Polarizing Fantasy Players: Week 4

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.