Four weeks of NFL action are in the books, except those pesky mind-numbing Monday Night Football games, and we had a lot of strangeness this week. The Jaguars are 3-1, the Eagles are 4-0, despite zero passing yards in the second half of week four, and the moribund New York Giants took down the buzzsaw Los Angeles Chargers. And, as I write this, Jalen Tolbert just caught one of the most bonkers passes I have ever seen in the Packers-Cowboys overtime game to give the Cowboys first and goal in the Parsons Bowl. The NFL was in full swing this week, but we are now about 25% of the way through the fantasy football season, which means it’s time to make some tough choices. With that in mind, there are some prescient questions we need answered before we move forward.
As always, the weekly snap data below is thanks to Nathan Jahnke at Pro Football Focus; his weekly article is invaluable to my work every Sunday night. I owe him a beer, or two, or a keg.
Is it Time to Bench Ladd McConkey?
Ladd McConkey finished with eleven yards on one catch in the Chargers’ week four loss, finishing behind the suddenly-good Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, and rookie running back Omarion Hampton & rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II. Thank God Tre’ Harris is sprinting toward bust status, or that could have been really embarrassing. Last year’s breakout rookie wide receiver is currently without a role on the Chargers offense, and is floating, listlessly, through games.
Ladd finished with six targets on 41 routes run, or a 14% target per route run. Before Sunday, he sat at an 18% target per route run rate, which ranks 61st in the league. Last season, McConkey was elite, posting the 25th-highest target per route run rate, at 25%. McConkey’s per-route data has fallen off an absolute cliff this season, even before this terrible performance. He’s seen major step-backs in not only targets per route run, but yards per route run (1.41 in 2025, 2.56 in 2024), first downs per route run (0.069 in 2025, 0.116 in 2024), and fantasy points per route run (0.27 in 2025, 0.54 in 2024).
The unfortunate problem is that he’s still getting his targets (27 through four games), but the real issue is that Keenan Allen stole his job. Allen is at 1.98 yards per route run, 0.133 yards per route run, and 0.58 fantasy points per route run. He has also achieved this on a 23% first-read target share, which is lower than McConkey’s. He’s just better at this role than McConkey.
Unfortunately, given the investment we made to get McConkey onto our roster, I can’t advocate dropping him. However, with a neutral matchup with the Washington Commanders on the horizon, I don’t feel comfortable starting McConkey in any size league; he is the WR3 on this Chargers team, which also has a hyper-talented rookie running back. There isn’t a lot on his plate right now, and I want to see him eat before I put him back out there.
Is Emeka Egbuka a Must-Start Wide Receiver?
Yes. Next question.
Egbuka finished week four with 101 catches and a touchdown on what was, by all accounts, a bad game of football. He had ten targets and caught only four of them, marking the seventh time that a rookie receiver had 10+ targets for four or fewer receptions, over 100 yards, and a touchdown. Granted, a wild and woolly second half, which again saw the Eagles hang on while getting zero passing yards, got him there via a 72-yard touchdown catch, got him there. But, he got there nonetheless. This marks the fourth time in four games that Egbuka will finish inside the top-32 in PPR leagues, and unless some crazy things happen on Monday Night Football, it’s set to be his second time inside the top-twelve in four weeks.
Egbuka led the Buccaneers in targets, tied with newly-thrown-in-the-fire Chris Godwin, who also had ten targets to shake off the rust. With Mike Evans out, the Buccaneers needed a new WR1, and Egbuka & Godwin set to share those duties. Egbuka ran 41 routes, which led the team, and his 24% target share is right in line (though slightly higher) than his season mark of 22%. Really, what happened was Chris Godwin came in, and he & Egbuka are now the co-WR1 on the roster, at least until Mike Evans returns. And it’s looking as though once Evans returns, Egbuka, Godwin, and Evans will be the entire focus of the passing game.
I don’t fear when Evans returns, because Sterling Shepard has consistently had massive route participation, and that didn’t change this week (he ran 40 routes, one behind Egbuka and the same as Godwin).
Egbuka has two stiff defenses on the horizon, with the Seahawks (31st in fantasy points to wide receivers) and 49ers (27th in fantasy points to wide receivers) both in the next two weeks. Both these teams have given up four double-digit PPR weeks to wide receivers so far this season, and both have played the dysfunctional New Orleans and Arizona passing games so far this year. Egbuka will continue to eat and is considered a must-start wide receiver in week five and beyond.
Is it Time to Cut Calvin Ridley?
The Titans’ offense is a disheveled mess, and there isn’t a whole lot to go around for anyone. Tony Pollard is struggling, and the good vibes Elic Ayomanor story is the only somewhat okay thing coming out of this offense. With a 26-0 shellacking in week four, things don’t look like they’re on the verge of getting better. As bad as things are for the overall Titans offense, unfortunately, they’re even worse for Calvin Ridley. Ridley finished Sunday with two catches for 30 yards on three targets, marking the third time in four games that he failed to top seven PPR points, and the fourth time he failed to top 9 PPR points. His average finish so far this season (including this week) is WR62, with zero top-55 finishes.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing under the hood that’s coming to save Calvin Ridley. His season is an unmitigated disaster, and he is headed directly toward Bustville. Ridley played just 27 snaps on Sunday and ran only 13 routes. That route participation put him behind Ayomanor, Tyler Lockett, Chig Okonkwo, and Tony Pollard. He tied with Van Jefferson for fifth on the team in routes run.
This is a highly troubling development for Ridley, as before this week, you could at least tell yourself that he was involved and that better times were ahead. Before week four, he averaged an 88.3% snap share, and 34 routes per game (84% of Cam Ward’s dropbacks). This week, he played just 54% of snaps and, again, ran only 13 routes (on 30 dropbacks, or 43%). Things are headed in the wrong direction for Calvin Ridley, and he’s on one of the league’s worst offenses. I have zero issues with dropping him in all leagues.
