Fantasy Football Studs and Stinkers of Week 4
Every Monday, The Fantasy Footballers release the Studs & Stinkers podcast episode. Andy, Mike, and Jason discuss the high highs and low lows from the weekend. In this Studs & Stinkers article series, you can find the full list of Studs & Stinkers from the weekend and my favorite names from Monday Pun-day. I also provide commentary on a handful of notable studs and stinkers worth highlighting. To get the full breakdown, don’t miss (******PODCAST LINK*****).
Monday Pun-day Power Ranking
- Miles Bland-ers
- Kenyan Mistake
- Where-all Henderson
- Malcom Every-Down Brown
- D.J. No-Moore
- D.J. Re-Moore-se
- C.D. BAM!
- TD Lamb
- Joy Mixon
- Kenyan Flake
What’s your favorite Monday Pun-day? You can find us on Twitter: The Fantasy Footballers (@TheFFBallers) and me (@TheFantasyEng).
Biggest Studs
Odell Beckham Jr. (WR | Browns)
Week 4 at DAL: 5 receptions on 8 targets for 81 yards & 2 TD | 2 rushes for 73 yards & 1 TD
Upcoming Schedule: IND, @PIT, @CIN
Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ) was a polarizing player this offseason for fantasy football. Some, including myself, had him ranked as a top-10 fantasy receiver while others wouldn’t touch him with a 10-foot pole. Up until Week 4, he has been terrible for fantasy purposes…Although it’s not clear if it’s OBJ or Baker Mayfield’s lack of offensive production (in fantasy football). Week 4 was exactly what OBJ truthers needed to inspire hope. OBJ was the center of the offense this week, and he looked like his old self. Ahh, finally some good news for a concerning fantasy player. OBJ’s rest of season value is unclear…but we should expect to see a solid performance at least every few weeks. I’m personally buying into the talent of OBJ. He faces two of the top defenses in the league in the next two weeks, so it will be an uphill battle…But he has the talent to overcome in the right circumstance. If you roster OBJ, you probably won your fantasy matchup this week. Enjoy the victory after a rough few weeks.
Dak Prescott (QB | Cowboys)
Week 4 vs CLE: 41receptions on 58 passes for 502 yards, 4 TD, & 1 Int | 2 rushes for 12 yards
Upcoming Schedule: NYG, ARI, @WAS
Prescott has been a fantasy stud this season, in part due to his incredible offensive weapons and in part due to Dallas’ poor defensive play. Prescott is on pace to throw for 6,800 passing yards, which would BLOW Peyton Manning’s record (5,477) out of the water. Prescott is locked and loaded, and The Ballers even went as far to say he should be considered a borderline #1 overall QB for the rest of the season.
Joe Mixon (RB | Bengals)
Week 4 vs JAX: 25 rushes for 151 yards & 2 TD | 6 receptions on 6 targets for 30 yards & 1 TD
Upcoming Schedule: @BAL, @IND, CLE
Finally! Week 4 was the week of redemption for many underperforming players, and Mixon led the pack. Mixon started the 2020 season exactly like he started the 2019 season: pedestrian, at best. He has been borderline unplayable in fantasy up until now. He looked electric, just as he did in the second half of last season. Did he level up? Should we expect up and downs? It’s hard to say based on a limited sample size, but I believe the arrow is pointing WAY up for the Bengals. Mixon faces tough defenses for the next two weeks (same as OBJ, but in opposite order), so don’t expect a repeat of Week 4. However, fantasy GM’s who roster Mixon should be relieved and have hope for Mixon to re-enter top-10 RB territory in the coming weeks.
Biggest Stinkers
Week 4 at CAR: 13 rushes for 35 yards
Upcoming Schedule: @NYJ, @DAL, SEA, BYE
What happened to Drake!? Week 4 was a “get-right” week for Drake, who faced a seemingly easy Carolina defense. Drake doesn’t look good on the field. He’s slow, boring, and doesn’t make plays. He seemed like a player that fantasy GM’s should trade for since his production was low in the first few weeks but the workload was large. Now, he seems like a mediocre Flex play until we see otherwise. Mike Wright referenced the walking boot from a few weeks ago…maybe he’s playing with an injury? I don’t think anyone predicted Drake’s gigantic stinker of a season thus far, and those who roster him should shift expectations for the rest of the season. I wouldn’t drop Drake due to the workload, but he isn’t a player you have to start every week.
Week 4 @ MIA: 2 receptions on 4 targets for 39 yards
Upcoming Schedule: MIN, BYE, @ARI, SF
Lockett had a down week after he exploded in the first few weeks. Better days are ahead, no need to worry. That being said, I personally believe Lockett is more of a high-end WR2 because I expect a few down weeks like this sprinkled into the remainder of the season. Regardless, Lockett is a must play week in and week out.
Other Studs
QB
Tom Brady vs LAC — 30/46 for 369/5/1
- @CHI, GB, @LV
Teddy Bridgewater vs ARI — 26/37 for 276/2/1 — 6/32/1 rushing
- @ATL, CHI, @NO
Josh Allen @LV — 24/34 for 288/2/0 — 3/-1/1 rushing
- @TEN, KC, @NYJ
Kyler Murray @CAR — 24/31 for 133/3/0 — 6/78/0 rushing
- @NYJ, @DAL, SEA, BYE
Lamar Jackson @WAS — 14/21 for 193/2/1 — 7/53/1 rushing
- CIN, @PHI, PIT, BYE
**Honorable Mentions at QB
Justin Herbert @TB — 20/25 for 290/3/1 — 5/14/0 rushing
- @NO, NYJ, @MIA
Matthew Stafford vs NO — 17/31 for 206/3/1 — 3/21/0 rushing
- BYE, @JAX, @ATL
RB
Dalvin Cook @HOU — 27/130/2 — 2 targets for 2/16/0
- @SEA, ATL, BYE, @GB
Melvin Gordon @NYJ — 23/107/2 — 3 targets for 2/11/0
- @NE, MIA, KC, BYE
Chris Carson @MIA — 16/80/2 — 4 targets for 3/20/0 — 1 fumble
- MIN, BYE, @ARI, SF
Latavius Murray @DET — 14/64/2 — 2 targets for 1/19/0
- LAC, BYE, CAR, @CHI
Antonio Gibson vs BAL — 13/46/1 — 5 targets for 4/82/0
- LAR, @NYG, DAL, BYE
**Honorable Mentions at RB
Mike Davis vs ARI — 16/84/1 — 6 targets for 5/27/0
- @ATL, CHI, @NO
Alvin Kamara @DET — 19/83/1 — 4 targets for 3/36/0
- LAC, BYE, CAR, @CHI
Kareem Hunt @DAL — 11/71/2 — 1 target, zero catches
- IND, @PIT, @CIN
Jerick McKinnon vs PHI — 14/54/1 — 8 targets for 7/43/0
- MIA, LAR, @NE
WR
Amari Cooper vs CLE — 16 targets for 12/134/1
- NYG, ARI, @WSH
D.J. Chark @CIN — 9 targets for 8/95/2
- @HOU, DET, BYE, @LAC
CeeDee Lamb vs CLE — 7 targets for 5/79/2 — 1/3/0 rushing
- NYG, ARI, @WSH
Adam Thielen @HOU — 10 targets for 8/114/1 — 1/8/0 rushing
- @SEA, ATL, BYE, @GB
Mike Evans vs LAC — 8 targets for 7/122/1
- @CHI, GB, @LV
Tim Patrick @NYJ — 7 targets for 6/113/1
- @NE, MIA, KC, BYE
Will Fuller V vs MIN — 7 targets for 6/108/1
- JAX, @TEN, GB, BYE
Allen Robinson vs IND — 10 targets for 7/101/1
- TB, @CAR, @LAR
Tre’Quan Smith @DET — 4 targets for 4/54/2
- LAC, BYE, CAR, @CHI
**Honorable Mentions at WR
Scotty Miller vs LAC — 7 targets for 5/83/1
- @CHI, GB, @LV
Terry McLaurin vs BAL — 14 targets for 10/118/0
- LAR, @NYG, DAL, BYE
TE
George Kittle vs PHI — 15 targets for 15/183/1 — 1/8/0 rushing
- MIA, LAR, @NE
Mark Andrews @WAS — 3 targets for 3/57/2
- CIN, @PHI, PIT, BYE
Dalton Schultz vs CLE — 8 targets for 4/72/1
- NYG, ARI, @WSH
O.J. Howard vs LAC — 6 targets for 3/50/1
- @CHI, GB, @LV
Other Stinkers
QB
Jared Goff vs NYG — 25/32 for 200/1/0
- @WSH, @SF, CHI
Daniel Jones @LAR — 23/36 for 190/0/1 — 6/45/0 rushing
- @DAL, WSH, @PHI
RB
Darrell Henderson vs NYG — 8/22/0 — 1 target for 1/16/0
- @WSH, @SF, CHI
Jonathan Taylor @CHI — 17/68/0 — 1 target for 1/11/0
- @CLE, CIN, BYE, @DET
Miles Sanders @SF — 13/46/0 — 4 targets for 2/30/0
- @PIT, BAL, NYG
Josh Jacobs vs BUF — 15/48/0 — 4 targets for 3/25/0
- @KC, BYE, TB, @CLE
David Montgomery vs IND — 10/27/0 — 6 targets for 3/30/0
- TB, @CAR, @LAR
Joshua Kelley @TB — 9/7/0 — 3 targets for 3/26/0 — 1 fumble
- @NO, NYJ, @MIA
WR
D.J. Moore vs ARI — 6 targets for 4/49/0
- @ATL, CHI, @NO
DeAndre Hopkins @CAR — 9 targets for 7/41/0
- @NYJ, @DAL, SEA, BYE
Robert Woods vs NYG — 7 targets for 6/35/0 — 1/2/0 rushing
- @SF, @DEN, LAC
A.J. Green vs JAX — 5 targets for 1/3/0
- @BAL, @IND, CLE
Michael Gallup vs CLE — 5 targets for 2/29/0
- NYG, ARI, @WSH
T.Y. Hilton @CHI — 5 targets for 3/29/0
- @CLE, CIN, BYE, @DET
Marvin Jones vs NO — 2 targets for 1/9/0
- BYE, @JAX, @ATL, IND
Brandin Cooks vs MIN — GOOSE, 3 targets for zero catches
- JAX, @TEN, GB, BYE
TE
Tyler Higbee vs NYG — 4 targets for 3/21/0
- @WSH, @SF, CHI
Mike Gesicki vs SEA — 3 targets for 1/15/0
- @SF, @DEN, LAC
Rob Gronkowski vs LAC — 3 targets for 1/29/0
- @CHI, GB, @LV
Zach Ertz @SF — 5 targets for 4/9/0
- @PIT, BAL, NYG
Jimmy Graham vs IND — 5 targets for 4/33/0
- TB, @CAR, @LAR
Evan Engram @LAR — 10 targets for 6/35/0
- @DAL, WSH, @PHI
Cheat Sheat (2019 Baseline)
Whether this is your first fantasy football season or you’re a veteran, it’s helpful to place fantasy football production in context. Before we look at both the huge performances and huge disappointments from Week 2, let’s look at what happened in 2019. Last season, there were only 11 total fantasy performances of 40+ points from quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. To put that into perspective, there were 79 such instances of 30+ points and 423 such instances of 20+ points. What does that tell us? A 40+ point game is legendary. 30+ games are great, and we should expect five or so players to reach this mark every week. And finally, we should expect about 25 players every week to eclipse the 20+ point mark. The table below summarizes the fantasy football stud games among QB, RB, WR, and TE in 2019.
