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Todd Gurley, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey Post-Week 4 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
October 4, 2015

Fantasy owners who continued to show faith in Tavon Austin were richly rewarded Sunday after the St. Louis Rams wideout spearheaded a 24-22 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

According to NFL.com, Austin is the highest-scoring receiver in Week 4 so far, and you can see his final numbers below:

Many have wondered whether a player with Austin’s unique skill set could thrive in a Jeff Fisher offense; “innovative” isn’t a word you’d use to describe the Rams head coach. But Fisher looked committed to providing more opportunities for the third-year star, per Fox Sports’ Mike Jurecki:

Austin’s seven targets Sunday were the most he’s seen this season—and more than he saw in any game last year as well.

The trouble going forward with Austin is that you have no idea whether Week 4 was a fluke or a sign of things to come. He had just eight receptions for 42 yards entering Sunday, and his single-game season high last year was four receptions for 35 yards.

You shouldn’t immediately insert Austin into your lineup based on Sunday’s game, but he might be worth adding as a high-ceiling guy if you’re looking for a wide receiver.

Much like Austin, Todd Gurley could be on the precipice of big things after he consistently ran through the Cardinals defense:

Chances are that Gurley is already taken in your league, so you won’t be able to rush to the waiver wire and add him to your squad. If he is available, you should get him on your roster as quickly as possible.

As long as he’s healthy, the former Georgia Bulldogs star will get plenty of touches in Fisher’s offense. According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Fisher ranks in the 61st percentile among all NFL coaches in history in rushing attempts.

While the Rams haven’t established a steady ground game under his watch, he’s never had a running back like Gurley in St. Louis.

Don’t be surprised, though, if the Rams lighten Gurley’s workload at various points in the year and don’t push him too hard in his first year back following a torn ACL.

But Gurley is at least worth starting as your flex option going forward as long as he remains St. Louis’ featured back.

The outlook isn’t as positive for Stedman Bailey despite his encouraging numbers Sunday:

Bailey’s fantasy value suffers for two reasons.

For one, he’s nowhere near Nick Foles‘ first option in the passing game. His touchdown reception covered up what would’ve otherwise been an uneventful game for the 24-year-old wideout. Until he is consistently getting a high volume of looks from Foles, Bailey is a fantasy non-factor.

That issue is compounded by the fact that Foles is averaging 203.7 passing yards per contest through the Rams’ first four games. There won’t be much left over for Bailey when you distribute production like that across St. Louis’ entire receiving corps.

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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St. Louis Rams

Fantasy

Tavon Austin

Nick Foles

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