Team of the Week

 

QB: Jameis Winston

They were helped by the defense, but the Buccaneers put up a franchise-record 55 points in Sunday’s upset win over the Rams, and Jameis Winston built on his Week 3 performance by throwing for 385 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Over the past two weeks, Winston has now averaged 382.5 passing yards per game with a 7:2 touchdown-interception ratio, and he finished as the overall QB1 (depending on Monday night’s results) in a down week for the position.

 

RB: Nick Chubb

Baltimore’s defense is significantly weakened when nose tackle Brandon Williams is out of the lineup, so Chubb’s outlook was a lot brighter when he was a surprise inactive. Still, going off for 183 total yards and three touchdowns exceeded even the wildest of expectations, and Chubb has already made most of the “experts” look silly for viewing him as anything less than an elite RB1 option in 2019.

 

RB: Jordan Howard

Howard had handled modest touch totals of eight, nine, and 11 to start the season, but Philadelphia finally treated him closer to a workhorse with 18 touches on Thursday night—resulting in 115 total yards, three total touchdowns, and 31.0 fantasy points. The 24-year-old doesn’t have the speed that others at the position do, but he isn’t fun to tackle and consistently falls forward for additional yardage. Hopefully the most recent showing leads to at least 15-18 weekly touches for Howard.

 

WR: Chris Godwin

There was reason to be slightly hesitant about Godwin (hip) entering Week 4, but we only moved him down a spot (from WR7 to WR8, compared to the consensus ranking of WR23 according to FantasyPros), and he turned in a career day (12/172/2) in Tampa Bay’s win over Los Angeles. Godwin—who is on pace for 104 receptions, 1,544 yards, and 16 touchdowns—is a clear WR1, and the buy-low window following Week 3 is closed.

 

WR: Davante Adams

Another TNF player to join Jordan Howard on the Team of the Week, Adams was simply uncoverable against Philadelphia, and his ten receptions for 180 yards would have likely hit over 200 yards if a toe injury didn’t knock him out in the fourth quarter. He is still without a touchdown, but Adams came up big in a week where basically every top receiver faltered.

 

TE: Will Dissly

Dissly remains a touchdown machine for Seattle, and his fourth touchdown in the past three games was also complemented by a career-high seven receptions (breaking last week’s mark of six receptions). The Cardinals continue to bleed fantasy points to opposing tight ends, and Dissly didn’t disappoint. He should be a TE1 for Thursday night’s matchup against the Rams.

 

FLEX: Christian McCaffrey

The Panthers definitely aren’t limited McCaffrey’s workload this season, as he logged a career-high 37 touches on Sunday, and through four games, he’s on pace for 444 touches. The most impressive part of the showing was that McCaffrey again proved he can grind out tough yardage just as well as any back in the league.

 

D/ST: Patriots

New England’s defense continues to play like a high-end position player, and after Sunday’s 23-point performance, they are averaging 19.7 fantasy points per game—which would make them the RB5 or WR2 on the season. The scariest part? Washington is up next on the schedule, and there isn’t really a matchup you should even consider in benching them until November.

 

K: Ty Long

Long (16 fantasy points) is the leading kicker of Week 4 with one game to go, and his outing didn’t include any chip shots (under 40 yards) as he made three-of-three field goals and all three PAT attempts. Los Angeles looks to be in good hands until Michael Badgley (groin) can return.

 

Surprise of the Week: Jameis Winston

The quarterback position really struggled in Week 4 for the most part, but the biggest surprise may have been Winston not struggling in a difficult road matchup. The weekly upside is obviously tremendous with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans at receiver, so Jameis may be able to stay hot in Bruce Arians offense. That said, it’s worth noting that Winston still made some mistakes and could collapse for a three-interception performance in any given week, so just keep that in mind.

 

Disappointment of the Week: DeAndre Hopkins

Hopkins was someone that fantasy owners should have had some concern about considering the draft capital needed to take him (the numbers with Keke Coutee in the lineup last year being the main reason why), and he was completely held in check by James Bradberry in Week 4—which came on the heels of sub-par performances against the Jaguars (5/40) and Chargers (6/67). Hopkins (who threw an interception) had just five grabs for 41 scoreless yards.

 

Rookie of the Week: A.J. Brown

Brown was the Rookie of the Week after a 100-yard game in his debut, and it’s no mistake that after two quiet weeks (both Tennessee losses), he was a big-play weapon once again in the Titans’ win over Atlanta—catching three passes for 94 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career. The No. 51 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft had no business lasting as long as he did.

 

Week 4 MVP: Nick Chubb

Cleveland had lacked an offensive identity through three games, but they finally found it in Week 4 by feeding Chubb and letting him go to work, particularly in the second half. At the season’s quarter-mark, Chubb is the RB4 in 0.5 PPR leagues, which is exactly where we had him ranked prior to the season (if you aren’t signed up for Fantasy Consigliere, you can subscribe now to cover a full year—so, until next September 30 if you sign up today—and have access to our 2020 draft rankings).