Biggest Week 4 Studs and Stinkers (Fantasy Football)
With Week 4 mostly in the books, The Fantasy Footballers review and react to the Studs & Duds performances on the latest episode. Here, I’ll highlight the best and worst fantasy finishes from Week 4, previewing their upcoming stretch of games. To get the full breakdown of Week 4 performances, don’t miss Week 4 Studs & Stinkers + Weekly Rewind, Bounce Back Bobby.
Biggest Studs
Jarvis Landry, WR Browns
Week 4 @ BAL: 8 receptions for 167 yards on 10 targets
Upcoming Schedule: @SF, SEA, BYE
Landry is one of the best wide receivers in football but is far more valuable in real life than in fantasy. However, he put up an awesome week while his fellow WR OBJ was quiet. Landry has a sneaky 7+ targets in each game so far in 2019. However, this is the first time he’s landed more than four receptions. The Browns looked much better on Sunday than they had previously in the season. Landry had always been a high floor, low ceiling fantasy WR in his previous time with the Dolphins. Now his floor is lower, but is his ceiling higher? We’ll have to wait and find out. If Baker levels up, I think he can support two stud WR. I am a Landry apologist and am happy (and embarrassed) to say I started him in The Fantasy Footballers Writers League. Landry is still a question mark, which leaves fantasy owners unsure if they should start him in lineups until we have more data.
Jamies Winston, QB Buccanneers
Week 4 @ LAR: 28/41 for 385 passing yards, 4 TD, & 1 Int
Upcoming Schedule: @NO, CAR, BYE
There he is! Jamies looked like a stud in Week 4, building upon a strong Week 3 performance. Jamies finished the weekend as the number 1 fantasy QB (before Monday’s Dalton / Rudolf barn burner). If you had the cajones to start Winston on the road against the Rams, I applaud you (and would like to see proof). This was one of the biggest surprises of the week, and I think he’s proven that he’s start-worthy again. It’s also impressive to see that his interceptions are down, with only two in the last three weeks. Jamies’ great week supported four Bucs scoring over 10 points. Godwin led the pack with a whopping 35.2 pts. Evans, Ronald Jones, and Cameron Brate also had good weeks.
Nick Chubb, RB Browns
Week 4 @ BAL: 20 rushes for 165 yards & 3 TD | 3 receptions for 18 yards on 4 targets
StudMeter: RED HOT (5th highest point total so far this season among all positions)
Upcoming Schedule: @SF, SEA, BYE
Chubb led all fantasy players in Week 4 (as of Monday morning). The Browns offense looked great for the first time this season, racking up a solid 40 points and beating their division rival – the Ravens. They did this on the back of Chubb, who flashed with an 88-yard touchdown run. Chubb has scored at least 15 points (0.5 ppr) for the past three weeks and continues to be a must-start. It’s reassuring to see the Browns to show signs that they are worthy of the offseason hype.
Davante Adams, WR Packers
Week 4 vs PHI: 10 receptions for 180 yards on 15 targets
Upcoming Schedule: @DAL, DET, OAK
Adams owners were finally rewarded with a stud performance by Adams on Thursday night. It’s wild to think that Adams had 180 yards and 0 touchdowns, but hey – that’s still a great fantasy week. It’s also a good sign of things to come. Head Coach Matt LaFleur looks like he finally came to his senses about using arguably the best QB/WR tandem in all of football. They got Adams going early and often on Thursday. For those that bought Adams low, well done. The unfortunate part of Thursday’s game is that Adams got injured and currently has turf toe. We’re waiting for more information about his upcoming availability. He was not spotted at practice Monday.
Leonard Fournette, RB Jaguars
Week 4 @ DEN: 29 rushes for 225 yards and 0 TD | 2 receptions for 20 yards on 3 targets
Upcoming Schedule: @DAL, DET, OAK
Fournette is the definition of the phrase “opportunity is king”. Fournette had an amazing performance, averaging 7.8 ypc on 29 rushes. That’s insane! I’m including him in here for selfish reasons because I played against him in three of my four leagues, all of which I lost. Anyway, Fournette has been a true workhorse. I believe he’s a mediocre player, but his performance on Sunday begs to differ. He’s only had one game so far this season under 4 ypc, which is a flukey way to judge RB but provides a gauge nonetheless. Fournette’s 29 rushing attempts paces all running backs so far this season, with CMC and Derrick Henry tied at 27 (both Week 4). Fournette is an RB2 with upside, but if this volume continues – he’ll automatically jump into RB1 territory.
Biggest Stinkers
Adrian Peterson, RB Redskins
Week 4 @ NYG: 11 rushes for 28 yards
Upcoming Schedule: NE, @MIA, SF
What happened to Adrian Peterson? Maybe the 2,869 career rushes finally got to him. He looked great last year (4.2 ypc) but has been a disappointment through four weeks in 2019. He’s averaged 2.7 yards per carry so far this season. If you can’t trust him in a game like this, when can you play him? Unfortunately, you probably can’t play him moving forward. He’s a roster clogger that is droppable unless you need a desperation bye-week fill-in. He does have a matchup against the Dolphins in Week 6, but it’s going to be difficult to actually play him outside of deeper leagues. I don’t blame you if you drop him, but I guess I’ll hold onto him until the Miami matchup just in case.
Keenan Allen, WR Chargers
Week 4 @ MIA: 5 receptions for 48 yards on 6 targets
Upcoming Schedule: DEN, PIT, @TEN
Allen averaged over 24 points (½ PPR) through the first three weeks of the season but put up an absolute stinker in what would be described as the IDEAL Week 4 matchup. He faced the league’s worst team. Four other Chargers receiving options were absent (Hunter Henry, Mike Williams, Travis Benjamin. He only received six targets despite averaging 14 per game in the first three weeks. SELL HIM IMMEDIATELY. (kidding). While it’s disappointing that the clear-cut top projected WR put up a stinker, that’s just part of fantasy. Allen remains a must-start.
Kansas City Chiefs WR
Week 4 vs DET:
Sammy Watkins🦎👑– 3/54/0 on 6 targets – 1 fumble
Mecole Hardman — GOOSE
Demarcus Robinson — 4/35/0 on 9 targets
Upcoming Schedule: IND, HOU, @DEN
The Lions played better than the Chiefs on Sunday. Patrick Mahomes looked human. Matthew Stafford looked like the superior QB in the game and had a much better QBR (118.63 vs 80.95). .Wait, what? The Chiefs still managed to win on Sunday, but it didn’t look pretty. Every team has highs and lows, and this just happened to be a down week for the Chiefs. Watkins, Hardman, and Robinson continue to be good starts until Hill comes back. I’ve been saying since Week 1 that Sammy is a sell high, but it’s probably too late now that he has three straight stinkers. In fact, it might actually be a good time to acquire Sammy Watkins – when Hill comes back, Hill will take on the top cornerbacks from opposing teams.
Don’t miss the latest episode of the podcast for the full breakdown on the rest of the Week 4 Studs & Duds.
Other Week 4 Studs
QB
- Jameis Winston @LAR — 28/41 for 385/4/1
- @NO, CAR, BYE
- Lamar Jackson vs CLE — 24/34 for 247/3/2 — 9/66/0 rushing
- @PIT, CIN, @SEA
- Aaron Rodgers vs PHI — 34/53 for 422/2/1 — 5/46/0 rushing – 1 fumble
- @DAL, DET, OAK
- Marcus Mariota @ATL — 18/27 for 227/3/0 — 3/22/0 rushing
- BUF, @DEN, LAC
- Jacoby Brissett vs OAK — 24/46 for 265/3/1 — 5/19/0
- @KC, BYE, HOU
- Matthew Stafford vs KC — 21/34 for 291/3/0 — 2/18/0 – 1 fumble
- BYE, @GB, MIN
- Joe Flacco vs JAX — 22/38 for 303/3/1
- @LAC, TEN, KC
RB
- Jordan Howard @GB — 15/87/2 — 3/28/1 on 4 targets
- NYJ, @MIN, @DAL
- Christian McCaffrey @HOU — 27/93/1 on 10/86/0 on 10 targets
- JAX, @TB, BYE
- JAX, @TB, BYE
- Austin Ekeler @MIA — 18/60/1 — 5/62/1 on 5 targets
- DEN, PIT, @TEN
- Wayne Gallman vs WAS — 18/63/1 — 6/55/1 on 7 targets
- MIN, @NE, ARI
- Todd Gurley vs TB — 5/16/2 — 7/54/0 on 11 targets
- @SEA (Thurs), SF, @ATL
WR
- Chris Godwin @LAR — 12/172/2 on 14 targets
- Mike Evans — 4/89/1 on 7 targets – 67-yard TD
- Left in the second half to have his right wrist X-rayed but returned
- @NO, CAR, BYE
- A.J. Brown @ATL — 3/94/2 on 3 targets
- Corey Davis — 5/91/1 on 6 targets
- BUF, @DEN, LAC
- Robert Woods vs TB — 13/164/0 on 15 targets
- Cooper Kupp vs TB — 9/121/1 on 15 targets
- Brandin Cooks – 71 yards
- @SEA (Thurs), SF, @ATL
- Courtland Sutton vs JAX — 6/62/2 on 9 targets
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- Sched: @LAC, TEN, KC
- Kenny Golladay🎷vs KC — 5/67/2 on 9 targets
- BYE, @GB, MIN
TE
- Austin Hooper vs TEN — 9/130/0 on 11 targets
- @HOU, @ARI, LAR
- Ricky Seals-Jones (Browns) @BAL — 3/82/1 on 3 targets
- @SF, SEA, BYE
- Jimmy Graham vs PHI — 6/61/1 on 9 targets
- @DAL, DET, OAK
- Will Dissly @ARI — 7/57/1 on 8 targets
- LAR (Thurs), @CLE
Other Week 4 DUDS
QB
- Tom Brady @BUF — 18/39 for 150/0/1
- @WAS, NYG, @NYJ
- Dak Prescott @NO — 22/33 for 223/0/1 — 1/7/0 rushing
- GB, @NYJ, PHI, BYE
WR
- Odell Beckham @BAL — 2/20/0 on 7 targets
- @SF, SEA, BYE
- DeAndre Hopkins vs CAR — 5/41/0 on 8 targets
- Fuller – 23 yards
- ATL, @KC, @IND
- Adam Thielen @CHI — 2/6/0 on 6 targets
- @NYG, PHI, @DET
- Julio Jones vs TEN — 4/52/0 on 7 targets
- Calvin Ridley vs TEN — 3/32/0 on 6 targets
- @HOU, @ARI, LAR
- Amari Cooper @NO — 5/48/0 on 8 targets
- GB, @NYJ, PHI
- Julian Edelman @BUF — 4/30/0 on 7 targets
- Josh Gordon @BUF — 3/46/0 on 7 targets
- Phillip Dorsett @BUF — 2/10/0 on 9 targets — 1/9/0 rushing
- @WAS, NYG, @NYJ
- Tyler Lockett @ARI — 4/51/0 on 4 targets
- LAR (Thurs), @CLE, BAL
- Larry Fitzgerald vs SEA — 5/47/0 on 5 targets
- @CIN, ATL, @NYG
TE
- O.J. Howard @LAR — 3/33/0 on 3 targets
- @NO, CAR, BYE
- Greg Olsen @HOU — 2/5/0 on 4 targets
- JAX, @TB, BYE