The fourth week of the NFL Season just concluded and as always there were players who exceeded their expectations and guys who underperformed. Let’s get into this week’s best (and worst) fantasy football performances.
Overachievers:
Ashton Jeanty: Jeanty had one of the best seasons from a college running back we had ever seen last year at Boise State University. After his stellar season the Raiders drafted him sixth overall, making him the first RB taken off the board. Jeanty had consistently underperformed up until last Sunday’s game, he had not scored more than 12 fantasy points in a game through the first three weeks of the season. However, this week Jeanty exploded for 138 rushing yards and a touchdown; tagged along with his two receiving touchdowns, Jeanty earned 33.5 fantasy points, making him the highest scoring player in all of the NFL.
Kennth Gainwell: The Steelers’ running back was launched into the starting role just hours before kickoff as Jaylen Warren was sidelined with an undisclosed knee injury. Gainwell took this opportunity and ran with it (literally). He rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns, tacking on six receptions for 35 yards in the process. This earned Gainwell 31.4 fantasy points, making him the third highest scoring running back this week.
Woody Marks: Marks started the season as the fourth running back on the Texans depth chart and has slowly worked himself up to the second-string role. Prior to this week, Marks’ highest scoring fantasy performance came in week two against the Buccaneers earning 6.1 fantasy points. This week, Marks was the Texans workhorse against a weak Titans defense. He ran for 69 yards, grabbed four receptions for 50 yards and reached the endzone twice. This gave Marks’ 27.9 fantasy points, making him the fifth highest scoring running back of the week.
Tutu Atwell: Tutu Atwell is not a household name. He doesn’t really even look like a professional football player; coming in at 5’9 and 165 pounds, he is one of the smallest players in the NFL. This week however, the Rams wide receiver did not let his stature stop him. He scored 15.8 fantasy points this week, fueled by an 88-yard touchdown reception. Prior to this, Atwell only had one catch on the entire season for four yards. Atwell’s 15.8 made him the 9th highest scoring receiver, and for a player who was started in only 1% of fantasy leagues, he was arguably the biggest overachiever of the week.
Underachievers:
David Montgomery: The Lions running back could not get things going this week against the Browns defense. He had nine carries for 12 yards; this means he only scored 1.2 fantasy points this week. It is especially underwhelming when his backfield partner Jahmyr Gibbs scored 17.7 points.
A.J Brown: Another week, another disappointing performance from A.J Brown. The Eagles wide receiver was one of the best players in football last season, reaching over 1000 yards receiving and seven touchdowns, his firepower was one of the reasons that Philadelphia won the Super Bowl last year. This season however, he hasn’t been able to get the magic going. Brown only had two receptions for seven yards, giving him 2.7 fantasy points on the week.
Joey Slye: It feels silly to put a kicker on this list, but Slye has undoubtedly earned his spot. The Titans kicker missed both of his field goal attempts, meaning Slye earned NEGATIVE two points this week. Someone that started Slye on their fantasy team would have been better off if they just didn’t have a kicker on their roster. Taking two points away from your team makes Slye the underachiever of the week.
