The Fallout 4.24

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Daily Dose newsletter, our “Fantasy Fallout” day. In this article, you will get a quick rundown of the relevant things we learned from the week’s games from Thursday through Sunday. This won’t talk about every single player and we usually won’t spend time on studs who go nuts (no one needs to be told to start CeeDee Lamb right now!), but rather, the idea is to update you on usage trends, injuries, and other relevant things to help your decisions with your teams.

Cowboys at Giants

While the offense runs through CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert appears to have supplanted Brandon Cooks as the WR2 in Dallas. The past three weeks Tolbert has 148 yards on 12 receptions to just 51 yards on five catches for Cooks.
For the second week in a row, Rico Dowdle doubled up Zeke Elliott with 12 touches to Zeke’s six. I would expect Dowdle’s role to continue to grow as the season progresses.
In a season that has seen WR production down across the board, Malik Nabers has been a rare exception, with 52 (!!) targets through four games and an average of 97 yards per game.

Bengals at Panthers

Erick All led the Bengals TEs in targets as the team rotated all three for the second game in a row. At this point, I’m not sure any of them, including Mike Gesicki, are startable in season-long formats.
In two games with Andy Dalton at quarterback, Diontae Johnson is averaging 13.5 targets per game.
With Adam Thielen out, Xavier Legette saw a 24.4% target share. He’s an intriguing pickup or trade target in season-long leagues.

Saints at Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons didn’t score an offensive touchdown in Week 4. However, Drake London’s underlying metrics continue to be solid, as he’s seeing a 35% target share. Stay patient if you own London.
Alvin Kamara’s usage continues to be elite, with his second straight game of 25+ touches, including seven receptions in week 4. Taysom Hill vultured two touchdowns from Kamara but left the game with an abdomen injury.
Rashid Shaheed saw a career high 11 targets and continues to see his role expand in his third season. He’s a trade target for redraft leagues.

Jaguars at Texans

Nico Collins continues to impress, eclipsing the century mark (100 receiving yards) for the third time already this season.
With Evan Engram missing his second straight game, rookie Brian Thomas continued to shine, seeing his highest target share of the season on his way to a 6-86-1 receiving line.
Cam Akers, JJ Taylor, and Dare Ogunbowale split the Texans’ backfield work this week. The team expects Joe Mixon back next week and he should quickly regain his role as the team’s bell cow.

Broncos at Jets

The Broncos’ defense has looked stout the past three weeks, holding the Jets, Bucs, and Steelers to 13 points or less. Probably a matchup to avoid until further notice.
Bo Nix managed just 60 yards passing in Week 4. On the season he’s only thrown one passing TD while averaging only 165 yards passing. Hard to have any trust in any Broncos pass catcher.
Braelon Allen saw nine touches to Breece Hall’s 12. If Allen is somehow still on waivers, he is a priority add.

Vikings at Packers

Christian Watson was carted off with what is believed to be a high-ankle sprain. If he were to miss time, Dontayvion Wicks would likely be the biggest beneficiary. Wicks played nearly every snap after Watson’s injury and saw a whopping 25% target share. He is a high-priority waiver add if he is available.
Jordan Live returned from his ankle injury and looked good after shaking off some early rust. He should return to your starting lineup if you have him on your roster.
After three passing touchdowns in Week 4, Sam Darnold now leads the league in the category. If still available, he should be added by any team in need of QB help due to byes, injuries, or ineptitude.

Steelers at Colts

Anthony Richardson left the game with a hip injury after just four pass attempts but initial reports are that it was just precautionary. A situation to monitor as Joe Flacco has proved to be a capable backup and led Indy to a 27-24 victory over the previously unbeaten Steelers.
Justin Fields had 10 rush attempts today, his most since Week 1. He punched two in for touchdowns as Najee Harris was completely ineffective.
Jonathan Taylor left late in this one with an ankle injury. There is a good chance he misses at least one game, but we will have to wait on practice reports to know for sure. Trey Sermon would be the pickup if Taylor misses time.
George Pickens had a massive game as the Steelers fell behind for the first time this season. He will continue to be very game-script-dependent, but he has week-winning upside.

Rams at Bears

A week after almost every OWS contributor highlighted him, the explosion of opportunity for Jordan Whittington happened in Week 4 – as he led the team in routes run and targets. He is an intriguing add in deeper leagues
In the absence of Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, the Rams have continued to lean heavily on (punt returner) Kyren Williams, who saw yet another game with 20+ touches.
Khalil Herbert was taken out of the backfield mix entirely and the Bears running game finally got going, with D’Andre Swift posting seven receptions, 165 yards from scrimmage, and a touchdown.
DJ Moore is clearly the lead WR for the Bears and should be started weekly. Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen are the secondary options who will need the right game environments to thrive.

Eagles at Buccaneers

Bucky Irving and Rachaad White saw a nearly even split in both carries and targets, however Irving saw all five rush attempts in the red zone. As we’ve been saying for weeks, if Irving is on your waiver wire, he’s a priority add.
Even in a game where he played second fiddle to Mike Evans for the first time, Chris Godwin still saw nine targets. He appears to be locked into the “Cooper Kupp role” and should continue to be started without hesitation.
Without both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, the Eagles weren’t able to generate much on offense with Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert accounting for only 19 touches combined.

Patriots at 49ers

New England once again struggled to move the ball with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, averaging less than four yards per play for the second consecutive week. A change to prized rookie Drake Maye could be just around the corner.
Second-round rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk led the Patriots WRs in snaps and targets. Despite a pedestrian stat line, Polk is primed for a breakout in coming weeks – especially if/when Maye gets the nod at QB.
Antonio Gibson cleaned up in garbage time and had a long reception. He is hard to start right now, but he showcased his versatility and explosiveness. If anything ever happens to Rhamondre Stevenson, there will be a line around the block to pick up Gibson.
The 49ers’ offense got back on track and appears set to resume their high-octane attack. All of their main weapons (Mason, Deebo, Aiyuk, Kittle) should be started weekly, while Week 3 star Jauan Jennings led the team in receiving again – showing that he isn’t going anywhere.

Commanders at Cardinals

Jayden Daniels continued playing at an incredibly high level and is setting records, while he leads the league in completion percentage. He has been incredibly impressive so far, but he has a tough couple games ahead against the Browns and Ravens that will give us a better idea if he truly belongs among the elite at the position.
Brian Robinson, Jr. had a big day, breaking 100 rushing yards and scoring a touchdown in the absence of Austin Ekeler.
Noah Brown was second only to Terry McLaurin in WR snaps and should be useful in deeper leagues going forward.
The Cardinals’ offense struggled significantly without tight end Trey McBride. This is the second consecutive week that they scored an opening-drive touchdown and then only scored on one more drive the rest of the game.

Chiefs at Chargers

The big story here was Rashee Rice very likely tearing his ACL, which would end his 2024 campaign after a hot start. The Chiefs will lean heavily on Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy to carry their passing game going forward if the worst fears regarding Rice’s knee are confirmed.
Trendy rookie Carson Steele fumbled in the first quarter and was promptly benched for Kareem Hunt. From that point on, Hunt and Samaje Perine split the backfield touches.
JK Dobbins retained full control of the Chargers’ backfield. Gus Edwards is nothing more than a handcuff at this point, although it will be interesting to see if the Chargers activate explosive rookie Kimani Vidal after their Week 5 bye.
Rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey had his best game as a pro and led the Chargers in every receiving category.

Browns at Raiders

Amari Cooper dropped a pass that turned into an interception and later had an 82-yard touchdown called back by a questionable holding penalty. Very close to a huge day. Instead, a very underwhelming one. Such is life as an NFL wide receiver.
Jerome Ford had his best game of the season and D’Onta Foreman was involved once again. Nick Chubb is reportedly close to returning and this backfield could be messy down the stretch.
Jerry Jeudy had his best game of the season, as he led the Browns in every receiving category.
Alexander Mattison looked better than Zamir White once again and may be on the verge of taking over this backfield. If he’s available, go pick him up!!
Tre Tucker had another solid game and his speed pops off the screen. The Raiders are likely to continue finding ways to get him involved.

Bills at Ravens

The Ravens’ backfield was unstoppable in this one as Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, and Lamar Jackson all had big games. Jackson and Henry are obviously every-week starters. Hill deserves starting consideration as well as we enter a stretch of bye weeks.
Mark Andrews dropped what would have been a 20+ yard reception in the first half and was not targeted again. His second consecutive game with zero fantasy points. I’m out of explanations.
The Bills lack of an “alpha” in their receiving corps was very apparent once they fell behind against a strong defense. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir and tight end Dalton Kincaid are solid weekly options, but beyond that, it is a crapshoot.

Full Week 15 NFL Edge >