It’s already Week 4 in the fantasy football world, and rankings are rolling out. At this point, surprises are crashing the MVP mix, but there are also disappointments. Still, here are some fantasy football bad beats not to stress over, including Tetairoa McMillan and Saquon Barkley.
McMillan got lost in the shuffle of a 30-0 win for the Panthers last week, and he hasn’t found the end zone yet. Meanwhile, Barkley, a fantasy superstar, finished as RB31 despite the Eagles putting 33 points on the board. He carried 18 times for 46 yards and had four catches for nine yards and didn’t reach the end zone.
So, what should fantasy football managers do at this point? Ride out the storm.
Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan on the verge?
The Panthers seemed to turn their season around with a 30-0 thumping of the Falcons. But there are still questions about Bryce Young. He did next to nothing in the win, throwing for only 121 yards with no touchdowns and rushing for only eight yards — although he did find the end zone.
There is a belief that McMillan might break loose soon and have a big game, but he needs to get on the same page with Young. He had eight targets against the Falcons, but caught only three. One of the misses came in the third quarter for what could have been a big play, according to charlotteobserver.com.
“He did a great job,” Young said later, speaking of McMillan. “That was 100 percent on me. It was not a miscommunication. He did exactly what I said (to do), and I was thinking the wrong thing.”
McMillan said he had a chance to make a play.
“It touched my hand, so I think I should have caught that for sure,” McMillan said later in the locker room. And later, as he kept on with the self-criticism, he said: “I failed.”
Panthers head coach Dave Canales said McMillan is doing things the right way.
“I’ve been very pleased with how he’s taking to the concepts, to the alignments, and the details of what we’re asking him,” Canales said. “He’d come up here and tell you he’d love to have a few of those plays back. Those bang-bang plays. And to give the Falcons players credit, they were making plays with their hands on the ball. And T-Mac feels like he can make those plays. And so I love that he takes accountability for those things, as an area for him to improve.”
QB Jalen Hurts usually hurts Saquon Barkley
How many extra touchdowns would Barkley have if the Tush Push weren’t an automatic score? There are going to be games where Bakrley gets ripped off at the goal line by Hurts.
But Barkley is still in the prime of his career. He’s going to have huge games throughout the season. He’s probably good for at least three weeks, where his huge numbers lift a team to a fantasy victory.
And Barkley isn’t lacking for confidence. He’ll get his and so will the Eagles, according to inquirer.com.
“It’s really about us, Barkley said before the game. “That’s something that I try to make sure to harp to the guys, like, yes, we’ve got to handle the unknown. We’ve got to worry about what they’re going to do to us, how they’re going to try to stop the run, how they’re going to try to stop A.J. [Brown] and [DeVonta Smith]. But in reality, when we’re all on the same page, we’re a hard team to stop.”
And that’s why fantasy managers should relax.
Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty just needs more time
Jeanty has been breaking tackles and getting goal-line opportunities. Don’t fret, a big day is coming, and probably soon. The Bears’ defense seems like a good victim for Jeanty to finally hit his NFL stride.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase needs one more week
He’ll have to see Patrick Surtain a lot this week, but the rest of the schedule is friendly. Chase won’t put up Burrow numbers this year. But don’t panic and take the top-10 finish.
Other bad beats that could stay bad
Calvin Ridley has drop issues. And that’s not good when you’re trying to get a rookie QB to trust you. Ridley should get better, but he’s in a big hole right now and probably won’t be a standout in 2025.
Fantasy managers had Chase Brown on their radar for a big season. It’s not going to happen with Burrow out. Brown has been terrible so far, but he should bounce back to a reasonable level once the Bengals get their offense settled. Still, Brown may be toast in terms of fantasy stardom.
