About an hour into Sunday’s Week 4 slate, I thought I would be writing a very different introduction after both Marvin Harrison Jr and Brian Thomas Jr. scored touchdowns within minutes of each other. Unfortunately, the excitement of promising starts gave way to the familiar reality of disappointment. Still, what a beautiful 10 minutes when all was right in the world. We move on. Week 5 is here. Let’s get into the biggest storylines of the week.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Dynasty WR1?
In the interminable doldrums of the off-season, there is nothing we love to indulge in more than wild speculation. One of the big questions this off-season was: “Who will be this year’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba?” Well, it turns out, this year’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba is this year’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Through four weeks of the season, Jaxon Smith Njigba ranks as the WR1 overall.
Which begs the question: where do we rank him in dynasty? Heading into the season, Ja’Marr Chase and Puka Nacua were locked in ahead of Smith Njigba. After 4 weeks, there’s a legitimate case for moving JSN up to No.1 in the dynasty wide receiver rankings.
JSN ranks:
1st in fantasy points (117)
1st in total EPA (46.71)
1st in target share (36.5%)
2nd in TPRR (0.36)
2nd in YPRR (4.15)
3rd in receptions (32)
5th in targets (42)
Whilst I’m not prepared to rank Jaxon Smith Njigba ahead of Ja’Marr Chase just yet, he is a lot closer to the WR1 in dynasty than he was in July. The Seahawks get the 49ers, who have allowed the 7th fewest fantasy points to wide receivers, in a mouth-watering NFC West clash.
Brock Purdy Faces his Demons
Stick with Sunday’s Big Game, we move to Brock Purdy. Mr Not So Irrelevant has been one of the biggest stories of the season so far. Purdy, who has yet to be sacked, ranks as the QB2 in fantasy. He has thrown for over 1,000 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one interception. In PPG when he returned from injury last season, Purdy ranked as the QB2.
In Week 5, Purdy visits the Seattle Seahawks – the site of some of his biggest failures in recent history. First, there was Week 18. Purdy logged just 127 passing yards and threw an INT for 6.18 fantasy points. In the Divisional Round, Purdy logged just 140 passing yards and threw one interception. Sure, the 49ers were banged up. But that hasn’t changed much this season.
Last time out, the Seahawks defense generated pressure on 47.4% of Brock Purdy’s dropbacks – the highest pressure rate of last season. They accomplished that while only blitzing on 10.5% of plays. Whilst Purdy leads the way in the Way-Too-Early-MVP Race, he can elevate himself into the elite tier of dynasty quarterbacks with another strong performance against one of the league’s best defenses.
