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Fantasy Football: Quarterly Report

By Dan Thomas

Sep 25, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray (29) gets away from a tackle attempt by Oakland Raiders safety Nate Allen (20) during the first half at Nissan Stadium. The Raiders won 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray (29) gets away from a tackle attempt by Oakland Raiders safety Nate Allen (20) during the first half at Nissan Stadium. The Raiders won 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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I know it feels like the NFL season just started but unfortunately we are already at the quarter mark of the 2016 NFL and fantasy football seasons.

Some players with high expectations have already busted and have hit the waiver wire for one reason or another in fantasy football. Other players who were late round picks and not deemed good enough to draft are helping owners dominate their leagues. Needless to say, it’s been a wild ride through the first four weeks of the year.

Related Story: Fantasy Football Week 5: Waiver Wire Pickups

Before we venture off into Week 5 lets take a look at the first quarter of the NFL season.

I will be using My Fantasy League‘s ADP and ESPN standard scoring to help navigate how right and wrong we all were.

The Best of the Best Team (Standard Scoring)

QB: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons – No. 1 QB (19th QB off the board)

RB1: DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans – No. 1 RB (17th RB off the board)

RB2: Melvin Gordon, San Diego Chargers – No. 2 RB (22nd RB off the board)

WR1: Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons – No. 1 WR (3rd WR off the board)

WR2: Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers – No. 2 WR (1st WR off the board)

TE1: Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers – No. 1 TE (3rd TE off the board)

FLEX: David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals – No. 3 RB (2nd RB off the board)

D/ST: Minnesota Vikings – No. 1 D/ST (7th D/ST off the board)

K: Justin Tucker (Ravens) / Dustin Hopkins (Redskins) – No. 1 Ks (4th and 25th K off the board)

Notes: The best value of the bunch is obviously Matt Ryan. He is far and away the best fantasy quarterback.  Gordon and Murray have both been consistent and reliable through the first four weeks. It’s not as if they had one or two monster games that makes their ranking slightly skewed. Julio Jones on the other hand wasn’t even a top-20 fantasy receiver before going off in Week 4 to the tune of 300 yards receiving.

The ‘I Hate Your Face’/All-Overvalued Team (Standard Scoring)

QB: Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks – 3rd QB off the board (Currently: 17th ranked QB)

RB1: Todd Gurley, L.A. Rams – 1st RB off the board (Currently: 21st ranked RB)

RB2: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings – 3rd RB off the board (Currently: 80th ranked RB)

WR1: Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants – 2nd WR off the board (Currently: 34th ranked WR)

WR2: Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys – 7th WR off the board (Currently: 57th ranked WR)

TE1: Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots – 1st TE off the board (Currently: 62nd ranked TE)

D/ST: Carolina Panthers – 4th D/ST off the board (Currently: 12th ranked D/ST)

K: Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots – 1st K off the board (Currently: 19th ranked K)

Notes: I understand the biggest contributing factor to some of these players (Wilson, Peterson, Bryant, and Gronkowski) slow starts are due to injuries, but that excuse doesn’t help owners. Wilson had a strong game in Week 4 and has Week 5 to get healthy during Seattle’s bye. He should reward owners soon. Gronkowski should bounce back with Tom Brady back from suspension but that’s only if his hamstring is healing right. If not, it could be a long season for Gronk owners.

The All-Undervauled Team (Standard Scoring)

QB: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons – No. 1 QB (19th QB off the board)

RB1: DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans – No. 1 RB (17th RB off the board)

RB2: Melvin Gordon, San Diego Chargers – No. 2 RB (22nd RB off the board)

WR1: Marvin Jones Jr., Detroit Lions – No. 3 WR (35th WR off the board)

WR2: Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders – No. 5 WR (37th WR off the board)

More from Fantasy Football

FLEX: Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns – No. 4 RB (41st RB off the board)

D/ST: Minnesota Vikings – No. 1 D/ST – (7th D/ST off the board)

K: Dustin Hopkins, Washington Redskins – No. 1 K (25th K off the board)

Notes: Jones Jr., Crabtree and Crowell are the only players on this list that are not also on the “Best of the Best Team,” but they are still still exceeding expectations by a wide margin. Other notable players are Derek Carr, Dak Prescott, Carlos Hyde, and LeGarrette Blount.

The All-Injured Team

QB: Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings (Out for the season)

RB1: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings (Out for the season)

RB2: Danny Woodhead, San Diego Chargers (Out for the season)

WR1: Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers (Out for the season)

WR2: Sammy Watkins, Buffalo Bills (Could return in Week 12)

TE1: Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals (Could return in Week 5)

FLEX: Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions (Out for the season)

D/ST: New Orleans Saints (Too many injuries to count)

K: Blair Walsh, Minnesota Vikings (Mentally broken)

Notes: There were some other notable players that were in consideration such as Jamaal Charles, Rob Gronkowski, Doug Martin, Jeremy Langford, Tony Romo and Thomas Rawls. Not that we expected the Saints defense to be good but the amount of injuries they have had on defense is ridiculous. There is nothing physically wrong with Walsh but he appears to be broken mentally. He has missed three field goals and two extra points so far in 2016. I’m rooting for the guy, but I don’t think he’s gotten over that easy FG he missed in the 2015 playoffs.

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