Lance's 2021 Week 4 Recap and Week 5 Waiver Priorities
THE RECAP
-I’m going to knock the rookie Quarterbacks all out at the same time. All five saw significant playing time (with four starting). And they all looked pretty good.
*Lawrence may not have looked like the franchise savior everyone expected him to immediately be, but he also didn’t throw any interceptions and he gave the Jags a chance to win.
*Zach Wilson finally got a reprieve in his schedule and with it, a chance to show what he can do. He went for nearly 300 yards passing, 2 touchdowns and a pick in a win over the Titans, and he had some very good looking throws.
*Justin Fields looked arguably the worst out of the group, but he still threw for over 200 yards with a pick, and the Bears won by taking the pressure off of him and relying on their ground game.
*Mac Jones had a very good outing in a very tough game against the guy he essentially replaced. He outdueled Brady in Completion rate, Passer Rating, Yards/Attempt, pass yards and touchdowns (though he did throw a pick and Brady didn’t). The only thing he failed to beat him in was the thing that mattered the most, the scoreboard.
*Trey Lance had to fill in for an injured Garoppolo in the second half and it started out ugly. He went 2/7 (I think) out of the gate with one long touchdown pass to a wide-open Deebo Samuel. It wasn’t until his second touchdown drive at the end of the fourth quarter that it really started to click, but by then it was too little too late. Still, that final drive showed Lance’s potential, especially that fourth down scramble right before his touchdown pass that kept the drive alive. I think the Niners would be better off letting him sit a little longer (hopefully they have the choice to), but he showed promise and I’m excited to see him again if he gets another shot toward the end of the year.
-The Browns won the hard fought defensive battle in Minnesota. They are perfectly built for games like that thanks to the Chubb-Hunt duo on offense and their much improved Linebacker play.
-After watching Heinicke’s play against Atlanta I can’t help but feel like Fitzpatrick has passed his magic on to the kid. He had crazy throws with some amazing backfield Houdini acts and a dash of “how was that not picked off.” He’s certainly looking more and more confident each week. He’ll need to rein in the willingness to just throw the ball up and hope for the best, otherwise he’ll cost Washington some wins against better defenses down the road.
-The CMC-less Panthers did not fall completely apart, and neither did Darnold. I was a little worried with Dallas being able to key-in on Darnold that we would see the Jets version of him, but he held up well. Even after the two picks he didn’t continue to slide downhill. Also, Dallas looks the part thanks to their more balanced offense and Trevon Diggs who continues to impress.
-The Chiefs wanted to make sure the rest of the NFL knew that they hadn’t disappeared completely. They did that by continuing to kick the Eagles while they were down. Good news for the rest of the league is, their defense still isn’t great. They allowed Hurts to have one of the best passing games of his young career, he had a 67% completion rate, nearly 400 yards and 2 touchdowns with no picks.
-It was an ugly game between the Ravens and Broncos, and it only got uglier after Bridgewater was taken out with a concussion. It proved two things: one, the Ravens can still win ugly, and two, the Broncos made the right choice at QB1. If only they had been able to keep it close, because their running game was doing very well (Williams and Gordon combined for 104 yards on 16 carries, 6.5 YPC).
-The Chargers defense looks better and better with each passing week and it’s a scary thing to consider. In the last three weeks they’ve held three of the top ten scoring offenses to 24 (Kansas City), 20 (Dallas) and 14 (Las Vegas) points.
FANTASY WAIVER WIRE TARGETS
QB: Zach Wilson (NY Jets)
He had a solid game against the Titans, so we know he has the potential to get the job done. He’s worth the stream in week five thanks to a matchup with the Falcons who we just saw Heinicke torch.
RB: Latavius Murray (Baltimore)
He’s had the highest number of carries in 3 out of the 4 games so far this year and we know Baltimore likes to run the ball. He also punched one into the end zone down near the goal line in week four. With the Ravens injuries woes at Running Back, Murray’s looking like he could be THE guy for Baltimore this season.
KEEP AN EYE ON - RB Damien Williams (Chicago)
He had a decent outing against the Lions, but the key here is David Montgomery who left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. If that causes Montgomery to miss any time, Williams figures to be the RB1.
WR: Darnell Mooney (Chicago)
Be cautious with this one. Mooney can be a stud thanks to his deep threat ability, and the connection he showed with Fields against Detroit. But, if Nagy decides to stick to his guns and return Dalton to the starting lineup (which he has reiterated is his plan), then all that goes out the door.
WR: Laviska Shenault Jr. (Jacksonville)
Shenault is owned in 58% of Yahoo leagues, but I couldn’t resist listing him anyway. He was the biggest beneficiary to the Chark injury, posting 99 yards on 6 catches. Chark broke his ankle, so this should become more of a norm for Shenault. Snag him while you still can.
TE: Dalton Schultz (Dallas)
Schultz has six or more targets in 3 out of 4 games, that’s good volume at the position. The three touchdowns in the last two weeks is not always going to be reliable. The targets mean a lot more. That’s why Schultz should be higher on your list than Mo Alie-Cox and C.J. Uzomah.
K: Greg Joseph (Minnesota)
Prior to week 4 Joseph had back to back 13 point outings. The Vikings can put up lots of points, and Detroit tends to allow a lot of points, so if you’re looking for a streaming option at Kicker in week five, here you go.
D: Dallas Cowboys
Dallas’ defense has been a solid option in fantasy land the last three weeks and a showdown with the sporadic Giants offense should be another good shot at a top 12 finish.
