RADIO
In Week 4 of the NFL season, the action on the field took a backseat to the questions and caution off it. Due to positive coronavirus tests, one game was postponed until later in the season, and another was delayed a day. Even separate from all the drastic and dramatic health and safety issues these failed tests pose, the fantasy football season has been thrown for a loop. Having specific players test positive and sit out is one thing. No one can be sure, though, when entire teams will be forced to the sidelines. Bye weeks are in flux and open to change.
Just this week, heavy hitters like Derrick Henry, Jonnu Smith, Ryan Tannehill, James Conner, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Ben Roethlisberger were unexpectedly unavailable. We almost lost the high-flying Chiefs offense as well. They failed to live up to expectations anyway, but perhaps that had a great deal to do with not knowing if they would even be able to play this past week. Unlike any season we've had before, every week is in question.
That would normally make the consistency of the stars of fantasy all the more important, but they are not immune to these upheavals. Even the best of players put up dud performances. Not all duds are created equal though. Some disastrous performances are signs of more to come. Here are Week 4's studs turned duds.
DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals
As the Arizona offense took a tumble, Hopkins was one of the biggest disappointments of the week. He finished with a paltry 4.1 fantasy points in non-PPR leagues. His seven receptions salvaged the day in PPR, but this was easily his worst outing of the young season. Hopkins continues to be Kyler Murray's favorite option; he's received at least nine targets in every game this season, including Week 4. Perhaps missing practice during the week indicated hampered explosiveness would be in store. Everything should be back to normal this week. Facing the New York Jets is a salve to heal all wounds.
Kenyan Drake, Arizona Cardinals
Another failure in the Arizona offense this week was Drake. He finished with 35 rushing yards and nothing through the air for his worst game of the season. But Drake's performances have all been trending in the wrong direction. His breakout last year indicated he could be a stud-in-waiting. That conclusion now feels misguided, or at least premature. He is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and is almost a non-factor in the passing game. Considering how rarely he's facing eight men in the box, his production has been well under expectation. Drake is seeing 8+ defenders just 7.46 percent of the time, the eighth-lowest mark in the league. And yet, his rushing yards over expected is -36, third-worst in the sport. Just like Hopkins, facing NY could help a bounce back, but Drake is in far greater peril of not returning to stud status again.
Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
Speaking of being permanently removed from stud status, Ertz is gone. He was looking like the second-best tight end on his own team when the season got under way. Then, when Dallas Goedert got hurt, Ertz never picked it up. He has one score on the year and is averaging fewer than 35 yards per game despite being a slam-dunk draft pick as the third tight end off the board. Robert Tonyan nearly scored as many fantasy points in one game as Ertz has all season long. And this for a team that has few other playmakers on offense to siphon off targets. Things do not get any easier this week against Pittsburgh. It's official; there are only two stud tight ends in the NFL. Ertz is out.
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks
After three superb performances put Lockett into the upper echelon of the wide receiver position, Week 4 was a real letdown. He saw only four targets, made two catches, and collected 39 yards. Lockett is still in good shape moving forward. He's 10th in the league in targets among wide receivers; his catch percentage is sixth-best among anyone with at least 25 targets. Look no further than comparing him to the studs in Kansas City. Lockett has the same average separation as Tyreek Hill and the same average cushion and total targets as Travis Kelce. He is one of the best.
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
Jones was healthy enough to play this week, but only for one half. He never returned for the second half of Monday night's game. Half a game saw him collect four catches for 32 yards. Even doubled to a full 60 minutes, this would not be what Jones' managers are looking for. Through four weeks, Jones has had one good game, missed a week entirely, and had two partial weeks where he couldn't offer full effort. At what point would Atlanta be better off shutting him down for a while and actually getting him back to full strength, a la what Davante Adams complained about Green Bay doing to him? The back and forth of Jones is doing Matt Ryan no favors, as his performance has plummeted the last two weeks as well.
In other dud-because-of-injury situations, Nick Chubb went on IR after a 43-yard performance resulted in an MCL sprain. We'll have to wait and see whether this returns Kareem Hunt to stud status. Knee and hamstring injuries also brought down Austin Ekeler in the midst of an outing that netted 14 total yards from scrimmage. Rookie Joshua Kelley needs to control his fumbling issues before he can be considered an every-down replacement for Ekeler.
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