To freak out, or to keep calm? That’s the question almost any fantasy manager will have about at least one player on their roster each week. It can be easy to overreact and lose control over a disappointing performance, but each week, we’ll dive into a few of fantasy football’s biggest names and help you decide if we should panic over a poor fantasy output or if we should stay the course and keep them in our lineups. Are there reasonable excuses for why the player had a down week or a few concerning performances? Is it an outlier, or is there something to their struggles and time to look for alternative options? That’s what we’ll aim to answer in Patience or Panic each week throughout the season.
You might be thinking, why is this being posted late in the week? Shouldn’t we decide to panic or be patient right after the previous week’s games? The goal is to look forward to the following week regarding lineup decisions, while being a few days removed from the emotions of a down performance.
Heading into Week 5, there’s no shortage of players we can lose control over. We’ll hone in on two Wide Receivers, one taken usually in the second round, and a second big-play pass catcher taken in the middle rounds. We’re a month into the season, meaning we can feel a little more comfortable about hitting the full panic button on players, and rookies are no longer safe. While we don’t touch on any first-year players this week, don’t be surprised if they show up on our radar sooner than later.
Ladd McConkey, Wide Receiver, Los Angeles Chargers
The second-year receiver out of the University of Georgia was generally drafted in the late second or early third round of drafts this summer, which is looking more and more like about five or six rounds too early. The signing of Keenan Allen mid-way through training camp and the emergence of Wide Receiver Quentin Johnston as a legitimate weapon for quarterback Justin Herbert have made things difficult for McConkey to make good on his high ADP. To be fair, during draft season, it didn’t seem right to downgrade McConkey significantly just because of the addition of 33-year-old Allen, and no one in their right mind saw this coming for Johnston. But it’s the reality of where we are, and it’s time to wonder what this season will really look like for Ladd. McConkey has a sub 20% target share in three of the Chargers’ four games this season, while he had a target share under 20% just three times in 17 games last season, according to JJ Zacharaison.
That’s a pretty significant concern. It shows he’s no longer the clear go-to receiver for Herbert. Allen still has plenty left in the tank, and Johnston breaking out in his third season has given Herbert more options in the passing game, compared to a year ago, when he was more likely to zero in on McConkey.
Another concerning stat is McConkey’s target share in the red zone. Last season, he boasted a 29% redzone target share, but that number has dipped to just 8% in 2025, according to Sports Illustrated. His 0 touchdowns so far are an obvious product of Herbert looking in other directions when they get inside the red zone. If touchdowns aren’t going to be prominent in 2025, then the volume needs to be there to make up for it. That doesn’t appear to be happening either for McConkey.
The Chargers’ offensive line presents further concerns. Having already lost starting left tackle Rashawn Slater for the season during training camp, Joe Alt, who replaced Slater as Herbert’s blindside blocker, has a high ankle sprain. He won’t miss the entire season, but another critical injury to the offensive line just makes Herbert’s job even harder.
Between the additional competition for targets, low volume in the red zone, and injuries to the offensive line, I’m hitting the panic button on McConkey. He’ll have his boom weeks. He’s too talented not to, but if your team is 1-3 or 0-4 and you’re a victim of drafting him in the second round, it might be time to look elsewhere in your lineups.
Verdict: Panic
Alternative options:
The Week 5 matchup between the Dolphins and Panthers presents a few opportunities for managers looking to replace McConkey in their lineups. Panthers Wide Receiver Tetairoa McMillan and Dolphins Wide Receiver Jaylen Waddle each should see plenty of volume in good matchups. They were each drafted later than McConkey and could serve as viable fill-ins.
Jameson Williams, Wide Receiver, Detroit Lions
So far in 2025, Williams has proven to be his usual boom-or-bust self. Week 2 has been his only boom week, putting up the most Jameson Williams stat line (2 receptions for 108 yards). The rest of his outputs have been meh, but there were some encouraging signs regarding his usage in Week 4.
The 2022 first-round pick saw a 32% target share, the highest of the season, according to JJ Zachariason. Unfortunately, his eight targets didn’t produce the results we’d want to see, as he hauled in just two of those targets, but it’s showing the Lions offense is making a concerted effort to up Williams’ volume instead of just using him as a downfield threat.
Next Gen Stats shows that his average depth of target was 26.2 in Week 4 against Cleveland. It’s great, in theory, for Williams to get downfield targets, as that can produce explosive plays. However, it’s obviously harder to hit on those downfield targets. If the Lions offense can bring that aDOT down a bit and give him some easier receptions, it’ll help his floor. His elite speed doesn’t have to be just used on deep balls, but the Lions offense should let that speed go to work in the shorter and intermediate areas of the field and let Jamo rack up the yac (yards after catch).
Williams also saw the most air yards in Week 4 at 215, according to fantasypros. In comparison, Rams Wide Receiver Puka Nacua saw the second-most air yards at 172, and Cowboys Wide Receiver George Pickens saw the third-most at 161. That resulted in stat lines of 13 receptions for 170 yards for Nacua and 8 receptions for 134 yards for Pickens. While we can’t expect those types of outputs regularly from Williams, it does show that if he can continue to command high amounts of air yards, the results will come. He’s ninth in air yards among all receivers for the season, but he and Jared Goff just haven’t connected at a high level yet. He’s also eighth in snap share among all wide receivers, that’s according to Fantasy Pros as well, showing he has no shortage of opportunities to turn things around and return that mid-round ADP investment.
Verdict: Patience
Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)