Fantasy Football Panic Meter After Week 4: Zay Flowers, Bijan Robinson, Mark Andrews, Anthony Richardson and More

Another week of NFL regular season football is in the books. Now it’s time to get back into our panic meter series (here was last week’s story).

The one-hit wonder series story for week 4 has already been published, so be sure to check that out too.

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Wide Receivers

Zay Flowers and Amari Cooper are wide receivers who I’m going to discuss today.

Flowers had just one catch for 10 yards on two targets in his team’s 35-10 win over the Bills. That comes after a three-catch performance in week 3 - he had 20 yards and four targets, along with a three-yard run.

There’s not many offensive playmakers in Baltimore, so Flowers seemed like a pretty safe fantasy pick this preseason. That hasn’t proved to be the case yet, and he’s averaging just 10.1 PPR fantasy points per game, with a 22.1-point showing in week 2 really boosting those numbers.

We know Lamar Jackson is going to steal some fantasy points with his running ability, but we still expected him to get the ball to Flowers. Things looked promising after two weeks after Flowers got 21 targets and 15 total touches, but after weeks 3-4, the panic meter sits at a 4 for Flowers.

He’s gone from a pretty easy starting fantasy option to a borderline flex guy. Flowers’ upside in the Baltimore offense still will lead many fantasy owners to starting him, but the confidence level with the wideout is not very high right now.

Cooper had a monster week 3 showing, but has otherwise been very quiet this season. He had 86 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches and 12 targets in week 3, but has just nine catches for 62 yards and no scores the other three weeks.

In his three down fantasy weeks, Cooper still has 25 targets, which is what fantasy owners still like to see. Because he’s just not doing a lot with his healthy amount of targets, his panic meter is only at a 3.

I’m more worried about the Browns’ offense as a whole, but if the team can get Nick Chubb and David Njoku back soon, that could open some things up for Cooper. 

Running Backs

Bijan Robinson and De'Von Achane are two backs worth discussing.

We’ll start with Achane, who has 45 rushing yards on 21 attempts in the two games without Tua Tagovailoa. He does have six catches for 42 yards on eight targets to help soften the blow a bit in those games.

Still, Achane was a high-end draft asset and was cruising through two weeks of play. I figured his efficiency might drop a bit without Tagovailoa, but I also expected him to get more work. That hasn’t happened, and with Raheem Mostert due back from injury soon, it could take away even more fantasy value from Achane.

Factoring in those couple things, I’d say the panic meter is at a 6 for Achane. Things could change in a hurry if Tagovailoa returns after missing four games, but that’s still two weeks out. I couldn’t confidently start Achane in week 5, and that’s why the panic meter is so high.

Robinson started the season strong, with 100+ total yards and 41 touches across two games. In the two games since, Robinson has 19 touches for 126 total yards. He scored once to mask what’s been a pretty pedestrian start to the season.

Robinson was a high-end draft pick, and he simply hasn’t lived up to the hype yet. Sure, he’s putting up positive numbers and isn’t totally disappearing like some of the guys in this story, but he was drafted to be a fantasy stud, and he’s failed to be that guy for the first month of play.

I’d say the panic meter is at a 3 with Robinson. He’s still a must start every week, but there’s at least some hesitation now after a couple down weeks and less touches than we all expected him to get. 

He’s also dealing with a hamstring injury now, which might further impact his play for the next few weeks, or possibly the rest of the season. Robinson’s panic meter could rise in a hurry if the injury keeps him out a couple weeks.

Tight Ends

Kyle Pitts and Mark Andrews are the tight ends in this week’s story.

We’ll start with Andrews, who was held without a catch for a second straight week. He has just 65 yards on six catches and nine targets this season.

Andrews was outsnapped by Isaiah Likely again this week and only has the fourth-most offensive snaps between receivers and tight ends on the team.

The panic meter has passed 10 for Andrews. He cannot be trusted with a starting spot outside of really deep fantasy leagues, and he should probably be dropped in standard leagues now. 

I know some people said Andrews would fall off a bit this season, but nobody expected him to be invisible. He’s one of the biggest draft busts of the season and is running out of time to turn things around. It will take a couple consecutive weeks of good showings to even get Andrews back in the starting conversation, and the panic meter won’t drop below 10 until he delivers.

Pitts did his best Andrews’ impression with a no-catch performance in week 4. He was targeted three times.

That came after a 59-yard performance on two grabs and five targets in week 3, so fantasy owners thought he was turning things around. Well, he wasn’t, and now his panic meter is at a 7.

Pitts only had 46 yards on six catches and seven targets through two weeks, so it’s not like he’s put together many good performances. Things aren’t quite as drastic as the Andrews’ situation, but Pitts is trending in that direction. We might be one more poor fantasy showing from fantasy owners bailing on Pitts too.

Quarterbacks

Kyler Murray and Anthony Richardson are the two quarterbacks I want to discuss this week.

It’s a bit unfair to put Richardson here because he got injured early in week 4, but he hasn’t performed that well all season, so I’m keeping him in this article. His top passing game was just 212 yards, and he’s thrown three touchdowns to six interceptions. Richardson’s dual-threat ability has dried up since week 1, leaving him as a below-average fantasy option despite all the upside.

The panic meter sits at 5 with Richardson. He hasn’t played well yet and now might battle an injury for a while. Injuries plagued him as a rookie, and fantasy owners cannot be feeling great about Richardson’s fantasy value for the rest of the season as a result.

He’s going to start in a lot of standard leagues if he’s healthy enough to go in week 5, but fantasy owners can only be somewhat confident in him in deeper setups.

Murray was 16-of-22 passing in week 4, but for just 142 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t throw an interception, but added just three rushing yards on one attempt.

What’s most alarming is that performance came against the Commanders, a defense that’s struggled mightily all season (and last year). I thought Murray was becoming one of the better fantasy QBs after three weeks, but he’s now back in the logjam of possible starting options after his week 4 showing.

I’d put Murray’s panic meter at a 3, and it might be closer to a 2. I want to chalk this up to a random poor performance, but until he proves that’s what it was, there’s going to be a little concern about him. He’s got tougher matchups coming, so there’s definitely a bit of concern for the Murray fantasy owners out there.