Fighting Chance Fantasy Roundtable: Week 4

Welcome back to the Fighting Chance Fantasy Roundtable! Each week we will have some of our great panel of writers answer some of the hot button questions in fantasy football. We have a fantasy hall of famer, long standing Fighting Chance writers and more as we try to help you make the right decisions for your lineups to make you a winner each week. Follow us all on Twitter! Leo (@smooth1074) Rick (@rickwolf1) Ryan (@fightingchance)

Has Sam Darnold become a must start each week?

Rick: Well, this depends on who your other QBs are and if you are in a SuperFlex league.  Then it is a week-by-week decision.  I don't own ANY shares of Sam Darnold, but that may be my Jets' bias creeping in.

Jen: Short answer is yes. Especially given the injuries to the QB position already this season, fantasy owners should likely be starting Darnold each week. He's #2 in passer rating (117.3 according to ProFootballReference) behind only Josh Allen through three games. Darnold threw 2+ touchdowns in each start this season and threw for 4 TDs in week 3 against the Texans. This isn't saying expect perfection as he is pressured often, was sacked 8 times (#15 overall), and threw two interceptions (#16 overall) so far. He's facing a decent Green Bay pass defense this week that has only allowed one 100+ yard receiver through three weeks; however, they have allowed a TD to a wide receiver every week. It is realistic to expect Darnold to throw 200+ yards and 2 touchdowns, and have a safe floor. When a QB's ceiling is connected to one of the best WRs in the NFL, Justin Jefferson, it makes me feel pretty safe taking a risk on them. 

Leo: I can’t believe I’m about to say this but yes Sam Darnold has become a must start. Darnold has been lighting up the NFL with mainly Justin Jefferson as his main weapon, but possibly within the next three games he will also have Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson at his disposal. Look out NFL Darnold is coming for you.

Ryan: He has been amazing to start the season, and it isn’t like he has just gone against cupcake defenses. The offensive line has been great, he has two solid wide receivers, and he hasn’t even had T.J. Hockenson yet. That being said, I am still a little skeptical. Everything has broken right for the Vikings. The defense continues to put the offense in great field position situations. But on the flip side the weapons are great. If you have Joe Burrow or Anthony Richardson or another starting quarterback that has gotten off to a slow start you could consider starting him, but I wouldn’t go must start just yet.

Are you dropping Blake Corum in redraft leagues?

Ryan: If you are in a league with a 2-4 man bench, you probably have to drop him considering the lack of role Corum has had to start his career. If it is a deeper bench and you have somehow avoided the injury bug through three weeks, I would love to hold him to see if he can turn it around. It is still just three weeks into the season but the injuries are through the roof

Leo: For me it depends on my roster. If I’ve been injury free, I would definitely hold Blake Corum for now because he’s only a Kyren Williams injury away from being an RB2 for fantasy managers. But if my team has been depleted by injuries and I’m 0-3, bye bye Corum because I need to win now.

Jen: I do think that Corum would take on a much larger role given an injury to Kyren Williams, but there hasn't been much evidence that he has stand-alone fantasy value. He only played active snaps in one week so far (week 2.15% of snaps) and carried the ball 8 times for 28 yards. Ronnie Rivers out-snapped him the other two weeks, so that's what makes me a little nervous about Corum's potential role as a handcuff. However, Kyren Williams hasn't played a full season yet in the NFL, so there is a high likelihood that Corum gains touches as the season progresses to help maintain Williams health even if Rivers is also in the mix. If you have room to stash him, I still consider him the handcuff I want to own in this backfield, but you might need that roster spot soon. I would much rather have Corum on my dynasty roster, versus redraft. The Rams love Corum though and weren't shy about praising him this summer and implying he would be given opportunities this season. Given Williams history and Corum's talent and fit, I would hold onto him if you can but understand he will likely only have starter potential if there is an injury or the Rams are out of playoff contention at some point and make this more of a committee. 

Rick: It is safe to drop Blake Corum now.  For all the hype, helium and talent, he has made special teams and some third down gadget plays his only role.  Kylo-ren Williams is destroying opponents as the 4th best RB in fantasy points, but on a team with a bad offensive line, he is still tearing it up.  As pathetic as it is for the rookie, he is not the backup now although all the depth charts say that he is.  Ronnie cry me a Rivers is spelling the dark lord and although it breaks de-Corum, he will not be getting those carries should the oft-injured back go down.

Do you trust Rasheed Shaheed this week after his goose egg last week?

Jen: Yes. If you're going to play Shaheed in redraft, then you're going to have to be comfortable with the risk that some games, he will be inconsistent. His over the top speed and big play ability, make his ceiling mouth watering. But, with that comes the risk of a game like last week, where he missed the one long ball (would've been a TD) that would've saved his fantasy day. Shaheed currently receives 23% of the target share so far this season, which is tied with Chris Olave (14 targets each). This week, the Saints face the Atlanta Falcons and should bounce back from their less-than-stellar performance last week against Philly.  Atlanta just gave up over 100 yards to Rashee Rice and two TDs to wide receivers (1 to Rice, 1 to Juju). I do not expect the Saints to return to the offense that shocked us all in Week 1-2 and lead the league, but Shaheed is too big a part of this offense and has too high of a ceiling to worry much about one game. If this happens again and you aren't in a league that rewards return points,  I could see reevaluating, but right now, Shaheed is a must start in my book and showed a floor of five targets per game (5+ targets every game, including week 3). 

Leo: Rashid Shaheed has been a pleasant surprise this season. It’s tough to play Shaheed after that doughnut last week, but he could be trusted as WR3/Flex play at the very least going forward.

Rick: Depends on who you have on your roster.  If you have a high target wide receiver like even a Jakobi Meyers, you have to consider sitting the boom or bust player.  In a standard league, I keep sending him up as his ability to beat defenses deep means 9-10 TDs this season.

Ryan: I would say if you played him the first three weeks that you should keep playing him. The Saints offense likely isn’t going to be what it was the first two weeks, but it also isn’t going to be as pathetic as it was last season. Chris Olave is a little dinged up and Shaheed can take almost any catch to the house. It is a little risky considering he gave you nothing last week, but even against a Falcons defense that has been strong against the pass so far, I would still put Shaheed in my lineup.

Outside of Jayden Reed, which Green Bay receiver(s) are startable for the rest of the season when Jordan Love returns?

Rick: Nah brah.  Jayden Reed is the only dependable one.  For DFS, on some weeks, Wicks or Doubs will be fine.  Watson will be overpriced.  If you drafted Watson, shame on you.  I did though in one league and have been starting Jameson Williams and two of Calvin Ridley, Jakobi Meyers, Rasheed Shaheed or Jerry Jeudy.  Watson is not in the coversation until Love comes back and we see he is 100%.  

Leo: Other than Jayden Reed, the rest of the wide receivers are tough to trust. If I had to choose one, I would go with Romeo Doubs as he has been the most consistent wide receiver with the highest snap share. Doubs should provide 10-15 PPR fantasy points on a weekly basis.

Ryan: I am with Rick and Leo here, Reed is the only one that I feel really good about, but if I had to pick another it would be Romeo Doubs. He had a great touchdown rate last season and clearly has the trust of Jordan Love. Christian Watson is a walking hamstring injury and as much as I like Dontavion Wicks, he is too boom or bust to trust. I will continue to roster Doubs and play him during bye weeks, but I start Jayden Reed against anyone.

Jen: Christian Watson! He caught three for 13 and a TD in week 1 with Jordan Love, disappeared for week 2, and then led GB in receiving yards (2 catches for 67 yards) in week 3. He's struggled with soft tissue injuries in the past, which hampered his ability to contribute consistently. But, he showed us his talent and ceiling, finishing his 2023 season with a 5 catch, 94 yard, 1 TD game and a 7 catch, 71 yard, 1 TD game before missing the remainder of the season with an injury. Watson declared this summer that he figured out his soft tissue injuries and corrected a muscle imbalance, so there is hope that we could see a full season for the first time in his NFL career. Watson also currently receives 30% of the red zone targets, and was third in red zone targets in 2023 even though he missed 8 games. He's a threat for a TD every game and with Love returning this week or next, that only bodes well for Watson's consistency and ceiling. 

Which struggling receiver will turn it around? Michael Pittman Christian Kirk or DeAndre Hopkins

Leo: I will go with DeAndre Hopkins turning it around. In Week 3, Hopkins finally played without limitations and produced six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. If you’ve been patient with Hopkins, get ready for him to be a solid low-end WR2/high-end WR3 for the rest of the season.

Rick: All of them.  Keep the faith.  If you want to bench them until they come back, no problem.  All three are incredibly talented.  If I had to pick one, I would say that DeAndre Hopkins has the most difficult spot with Will Levis playing so badly.  For Pittman, Anthony Richardson has always been inaccurate and they had chemistry late last season.  It will be matchup based and consider sending him up at home.  No worries about Kirk except the team not playing Buffalo each week.  Kirk is the slot receiver and will get volume.  As they said it Top Gun, "keep sending him up".

Ryan: I like Pittman the best. Anthony Richardson is going to be inconsistent, but when he is on, he is very good. The Jaguars look lost right now but Kirk is still a flex play and Hopkins should be solid but I don’t fully trust the Titans pass game just yet.

Is it time to bench Sam LaPorta, Mark Andrews or Dalton Kincaid? Would you start Mike Gesicki or Hunter Henry over any of them?

Leo: No, I would still start all three, but Mark Andrews is knocking on the door of Sitville for me. He’s been non-existent this season and it seems that Zay Flowers is Lamar Jackson’s new go to receiving option. For now, I still will start all three over Mike Gesicki and Hunter Henry. 

Ryan: I am definitely still starting all three guys we thought were studs coming into the season over these guys who have had decent to good starts. How pissed would you be if you sat one of them and they went off and Mike Gesicki had two catches for nine yards?

Rick: I do Start-Sit Charts for these purposes, or you can use the Start-Sit tool on Fantasy Alarm or FantasyLife. In this case where there is a ton of talent vs situation and game plan, I ALWAYS take Talent.  As a matter of fact, the T in the SMART system stands for Talent.

Follow us all on Twitter! @theonlyjensmith @rickwolf1 @smooth1074 @fightingchance