What We Saw: Week 4

Seahawks @ Dolphins

I’m not sure a pair of franchises could possibly have more different trajectories than these two in this matchup, one that culminated in a predictable outcome. The Seahawks came in 3-0, and have made the playoffs in 7 of their last 8 seasons. Meanwhile, the Dolphins came in 1-2, and are looking for their first winning seasons since 2016, which was their sole playoff appearance of the decade. The Seahawks let this game end up a lot closer than it should have been due to several bone-headed mistakes, but they won nonetheless. Though the actual win may have eluded them, many Dolphins fans will take comfort in the ice becoming ever-more thin below Ryan Fitzpatrick, possibly setting the stage for Tua Tagavailoa to finally make his much-anticipated debut.

Seattle Seahawks

Quarterback

Russell Wilson: 24/34, 360 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT| 4 carries, 5 yards

It was a far cry from the insane heights he’s hit the first few weeks of the season, but Russell Wilson still more than got it done against a Dolphins secondary missing Byron Jones, posting a season-high 360 yards through the air, his most since Week 9 of last season. He didn’t do much on the ground this time, failing to hit 20+ rushing yards for the first time this season, but he really didn’t need to with how little pressure the Dolphins defense put him under. His second interception of the year (and first that wasn’t 110% Greg Olsen) came on an amazing play in the end zone by Xavien Howard covering D.K. Metcalf.

This was an absolutely great play by Xavien Howard. Gives the Dolphins new light https://t.co/aUhyuw1v2x

— Antwan V. Staley (@antwanstaley) October 4, 2020

Pete Carroll letting Russell Wilson cook this season has been an unequivocal success thus far, and there’s no reason to think Russ won’t continue to be one of the absolute best fantasy options at QB, finally combining his trademark efficiency with the volume he deserves.

Running Backs

Chris Carson: 16 carries, 80 yards, 2 TDs | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards

Travis Homer: 4 carries, 5 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards, 1 TD

DeeJay Dallas: 2 carries, 8 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards

Being a game-time decision for today, Chris Carson likely would have seen a reduced role had backup Carlos Hyde not been declared out, leaving Seattle with only Travis Homer and rookie DeeJay Dallas behind him. He looked plenty healthy when on the field today, amassing 100 total yards and scoring his first 2 rushing touchdowns of the season. Fantasy owners had a brief scare when he had to be evaluated for a concussion shortly before the first half ended, but he was out there for the start of the third and looked none the worse. Homer also scored his first NFL touchdown on a 3 yard pass, his only involvement in the passing game.

Travis Homer, the second-year backup from Miami, scores his first career touchdown… in Miami. pic.twitter.com/hc1O44TpxG

— John Fraley (@johndavidfraley) October 4, 2020

Rookie out of Miami DeeJay Dallas took his first offensive snaps today and looked solid, turning his 4 touches into 23 yards. Sadly, neither Homer nor Dallas will have any reason to be rostered even in the deepest leagues once Carlos Hyde is back from injury.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Greg Olsen: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 35 yards

D.K. Metcalf: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 106 yards

Tyler Lockett: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 39 yards

David Moore: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 95 yards

Freddie Swain: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 32 yards

Will Dissly: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 15 yards

D.K. Metcalf just did more of what he’s done all season so far: dominate corners and grab huge chunks of yardage. Sunday was his 4th straight game with exactly 4 receptions, and his 4th straight with at least 90 yards, though this was the first time all season he’s failed to find the endzone. Outside of the aforementioned Xavien Howard interception, Metcalf bullied the star corner on several plays, juking him out on a screen pass and blowing past him for a long gain on another.

D.K. Metcalf is like trying to tackle a soda machine with legs.pic.twitter.com/eqNfeabYwD

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 4, 2020

The sophomore receiver is averaging over 25 yards a reception, and will continue to be an elite option. Rather than Tyler Lockett, who was garnering almost 10 targets a game coming into this contest, it was Greg Olsen pacing the team in targets today, catching 5 passes for 35 yards on 7 targets, while Lockett turned his paltry 4 targets into 2 catches and uncharacteristically dropped an easy pass in the 1st quarter. The only other receiver of note was David Moore, who did most of his damage on a 50 yard bomb with seconds left in the first half, though later also made a phenomenal touchdown grab to put the game away.

Awesome catch by David Moore on his touchdown. Look at this footwork! #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/VEzw8AvKnY

— Samuel Gold (@SamuelRGold) October 4, 2020

Will Dissly has been quiet so far after an explosive start to last season, with the signing of Olsen and emergence of Jacob Hollister last year letting a lot of the air out his tires for fantasy purposes.

Miami Dolphins

Quarterback

Ryan Fitzpatrick: 29/45, 315 yards, 2 INTs | 6 carries, 47 yards, 1 TD

It’s starting to look like the Fitzmagic Era in Miami may be coming to a close soon, as Ryan Fitzpatrick really did not get it done against Seattle’s league-worst secondary, failing to score a touchdown until a late 4th quarter scramble, and throwing a pair of interceptions as the Dolphins dropped to 1-3.

Aaaaand @ShaquillG said NOPE ❌ and comes up with a huge interception!

📺: FOX https://t.co/k4aawdvb8W

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 4, 2020

Though his first interception was a bit flukey, getting his arm hit before the ball fell into the hands of Ryan Neal, he could have easily thrown more had K..J. Wright not dropped several easy picks.  Fitzpatrick’s rushing TD definitely salvaged his fantasy day for those who streamed him, but with the dynamic Tua Tagovailoa waiting in the wings to take over as the future of the franchise, Fitz is going to need to look a lot better going forward than he did this week. That’s easier said than done though, with a matchup against the daunting 49ers defense coming in Week 5.

Running Backs

Myles Gaskin: 10 carries, 40 yards | 4 targets, 3 receptions, 22 yards

Matt Breida: 3 carries, 9 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 39 yards

Jordan Howard: 2 carries, 2 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, -3 yards

Lynn Bowden Jr: 1 carry, 5 yards

Myles Gaskin appears to have pretty firmly cemented himself as the guy in this Miami backfield, but he wasn’t able to do a whole lot in this one, looking fine but not doing anything particularly exciting. Matt Breida, on the other hand, reminded us that he’s one of the fastest and most explosive runners in the NFL on a 26-yard reception in the first quarter, though did very little outside of that single play. Jordan Howard continued to show that he has absolutely nothing to contribute besides punching in touchdowns at the goal line, amassing a whopping -1 yards total, though his 1.0 YPC did increase his mark on the season from 0.75 to 0.78. In theory it wouldn’t be completely out of the question to see hybrid RB/WR Lynn Bowden Jr. see fantasy relevance given his flexibility and talent, but he’s seen just two touches so far so it seems safe to say said relevance won’t be for a while, if at all.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

DeVante Parker: 12 targets, 10 receptions, 110 yards

Isaiah Ford: 10 targets, 4 receptions, 48 yards

Jakeem Grant: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards

Durham Smythe: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 30 yards

Mike Gesicki: 3 targets, 1 reception, 15 yards

Preston Williams: 3 targets, 1 reception, 15 yards

Chandler Cox: 1 target, 1 reception, 3 yards

Adam Shaheen: 1 target

I was shocked to see that DeVante Parker only had 10 catches when I checked the box score, since it seemed like he was targeted every other play while watching the broadcast. This was his best game of the season so far, and his first 100-yard game after having 4 such games in 2019. Speaking of players with huge target shares, Isaiah Ford now has a pair of games with 9+ targets on the season, and though the low quality of said targets today didn’t result in a great fantasy performance, he turned a similar share into 76 yards Week 2 against Buffalo. Tight end Mike Gesicki repeated his 1 catch, 15 yard line from last week again, though this time he wasn’t able to add a touchdown to salvage it. 68% of his season yardage and half of his targets came in that one game, and it’s going to be hard to trust Gesicki going forward.

Nobody else did anything of particular note for Miami, though Jakeem Grant‘s 36 yards were the most he’s had since Week 3 of 2018, for what that’s worth. Durham Smythe was an intriguing tight end prospect from the 2018 draft class, but he’s done very little to stand out since then, and expecting him to out-produce Gesicki consistently is a fools errand.

-Nate Watt