Fantasy Football: Dynasty Keep/Trade/Drop Week 4 2021 NFL

After the latest NFL week, who should you keep, trade, or drop on your fantasy football teams?

Author:
Ryan Frederick
Publish date:
Oct 5, 2021 10:10 AM EDT

For as often as we have played the game of fantasy football, there never seems to be a good week to pull the trigger on a trade or a big waiver wire add. Following Week 4, though, we seem to have much more clarity throughout not only the NFL but the leagues that we participate. The championship contenders have started to separate themselves. Suddenly, you start getting trade offers you would never consider trading so they can bolster their lineup. You begin receiving trade offers from teams that have fallen to the bottom of the standings for rookie picks for next year that don't entirely make sense. All the while, you sit and stew about what the 2-2 teams you have assembled should do.

The key, as we have touched on before, is patience. If you are riding the middle line, hold yourself and your pieces close to the vest and ride out what you have until you know where you need the most help. If you are riding high and find yourself boasting a 4-0 record, don't send trade offers that blow your tradable assets entirely. Wait until the time is right and then take advantage of a team looking to sell aggressively, and what you could get following Week 4 might cost you a little bit less following Week 10. If you find yourself bottoming out early, do not panic-sell this early in the season. Chances are someone is going to lose a star player in their lineup by the time your league's trade deadline rolls around, and then you can pounce and find them vulnerable looking to fill a hole.

However, there seems always to be a subset of guys that we wish we had sold earlier or guys we had not trusted as long as others. So the questions are: Who can you sell now at peak value? Who is someone you cannot count on the rest of the way (or maybe ever)? Who might have a shockingly high value later in the season if something happened to a star player in a fantasy lineup?

TRADE: Robby Anderson, WR, Carolina Panthers

Last week's edition of this article also featured Robby Anderson, but he was in a different spot on the list. This week, he finds himself much more advantageous after garnering 11 targets against the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone who rosters Anderson has been in a precarious position this year on how to handle his lack of usage after his breakout last season. There seems to be a correlation between his success and the number of targets, though: when Christian McCaffrey is not on the field, Robby Anderson is a solid number two option for Sam Darnold. With McCaffrey on the field, Anderson has to battle and losses to be the third option, at best, behind the running game, DJ Moore, and Darnold's rushing ability that has flourished this year. If you are looking to break free from the inconsistency of Anderson, the best time would be now before McCaffrey returns from his injury, which sounds like he could be back by Week 7 at the latest. Leverage his high targets in Week 4 to gain something more beneficial to your lineup or help get yourself an extra pick if you are in rebuilding mode.

DROP: Denzel Mims, WR, New York Jets

There was a glimmer of hope for the Denzel Mims truthers out there this weekend. He was finally scheduled to be active for the first time since Week 1, when he had only one catch on just three snaps. In Week 4, Mims was on the field for a total of 10 snaps (16% of the total snaps for the Jets) and had zero targets. Mims was a special player on paper coming out of Baylor. At 6'3", 210 pounds, he seemed like the prototypical wide receiver you would want at this level with his physical style of play and landed on a team where wide receiver was a significant need. He seemed to find a foothold as a reliable option for the Jets midway through his rookie year on a well below-average offense which gave fantasy managers some hope that a new regime and a new quarterback Mims could build off of his rookie season. However, things have not gone his way in this new offense, and with comments from Robert Saleh saying that the Jets are not willing to trade the former second-round pick, it is time for you to move on from Mims until something drastically changes.

KEEP: Jeremy McNichols, RB, Tennessee Titans

We have not talked a lot about the backup running back for the Tennessee Titans in recent years. With how dominant and healthy Derrick Henry has been, there have been zero reasons to talk about them, whether it be Dion Lewis, Demarco Murray, or Darrynton Evans. However, Jeremy McNichols showed something this week that is very intriguing. That was his ability in the passing game and the trust that quarterback Ryan Tannehill showed in him late in the game. He had a whopping 12 targets and made eight catches for 74 yards, making him the most effective receiver the Titans had on the field due to the injuries to A.J. Brown and Julio Jones. If Jones and Brown continue to miss time, McNichols now has the trust of Tannehill in the offense and will provide a solid flex option with him, essentially, being the top receiver for the Titans. Should Derrick Henry miss any length of time, he has also shown the speed and pass-catching ability to be a very valuable running back. Find a way to keep McNichols on your roster, and it might pay off for you in a big way.