick recovery. His absence would be a big hit to the already struggling Bengals' offense so hopefully he isn't out too long. WR Tyler Boyd should be their new WR2 if Higgins misses serious time.