The NFL is five weeks into the season, and there have already been many surprises regarding fantasy football production. There are many different ways to play fantasy football, but for the sake of this article, I will be using the PPR format. PPR stands for Points-Per-Reception and awards players on any catches they make with points.
Injuries Galore
So far, the biggest disappointment in fantasy football is the sheer number of injuries. It’s only been three weeks since kickoff, and some prominent players are already out for extended periods of time.
So far, the biggest disappointment in fantasy football is the sheer number of injuries. It’s only been three weeks since kickoff, and some prominent players are already out for extended periods of time.
The biggest loss of the season to injury has to go to 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. He’s the reigning Offensive Player of the Year and was last year’s RB1 in terms of fantasy production. Coming into 2024, he seemed like an obvious pick for those who had high draft picks in the first round. Before the season started, there were reports about his health, but the expectation was that he would be ready by week one.
When CMC didn’t start week one, fantasy owners were optimistic that he could be back by week two. Unfortunately for them and me, he was placed on the injury reserve list to recover from his achilles tendinitis. The very best-case scenario is that he comes back after six weeks, but he’ll likely be out for longer. Obviously, this is awful for the 49ers and CMC’s health. I’m sure fantasy production is the last thing on their minds, but for casual fans, this might’ve lost some people in their respective fantasy leagues.
Trouble in LA
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only injury with huge fantasy implications. Wide Receiver Puka Nacua was a revelation for the Los Angeles Rams last year. He broke the record for the most yards by a rookie wide receiver with 1,486. Coming into last season, he wasn’t a household name, but after impressive performances, he was quickly picked up off the waiver wire. He ranked fifth in fantasy points last year from all wide receivers. He had an impressive rookie debut and had a lot of expectations entering his sophomore year. For fantasy football in 2024, he was the seventh wide receiver taken off the board. He had the potential to be a WR1 for most fantasy teams, but he didn’t even get a chance.
In the first game of the season, Puka went out with an injury after only four receptions.
Offense Explodes in New Orleans
One of the biggest storylines to start the season is how much the New Orleans Saints are rolling right now. Last year, they finished with a record of 9 – 8 and didn’t make the playoffs. They’ve started the year 2 – 2, and the way those wins have played out has the football world buzzing.
They started off the year with a beatdown on the Carolina Panthers. They won that game convincingly, with the score being 47 – 10. Running back Alvin Kamara had 22 fantasy points in week one, and his quarterback, Dereck Carr, had 21 fantasy points.
This game saw Carr throw for three touchdowns with no interceptions and Kamara rush for a touchdown and 83 yards on 15 attempts. One of the highlights was a 59-yard bomb thrown down the field and caught by the speedster wide receiver Rashid Shaheed.
Shaheed provides good fantasy value for what was expected from him. Before the season began, he was expected to be the 57th-best receiver in terms of fantasy production. Three weeks into the season, he is the 34th-best receiver, beating out guys like wide receiver Zay Flowers and wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Shaheed has been shown to be a reliable flex option for most fantasy teams, with the upside of producing like a wide receiver. On average, he was drafted in the thirteenth round, which was a pleasant surprise for all those who took a chance on him.
Saints COOK The Cowboys
After torching the Panthers, the Saints had to go to Dallas to face the Cowboys at home. Putting up a lot of points against the Panthers is one thing, but doing that two weeks in a row and against the Cowboys is another. They walked out of Dallas with a score of 44 – 17. The scoring began early as one of the first few plays was another Shaheed bomb, this one good for 70 yards!
This game saw Kamara put on an absolute CLINIC against the Cowboy’s defense. He had 180 yards total with four touchdowns. This impressive performance netted him 44 fantasy points in a statement win. He was expected to be the thirteenth-best running back in terms of fantasy football, and he currently sits at the fourth-best.
In week three, the Saints lost to the Eagles 15 – 12. Kamara only put up 15 points and had no touchdowns, while Carr only had 8 points with a touchdown and interception. This was a very defensive game. Both offenses were held in check, and there weren’t that many fantasy points scored.
The Early MVP Frontrunner
Heading into week four, there shouldn’t be too much speculation as to who the league MVP might be this year. However, this won’t stop fans from trying to guess, and so far, based on the eye test, I would say that quarterback Josh Allen is leading the race. The Buffalo Bills are 3 – 1. In his first game against the Arizona Cardinals, he passed for two touchdowns and 232 yards. He started off the year with 31 fantasy points, and this was to be expected as he was the consensus number-one quarterback heading into the year for fantasy football.
In week two, the Bills took care of the Miami Dolphins in a game where Allen didn’t have to do much, which explains his performance of only 9 points.
The Bills just played the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Allen MVP case is in full effect as he led his team to 5 scoring drives, each with a different player in the endzone. He earned 30 fantasy points and is paying off everyone who drafted him highly for their fantasy football teams.
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