We are now over a month into this NFL season! We must focus on the top takeaways now that we have film and statistics to study. No longer can we rest on our offseason takes of who will succeed and who will fail. We now have a reasonably large sample size of NFL football. The fantasy season will move quickly, and in a dynasty, it is essential to acquire players before they break out or unload players before they falter. We can lead our team to a fantasy football title by focusing on weekly top takeaways!
Christian McCaffrey Dominates No Matter What
The Carolina Panthers are a complete disaster of a team. After trading a day two pick for Sam Darnold the last offseason, they traded for Cleveland cast-off Baker Mayfield this past summer. Fast forward to Week Four, and Mayfield sets records for the league’s lowest QBR. That combined with Matt Rhule being one foot out the door and potential replacement Ben McAdoo not looking much better; a bunch of yikes in Carolina.
Despite this, Christian McCaffery continues to produce like an RB1. He has now 26 games in a row with either 100 rushing yards or a touchdown. Simply amazing how much this man can produce given the situation around him. Could this man be on the move? There are no real rumors yet, but anyone with a brain can see that McCaffrey should not be linked together for the future. This is a franchise going nowhere and an aging running back that should enjoy being on a contender for once.
Patterson Injury Opens Up Atlanta Backfield
The Atlanta Falcons had no issue running all over the Cleveland Browns defense in Sunday’s 23-20 victory. The team was able to amass 202 yards on just 35 carries which is a smooth 5.77 yards per attempt. This workload was divided pretty evenly amongst Cordarrelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier, and Caleb Huntley. The offense will hope to continue the dominance on the ground next week against NFC South opponent Tampa Bay, but the backfield composition will look a bit different.
After Sunday’s game, it was discovered that Cordarrelle Patterson would need a knee procedure. The 31-year-old will be placed on Injured Reserve and miss at least four weeks. This opens the door for Allgeier and Huntley to grasp a more significant role in the offense. Allgeier, out of BYU, was selected in the fifth round of this year’s draft, while Huntley is a UDFA who spent 2021 on the practice squad. Huntley may be on your league’s waiver wire and is worth a hefty bid if available.
Saints Need Kamara Back
Alvin Kamara was a late scratch for the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s London matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. The late announcement and early kickoff left many fantasy managers waking up to a zero in their RB1 slot. This is the second game Kamara has missed this year, although one can joke that he has missed the entire year with his extreme lack of production. What was once a crowning piece of a contending squad has many teams piling up losses.
Mark Ingram and newly signed Latavius Murray split the workload in Kamara’s absence. Murray has been claimed off the practice squad and is now with the Denver Broncos. That leaves just Tony Jones and Dwayne Washington behind Ingram for now. The fact that a free agent walked off the street and matched Ingram in carries is a concerning sign. It shows a lack of confidence in the veteran’s ability to carry a full workload. If Kamara were to miss another game, Ingram would be a great sell-high candidate.
Rachaad White Gaining Field Time
The gap between Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White continues to shrink week after week. Fournette only out-snapped White by 39 to 24 in Sunday Night’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. This is a trend that dynasty managers must keep an eye on. Fournette was getting proper bell-cow usage early in the season, but that number has been slowly declining. White has not seen immense production given his workload but is highly talented. Now would be the perfect time for dynasty managers to reach out and trade for the rookie. Start with a 2023 second round pick and see if you can get a deal done before the breakout game occurs.
Information is the most powerful tool any dynasty fantasy football manager possesses. If you can stay on top of the correct information more than your league-mates, you will come out on top. The NFC South has many key fantasy players in it. Be sure to check back with us, as we will be breaking down takeaways from every division this week. And be sure to come back next week, as we will be doing the same for all 18 weeks of the 2022 NFL season!
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I hope you enjoyed this piece in our Winning With Vegas series. For more content like this, follow me on Twitter @DanT_NFL. DMs are always open for any questions, comments, or craft beer recommendations!
