Latavius Murray rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2015 and last season he scored 12 touchdowns, but the Oakland Raiders sure didn’t seem too interested in keeping him around. Entering Week 4 the Minnesota Vikings, who signed Murray in March before they spent a second-round pick on Florida State running back Dalvin Cook, didn’t seem the least bit interested in having him around. That will obviously change after Cook, who looked like a legit top-10 fantasy running back, suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions.
Murray had been relegated to reserve duties the first month while Cook starred, but the Vikings fear an ACL tear for Cook and that would indefinitely sideline the 22-year-old who had produced 53 PPR points over the first three weeks. The Vikings are going with their backup quarterback as well because Sam Bradford has a bad knee, and now it appears some combination of Murray and ordinary Jerick McKinnon will handle rushing duties. Murray is experienced and more accomplished and he’ll likely be the top free-agent pickup in fantasy leagues heading into Week 5, though I have doubts he'll be successful given his team's situation at quarterback and offensive line. Still, Murray should matter.
October NFL action opened with a surprising New Orleans Saints shutout of the Miami Dolphins in London, and then the theme of the day, other than running quarterbacks earning big wins, was unfortunately the injuries, with Cook’s left knee appearing to shake fantasy leagues the most. It was a noncontact injury and those rarely have positive results. Still, there will be further tests Monday so don’t cut Cook yet, but be prepared to act. McKinnon has been around for years, mostly as an uninspiring Adrian Peterson backup, and he should be added in deeper formats but Murray should lead.
As for the other injuries, those relying on Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones -- or, to a lesser extent in deeper formats his colleague Mohamed Sanu -- couldn’t have been pleased by a hip injury that held him to 30 yards on three catches. Jones is prone to nagging injuries and hopefully this isn’t serious. Sanu caught one pass for 3 yards before a hamstring injury removed him from action. The Falcons, not surprisingly, lost at home to the Buffalo Bills. Fantasy owners shouldn’t panic on Jones, not yet. The Falcons get the Week 5 bye week, and it would be surprising if Jones wasn’t healthy by Week 6. Hopefully the team can figure out a way to get him involved in the red zone as well.
The other notable injuries were to quarterbacks, as the Tennessee Titans lost Marcus Mariota and later in the day a Raiders comeback might have gone differently in Denver had Derek Carr not left early with back spasms. Mariota rushed for two touchdowns in the second quarter before a hamstring injury ended his day. Then the Texans scored the final 33 points after Mariota left. For now let’s assume Mariota won't need to miss games and if healthy he will be in demand for fantasy owners with the brutal Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns up the next few weeks. Carr shouldn’t have been as popular a play as he was at Denver and as of now there’s no update on his back woes. Even if it’s bad news, he isn’t a running back and there are plenty of quarterbacks available, even with the bye weeks looming.
Second down: Houston’s Deshaun Watson produced an electric performance with four passing touchdowns and one rushing and he’s looking like a potential fantasy starter at this point. The rookie from Clemson impressed in Week 3 when he handled considerable pressure from the New England Patriots and nearly engineered a road win, though it oddly didn’t result in significantly more interest from fantasy owners. Watson was active in only 5.5 percent of standard leagues, as 20 other quarterbacks were more active. That will likely change, of course, though Watson has a tough Week 5 matchup with the only unbeaten team left, the mighty Kansas City Chiefs.
However, another reason to like Watson a bit more now than a week ago is because he has found another weapon. The first three weeks it was basically all DeAndre Hopkins, as he was the only wide receiver on the team with double-digit targets! Enter Will Fuller V, the second-year Notre Dame product who broke his collarbone in August and made a quick recovery considering the circumstances. Fuller caught four passes for 35 yards and two for touchdowns, making this offense more dynamic. Running back Lamar Miller had a breakout performance with 131 yards and two touchdowns, solidifying his role -- for now -- as fantasy owners questioned him and yearned for untested rookie D'Onta Foreman. Oh, and Hopkins has to be considered a WR1 at this point. Welcome back!
Third down: While one very relevant rookie running back certainly didn’t enjoy his day, others did, and some new names are starting to assume key fantasy roles. Entering the Sunday night Seahawks-Colts game the highest scorer among rookie running backs was Saints third-round pick Alvin Kamara, who caught all 10 of his targets for 71 yards and a touchdown, while adding 25 rushing yards. It’s clear the Saints aren’t going to stop using veteran Mark Ingram while he’s healthy, even if Kamara looks better, but the Tennessee product is becoming a flex option nevertheless. The Saints don’t play in Week 5, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Kamara handles a greater workload when they resume play in Week 6.
The New York Jets won again and sixth-round selection Elijah McGuire played a role, turning his 10 rushing attempts into 93 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown. Of course, this being the Jets, roles remain uncertain moving ahead just as in recent weeks. Matt Forte didn’t play Sunday and Bilal Powell did, and Powell scored on the longest rushing touchdown in club history. McGuire is available in nearly every ESPN standard league and there’s no guarantee his role will be significant in Week 5 at Cleveland, but he seems like a smarter bench stash than Terrance West, Jacquizz Rodgers, Eddie Lacy and Paul Perkins, each of whom is owned in a lot more leagues.
Fourth down: Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers had his best game of the season, throwing for 347 yards in a close loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but he helped Keenan Allen and Tyrell Williams lead all wide receivers in receiving yards (entering Sunday night) and tight end Hunter Henry caught his first touchdown of the season. The winless Chargers continue to find ways to lose close games, but at least the receivers came up large, though tougher matchups follow the next few weeks with the Giants, Raiders and Broncos. Williams entered play with 123 receiving yards over three games and then added 115, with 75 coming on a touchdown jaunt. Of course, to balance out the passing game it wasn’t a good day for running back Melvin Gordon. He battled a knee injury all week and turned his 10 carries into only 22 yards against the Eagles. Monitor his situation but he remains a RB1.
Speaking of balance, the Eagles won again with their running game, as LeGarrette Blount exploded for 136 yards, including a 68-yarder, and Wendell Smallwood assumed the Darren Sproles role of occasional traditional runner and pass-catcher, totaling 79 yards. When the Eagles feature a balanced offense -- when any team does, really -- they are more dangerous, and both Blount and Smallwood should be on the radar for flex purposes in future weeks.