The Rams have now competed in two of the three highest-scoring Thursday Night Football games in 2015. This is unquestionably an offensive juggernaut. They're on pace for the third most points (560) in league history. Assuming full health, this is a Super Bowl-caliber team whose biggest obstacles to an undefeated regular season are a Week 10 contest in New Orleans and a Week 14 matchup in Chicago. The former can go toe-to-toe on offense; the latter can win with defense. Beyond that, it's hard to imagine the Rams losing any other game.
Poor St. Louis. If they'd been able to hang on to this franchise for a couple more years after 12 straight non-winning seasons, maybe this impending dynasty would have belonged to them.
With a perfect QB rating last night, Jared Goff has cemented himself as an unquestioned QB1 -- far better than I predicted over the summer. This is not a team that's been content to lean on its defense (which has been spotty, even before injuries to its secondary) and its running game. The passing attack is fourth in yards per game and first in attempts per game. Goff travels to Seattle and Denver these next two weeks. I imagine it'll be hard for nearly any fantasy manager to bench him.
Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp were great as expected. Robert Woods continues to be great as not expected. All three will end Week 4 as overall top 10-20 WR fantasy scorers. That's pretty insane. The most dominant offense the NFL's ever witnessed -- the 2013 Broncos -- saw three wideouts finish in the top 21. Most high-powered offenses -- particularly those complemented by a dominant running game -- can't support more than two top-20 WRs. While I have no idea whether the Rams can keep this up, what they've done so far is fairly historic.
And Todd Gurley will end this week as a top-3 fantasy RB. He's on pace for 316 carries, which is actually a reasonable load for an all-world back. He's also on pace for a healthy 60 receptions. When considering all the busts in recent years, he's a rare #1 overall pick who so far has met the fantasy world's lofty expectations.
On the flip side, the Vikings are in a bit of trouble. Their preseason universal #3 fantasy D has been atrocious these past three weeks. They're 0-2-1 during that stretch and have at least six tough games remaining on the docket: the Bears twice, Packers, Eagles, Saints, and Patriots. I'm expecting a decent chunk of small-league fantasy managers to drop the underperforming DST in the coming days. Everson Griffen's absence hasn't helped. But this is an underperforming unit that still has plenty of streaming value if/when they right the ship.
Minnesota's passing game remains solid. The Buffalo loss was a distant memory last night, at least when it came to Kirk Cousins using his entire arsenal to top 400 passing yards for the second time this season. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen have met or exceeded their preseason expectations, and Kyle Rudolph has been a reliable mid-range TE1.
The running game obviously has been a different story. Even in his first two games, Dalvin Cook was merely adequate. He's now sitting on a 2.7 YPC, and fantasy managers have to be a bit concerned that if the defense doesn't figure things out, game flow could put more pressure on Cousins later in game. Can Cook be a consistent 18-touch RB? A true bellcow? We can't know until he's healthy, and even then, contests against the Bears, Eagles, and Saints could render him a surprisingly risky RB2/3.
One thing about Cook, though: No one's seriously competing for his 1A role. Latavius Murray has shown nothing. Mike Boone and Roc Thomas aren't answers, either. It's Cook or bust for the 2018 Vikings. That's why if I were in a trading league, I'd see how desperate my opponent is to part ways with him. The downside (an injury-plagued season) is real. The upside (what we saw last year before he went down) makes him worth a low-risk swap. For example, if I were strong at WR, I'd trade someone like DeSean Jackson for Cook in a heartbeat. And after tonight, the Cook just might do it.
"COA": Capitalize on Opponents' Anxiety. Every successful trade I've made starts with a manager's frustration with a player. And few players have frustrated managers more than Cook.
Poor St. Louis. If they'd been able to hang on to this franchise for a couple more years after 12 straight non-winning seasons, maybe this impending dynasty would have belonged to them.
With a perfect QB rating last night, Jared Goff has cemented himself as an unquestioned QB1 -- far better than I predicted over the summer. This is not a team that's been content to lean on its defense (which has been spotty, even before injuries to its secondary) and its running game. The passing attack is fourth in yards per game and first in attempts per game. Goff travels to Seattle and Denver these next two weeks. I imagine it'll be hard for nearly any fantasy manager to bench him.
Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp were great as expected. Robert Woods continues to be great as not expected. All three will end Week 4 as overall top 10-20 WR fantasy scorers. That's pretty insane. The most dominant offense the NFL's ever witnessed -- the 2013 Broncos -- saw three wideouts finish in the top 21. Most high-powered offenses -- particularly those complemented by a dominant running game -- can't support more than two top-20 WRs. While I have no idea whether the Rams can keep this up, what they've done so far is fairly historic.
And Todd Gurley will end this week as a top-3 fantasy RB. He's on pace for 316 carries, which is actually a reasonable load for an all-world back. He's also on pace for a healthy 60 receptions. When considering all the busts in recent years, he's a rare #1 overall pick who so far has met the fantasy world's lofty expectations.
On the flip side, the Vikings are in a bit of trouble. Their preseason universal #3 fantasy D has been atrocious these past three weeks. They're 0-2-1 during that stretch and have at least six tough games remaining on the docket: the Bears twice, Packers, Eagles, Saints, and Patriots. I'm expecting a decent chunk of small-league fantasy managers to drop the underperforming DST in the coming days. Everson Griffen's absence hasn't helped. But this is an underperforming unit that still has plenty of streaming value if/when they right the ship.
Minnesota's passing game remains solid. The Buffalo loss was a distant memory last night, at least when it came to Kirk Cousins using his entire arsenal to top 400 passing yards for the second time this season. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen have met or exceeded their preseason expectations, and Kyle Rudolph has been a reliable mid-range TE1.
The running game obviously has been a different story. Even in his first two games, Dalvin Cook was merely adequate. He's now sitting on a 2.7 YPC, and fantasy managers have to be a bit concerned that if the defense doesn't figure things out, game flow could put more pressure on Cousins later in game. Can Cook be a consistent 18-touch RB? A true bellcow? We can't know until he's healthy, and even then, contests against the Bears, Eagles, and Saints could render him a surprisingly risky RB2/3.
One thing about Cook, though: No one's seriously competing for his 1A role. Latavius Murray has shown nothing. Mike Boone and Roc Thomas aren't answers, either. It's Cook or bust for the 2018 Vikings. That's why if I were in a trading league, I'd see how desperate my opponent is to part ways with him. The downside (an injury-plagued season) is real. The upside (what we saw last year before he went down) makes him worth a low-risk swap. For example, if I were strong at WR, I'd trade someone like DeSean Jackson for Cook in a heartbeat. And after tonight, the Cook just might do it.
"COA": Capitalize on Opponents' Anxiety. Every successful trade I've made starts with a manager's frustration with a player. And few players have frustrated managers more than Cook.