Week four of the NFL season was relatively sane, but still, there are some fantasy football questions we should be asking ourselves. I’ve selected three to highlight and answer for you. And yes, you should cut Kyle Pitts. I’m so tired of that dude. And by that dude I mean Arthur Smith.
Is Nico Collins a Fantasy Stud?
As in, “Don’t sit your studs?” Through four games, Nico Collins is WR7 in PPR leagues, averaging 20.7 PPR points on 12.5 targets, 5.5 receptions, and 107 receiving yards per game. He’s been monstrous in every sense of the word, already posting two games of at least 7 catches for 145 yards and a score in four games. But, he also had a three-target, 34-yard effort in there while Tank Dell went off in week three, as well. With that sitting between these last two games, can we trust Nico Collins as a set-and-forget stud going forward?
The answer is pretty clearly yes. Collins leads the Texans’ wide receivers—by a wide margin—in almost all advanced receiving stats. He’s first in average depth of target, air yards market share, target share, and catches. He’s also first in yards per route run and is first in yards after the catch per reception (among Texans with at least 5 receptions). He’s the man for the Texans, and thanks to C.J. Stroud hitting the ground running, he’s The Man for your fantasy team, as well.
Did De’Von Achane Take Over For Raheem Mostert?
Last week, we all joked that Raheem Mostert wasn’t even the top running back on his own team after Mostert went off for four touchdowns and 142 yards and still managed to get outscored by Achane…
We aren’t laughing anymore, as De’Von Achane’s big game seemed to be exactly what the Dolphins needed to put Mostert behind Achane in the depth chart. In week four, Achane finished with 27 PPR points on 8 carries and 3 catches (5 targets) for 120 total yards & two touchdowns. Mostert had the same number of targets and catches, and just one fewer carry… but did not score, and finished with 75 fewer yards than Achane in this one. Unfortunately for Mostert, that was by design.
Achane had most of the snaps (39 to 28) and ran more routes than Mostert (28 to 16). There is one caveat, though. According to Pro Football Focus, Achane and Mostert split snaps evenly until the Dolphins went into catchup mode in the fourth quarter, where Achane out-snapped Mostert 11 snaps to 2. So, while it seems like Achane solidified a role, he and Mostert are still splitting very valuable snaps in the Dolphins’ offense. Don’t mourn your Mostert shares, at least not yet. It seems as though the Dolphins now have two startable running backs every week.
Should We Cut Kyle Pitts?
At this point, Kyle Pitts feels more like a millstone around the neck of his fantasy football managers than anyone who will help you win any given week in your fantasy football matchups. Through four games, he has finished TE22, TE42, TE15, and TE29. This is thanks to Arthur Smith and Desmond Ridder’s steadfast determination to torch as much fantasy football value from this offense as possible en route to Interim Head Coach Dave Huxtable and starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke helming the season’s last six games. Kyle Pitts’ season high in fantasy points is 8.7 PPR points. Jonnu Smith has targets in three games this season, and he has two 8.7 PPR games and a 15.5 PPR game.
This offense is so stupid, and Kyle Pitts is far more valuable as a trade chip or a grenade to soak up FAB on your waiver wire than as someone who you actually want to start in any given week. If you have any sort of bench depth, then you probably want to hang onto Kyle Pitts but to be honest, we’re three years into the Kyle Pitts-Arthur Smith marriage, and ever since Drake London came along, it’s been nothing but pain. But if you want to move on, consider this your permission. There’s nothing redeemable about this passing game.
[Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Kyle_Pitts_Falcons_vs_Giants_SEP2021.png, cropped via CC BY SA 2.0]
