Fantasy football Week 4 drops: Bidding farewell to Kyler Murray, Travis Hunter and more

This writer is a man of the people.

You, cherished reader, are my reason for being — or at least the reason I don’t have to get a real job. When you speak, I listen — unless you call me stupid, in which case I ignore it and continue regaling folks with my wit and wisdom.

Last week, in the comments section of this very column (Yes, I read the comments. I crave validation. Or I’m a masochist. Maybe both.), a couple of requests were made. The first was that I bump the number of players included in this column. The second was that I include drops that are less blatantly obvious.

So, beginning this week, I am retooling. The fluff? Gone. The cheap filler? If you want that, get a bean burrito at Taco Bell (in no way are those or were they ever beans). From here on out? More players. Bolder takes. And a guaranteed 100% hit rate (except when I’m wrong).

Now, these bold drop calls will require something from you, cherished reader. Something rarer in fantasy football than a dependable tight end. Perspective. Who any given manager can replace an underperformer with has a massive impact on whether said underperformer should get shown the door. Managers in 10-team leagues with a short bench are obviously looking at far different alternatives than those in 14-team leagues with deep benches.

Will that stop people from keyboard-banging, “I can’t believe you said to drop so-and-so. Why are you such a moron?” Not even a little bit. But it merits saying nonetheless.

Plus, I’m not a moron. My mom said I am smart, handsome, and special, and a mother would never lie to her child.

Release the hounds!

Rostered percentages courtesy of Yahoo

Week 4 drops

Kyler Murray, QB, ARI (93% rostered — droppable in shallow leagues)

Might as well come out swinging.

Murray was widely drafted as a top-10 fantasy quarterback. Three weeks into the season, he’s clinging to a spot among the top-20 quarterbacks in fantasy points per game. Murray has thrown for over 160 yards in a game exactly once. Thrown multiple touchdown passes exactly once.

The scrambling that was supposed to help buoy Murray’s fantasy value has meant a whole 3 fantasy points and change per game. Murray can’t attack the middle of the field because his offensive linemen are 2 feet taller than he is. Marvin Harrison has apparently decided that catching the football is boring. And if you’ve seen something that indicates things will get better, please … share it with the class.

C.J. Stroud, QB, HOU (60% — droppable in most leagues)

Do you enjoy watching a promising young quarterback’s career destroyed by organizational incompetence? If so, you should really be a Browns fan — they do that on the regular. But in the interim, check out the Texans, because they are doing their level best to crush the spirit of Stroud.

The Texans knew (or should have known) all offseason long that Joe Mixon’s foot was jacked up. Houston decided the best way to bolster an already-shaky offensive line was to get rid of Stroud’s blindside protector. Stroud is under constant duress; he’s averaging less than 200 passing yards per contest, and the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year has two touchdown passes in three games.

The Texans are terrible. And Stroud looks lost right now.

Trevor Lawrence, QB, JAX (50% — droppable in all leagues)

This was supposed to be Lawrence’s year. Playing in the AFC South, the schedule wasn’t too hard. The addition of Travis Hunter meant his passing-game weapons weren’t too soft. Everything was just right, especially with a new Fairy Godmother in quarterback guru Liam Coen taking over as head coach.

Oh, it was a fairy tale, all right.

Lawrence has finished as a top-15 fantasy quarterback one time — Week 2. In Week 1, he was QB24. Last week, he was QB28 against the Texans. The new offense in Jacksonville looks a lot like the old offense in Jacksonville, which is to say poo. The quarterback and the coach are already bickering. And Lawrence is completing a career-low 55.8% of his passes.

Feed Goldilocks to the bears.

You do know that’s the unwritten ending to that story, right?

Isiah Pacheco, RB, KC (91% — droppable in most leagues)

That Pacheco is rostered in over 90% of fantasy leagues is either indicative of how desperate fantasy managers are for any running back who is breathing or how out of touch folks are regarding the state of Kansas City’s offense, because the fourth-year pro has done nothing this season. No-thing.

For the season, Pacheco has 25 carries for 92 yards. Zombie Kareem Hunt has just two fewer carries. Patrick Mahomes (who is, um, a quarterback) leads the team in rushing yards. Will the Chiefs improve offensively as they get some missing pieces back? Probably. Does that mean they will be able to run the ball, or that when they do, it won’t be a full-blown committee? Nope.

Pacheco gotta Pache-go.

I’m on fire this week!

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, NE (80% — droppable in shallow leagues)

Life comes at you fast in the NFL. In Week 2, Stevenson had 142 total yards in a win over the Miami Dolphins. In Week 4, the fifth-year veteran will probably spend most of the matchup with the Carolina Panthers holding down a bench with his butt.

The problem? Same as it always has been with Stevenson — fumbles.

The Patriots outgained the Pittsburgh Steelers last week by a massive amount but lost the game because of five turnovers, including two Stevenson fumbles. Last year, Stevenson led the league with seven fumbles. He has 16 in a little over four seasons. Mike Vrabel can say all he wants about how the Pats need Stevenson, but after fumble No. 2, Stevenson played exactly zero snaps.

TreVeyon Henderson will feast on Carolina’s non-existent run defense this week. And at that point, the torch will be passed in the New England backfield.

Well, unless Stevenson drops it.

Travis Hunter, WR, JAX (84% — droppable in most leagues)

Hunter was one of the more talked-about incoming rookies in fantasy football in recent memory this year — this writer penned a piece about Hunter’s potential to break IDP leagues in May.

Hunter’s breaking something, all right — the hearts of fantasy managers who drafted him over the summer.

Hunter hasn’t played more than 70% of the offensive snaps in a game this season. His offensive snaps have decreased each week. Of 65 wide receivers who have run 75 or more routes this year, Hunter’s 6.56-yard average depth of target ranks 59th. Hunter has 10 catches for 76 yards this season and has yet to find the end zone. His snap splits and usage have wrecked his fantasy value.

Then there’s the whole “his quarterback isn’t good” problem. That kinda matters to wideouts. Ask Brian Thomas — if you can get him to stop swearing and sobbing.

Wait. That’s Thomas’ fantasy managers.

Stefon Diggs, WR, NE (87% — droppable in most leagues)

If Hunter were a matter of counting chickens that hadn’t hatched, Diggs is a matter of counting chickens that were turned into McNuggets some time ago.

You know, if McNuggets were actually chicken.

The fantasy aspirations folks had of Diggs emerging as the No. 1 wide receiver for the Patriots and turning back the clock to 2023 have proven to be just that — a fantasy. Diggs hasn’t caught more than six passes in a game. Hasn’t had 60 receiving yards in a game. Hasn’t scored a touchdown. And his targets have decreased from seven in the opener to just three last week against the Steelers.

Three games into the season, Diggs looks like an aging receiver coming off an ACL tear playing for an offense that spreads the ball out a lot. Diggs is 57th in PPR points among receivers — behind household names like KaVontae Turpin of the Dallas Cowboys and Dyami Brown of the Jaguars.

Colston Loveland, TE, CHI (42% — droppable in all leagues)

Here’s how impressive my Stupid power is. I had Mark Andrews of the Ravens already written up here. So, of course, Lamar Jackson remembered that Andrews was on the team, and he had a big game against the Detroit Lions.

That’s OK. He’ll be in this column soon enough. Week 3 was a mirage. An illusion. A puff of smoke.

What isn’t is that, while Loveland is a talented young tight end with a bright future, he’s not a big part of the Bears’ passing game. Or a medium part of the Bears’ passing game. After three games, he has been targeted six times, catching three passes for 43 yards. There are just far too many people ahead of him in the pecking order of a passing game that has been, um … let’s go with inconsistent.

Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year. Follow Gary on X at @IDPGodfather.

(Photo of Travis Hunter: Morgan Tencza / Imagn Images)

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