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Fantasy Football Fact or Fluke: Chase Brown is one of those players who proves that patience pays off

Fantasy Football Fact or Fluke: Chase Brown is one of those players who proves that patience pays off

Most fantasy players are anything but a lesson in patience. We move effortlessly from exhilaration to despair, with no middle ground. We have high expectations and when they are not met immediately, we go to the darkest places.

Sometimes the best I can do is try not to think about Player X letting you down week after week.

So what happens when a player or team we’ve all but given up on starts producing? Can we trust him? Can we consider it a lesson in patience? Or are we doomed to be slaves to the emotional rollercoaster that is fantasy football?

Here we take a look at some of the big names that had us panicking in September to see if we think they can be relied upon going forward.

Let me start with Swift, who has been picked as a fantasy starter by many Zero or Hero RB strategists. This seemed like a serious mistake in the first three weeks of the season. Since then, however, Swift has been Fantasy’s RB2 with at least 19 half-PPR fantasy points per game in Weeks 4-6.

These coincided with some of the best fantasy matchups for running backs (Rams, Panthers, Jaguars) as well as Williams’ improved play. Williams was selected as a backup QB in fantasy drafts with future potential and that potential was fulfilled; Williams has been the fantasy QB8 for the last three weeks. It was easy to be patient with him as he experienced the NFL’s growing pains (two touchdowns, four interceptions in the first three games, three fumbles this season). However, over the last two weeks, he has made a name for himself as a fantasy must-start (six touchdowns, one pick).

The Bears have a bye in Week 7, but both players’ managers are looking forward to the Week 8 game against Washington. I will note that Chicago’s receivers, including TE Cole Kmet, will likely continue to be imaginative performers. Still, given the number of injuries we’ve dealt with this season, DJ Moore, Kmet and Keenan Allen are must-haves for the future.

Robinson has finally produced a fantasy line that matches your draft (25.5 half PPR points in Week 6). But he hasn’t been bad, hitting double figures in four games so far and narrowly missing that mark in Weeks 4-5. With the Seahawks, Bucs and Cowboys up next – all above-average fantasy matchups for RBs – I think you can expect 15-20 fantasy points from your first-round pick for the foreseeable future.

Robinson can’t do it alone, however, as the Falcons’ overall offense has improved in recent weeks, ranking 11th in points per game and points per game. London has averaged eight catches for nearly 100 yards per game over the past three weeks, and his four receiving touchdowns have helped him reach fantasy WR5 status. After a tough first week against the Steelers, London was rock solid.

McLaurin has long been an example of patience, and since we were able to recruit him in the middle rounds this year, it wasn’t too hard to endure his slow start. While it was frustrating to see Jayden Daniels excel from the start as McLaurin gave us 4-8 fantasy points through the first two weeks of the season, all is forgiven now.

McLaurin has quickly become one of the best fantasy draft values, finishing Week 6 as the fantasy WR5 and moving up to WR14 this season (half PPR rating). He’s on pace for his fifth straight 1,000-yard season and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he finishes with his career-high in fantasy points per game.

Brown was another popular Zero RB target this summer and one that fantasy managers will quickly boast about drafting. Brown scored at least one goal in each of the Bengals’ last three games and was the ninth-best fantasy running back during that time. The Bengals may have struggled early in the season, but things are going well now. The patience has paid off as Brown has become a player you can rely on during these difficult farewell weeks.

Looking ahead, Brown will have two more challenging matchups with the Browns and Eagles before another campaign game with the Raiders in Week 9. However, that is only half the battle. Brown has outscored Zack Moss in each of the last two games, with just one fewer target in Week 4. This means the odds are increasingly on his side. We only lose Dallas and Chicago by two-for-alls this week, but Brown could still have more potential than, say, James Cook (vs. Tennessee), a 49ers defenseman (vs. KC) or Aaron Jones (vs. Detroit).

Andrews finally had the game his fantasy managers had been waiting for… but did you even start him? This weekend was just his third acceptable game of the season (considering how bad the position is, I think seven half PPR points is fine) and it was by far his best (3/65/1).

While I think there is room for patience in fantasy football, I don’t think Andrews will remain an elite fantasy TE for the remainder of the season. Maybe they’ve assembled a roster that can withstand their zeroes (that’s happened twice so far), but I feel more comfortable starting Isaiah Likely or whatever other streaming option is lying around on waivers.

Maybe you learned Kmet after week 5; I’ll definitely choose him over Andrews.

Speaking of patience with tight ends, LaPorta was probably the first TE drafted in the second or third draft in your league Perhaps third round. So, yeah, it was nice to see him finally score in Week 6. And yes, it was a great catch-and-run trick game too. But it was also a single catch on a target against a defense that was extremely underperforming.

With LaPorta, it’s not about patience, but rather the fear of missing out on the explosive values ​​he can still produce. You must continue to use him, and I hope he continues to grow with you in the Lions’ potent offense. But that might not be the case this week, as the Vikings have allowed their opponents the third-fewest points per game in the league.

Everyone loves bringing in a rookie QB early in the season, and if you chose Nix, you probably had a hard time looking in the mirror the first two weeks of the season (four interceptions, zero passing touchdowns by Nothing). He showed signs of life against a Bucs defense that turned out not to be as strong as people thought, rushing for his second goal of the season and managing to protect the football. But he’s really turned things around in the last two games, a span in which he posted five touchdowns and one interception, as well as over 200 passing yards and 35 rushing yards per game.

He is QB7 over the two-game fantasy sample. Importantly, the performance came in Week 6 against the Chargers, who have been the league’s stingiest defense to date (averaging 13.2 PPG allowed). If you’ve been limping along with Dak Prescott or Justin Herbert, maybe it’s time to consider a dramatic move to Nix.

Downs is something of a fantasy darling, and despite recovering from an ankle injury early in the season, he has been selected by most 12-team leagues. He started slowly in Week 3 but has been a fantasy workhorse since then, managing fantasy completions of WR8, WR26, and WR16. These have been good enough to make him the WR11 in fantasy over the last three games, averaging 10 targets per game.

The problem is that those games all featured the pass-happy Joe Flacco at QB, and Anthony Richardson will be back for the Week 7 clash with Miami. Although Miami’s offense has struggled greatly since losing Tua Tagovailoa, its defense has held opposing wide receivers to the second-fewest fantasy points per game (they allow the fewest QBs and are league average against RBs).

I understand if you don’t have better options, but Downs, despite his recent success, isn’t a player I’d necessarily want to trust in Week 7.