Sundays during the NFL season are always chaotic. There are so many twists and turns that it's hard for fantasy football managers to keep up with everything. This column is designed to help, providing you with all of the storylines you need to know from Sunday's action in order to kick-start your research for all of the Week 5 action that lies ahead.
QB Trey Lance provides a glimpse of his fantasy football future
On Sunday against Seattle, Lance came off the bench to start the second half in relief of Jimmy Garoppolo, who was dealing with a calf injury. He ended up completing 9 of 18 passes for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns, adding in seven rushes for 41 yards. Lance's dual-threat ability is highly coveted among fantasy managers. It's unclear whether Garoppolo will miss any time. However, one thing is crystal clear: If Lance is still available in your fantasy league, you need to change that. The San Francisco 49ers' upcoming schedule loosens up considerably for the rest of the season.
QB Teddy Bridgewater leaves the game with a concussion
Bridgewater's injury should be monitored this week. His absence would be detrimental for the Denver Broncos' offense. Heading into Week 4, Bridgewater averaged 275.7 passing yards per game. On Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, he managed just 7-of-19 passing for 65 yards and a score before getting hurt. If Drew Lock is under center, it's a significant downgrade for wide receiver Courtland Sutton, tight end Noah Fant and the entire Broncos offense. Lock has 18 career starts on his NFL resume and has averaged a disappointing 16.5 fantasy points in those contests.
The Philadelphia Eagles have many problems, but QB Jalen Hurts isn't one of them
Hurts has shown improvement in each game this season, culminating in Sunday's strong effort against the Chiefs: 32-of-48 passing for 387 yards and two scores, along with an additional eight rushes for 47 yards. The biggest missed opportunity against the Chiefs was a potential TD pass to TE Zach Ertz. Hurts also saw a score called back because receiver DeVonta Smith had stepped out of bounds on the route. In Week 5, the Eagles face a Panthers defense that allowed monster fantasy performances from Dak Prescott (27 fantasy points) and Ezekiel Elliott (20.3). Philadelphia will likely continue to lean heavily on Hurts and the passing game.
WR DeVonta Smith was one of the few Eagles who soared on Sunday
Smith was the centerpiece of the Eagles' offense against Kansas City, catching seven of the 10 targets sent his way for 122 yards. This was the first 100-yard receiving game of his NFL career. Smith's exceptional route running and tackle-breaking ability were on full display. This was the bounce-back game fantasy managers were looking for from the rookie. Smith's rest-of-season outlook, along with that of the Eagles' offense, is "trending up" because of the upcoming schedule.
RB Chuba Hubbard's performance against Dallas was anti-climatic
Hubbard had 13 rushes for 57 yards, dominating the early downs. Royce Freeman had only three rushes. Even so, Rodney Smith's targets (five) as a receiver out of the backfield was surprising, leaving Hubbard only two catches on two targets for 14 yards. To make matters worse, Hubbard's fantasy managers watched in disbelief as QB Sam Darnold scored two rushing touchdowns. He now has five on the season. In Week 5, Hubbard and the rest of the Carolina Panthers face an Eagles defense that has allowed the sixth-most RB points per game (28.6). Be that as it may, Christian McCaffrey is apparently eying a return, which could spell the end of Hubbard's fantasy relevance for some time.
Reports of RB Ezekiel Elliott's demise are greatly exaggerated
Elliott returned to form on Sunday against the Panthers with another solid performance, rushing for 143 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. He set the tone early for the Dallas Cowboys with his hard, physical running style. The quality of play from Dallas' offensive line was also superb. Over the past two games, Elliott has accumulated 238 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He has also averaged 6.4 yards per attempt. With upcoming matchups against the Giants and Patriots (before a bye in Week 7), Elliott's success is likely to continue.
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire still carries (no pun intended) some risk for fantasy managers
The good news is that Edwards-Helaire has amassed 223 total yards and two touchdowns on 35 touches over the past two games. The bad news is that his total of snaps played continues to decline. Despite rushing for 102 yards on 14 carries, Edwards-Helaire played on only 52.2% of the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive snaps this week. Meanwhile, Darrel Williams played on 35.8% of the snaps against the Eagles and was provided 12 touches. While there's no need to panic, this is something that those with Edwards-Helaire on their fantasy teams should be tracking.
WR Diontae Johnson is talented enough to transcend the offensive woes of the Pittsburgh Steelers
After missing Week 3 because of a knee injury, Johnson returned with a masterful performance against the Green Bay Packers (nine catches on 13 targets, 92 yards). He is one of the few bright spots in the Steelers' offense. Pittsburgh opened the 2020 season with 11 consecutive victories but has now lost eight of its past 10 games. Pittsburgh also hasn't surpassed 17 points in any of its past three games. Johnson has averaged 11.3 targets per game this year and should continue to be provided a large target share from QB Ben Roethlisberger. That said, the Steelers do have one of the most difficult schedules for the remainder of the season.
WR Marquise Brown silences fantasy managers who doubted him
Brown's diving TD reception was spectacular, stretching out and securing the football before hitting the turf. This was a tremendous performance (four catches, 91 yards) just one week after drops derailed his Week 3. In that game, Brown dropped three potential touchdown passes. That certainly wasn't the case for Brown against the Broncos. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, his Week 4 TD reception traveled 60.8 yards in the air, which was the longest completion of QB Lamar Jackson's career and the second longest from any quarterback this season. Brown did most of his damage in the first half, since the Baltimore Ravens had a comfortable lead and were more conservative in the second half. Brown remains Jackson's most trusted receiving weapon, and this duo will continue to threaten defenses vertically.
TE Dawson Knox continues to rise in the Buffalo Bills' receiving pecking order
Knox continues to be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses, especially when you consider the plethora of vertical receiving weapons on Buffalo. He has more physical skills than the linebackers tasked to cover him. In Week 4 against the Texans, Knox scored for the third straight game, reaching the end zone twice among his five catches (on eight targets). His four touchdowns this season are a career high. According to Pro Football Reference data, Knox is now the first Bills tight end to score a touchdown in three straight games since Charles Clay in 2016. QB Josh Allen has always advocated for Knox, even when many were ready to write him off after a suboptimal 2020 season. Head coach Sean McDermott's and general manager Brandon Beane's patience in regards to player development is paying off. Knox and the Bills have the easiest upcoming schedule, with a solid matchup ahead in Week 6 (Tennessee). Keep Knox on your streaming radar!
Moody's rapid-fire report
RB Cordarrelle Patterson is averaging 89.2 total yards per game
David Montgomery had the sixth game of his career with 100-plus yards rushing. Since the start of the 2020 season, he has averaged 20.6 opportunities (rushing attempts plus targets) per game. Montgomery's health heading into Week 5's matchup against the Raiders will be closely monitored.
RB Kenneth Gainwell (46.8) has scored more points than Miles Sanders (40.4) through four games.
WR Darnell Mooney averaged 25 yards per reception and was targeted on 41% of Justin Fields' passing attempts.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Deebo Samuel has 490 receiving yards this season, the second most through four games in 49ers history, behind 522 by Jerry Rice in 1995. Samuel is on the WR1 radar next week against the Cardinals.
WR DJ Moore has eight receptions this season of 20-plus yards. He has also registered a 20% target share in every game this season. Moore should be taken seriously.
WR Robert Woods has not had more than 65 receiving yards in any game since Week 13 of the 2020 season.
TE Maxx Williams had a productive game. Even so, he's fighting for snaps and targets with Rondale Moore and Christian Kirk. A.J. Green's offensive snap count (67) is more in line with DeAndre Hopkins' (75)
For more insight on the players mentioned above, please read Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft's Fantasy football highs and lows for Week 4.