Week 4 Fantasy Football Panic Meter

Welcome to Blitz Sports Media’s Fantasy Football “Panic Meter”. Each week we will identify some of the disappointing performances from the prior week to identify if it is time to panic about a certain player. Below is the official Blitz Sports Media panic meter discussing the reasoning behind each panic meter level.

Let’s get into all of the players who made this week’s version of the panic meter.

Rachaad White RB (TB)

Panic Meter: 3

Coming into the season we were fading White due to his inefficiency from 2023. In 2024 he has been worse than expected, averaging only 2.13 yards per carry. Head coach Todd Bowles stated that rookie RB Bucky Irving would be getting more touches going forward. This is even more concerning when you consider that White received 0 carries in the 2nd half of last week. He will still play a decent amount on 3rd down, but it is time to trade him for whatever you can get before his volume dip hits.

Travis Kelce TE (KC)

Panic Meter: 2

Welcome back to the Panic Meter Travis Kelce. On the season he has 8 catches for 69 yards and 0 touchdowns on 12 targets. It is a combination of reasons as to why Kelce has taken a step back this season. It is fair to say that he has lost a step and is getting open less, but the Chiefs offense now features 2nd year WR Rashee Rice as their top option. When he was featured on the 1st drive out of halftime he had 2 catches for 22 yards. With the tight end position struggling as a whole, Kelce remains one of the best options at the position.

Tyreek Hill WR (MIA)

Panic Meter: 2.5

Coming into the season, Hill was a consensus top 4 pick in fantasy drafts. With two consecutive performances under 10 PPR points, he finds himself on the panic meter. The Dolphins offense with Skylar Thompson was a mess last week and resulted in them only putting up 3 points. This week they give Snoop Huntley the start to see if he can produce at least a touchdown. Hill’s value is at an all-time low so it might be more beneficial to hold him instead of trading him. Michael Pittman Jr. WR (IND)

Brandon Aiyuk WR (SF)

Panic Meter: 1

Aiyuk’s breakout week was supposed to be last week but instead, we saw him get overshadowed by Jauan Jennings monster performance. The most notable concern has been the lack of chemistry between him and Brock Purdy. They missed a wide-open 50-yard touchdown last week and it can be attributed to Aiyuk not participating in training camp. On the bright side, Aiyuk finished as the top separation win rate of any receiver in week 3. It feels like this is a good opportunity to buy low on Aiyuk.

Patrick Mahomes QB (KC)

Panic Meter: 2

The Chiefs offense’s lack of red zone success has contributed to the lack of fantasy points from this offense through 3 weeks. Mahomes has not been sharp to start the season with 659 yards 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions on the season. Teams refuse to let the Chiefs beat them over the top and that has resulted in Mahomes numbers taking a dip the last two seasons. He is no longer a top 5 fantasy QB with him having little rushing upside and him now struggling in the pass game. If you think the best QB in the game will play better, then it could be an opportunity to buy low.

Anthony Richardson QB (IND)

Panic Meter: 4

AR was a popular pick in drafts to breakout this season due to his big arm and rushing ability. While those abilities still remain, his accuracy problems have been so bad it has overshadowed his talents. He is currently completing under 50% of his passes on the season and it has kept the Colts offense out of rhythm this season. He is running less this season post-injury and relying more on pocket passing as well in 2024. You should have no confidence in starting him going forward.

Mark Andrews TE (BAL)

Panic Meter: 4

Mark Andrews might not be beating the washed allegations. Unlike Kelce, Andrews is not even on the field or running routes at this point. Last week he logged a 33% snap share while only running four routes all of week 3. You can attribute this to the Ravens being up for a majority of the game but from where we drafted Andrews the lack of snaps is concerning. He has a favorable matchup against the Bills this week in what might be his last chance to prove to fantasy managers he can still produce.

Zamir White RB (LV)

Panic Meter: 5

White was a guy who was in a prove-it week against one of the worst run defenses in the Carolina Panthers. Instead, the Raiders running back finished with 10 carries for 34 yards while only logging 33% of the team’s running back snaps. More concerningly he is only receiving 19% of snaps inside the 5-yard line. White holds little to no value at this point, you can drop him.

D’Andre Swift RB (CHI)

Panic Meter: 4

Swift has been bad this season, averaging under 2 yards per carry. He has never been an efficient running back but under 2 yards a carry in the NFL anywhere will result in you playing less. Expect Khalil Herbert or Roschon Johnson to start earning more touches going forward if Swift continues to struggle. Something notable is that Shane Waldron has been horrible so far this season and the Bears running game has suffered from that. Look at how successful Seattle’s running backs have been in his absence.

Check out an in-depth breakdown on the biggest fantasy winners and losers from week 3