Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall-of-Famer Bob Harris and Gary Davenport have well over 40 years of experience as fantasy football analysts and three Football Writer of the Year Awards between them. They know their stuff—or at least that's what they tell themselves.

Each week during the 2024 season, Harris and Davenport are going to come together here at Footballguys to discuss some of that week's most polarizing fantasy options.

It's Week 4, and if there's one thing that can be said, it's that the first three weeks haven't been boring. For every high-end fantasy option who has met expectations, another has disappointed. And another player who has come from nowhere to crash the party.

This week, Harris and Davenport start in Indianapolis—with a struggling young quarterback that has given more than one fantasy manager a case of "Pass the Pepto."

Anthony Richardson's Slow Start

Before we go any further, an important caveat—three weeks in remains a small sample size, and much can change. But through those three weeks, Anthony Richardson of the Colts ranks outside the top-12 quarterbacks and has struggled mightily throwing the ball.

Panic-Meter time off the jump this week—how worried are you about the Colts young quarterback?

Harris: I said it all summer: "If Richardson is the nail, I am the hammer." I invested like that. At this point, it's fair to argue I'm over-invested. All that said, I'm setting the panic meter to 4. I'm not going to pretend all is well. Richardson has thrown six interceptions this season and has yet to complete more than half of his passes in a game this year. It's been bad enough that ESPN's Dan Graziano wondered if the Colts, who believe Richardson needs to play in games to improve, nonetheless decide to give him a week or so off to clear his head.

I don't see the Colts benching him. I don't see me benching him either (I'm old, mean, and very stubborn). But the rest of you? Please feel free to take a different approach with Richardson, who is currently QB19 with an average of 13.7 points per game after scoring just 15 in his last two combined.

Davenport: I'll bump it one notch to 5, and that's as a manager who doesn't have many shares of Richardson—he was drafted too close to his ceiling, given the legitimate concerns about his durability and where he is as a passer. As it turns out, where he is as a passer is somewhere between "bad" and "Will Levis."

This isn't to say it's time to panic-drop Richardson or trade him for 60 cents on the dollar and make things worse. There was a reason why Richardson was drafted where he was, and the ceiling is undeniable. But his rushing numbers are the only thing propping up what fantasy value he does have—and those haven't been great. He's been awful throwing the ball.

It's not going to turn around in Week 4, either. Not against that Steelers defense.

All Aboard the Achane

Richardson may have disappointed, but Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane has been just what fantasy managers asked for—largely because Miami has had little recourse but to give the second-year back the touches those same managers hoped for.

Can Achane keep this up? How concerned are you about the overall state of the Miami offense? In short, will Achane's RB4 ranking in PPR points hold, or is it now time to consider selling?

Harris: I am somewhat concerned. Achane should be fine in general. I still rank him as an RB1, albeit at the lower end of the scale than I have up to this point. Part of that is a tough matchup against a Titans defense that's already very stingy against opposing runners. But the Dolphins' issues at quarterback, whether it's Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle, or Tyler Huntley, add to all this.

Not that their problems getting the ball downfield necessarily impact Achane. The more dump-offs the Miami quarterbacks toss, the more opportunities Achane will likely get. But Achane is only averaging 3.49 yards per carry this year (down from 7.7 per carry last year). He needs volume. That requires the offense to be on schedule. Last week, Miami didn't reach 100 yards of offense until their second drive of the third quarter and finished 1-of-12 on third-down attempts. That's not helpful. 

Davenport: Harris put the conundrum with Achane right now perfectly. Between the injuries at running back and the misery at quarterback, Achane has become the focal point of the Miami offense out of necessity. The workload that fantasy managers were hoping for has been there. But the quality of touches hasn't been what we expected. Opposing defenses know what's coming. That Achane is still having the success he is speaks to his talent.

The problem is that Achane isn't built to be a grinder, and durability was already a worry with the youngster. My backfield would have to be awfully deep. And the return would have to be awfully good. Achane's fantasy value is as high right now as it's going to get, so selling is at least worth considering.

Nabers-Mania

Editor's Note: This was written before Nabers' Week 4 game.

Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers of the New York Giants isn't just the top first-year receiver in fantasy points—three weeks in, he's the No. 1 fantasy receiver overall. 

How sustainable is that pace over a full season, and if you had to re-rank Nabers for 2024 where would he slot?

Harris: No victory lapping here, but I argued all offseason that Nabers was the value play among all the rookie wide receivers. As I explained in a Fantasy Notebook in June, Nabers "has the explosiveness and talent to be mentioned in the same breath as fellow former LSU standouts Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase. Nabers led the SEC in receptions for two consecutive seasons, and his 34 receptions of 20-plus yards in 2023 led the country. He can play all three receiver spots and is head and shoulders above the rest of the talent on the roster." Based on that, I added: "Much like I argued the gap between Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs was too wide last year, I don't think the gap between Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr.. should be as big as it is this year . . . This is more about opportunity cost and the players we'll be passing on to land Harrison than concern about his abilities and landing spot. But in the end, I'll likely have more Nabers than Harrison."

So, some minor victory lapping here.

It's easy to say now I'd rank Nabers where we viewed Harrison (and, for the record, I ranked Harrison as WR10 and Nabers as WR23 in my final 2024 Draft Rankings), but it would have been great to be more assertive in backing my argument.

Davenport: From a talent perspective, I'm not surprised at Nabers' success. I probably had him ranked right around where Harris did—as a low-end WR2. Figured targets would be there, but wondered about, you know, Daniel Jones.

As it turns out, I may have underestimated just how many targets we were talking about. Three games in, Nabers had been targeted a whopping 37 times—most in the league. And I don't see why that would change moving forward. Defenses are going to compensate with bracket coverage, I'm sure. But that doesn't mean Jones won't chuck it up there anyway—or that Nabers won't go get it.

Given the rookie explosions we have seen in recent years, you'd think we come to expect it. But we could easily have two rookies inside the top 10 at season's end. Nabers is a WR1—even if he'd probably still slot outside my top 12. The depth at wide receiver just gets better and better.

Tight End Trouble

The entire tight end position is polarizing right now because it has been chaos—slow starts from stars, big weeks from nowhere, you name it. 

Plenty of tight ends have struggled in the early going, but if you had to hitch your fantasy wagon (giddyup) to one tight end presently outside the top 10 in PPR points, who would it be?

Harris: I feel like a glutton for punishment here, but I'm not ready to check out on Travis Kelce. I certainly don't believe his current TE22 spot is permanent. Kelce is playing 85 percent of the Chiefs' offensive snaps; he's second on the team in routes run and tied for the most red-zone targets on the team. According to The Athletic's Nate Taylor, Kelce has created an average separation of 3.5 yards, tied for 13th among tight ends, according to Next Gen Stats.

Taylor noted that Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson, who has produced 14 receptions on 21 targets for 273 yards and three touchdowns, also has an average separation of 3.6 yards this season. I realize Kelce has been held to under 35 yards without a touchdown in all three games this season. But the opportunities are there, and I will hold tight in an environment where tight ends are coming up short across the board -- at least for now.

Davenport: Agree 100 percent on Kelce. Too early to panic.

The same can be said about many of the players who were drafted highly but have disappointed. Jacksonville's floundering offense will throw a parade when Evan Engram returns. Isaiah Likely's hot start notwithstanding, Mark Andrews is still going to rebound at some point.

Since Harris stole my wagon (some people), I'll go with the guy I touted all offseason as a value: Engram. He hasn't been invisible in the early going. He's been hurt. The Jaguars desperately need a spark on offense, and while Engram's return date still isn't known, once he is back, there's still hope that he can be the fantasy option I thought.

Or at least that's what I tell myself in between bouts of hysterical sobbing. My tight ends are a mess.

Plant the Flag

We're going to close every edition of this column this season with a little exercise called "Plant the Flag." 

Make a player a polarizing one—by selecting a guy outside the top 15 quarterbacks and tight ends or outside the top 25 running backs or wide receivers per the Footballguys Rankings who will blow up for week-winning numbers.

Harris: Rome Odunze opens the week as WR31, but he's in a great spot. As ESPN's Mike Clay noted this week, the Rams have given up 24-plus fantasy points to a wide receiver in every game this year while allowing the second-most touchdowns (six) to receivers, as well as the third-most fantasy points overall to the position (and the most points to the perimeter). Meanwhile, Odunze was targeted 11 times last week en route to a WR7 finish with 23.4 points. Even assuming Keenan Allen returns from his two-week absence, Odunze, who has three red-zone targets in the last two games, has established a more prominent role in the Bears offense going forward, and this matchup is too good for me to pass up.

Davenport: Harris done caught rookie fever! Get that man some Robitussin!

I'll go further down the wide receiver list and say Darnell Mooney of the Atlanta Falcons. Mooney had some sleeper appeal over the summer, but it appears he wasn't asleep at all. Three weeks into the season, Mooney has one fewer target than a player drafted as a fantasy WR1 in Drake London. He has one fewer reception. And he has more receiving yards.

Kirk Cousins likes throwing the ball to Mooney. Period. Full stop. It's what's killing Kyle Pitts. But it doesn't appear likely to change—and Mooney has shown he can do it in the past.

Bob Harris was the first ever Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year and is a member of the FSWA Hall of Fame. Follow Bob on X at @footballdiehard.

Gary Davenport is a two-time FSWA Football Writer of the Year. Follow Gary on X at @IDPSharks.