The least discussed and most important part of fantasy football is learning about the quality of work going on in the trenches.
Welcome to Week 4 of the 2024 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Backup Running Backs of Value
- Fantasy Assets/Fool's Gold: QB Edition
- Offensive Line Liabilities (see below)
- Defenses to Exploit
Let's roll.
Bad Offensive Lines
Matt Waldman: Who are some offensive lines that are hurting the perception of skill talent in the league?
- Name the line
- Name at least one QB or RB whose lack of production makes them look worse than they are.
Go.
Andy Hicks: The Raiders, despite being ranked in the middle of the pack as an offensive line, are getting nothing from Zamir White and Alexander Mattison. Most of us had low expectations from this unit, and they were disappointed even with that low outlook.
Head coach Antonio Pierce has expressed public frustration at the lack of a run game. White hasn't exceeded 44 yards in a game and looked flat doing so. Mattison? Even worse. His form in 2023 in Minnesota was average, but he looked better than he currently does in a Raiders uniform.
Gary Davenport: The entire Chicago offense is fascinating because the blame for its struggles is an infinity loop. The offensive line isn't good, which means fewer holes for D'Andre Swift on the ground and less time for Caleb Williams to throw the ball.
Jason Wood: Gary's point about an infinity loop certainly applies to the Los Angeles Rams. No team has endured more missed games on offense. With both star receivers—Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp—out, the Rams are already down at least five offensive linemen.
They've also been without starting tight end Tyler Higbee as he continues his rehab. It's hard to isolate the Rams' struggles to any one of these factors, but we can all agree the compounding effect is tough to overcome. Matthew Stafford ranks as the No. 26 quarterback through three weeks, and we know he's usually a top-15 option on a per-game basis.
The Patriots' run-blocking has been abysmal, and it's keeping Rhamondre Stevenson from looking like a star. Yes, he's ranked No. 23 among running backs and has two good weeks of production. Some may view him as delivering value, but the offensive line is doing him no favors.
New England's line ranks in the bottom five in most run-blocking metrics. Notably, the Patriots rank 30th in rushing yards per attempt before contact (0.55), but are second in yards per rush after contact (4.28).
Imagine how great Stevenson's numbers would look if he were getting another yard before he's forced to shake off tacklers.
Sam Wagman: I have to agree with Jason and Gary about the Rams' offensive line. They're missing multiple starters on the line and it's affecting Matthew Stafford's ability to make magic happen on a consistent basis. Yes, he drove the Rams to a comeback victory over the 49ers last week, but that's a divisional game and I'm not sure he can continue to do that on a regular schedule.
Jeff Haseley: Cleveland's offensive line comes to mind here. It wasn't long ago that they had a strong unit. Injuries are starting to mount--right guard Wyatt Teller is the latest.
Cleveland leads the league in sacks allowed with 16, and they are 24th in rushing yards, which includes Deshaun Watson's 85 rushing yards. Nick Chubb (knee) is still unavailable, but let's not pretend he will be the same player we've seen in the past when he returns.
Jerome Ford is doing what he can, but the rush attempts aren't high enough for him to make a difference as a fantasy threat. He has only 29 attempts in 3 games as the primary rusher mostly due to the Browns trailing most of the time.
Tennessee is also struggling against the pass rush, allowing 15 sacks to Will Levis (2nd most in the league). In addition to those sacks, Levis has been rushed, hurried, and hit often resulting in 5 interceptions. Only Indianapolis has thrown more.
Jeff Bell: I keep waiting for the day fantasy football wakes up and sees C.J. Stroud sitting at QB16 instead of the top-6 quarterback he was valued this summer. I see Stroud listed as QB6 in the weekly rankings and realize we are not there yet. He is playing a Jaguars team we want every part of going against right now.
Stroud's 2.2 seconds of pocket time are near the bottom of the league; meanwhile, he is in the top five in both sacks (11) and hurries (12). Laremy Tunsil leads the league with 9 penalties, and his 51-penalty pace would demolish the current “record holder” Brandon Browner's 24 flags. Center Juice Scruggs is young, in just his second season, meanwhile, guard Kenyon Green has struggled.
Week 1 can hold much sway on opinions, even in a week-to-week league. The Texans got a soft Colts defense and did what they should. But an offense we were sure would be explosive now has just 10 points in their last six quarters of football. Of course, this will look silly immediately with the Jaguars on tap.
Waldman: I was low-key amazed at the stubbornness of Houston's offensive scheme against the Vikings. For the first three quarters, Bobby Slowik and Stroud ran slow-developing routes with 3-4 receivers against Minnesota's back seven who were getting great depth to prevent intermediate and deep targets. Meanwhile, the Texans' offensive line was giving up pressure without blitzing.
I expected C.J. Stroud to take check-downs and Slowik to change play calls so the Texans would have 2-3 receivers running shallow routes instead of one. Nope. It was a stubborn display of offensive strategy.
Thanks for reading. Check out the links below for all of this week's roundtable topics:
- Backup Running Backs of Value
- Fantasy Assets/Fool's Gold: QB Edition
- Offensive Line Liabilities
- Defenses to Exploit
Good luck!