It's hard to believe that the NFL season will complete its first month next week, and in the fantasy football space three weeks is a huge sample size to work with. Any teams able to stack wins early will reap the benefits as byes start kicking in next month, so smart fantasy owners will take notice of bad fantasy performers early on and start to game plan around them going forward.
Week 3 offered a challenge for fantasy players to adapt to as five different teams (Washington, Cincinnati, Minnesota, San Francisco and the New York Jets) rolled with backup quarterbacks, making it tougher to gauge whether the performances from fantasy standouts like Ja'Marr Chase, Garrett Wilson and Christian McCaffrey were products of their passers or a sign of things to come.
Which fantasy players should hit your bench in Week 4? Let's take a look at five-ish candidates (there's a bit of an asterisk to one group which is a catch-all), beginning with New Orleans' Alvin Kamara.
5 Fantasy Football stars who need to be benched In Week 4
RB Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints)
Long considered a fantasy superstar thanks to his explosive speed and soft hands, Kamara is now 30 years old and tied to an abysmal supporting cast in New Orleans. After competitive efforts in the first two weeks of the season, the Saints were blown out in Seattle, losing 44-13 in an effort that will make them a prime target for people looking to advance in knockout pools around the nation.
Kamara got plenty of touches, turning 18 carries into just 42 yards and adding one catch on two targets for 14 more yards. Opposing teams know that Kamara is the most important player in New Orleans' attack, so expect plenty of game plans to slow him down, reducing his upside dramatically in games that the Saints can't stay afloat in early.
Week 4 sees the Saints on the road again as they head to Buffalo for another potential blood bath. Even though there is temptation to roll with Kamara in hopes of garbage time goodness, another stat line much like this week's is in the offing if you opt to roll with him.
Falcons Pass Catchers
There is a lot of concern for the passing game in Atlanta now as Michael Penix Jr has looked very shaky in his first three games of the year. Penix was downright dreadful against a Carolina Panthers' team that has been shredded the first two weeks of the season, completing just 18-of-36 passes for 172 yards with two interceptions before being benched late for Kirk Cousins.
The poor performance from Atlanta's passing game has dragged down its pass catchers as Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Darnell Mooney have all gotten off to slow starts this season. The only salvageable fantasy asset is Bijan Robinson, who should be getting the football far more than the Falcons have handed it to him so far.
With uncertainty under center, all Falcons' receivers are much shakier starts, especially against a Washington defense that can throw Marshon Lattimore at London in Week 4. London is simply a flex option right now while Mooney and Pitts can be benched entirely until we see noticeable improvement from either Penix or a switch back to Cousins on a full-time basis.
RB Chase Brown (Cincinnati Bengals)
A lot of the fears surrounding the loss of Joe Burrow in Cincinnati came home to roost during the Bengals' 48-10 blowout loss in Minnesota against another backup quarterback in Carson Wentz. While Jake Browning made plenty of mistakes in this contest, the more noticeable fantasy storyline is the continued fall from grace of running back Chase Brown.
We warned in this space last week that the loss of Burrow would have the most noticeable impact on Brown, who was going to be staring at loaded boxes as opponents dare Browning to beat them. That certainly held true as Minnesota's elite defense swallowed up Brown's rushing lanes, holding him to just 3 yards rushing on 10 carries.
The going won't get any easier for the Bengals, who have to travel to Denver to take on the stout Broncos' unit in Week 4. Pass catching won't be much help for Brown either since he is at least third on the Bengals' pass catching tree behind Chase and Tee Higgins, so Brown is definitely a liability for his fantasy owners going forward.
WR Jerry Jeudy (Cleveland Browns)
The biggest stunner of the day on Sunday was Cleveland's upset of the Packers, who looked like a dominant team prior to this game. This game was won on the strength of the Browns' defense, which is good enough to get them a few wins and avoid the tippy top of the NFL Draft, but one of the team's top pass catchers was virtually silent in Week 3.
Jerry Jeudy, who was a league winner down the stretch last season, caught just one pass for 17 yards in the victory. Joe Flacco looked his way five times for the afternoon, but Cleveland was more effective on the ground as rookie Quinshon Judkins ran 18 times for 94 yards to help the Browns control the clock.
With Kevin Stefanski looking to build a winning culture, a ground-and-pound offense pairs well with the Browns' strong defense, which will put a big dent into Jeudy's fantasy potential. The Browns are set to take on Detroit in Week 4, which has been a highly-efficient pass defense for a while, so hoping for a good start out of Jeudy may be asking a lot.
RB Breece Hall (New York Jets)
The Jets like to run the ball a lot, but volume doesn't always translate to fantasy success. Take Breece Hall for example, who looked like he was back after a dominant Week 1 showing (19 carries for 107 yards), but his returns the past two games have been far less impressive.
Week 2 was a blowout, so Hall's lack of effectiveness can be more understood, but Week 3 against Tampa Bay saw him produce just 21 yards on nine carries against a Buccaneers' run defense that was down Calijah Kancey, who was lost for the season on Monday. The Jets also gave a fair share of run to backup Braelon Allen, who turned six carries into 30 yards.
There is reason to be concerned that this backfield is turning into a time share and Hall's sluggish performance the last few games could see him lose more ground to Allen going forward. Week 4's matchup with Miami certainly appears fantasy friendly with the Dolphins' defense giving up plenty of points over the first three weeks but there is a much stronger argument to make that Hall is going to underwhelm than match his Week 1 effort again.