Fantasy Football: 7 Players to Avoid in Week 4

Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

While Mike Evans should be good to go health-wise, which is a great sign for the Buccaneers and fantasy owners, this is probably not the week he explodes for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last week, he failed to establish a good connection with Jameis Winston (or perhaps the other way around), despite posting seven catches for 101 yards. Why? He needed 17 targets to do so, and could have had a better game if he held on to a few more of his looks.

As Rich Hribar pointed out, Evans combined for seven catches, 50 yards, and a touchdown in two games versus Carolina last year. That doesn’t look like two games of typical Evans production; it looks like the average Jarvis Landry line for one game.

The Panthers quietly have our third-ranked passing defense through three weeks, continuing a trend from the second half of last season. Of course, they have played Jacksonville, Houston, and New Orleans sans Drew Brees this year.

Since Tampa Bay’s offense is in the same tier as those three teams’, it's reasonable to expect the Panthers to play at a similar level. Also, Evans will see cornerback Josh Norman, who allowed Allen Robinson to catch 4 balls on 9 targets and 68 yards, and DeAndre Hopkins 5 catches on 11 targets for 53 yards.

After this week, it is smooth sailing, as Evans gets Jacksonville, Atlanta, and the entire NFC East over the following six weeks. But for this week, we project him for 4.70 receptions for 66.10 yards and 0.47 touchdowns.