Peace or Panic? - Week 3

As is always the case, the NFL regular season is filled with players who haven't met our expectations yet. We weekly talk through the current state of things in our segment called - "Peace or Panic."

If you're listening now, you know who you might be panicking about—players who've gotten off to a slow start or had a down week this past week.

Our fantasy coaches, Trip Smith and Bryce Johnson, share their thoughts below.

Let’s talk about the Lions a little bit. They're fine, playing well, but Sam LaPorta has an ankle injury and is only averaging 6.6 fantasy points per game. Many people drafted him as their fantasy tight end one, including me in one league. He's off to a slow start, and the Lions haven’t clicked to the level we know they're capable of yet. Jahmyr Gibbs has been solid but not elite, Montgomery's been fine, and Amon-Ra St. Brown has improved over the last couple of weeks. But there’s still peace with LaPorta because the tight end position is wide open. I'm not panicking just yet. The injury may lead me to bench him for a week or two, but I’m not giving up or trading him. I want him at the end of the season because I still believe in Sam LaPorta.

Yeah, the rise of Jameson Williams has hurt LaPorta a bit, and as long as Jahmyr Gibbs is healthy, he’ll catch a few passes per game. I'm slightly worried, but LaPorta’s upside is a little more limited than it was last season.

My panic player this season is Anthony Richardson. I'm so worried about Richardson and every pass catcher on that team. I made the joke last week or two weeks ago that he can throw the ball 80 yards down the field but often overthrows within that range. It’s not really a joke—he has a cannon for an arm but consistently misses short throws. And he's not running as much because Jonathan Taylor is healthy and looks really good. Richardson is a guy I had in a couple of leagues, and now I’m in full panic mode, which also means I’m panicking about Michael Pittman. Until Richardson figures it out, Pittman is unstartable. Full panic there for me and the Indianapolis Colts' pass catchers.

Yeah, it’s fair, and not to pile on, but I never understood all the Richardson hype in the offseason. He was being drafted so early, and everyone was drafting him at his ceiling. He’s coming off a big injury and barely played last year. He has the tools: when he throws the ball 75 yards down the field, it looks like Aaron Rodgers; when he runs over a defender, it looks like Derrick Henry. But he struggles with the normal plays. He’s completing fewer than 50% of his passes this season, and that’s worrisome. He’s only played five full games in the NFL, so he’s still kind of a rookie. The big question is whether he’ll develop into even a mediocre passer.

From an NFL standpoint, we’ve got to be patient, but from a fantasy standpoint, yeah, we're panicking. I’m moving on, finding another option, and offloading Pittman if I can. But I don’t know who would want him at this point—you can’t cut him, but you’ve got to bench him.

All right, "Peace or Panic" for the Miami Dolphins? It's full-blown panic. We can’t even use the word "peace" unless they somehow trade for a quarterback. Right now, they don’t have one. They *will* trade for one—they have to. Maybe they give Tim Boyle a shot this week, but come on, what are we doing here? I heard someone say he's the best third-string quarterback in the NFL, which is not really a compliment. They’ll give him a shot, but it won’t go well. Listen, within two weeks, they will have another quarterback on that team. I think it might be Ryan Tannehill, but whoever it is, they’ve got to figure it out. Until then, you can’t play their wide receivers. This is a team with playoff aspirations, and they need to get another quarterback.

It could be a bit like the Andy Dalton effect, where maybe you buy one of their receivers low, expecting they’ll have a competent quarterback in two weeks. But if they roll with what they have, it signals they’re packing it in for the season. And I don’t know how you do that with a 30-year-old Tyreek Hill on your roster. As long as Tyreek is there, they’ve got to find someone who can throw him the ball more than 10 yards downfield.

So are you saying you’d bench Tyreek Hill? I don’t have him, but would you really bench him?

I mean, I don’t know how you do it. There are certain guys you just start no matter what, but the expectation has to be really low. I have De'Von Achane, and I’ll probably still start him as my flex, but this offense is bad. They play Tennessee this week, so I’ll give them this week. But if it’s still Skylar Thompson or Tim Boyle throwing by week five, I’d bench Tyreek Hill. Jaylen Waddle is an easy bench—he’s unplayable until they get someone competent under center.

But man, if you drafted Tyreek second overall, you’re in a tough spot if he’s your WR1. Side note, how foolish are the Dolphins for not having a legitimate backup QB when Tua has such a bad injury history? You have to invest in that position. I don’t even know if you need Waddle—if you’ve got Tyreek, you can replace Waddle. They should’ve spent the money on a backup QB.