The NFL season just concluded its fifth week of play. This was the most exciting week of the young season as we saw the last two unbeaten teams lose and the Tennessee Titans pick up their first win of the year. More thrilling than upsets, however, are seeing some of the biggest under and over achievers of fantasy football each week. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.
Overachievers:
Emeka Egbuka: It feels like every week Egbuka beats his projected fantasy point totals. This week, however, the Buccaneers rookie blew his predictions out of the water. Egbuka was expected to score 14.92 points this week and more than doubled that bar. His seven receptions went for 163 yards and a touchdown. These stats earned Egbuka 31.3 fantasy points, making him the highest scoring wide receiver in fantasy football this week.
Rico Dowdle: The Carolina Panthers halfback stepped up this week with starter Chuba Hubbard out with a calf injury. Dowdle rushed the ball 23 times for 203 yards and brought in three catches for another 28 yards. Dowdle’s impressive week scored him 32.4 fantasy points, making him the highest scoring player of the week.
AJ Barner: Barner is an unsung hero on a loaded Seattle Seahawks offense. With scoring threats of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and Kenneth Walker, Barner is not often the star of the show. This week proved this not to be the case though, as Barner had seven receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns. This earned Barner 24.3 fantasy points this week, making him the highest scoring tight end in the league. With Barner only being predicted 5.2 points heading into this week, he scored over 460% higher than expected, making Barner the title of largest overachiever of the week.
Kai Fairbairn: For the first time this year, a kicker has been placed in the overachievers list. After missing field goals in each of the last two weeks, Fairbairn needed to show up this week, which he certainly did. The Texans kicker had lots of opportunities this week with Houston scoring five touchdowns and getting into field goal range another three times. Fairbairn was a perfect 8/8 on kicks this week (including two field goals from 50+ yards), earning him 18 fantasy points.
Underachievers:
Quentin Johnston: The Chargers third year wide receiver seems to have finally broken out after struggling in his first two seasons. This past week, however, Johnston seems to have reverted into his former self. Quentin had four receptions for 40 yards and lost a fumble. This means Johnston only scored 6.9 fantasy points this week, performing well below his expected 13.74. He looks to bounce back next week in Miami against a poor Dolphins secondary.
Jameson Williams: The Lions wide receiver is struggling to find the ball this season and this week was no different. Williams had one run for a singular yard and a reception for nine yards. This means Williams only scored two points, dropping below his predicted score for the third consecutive week. The fourth-year receiver has talent — he exploded for 108 yards and a score in his week two matchup against the Bears but has not been able to replicate that magic.
James Cook: The Buffalo Bills halfback has been an absolute stud this year, scoring more than 20 fantasy points in every game heading into Sunday night’s matchup with the Patriots. Cook ran the ball 15 times for 49 yards and did not get in the endzone, meaning Cook only scored 4.9 points, way below his season average of 22.8 points prior to this week. Cook was predicted to score 18.47 fantasy points and didn’t even score 5, making him the underachiever of the week.
