Week 2 shall be known as the quarterback apocalypse. Multiple veterans went down with an injury. Others were benched due to ineptitude. It basically changed the entire landscape. A few might be scooped up on waivers in fantasy football. However, others like Kyle Allen might sit for a while. Allen is just one player who needs to be monitored moving forward, with Jamaal Williams and Kenny Stills also making this week’s watch list.
Week Four Fantasy Football Watch List Featuring Kyle Allen
Kyle Allen
Week three saw six quarterbacks get their first starts of the season. Some, like Teddy Bridgewater, were looking for redemption. Others, like Daniel Jones, were looking to live up to the hype of their draft stock. Lost in most storylines was Kyle Allen, making his first appearance of 2019 for the Carolina Panthers.
Allen comes into his second season for the Panthers after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He started one game for Carolina last year, week 17, and played pretty well against the New Orleans Saints. Allen threw for 228 passing yards, two touchdowns, and rushed for another. But it was the final week of the season against a team that rested most of its starters.
But Allen built on that performance last week in relief for Cam Newton, who missed the game with a foot injury. Allen threw for four touchdowns on just 19 completions. Newton has already been ruled out of week four against the Houston Texans, meaning Allen will get another NFL start. However, it isn’t time to grab Allen off of waivers yet. Newton is still the franchise quarterback, and won’t lose his job simply because of an injury.
However, Newton hasn’t played well this year, and many think that the shoulder injury that helped give Allen his first game action last year isn’t completely healed. If Allen balls out again against the Texans, and Newton comes back still looking off, the team might decide to make the change for good. Keep an eye on Allen this week, and stash him on the watch list.
Jamaal Williams
Many scratched their heads in confusion when Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LeFleur stated that he wanted to even out the loads between running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams. After all, Jones was coming off a game where he totaled 150 yards and a touchdown. And one of the most frustrating stories in fantasy football last year was Jones’ lack of usage for his skillset.
But it looks like part two of this saga is here, as LeFleur stayed true to his word, balancing the two runners’ touches. In fact, last week, Williams actually got two more carries and caught one more pass than Jones. Worse yet, Williams even had a better stat line than Jones (although neither of them had a particularly good game). Jones only managed 19 yards on ten attempts, adding a four-yard reception in there. Williams had 12 carries for 59 yards, and two catches for 27 yards.
Jones saved his day with two short touchdowns, but this has to be concerning for Jones owners. In addition, Jones is being listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. The Packers could decide to cut his usage back even further to prevent more wear and tear. Williams fantasy value is still up in the air, and a good defensive front against the Philadelphia Eagles isn’t ideal to help his fantasy value.
Still, Williams is appearing on many waiver wire adds for week four. It isn’t advisable to use a claim on him quite yet. However, if he goes unclaimed, or gets dropped after a poor performance this week, running back needy teams should keep close tabs on Williams usage moving forward.
Kenny Stills
New Houston Texans wide receiver is probably stoked to have gotten out of the dumpster fire that is the Miami Dolphins. Miami is looking like one of the worst teams in NFL history, while the Texans are a last-second field goal away from being 3-0. Not only that, Stills looks like a growing part of this high-powered offense.
Stills made an immediate impact in his first game with the team. With time running out in the fourth, Still made a clutch grab for a touchdown. If not for Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, Stills’ touchdown would have been the game-winner. Stills only was only targeted six times in the first two games but saw that same number in the third week alone. He turned those targets into four catches for 89 yards.
The target number could be wideout’s floor since superstar DeAndre Hopkins has been a target-hog his entire career. He is also still playing behind deep threat Will Fuller. However, Fuller has never started all 16 games in a season. This means that Stills could quickly find himself in the number two spot if Fuller misses time.
With bye weeks starting week four, Stills is someone to keep an eye on for streaming appeal, or to plug in to fill a void if a player is hurt.
Redux: Jeff Wilson Jr.
Last week’s watch list featured San Francisco 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr. He was activated from the practice squad just days before week two’s game and went on to run for two touchdowns. This was despite being third on the depth chart. After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan stated that Wilson was going to be the goal-line back moving forward.
Some thought it was just coach speak. But it wasn’t. Though Wilson got fewer carries and much less yards than week two, he scored another two touchdowns, coming in near the red zone, just like Shanahan said. This now brings Wilson up to four rushing touchdowns with just 18 carries on the year. This ties him with Dalvin Cook for second-most in the league.
The concern with Wilson now is if he will continue to even play. He was only activated because Tevin Coleman suffered an ankle sprain. Now, he is expected to be back after the team finishes their bye in week 4. Keep an eye on if Wilson is even active in Week 5, and then, how much he plays. He could still have some value if he keeps his goal-line carry role
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