Fantasy Overview, Week 4

• Mitchell Trubisky, CHI - Yes, he just tagged Washington for three touchdowns, but he's averaging a paltry 5.62 yards per attempt and he is not running nearly as often as he did in 2018. He has only 5 carries for 21 yards and 0 rushing scores. Last year at this time he had 14 rushes for 64 yards and 1 touchdown.
• Mason Rudolph, PIT - The sample size is small for Rudolph, but in two games, his best numbers are 14 completions for 174 yards. He has a sub-60% completion rate and he doesn't run much - 5 carries for 22 yards.

Running back

• Devin Singletary, BUF - Yes, Singletary is dealing with a minor hamstring injury that might keep him out one more game to be sure he is fully healthy when he returns. For now, Frank Gore is handling duties, but in limited action so far, Singletary has produced 127 yards on 10 carries (12.7 YPC) with an additional 5 receptions. His time is coming. Buffalo has their bye Week 6. I feel Singletary could be a focal point of the Bills offense in the second half of the season.
• Chris Carson, SEA - Carson has struggled with ball security, but he is doing everything else right. He is rushing for 15+ yards on 11% of his carries which is highest of all backs with at least 30 carries.
• Phillip Lindsay, DEN - The Broncos are starting to realize that Lindsay is more of a playmaker than Royce Freeman, and despite his smaller stature, he's more successful near the goal line. Lindsay's 7 carries inside the 10-yard line is 4th in the league and his snap-share percentage over Freeman should widen in the coming weeks.
• James White, NE - We have yet to see the Patriots play a worthy opponent, and James White has not had his big 10-catch two-score game yet. We know it's coming, and now Julian Edelman is nursing a chest injury that could decrease his targets. It opens the door for White to be a key contributor. His time is coming.

Needle pointing down

• James Conner, PIT - The Steelers offense has lost its zip without Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, but mostly Roethlisberger. Mason Rudolph is struggling to fill Ben's shoes and the offense is sputtering. James Conner is a product of that lack of production. He has only 1 touchdown and 97 rushing yards in three games. He was projected to be a candidate for double-digit touchdowns and 50+ receptions. Those expectations are dwindling away.
• Chiefs running backs, KC - The Chiefs Plug-N-Play offense is starting to resemble the Patriots uncertain ground game, in that there is no given back that will assume the majority of the team's production on a weekly basis. LeSean McCoy, Damien Williams, Darrel Williams, and everyone's preseason darling, Darwin Thompson have all shown some degree of success. Until a true back emerges, this situation is a cloudy mess with uncertainty for weekly production.
• Sony Michel, NE - Michel was projected to be the Patriots primary rushing threat in 2019, but he has struggled out of the gate with a dim 2.4 yards per rush (on 45 carries!) and 110 rushing yards in three games. He has zero receptions and if it wasn't for two goal-line plunge touchdowns, he would be outside of the Top 50. And that was against the Steelers, Dolphins, Jets (combined 0-9 record). There is hope that he will turn it around, but his teammate, Rex Burkhead, is waiting in the wings with a better track record.

Wide Receiver

• Deebo Samuel, SF - 101 of Samuel's 148 yards receiving have come after the catch. He has scored only one touchdown this year, but more is on the way. The 49ers have scored 96 points (5th in the league). Only George Kittle (21) has more targets than Samuel (14) for the 49ers.
• Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate, NYG - The addition of Daniel Jones and the loss of Saquon Barkley means the Giants are going to pass more and pass with production. When Shepard is targeted, the quarterback rating is 124.5. Golden Tate will command some of the target share when he returns in Week 5, but the trio of Evan Engram, Tate, and Shepard will make up the majority of the Giants pass production.
• Demarcus Robinson, KC - Tyreek Hill will return in a few weeks, which will take away some of the production that has gone Robinson's way. However, the Chiefs offense is strong enough to give value to three, if not four players any given week. Until Hill returns Robinson is a weekly starter. After he returns, he's still a flex option with scoring appeal.
• D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel, CAR - The presence of Kyle Allen has given life to the Panthers offense and their playmakers. Both Moore and Samuel should benefit from an accurate arm while Cam Newton is out nursing a foot injury.

Needle pointing down

• JuJu Smith-Schuster, PIT - The Steelers offense is struggling and Smith-Schuster's numbers are slipping as a result. He has only 8 receptions in three games and Mason Rudolph has not cracked 200 yards in a game yet. The future should definitely be better for Smith-Schuster, but the days of him being a dominant force are on hold.
• Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, MIN - The Vikings offense, led by Kevin Stefanski, is favoring the running game, which is affecting the pass offense. Only one player has over 10 receptions on the team (Thielen). Diggs is dealing with a sore hamstring, but only 6 catches in three games on an offense that does not need to pass is a big concern.
• Kenny Golladay, DET - Golladay has 14 catches on 27 targets (51%) and is showing that he is struggling against opposing team's top corner. As a result, he is not catching his targets, while Marvin Jones is 15 catches on 19 targets (79%). That's a concern for Golladay.
• Michael Thomas, NO - The lack of Drew Brees has a negative impact on all Saints receivers. Teddy Bridgewater has not thrown over 200 yards in a game in two games, and he is averaging a mere 6 yards per attempt. It all points to a decrease in production for Thomas.

Tight end

What stands out?

Evan Engram is the top tight end after three games and now he has an upgrade at quarterback thanks to Daniel Jones. After Engram, the rankings could go either way with approximately five players. The preseason Top 3 of Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, and George Kittle have not hit their stride just yet, but you have to believe their time is coming. After the Top 8, there is a drop-off of production that doesn't appear to have many takers who could make a jump into the Top 10. Eric Ebron, O.J. Howard, and T.J. Hockenson could make a move, but there appears to be little else.

Players I like moving forward

• Darren Waller, OAK has burst onto the scene and is a candidate to be this year's George Kittle. I'd like to see him get in the end zone, but his numbers have been outstanding so far. The future is bright for Waller.
• Dawson Knox, BUF Knox is a player who could see a spike in targets moving forward. I don't necessarily see him as a Top 10 player, but he's on my radar.
• Austin Hooper, ATL - Hooper is quickly becoming one of Matt Ryan's top targets. Only Julio Jones has more team targets than Hooper. As long as the scores keep coming, Hooper has Top 5 potential.
• T.J. Hockenson, DET - Hockenson benefited from a Cardinal defense who has been horrendous against opposing tight ends this year. Outside of that, Hockenson has been on a milk carton. In his defense, he was targeted four times last week, two of which were end zone targets. One of those he caught for a touchdown that was ruled that he stepped out of bounds before making the catch. The score was negated. He is still leading all tight ends on the team in snaps and should see a jump in production in the coming weeks.

Players I'm shying away from

• Jimmy Graham, GB - In Week 3, Graham had only 24 snaps while Marcedes Lewis had 31. The Packers already shy away from using a tight end in their offense, and now Graham is losing ground to Lewis. The future isn't looking bright for a guy who looked like a Hall of Famer on the Saints.
• Trey Burton, CHI - The Bears offense has sputtered in the first three games and they are using a two-tight end approach with Burton and Adam Shaheen. It points to a drop-off in production for Burton, who was supposed to be a key contributor for Matt Nagy's offense.