Fantasy football highs and lows: Chubb, Landry lead way as Browns’ offense erupts

Week 4 of the fantasy football season featured plenty of notable performances. What should we make of them? Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft are here with analysis on the biggest performers — and the duds — of the week.

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Browns’ offense: This is (sort of) what we expected
Baker Mayfield was dialed in, completing 20 of 30 passes for 342 yards and a touchdown with a pick. Nick Chubb was, too. The Cleveland running back ripped off 165 yards on the ground, including three touchdowns, plus another 18 yards receiving. And while we got a major dud from Odell Beckham Jr. on Sunday (2-of-7 targets, 20 yards), Jarvis Landry caught 8 of 10 targets for a career-high 167 yards (although he was placed in concussion protocol late in the game).

The way I see it, this is the ideal game plan for Mayfield and the Browns’ offense. It’s quick passing, play-action, with some inside vertical throws sprinkled in. Let Mayfield throw in rhythm and get the ball out. The run game? Yeah, the volume can be there for Chubb, and the edge run schemes put the second-year back in a position to find daylight. Yes, we want to see OBJ with more production. I get it. But the call sheet today should lead to pretty good numbers from a Cleveland offense that has the talent at the skill spots. — Bowen

Chubb’s career-best 39.3 PPR fantasy points represented a huge turnaround compared to his 4.2 points combined against these Ravens in their two meetings in 2018. In fact, it was an unusually productive game by any running back facing that defense. Since the origin of the Ravens in 1996 (after the Browns moved from Cleveland), only Marshall Faulk (45.7 PPR points, 1998 Week 13) and Le’Veon Bell (39.5, 2017 Week 14) have scored more against them in a single game. — Cockcroft

Ekeler shines again, but now what with Gordon back?
After four weeks, Austin Ekeler has racked up 107.0 fantasy points, which ranks second among running backs behind only Christian McCaffrey (111.9). Hey, the guy is playing high-level ball, and his versatility pops in this Chargers offense. However, with Melvin Gordon now back in the mix — and expected to jump into the No. 1 role for the Chargers next week versus Denver — what should Ekeler managers do moving forward?

Think about this: If Ekeler can get eight to 10 carries a game, plus four to six targets, he still has starting value in your lineup as a flex play. Even with a reduced role, which might not be as sudden with Gordon working his way back into game shape, Ekeler’s ability to produce as a runner or receiver — with that smooth combo of speed and shake — leads to fantasy scoring for an L.A. offense that can score points. — Bowen

Patriots’ D/ST continues to be a monster

For the third consecutive week, the Patriots’ defense/special teams scored at least 14 fantasy points. Their 23 points against the Bills gives them a league-leading 79 for the season — that’s 29 more than any other team has. It’s also the most fantasy points by any D/ST unit through the first four games of the season since the Packers scored 81 through four games of the 1996 campaign. In fact, as you see to the right, only four D/STs have scored more through four games of any season during the 16-game era (since 1978).

Yes, the Patriots have faced a relatively easy schedule thus far, having drawn the Steelers, Dolphins, Jets and Bills, but they have now afforded only one offensive touchdown through four games while playing at a level of dominance one would expect an elite defense to have facing those opponents. Better yet, the Patriots’ schedule the next three weeks is similarly favorable, with games against the Redskins (Week 5), Giants (Week 6) and Jets (Week 7). At their current pace, the Patriots might be the rare D/ST you’ll want to keep rostered through their Week 10 bye, though be aware that they have a tougher go of it directly afterward: Eagles (Week 11), Cowboys (Week 12), Texans (Week 13) and Chiefs (Week 14). — Cockcroft

I’ll add this, Tristan. The Patriots’ secondary is legit. With coach Bill Belichick’s ability to muddy coverage looks and utilize multiple fronts to create pressure, the New England defensive backs can go after the rock. And free safety Devin McCourty already has four interceptions this season. — Bowen

Should you be excited by Wayne Gallman‘s big day?
In his third career NFL “start” but first as the Giants’ true feature back, Gallman scored a career-best 27.8 PPR fantasy points, more than 10 than he had in any of his 31 previous games. Granted, it came against an especially weak Redskins defense — see his rushing touchdown where there was a wide-open rushing lane — but for future fantasy prospects, it was good to see him garner 18 of the team’s 31 running back carries, seven of the team’s 31 targets and four of the team’s seven red zone opportunities (three runs, one target). There’s volume to be had here, and for as long as Saquon Barkley is sidelined, Gallman could matter in the flex if you’re in a pinch. — Cockcroft

Godwin puts up ‘healthy’ numbers in scorefest
Well, you can’t win ’em all. After three games during which the Rams’ defense afforded opposing slot receivers a total of 49.9 PPR fantasy points, the Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin scored 41.2 points against them, tops among all players through Sunday’s 4 p.m. ET games. Of those 41.2 points, 23.6 came working out of the slot, as he routinely beat Nickell Robey-Coleman (14.0 of those points) and Aqib Talib (4.8), among other Rams defenders. Not bad considering Godwin was listed as questionable on the injury report. It was an unusually poor performance overall for the Rams’ pass defense, tempering expectations for them after such a strong start to their season. Yes, I whiffed on this matchup — it’s not something I’ll soon forget when similarly talented receivers go up against this defense. — Cockcroft

Austin Hooper becoming a weekly force?
One week after scoring a career-high 24.6 PPR fantasy points to finish third among tight ends, Hooper managed another 22.0 points on Sunday, most among tight ends through the 4 p.m. ET games. That means that two of his three single-game highest scores, as well as two of his five career 20-point efforts, have come in the past two weeks, during which time he has 18 total targets. Hooper is actually second on the Falcons in targets through four games, his 33 trailing Julio Jones by four, with a 19% target share. QB Matt Ryan, who has struggled through four weeks, has been spreading the ball around, but he’s seemingly relying more on Hooper than usual this season. Consider the tight end a locked-in, low-end TE1. — Cockcroft

Good Will Dissly

Seahawks TE Will Dissly‘s magical season continued with an 18.7 PPR fantasy-point Sunday behind his fourth receiving touchdown in his past three games. The 2018 fourth-rounder now has 96.7 points through his first eight career NFL contests, which, as you can see in the chart to the right, is seventh most among tight ends through that many games since at least 1950. While this was clearly one of the most favorable matchups Dissly could face, he’s drawing enough targets to be a fantasy starter in 12-plus-team leagues, and has TE1 potential when the matchups align, as they did in Week 4. His next “plus” matchup: Week 6 at the Browns. — Cockcroft

Quick hitters

Some good, some bad and some ugly from Sunday’s action. Whether these players are on your team or your opponent’s likely will determine how you view the following nuggets and thoughts.

• Jared Goff: His 20.6 fantasy points are the lowest ever by any QB who passed for 500-plus yards. — Cockcroft

• Tom Brady: While his Patriots did manage a six-point victory on the road against the division rival Bills, Brady’s fantasy performance left a lot to be desired. He delivered only 3.7 points — the fewest he has scored in any start that was neither abbreviated due to injury nor it being Week 17 since he scored 1.1 points in 2006 Week 14. Brady entered the day with a legitimate chance at unseating Drew Brees as the all-time highest-scoring fantasy quarterback in history. That will now have to wait, as Brady is still 4.5 points behind Brees for the honor. — Cockcroft

• Leonard Fournette: The volume of work Fournette saw on Sunday was noteworthy, as he set career bests with 29 carries and 225 rushing yards, while playing 86% of the team’s offensive snaps (65 of 76). Still, he failed to find the end zone, and that had to be frustrating to his managers. Since 1950, this was the 38th instance of a player rushing for at least 225 yards, yet among those to do so, only Barry Sanders (1994) and Doug Martin (2015) managed fewer than his 26.5 PPR fantasy points. — Cockcroft

• Dalvin Cook did find the end zone late in the fourth quarter and had six catches, so his day wasn’t a total wash after rushing for only 35 yards on 14 carries (2.5 yards per carry). However, Cook’s lack of production was more a product of the Chicago defense. That unit is as nasty as it gets right now. Look for Cook to bounce back and post RB1 numbers in Week 5 versus the Giants defense. — Bowen

• Christian McCaffrey‘s 33.9 points against the Texans gives him 111.9 for the season. Since 1950, that is the 15th-highest total among RBs through four team games. — Cockcroft

• Kerryon Johnson: There’s the 2019 breakout game for the Lions RB. The second-year pro saw a whopping 28 touches, rushing for 125 yards (on 26 carries) with two receptions for 32 yards. That gives Johnson two straight games with at least 20 touches. He’s showing he can handle a heavy-volume workload, and now he gets a Packers defense that struggled to limit the Eagles’ run game Thursday night. You can lock in Johnson as a mid-tier RB2 in Week 5. — Bowen

• Chase Daniel: When Daniel replaced the injured Mitchell Trubisky, I didn’t see a rapid change in the offensive playcalling. Very similar to the plan with Trubisky, the Bears utilized high-percentage throws and a very efficient route tree. Daniel, the veteran backup, finished 22-of-30 passing for 195 yards, plus a touchdown. And I expect the same script from this Bears’ offense in Week 5 versus the Raiders in London, which means you shouldn’t view the Bears’ other skill players any differently. This team wins with defense. — Bowen

• Frank Gore: With his 41-yard run in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, the Bills RB reached the 15,000-yard rushing plateau for his NFL career. Fantasy-wise, Gore’s career performance has been similarly outstanding: He’s the No. 6 scorer among running backs in history. — Cockcroft

• Lamar Jackson‘s 24.4 fantasy points against the Browns gave him at least 20 in each of his first four games to begin the season. It’s only the eighth time since at least 1950 that any quarterback has managed 20-plus points in each of his team’s first four games of a season. And look at the company he joins: Steve Young (1995 and 1998), Aaron Rodgers (2011), Robert Griffin III (2012), Peyton Manning (2014), Tom Brady (2015) and Patrick Mahomes (2018). — Cockcroft

• Buffalo defense: Don’t sleep on this unit, especially in the secondary. The Bills came into Week 4 ranked 10th on the Matchups Map against opposing quarterbacks, and this unit is going to climb those ranks after limiting Tom Brady on Sunday. Consider the Bills’ defense as a high-end starting unit, with the Titans and Dolphins up next on the schedule. — Bowen

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