The fantasy football season is moving forward through week 4 with Monday night football still to come and after the games on Sunday some sleeper players and some options to pick up includes Nate Washington, Rashad Jennings, LeGarrette Blount and Kenbrell Thompkins.
Washington had a solid game with four catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns and he could be a nice sleeper going forward, as could Rashad Jennings, as he stepped in for an injured Darren McFadden and could get more production the rest of the season. Blount had over 60 yards on nine carries and scored a touchdown and the way the Pats rushing game is he could very solid as well. Thompkins has been playing much better and he had 11 targets in the game against the Falcons with a touchdown and over 120 yards receiving.
The Saints and Dolphins have a number of players to keep an eye on as well, including Drew Brees, Ryan Tannehill, Mike Wallace, Lamar Miller, Charles Clay, Jimmy Graham and Brian Hartline. Tannehill has played well this season through three games and he could put up some very good numbers come Monday night.
The next week of the NFL season is almost complete and last week one game that was very interesting for fantasy football owners was the 23-3 victory by the Patriots over the Buccaneers, as Tom Brady and receivers Kenbrell Thompkins and Aaron Dobson finally got on the same page.
The Patriots won their first two games by close scores against the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets and on that Thursday game against the Jets, Brady looked very frustrated with rookie receivers Dobson and Thompkins, as they both dropped a number of passes and the offense struggled to move the chains. The team has taken some hits in the offense with injuries to players like Danny Amendola and Shane Vereen and players like Thompkins, Dobson and Julian Edelman have had to step into more prominent roles.
Thompkins was looked at as a fantasy football sleeper heading into the season and after a couple of slow games, he finally could be getting on the same page as Brady, catching two touchdown passes from him in Sunday's game against the Buccaneers. Brady had 225 yards in the game and the defense came through, holding the team to just three points and those came in the first quarter. Thompkins made just six catches over the first two games and while he had only three on Sunday, two of those were for big payoffs and he had 41 yards in the game as well. According to ESPN.com, Thompkins has not been great at catching the ball based on how he has been targeted, ranking the lowest in the league, but things could be turning around heading into next week.
The Patriots will need both Dobson and Thompson to step up along with Josh Boyce as the season goes on, as Amendola is expected to stay out of the lineup and tight end Rob Gronkowski is still recovering from his injuries. Dobson had 10 targets on Sunday against the Bucs, which were the most on the team and he added seven catches for over 50 yards and this came after he scored a touchdown against the Jets and he also had over 50 yards in that game. Dobson could be a solid addition in deep team fantasy leagues and Thompkins' size and speed makes him an appealing target for Brady as well.
The game made the Patriots 3-0 on the season and sent the Buccaneers to 0-3 and New England is now feeling good about themselves heading into a tough game on Sunday night on the road against the Atlanta Falcons and then they have another tough road game against the Bengals. The Patriots offense has been going through Brady as usual, but the running game hasn't been as consistent as last season with Stevan Ridley struggling and Shane Vereen out and that has pushed Brandon Bolden and LeGarrette Blount into a more prominent role. Those two led the team in rushing on Sunday and if Ridley keeps struggling he could move down the depth chart.
The Patriots are one of only a few 3-0 team and they are facing a tough stretch with the Falcons, Bengals and then a home game against the New Orleans Saints before traveling to play the Jets. The team then will play Miami and Pittsburgh before their bye in Week 9.
