Week #4 of the NFL season has come and gone and that brings us another edition of our daily fantasy football busts and diamonds. These happen every week, but it’s always a surprise just who it will happen to. Sometimes, a great player just has a bad day. Other times, a mediocre has an amazing day. Knowing who these players are is a helpful thing for the future as you might find that the same thing happens to these players when put in a similar situation.
This Weeks Busts
Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos
Peyton Manning continues to disappoint fantasy players that draft him. He only had 213 yards in passing this week with 1 touchdown. He threw 2 interceptions and was sacked twice. His rushing total was -2, completing a very unimpressive week yet again as the Broncos pulled off the win against the Minnesota Vikings. It’s not really a surprise if you look at Manning’s age, but he’s been so impressive in the past that he started out the season at the top of the rankings for best quarterbacks in the NFL. Unfortunately, Manning keeps underperforming from a fantasy perspective, and that means that you should stay away from him as you draft your daily rosters. He’s still really expensive, and is not contributing anywhere near as much as he should.
Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions
Johnson had 7 receptions on 11 targets, but only 56 yards in the process. There were no touchdowns from him, and he had a fumble for a loss. Fantasy players that were paying attention should have known to avoid Johnson, but no one really expected him to play quite so poorly. His opposition—the Seattle Seahawks—do have a great defense, and having Kam Chancellor back as strong safety is going to impact how well opposing wide receivers perform. While Johnson hasn’t had the greatest season so far this year, expectations were certainly higher for him this game than how he actually performed.
The World of Daily Fantasy Football is Right Here
Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Brown had 9 targets and 5 receptions when Pittsburgh lost to the Baltimore Ravens. Now that Ben Roethlisberger is out, it was expected that Brown’s numbers would drop a bit, but this was above and beyond what was expected. Unfortunately, it looks like it will stay this way with Brown until a QB with a strong and accurate arm steps in for the Steelers. For now, he still leads the NFL in yards, but that’s likely to change next week if Roethlisberger’s replacement—Michael Vick—doesn’t start connecting more with Brown on longer passes. This was the lowest yards per reception average that Brown has had all season, and his longest was only 17 yards total.
The Diamonds of the Week
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
Hopkins had some hype going into this week’s game, but he was still only priced as a mid-level wide receiver on most of the best daily fantasy sports sites. He led the NFL in yards, though, and had 9 receptions. He wasn’t the highest fantasy point scorer over the weekend because he didn’t have any touchdowns, but he had such a large number of yards that in some leagues, like those at DraftKings, bonus points were added to his score. FanDuel doesn’t offer this little extra, which made Hopkins a top point producer at some sites, but not at others. If you are going to use him in the future this season, be sure that you are getting the most fantasy point potential you can by placing him correctly.
Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Yes, the Eagles lost, but Bradford put up some great numbers. He had 270 yards, 3 touchdown throws, and 0 interceptions. It was his best week individually so far this season, and it shows some promise for the Eagles still this year. He even picked up 14 yards rushing on his 1 attempt. Depending upon the opposing defense, Bradford could be a cheap yet effective fantasy pick throughout the season.
Bradford photo credit.
