FFB WEEK 4: TWELVE TAKEAWAYS

Okay gang, we're four weeks in. 

I know, I know. You're welcome. Congrats on 4-0 as a result of reading this every week. You can kick back and relax now. Just coast the rest of the way, it'll be fine.  

That was a test. 

Don't be insolent. We do not slow down, we do not take our foot off the gas. 

If you're 0-4 or 1-3, don't fear! Read this every week and you can still climb out of the deep, dark hole. 

If you're 2-2 and need to make a move on the competition? Check the waivers down below, make a trade, get after it. We got this.  

Also, big shoutout to my friend and mentor, Matthew Berry, for committing to a "Ten Takeaway Tuesday" for the rest of the season. If you're asking my opinion on the matter, the more the merrier. 

Matthew's a sweet boy and a friend of the Fantasy Football Boys Fantasy Football Department, just wanted to get that out of the way. However, I'm not thrilled that he stole my sponsor from last year (I'll never forget that shit, Applebees), but we can all coexist and work together. 

1. Bench Patrick Mahomes.

Hate to say I told you so. 13.0 fantasy points this past week. 

19-for-29 for 245 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. Another sub-300 passing yards performance. 

Wow. D-tier stuff here from an alleged A-tier guy. He's still got the fantasy industry by the balls, but not me.  

It may get even worse. Rashee Rice injured. Isaiah Pacheco injured. Travis Kelce distracted? 

It's just not there. The magic is gone and I'm not sure what else to say. Patrick Mahomes has simply morphed into a colossal bummer in fantasy. 

Even with a 54-yard bomb touchdown to Xavier Worthy on Sunday, it was still gross. I've been saying it going back to the second half of last year: YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN PATRICK MAHOMES. He's QB16 heading into the bye week. Don't die on this hill.       

2. Justin Jefferson is diabolical and has separated himself as the best receiver in the world.

Let's not gloss over the fact that this pass by Darnold was just perfect. It was only catchable by Justin Jefferson, and Jefferson really didn't have any other choice other than to catch it. He has a touchdown in each of the first four games of the season and went for 6/85/1 on Sunday. 

CeeDee Lamb is great, Ja'Marr Chase is up there, but Justin Jefferson is in a class of his own right now at WR3. 

It wasn’t pretty against the Packers and their offense stalled in the second, Kevin O'Connell kept the ball rolling on Sunday and the Vikes are one of two perfect 4-0 teams.   

3. Derrick Henry being as fast as he is and weighing as much as he does should be illegal. 

The fact that he weighs almost 250 pounds and he's outrunning defensive backs like that is just pure idiocy. It makes sense that Lamar Jackson is fast, he's not chunky anymore, but this is just unfair. Derrick Henry is still defying the laws of physics and went off for 199 yards on 24 carries and 3 catches for 10 yards, scoring two total touchdowns. 

4. I was right. Will Levis has been benched, but not how I thought he would be. 

In the ultimate “team-first” move, Will Levis took matters into his own hands and benched himself on Monday night. 

He got off to a hot start in primetime doing what he does best (committing a turnover within seconds of touching the football). This time it was in the form of a pass directly to the other team and as he came off the field he was seen saying “I didn’t see the linebacker.” 

Hey Will, no shit! Ya hit him in the numbers! We know you didn’t see him, it was one of the worst passes ever. The problem is, it’s quite literally your job to see the linebacker, and you might stink at this.

Then, in an unforeseen act of selflessness, he bravely injured himself trying to dive and extend for a first down, breaking his fall with his throwing shoulder in the process. And so, his time as the starter for the Titans has come to an unceremonious end. 

I’m actually heartbroken to see the end of this rancid, failed experiment. He’s given us 4 consecutive weeks of stupidity and I’ll miss his dumb bullshit. 

5. Is Nick Sirianni's job in jeopardy?

Okay, I'm not sure that it's really in jeopardy, but Philly fans are nuts and things might get nasty if they can't come out of the bye with some serious zip. 

Let's dissect.

Jalen Hurts has a bad habit of turnovers lately. His 7 turnovers are second only to Will Levis at 9. As always, there are external factors affecting this, such as AJ Brown's injury, Lane Johnson's absence last week, and a new offensive coordinator that may or may not still be adjusting.

Despite the sluggish start, Jalen Hurts is a very salvageable QB9 who will get his top target and most vital offensive lineman back after the bye. I'm not sure that Sirianni is the guy, and he might be the quicksand that's bogging them down, but Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert is still one of the most dynamic skill groups in the league. 

I believe it's time to invest in the Eagles while they're "down".  

6. Anthony Richardson is severely allergic to staying healthy. The AR5 Experience (not for the faint of heart) takes another unexpected turn, this time it's a hip pointer. Those of you aboard the Richardson Express are likely experiencing unrelenting motion sickness with all the twists, turns, and loop-de-loops. Drafting Anthony Richardson should have come with a complimentary barf bag because it's been turbulent so far, to say the least.   

Enter: Joe Flacco, who played snaps in the year of our Lord 2024 as a 39 year old man. He didn't merely play snaps, he was slinging touchdowns! It was only a modest 16/26 for 168 yards but the two touchdowns helped lift the Colts over the Steelers, handing them their first loss on the season. Not to pile on, but Flacco's 15 fantasy points is more than 3 of the 4 weeks this season by Patrick Mahomes.

Good for Flacco! It's neat to see a geriatric playing professional football at all, much less at an above-average level, and this postgame snippet has Flacco grading out at 99% on "likability". 

7. Kenneth Walker was like "no thank you, I'd rather not go down, think I'll do a front flip instead". 
It'd be great if KWIII could stay healthy the rest of the way. Thankfully, missing two games hasn't killed his fantasy value. In only two games of work, he's carried 32 times for 283 yards and 4 touchdowns (RB18).   

8. David Montgomery delivered the Angry Run of the Year. This was Alstott-esque and you may award him the Scepter now, @KyleBrandt. 
As expected, the Detroit backfield has been bountiful for fantasy owners. David Montgomery is RB7 right now with Jahmyr Gibbs right behind him at RB8, depending on your league type. Neither of them have scored less than 14 fantasy points in a game so far this season.  
 
9. Sad Mike McDaniel is sad. It's not great in Miami after being embarrassed by the Titans on Monday night. And to think that last year we were closely monitoring a 2,000 Receiving Yards situation directly involving Tyreek Hill. 

This year? Tyreek Hill has 17/217/1(!!!) through 4 games and he's getting extra fussy. 

Again, as long as Tua isn't playing quarterback, we here at the Fantasy Football Boys Fantasy Football Department are fading the living shit out of all Dolphins skill players. 

10. The Falcons won without scoring an offensive touchdown.  I'm not sure if that's worse for the Falcons or for the Saints, who were unable to beat them. 

The Bijan Robinson usage is very much still a frustration point for fantasy owners. The Falcons diverted touches away from Bijan and gave them to Tyler Allgeier, who paced the ground game with 8 carries for 60 yards. There's always the "hot hand" mindset, but Robinson was held to just 28 yards on 7 carries and 4 catches for 46 yards. 

Who knows what's going on there? I'm not overly concerned about Bijan, but it's worth keeping an eye on. 

One thing is crystal clear: Kyle Pitts is washed. You may #DropKylePitts, forever and always.

11. Where will Davante Adams play next? 

Methinks it's over for Davante Adams as a Raider. Reports of a trade are flowing and even Antonio Pierce appears ready to ship him off.

This version of Davante Adams is the most transparent person of all time and quite the diva to boot. I use that as a term of endearment - the league needs divas to add a little spice to the weekly storylines. 

On Sunday against the Browns, he popped up late on the injury report with a "hamstring", so he sat out. I put that in quotations because it almost definitely wasn't real, I just think he's sick and tired of bein' sick and tired. Whatever the case, he's betrayed fantasy owners with 26.9 fantasy points through 4 weeks, currently WR39.

Perhaps a reunion with Aaron Rodgers would make Davante Adams want to play football again? Or maybe the Bills since Stefon Diggs is gone? Replace one diva with another? The Steelers whiffed on Brandon Aiyuk this offseason and George Pickens can't stop doing dumb, hilarious shit - could Adams head to Pittsburgh?

Stay tuned! Monitor the situation!

12. Bo Nix threw for 60 yards and his team somehow won. 

You read that right.  He was 12-for-20 for 60 yards and a TD, and the Broncos beat the Jets. 

I'm choosing to see this as impressive. Hell, at one point Nix was 7/15 passing for -7 yards.

Ultimately it was this touchdown pass, his first as a pro, that was too much for the Jets to overcome. 

Sometimes football is beautiful and stupid all at once. I thought there was a typo on the screen when I saw that he'd thrown for -7 yards. 

BONUS: 

The fantasy football tight end position is dead. 

WEEK 3 WIN THE WAIVER WIRE sponsored by Olive Garden:

Thank you to our new sponsor, Olive Garden, for believing in us here at the Fantasy Football Boys Fantasy Football Department. 

"When you're here, you're family™"
Teeny tiny Breadsticks
  • Trey Sermon - Jonathan Taylor was spotted getting some extra ankle tape, and it turns out he has a high-ankle sprain. The Colts say it's mild and he won't go on the IR, but Sermon is next up at least for a week or two. 
  • Joe Flacco - Why not? At this rate, Anthony Richardson might be in a full-body cast by week 9 and all Joe Flacco does is throw touchdowns. It wasn't skeet-worthy this week, but he did throw 2 TDs and 0 INTs. There are weapons in that offense for him to air it out to, as well.
  • Kareem Hunt - Carson Steele is a fumbler, so it's time to move on to Kareem Hunt, tried and true.
  • Tyler Allgeier - See above (#10). One of, if not the most important handcuff in all of fantasy. 
  • Braelon Allen - Also an important backup plan for Breece Hall.
  • Quentin Johnston - Tough week and the Chargers had injuries across the offensive line, but he could still be the WR1 for Herbert.  
  • Tre Tucker - This is contingent on Jakobi Meyers being unavailable (if he's there, take him). If Davante Adams is truly hurt or just flat-out finished in Las Vegas, he'll be thrust into a larger role.  
  • Jerry Jeudy - Pure volume on this play. He's averaging 7.5 targets per week. 
  • Taysom Hill - Yes, Taysom Hill. King of the Waiver Wire. Lord of the FAAB. After a big week 4, he's TE7 and the Saints LOVE using him in the red zone, so the TD potential is sky-high. 
  • Dontayvion Wicks - Yes, Jayden Reed is the clear WR1, but Jordan Love is legit and Wicks is trending up with Christian Watson potentially sidelined. 
Thanks for reading and we'll see y'all next week for another entry of Twelve Takeaways. Take care of yourself, take care of your team, and win the waiver wire.


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