Week 4 fantasy wrap: Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott put on a show
Sean McVay is the real deal, and this Rams team can no longer be ignored. I would’ve bet money Jared Goff was going to go down as a major bust entering the year, but I look very wrong…Todd Gurley is on pace to finish with 2,384 total yards and 28 touchdowns (with 16 fumbles). His career is one of the crazier ones you’ll ever see through such a young age. Gurley would be a top-three pick (obviously) if a draft were held today. His usage as a receiver this year has been huge…I’d still treat Dez Bryant as a clear WR1 moving forward…The Rams scored 35 points on the road as TD underdogs with Sammy Watkins catching one pass for 17 yards…Ezekiel Elliott had a big game, racking up 139 yards with two scores. The only worry his fantasy owners should have is off the field issues not ones on them.
The Saints have allowed one touchdown over their past 10 quarters…Adrian Peterson doesn’t have a play that’s gone for 15 yards from scrimmage since 2015…After beating the Chargers on the road, the Dolphins have been outscored 40-6 against the Jets and Saints…Jay Ajayi makes for an interesting buy low target right now.
Tyrod Taylor got 9.1 YPA on the road as big dogs, and Matt Ryan committed three turnovers, although he did record the first (and only) TD pass against the Buffalo secondary so far this season…Charles Clay is on pace to finish with 912 yards and eight touchdowns, which would both be career highs for the 28-year-old. Those numbers are especially valuable during a down year for the TE position…Julio Jones going down is a bummer. I liked it better when our only complaint about him was his unwillingness to score, but at least Atlanta has its bye this upcoming week.
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Andy Dalton got 9.5 YPA with a 4:0 TD:INT ratio and tied for the Bengals lead with 29 rushing yards. His home/road reverse splits are pretty out of control so far in 2017 (and this is with them entering Sunday 1-7 during their last eight away games)…Nice to see Joe Mixon get most of the carries but getting just 29 yards on 17 rushes during a game in which his team led 31-0 entering the fourth quarter isn’t overly encouraging…I’m beginning to think I may have overspent my FAAB in some places on Rashard Higgins.
Tough break for Dalvin Cook owners, who looks to have suffered a major injury during a rookie campaign in which he was immediately given a huge workload. Latavius Murray will clearly be one of the top adds on free agent wires this week…What’s the deal with Kyle Rudolph suddenly ignored completely?…Matthew Stafford has gotten 6.1 YPA while taking 11 sacks over the last three games, but the Lions are being carried by their defense…The Vikings have the No. 1 leader in receiving yards (Stefon Diggs) and the No. 3 (Adam Thielen).
After getting shut down at home against New Orleans’ defense, Cam Newton shredded New England’s on the road. Maybe he’s not done after all…James White is on pace to catch 88 passes…No team has destroyed Survivor owners more than the Patriots in 2017…New England has allowed the most ppg this season, while the Rams have scored the most. Go Figure.
Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire combined for 321 yards, and the Jaguars have now allowed 5.7 YPA (the second-lowest mark in the NFL) and 5.7 YPC (the highest in the league) this season. This 75-yard TD run by Powell was especially crazy…Marqise Lee is killing me…You have to respect running a fake punt on 4th-and-21 in the first half of a tied game.
Alex Collins is clearly the Baltimore running back to own, but it’s obviously not an ideal situation…Ben Roethlisberger overthrew Martavis Bryant on a big would-be score, while Mike Wallace dropped another potential TD.
The Texans scored 57 points, as DeShaun Watson became just the third rookie QB ever to throw for four touchdowns and run for another…Marcus Mariota had more rushing scores (three) than sacks taken (two) this season before going down with a hamstring injury…Any time Matt Cassell gives me an excuse to link to this old story of mine, I take advantage of it.
I liked the Chargers as a sleeper to make a run this year, but they are 0-4 and are done for, with a home crowd openly rooting heavily for Philly on Sunday. Philip Rivers once nearly beat the Pats in an AFC Championship game while playing through a torn ACL and ranks top-10 all-time in Adjusted YPA, but I doubt most consider him one of the better QBs ever…Zach Ertz would be a third round pick in drafts held today. At minimum…What a catch by Hunter Henry…Melvin Gordon’s yearly YPC throughout his career, respectively: 3.5, 3.9 and 3.1.
It’s unlikely a Giants RB will produce much if any fantasy value this year, but Wayne Gallman has the best shot of any…New York’s linebackers continue to get abused by tight ends, with the latest by O.J. Howard on this blown coverage…After recently cutting a kicker they used a second round pick on, Nick Folk missed two field goals and an extra point for the Bucs.
What a tough blow if Derek Carr’s injury proves serious…Amari Cooper had a tough matchup, but he managed just nine yards during a game in which Michael Crabtree was out. What a disappointment…Brandon McManus had made an NFL-high 50 field goals in a row inside 40 yards before missing a 29-yarder Sunday…This A.J. Derby TD catch was pretty great.
The Niners and Cardinals combined for nine field goals in a game for the first time in 15 years, with the only TD coming with 30 seconds left in overtime…It’s clear Andre Ellington is the only Arizona back worth owning in fantasy leagues…Bench any wide receiver scheduled to be up against Patrick Peterson…San Francisco has scored five touchdowns against the 3-1 Rams this season and zero during its other three games.
The Seahawks outscored the Colts 36-3 over the second half of Sunday night’s game…Chris Carson left with what looked like a serious injury, further clouding an already complicated backfield situation in Seattle.
