The question of is Cordarrelle Patterson playing in Week 4 will be a major concern to fantasy football managers. After Patterson has starred for fantasy managers in two of the first three weeks, should we expect to see him in the field this week, and can fantasy managers trust him to perform?
Update: Cordarrelle Patterson is active for the Falcons’ Week 4 game.
Is Cordarrelle Patterson playing today?
There didn’t seem to be a huge amount of concern around Patterson’s availability for Week 4 when he first popped up on the injury report as a non-participant on Wednesday.
The initial report appears to focus more on “rest,” with his knee issue almost being reported as a side note.
However, Patterson then missed practice again Thursday, prompting a little more concern. He managed to practice in a limited fashion on Friday and entered the weekend listed as questionable.
The news on Sunday morning from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was not entirely positive. The Atlanta Falcons are seemingly going to determine Patterson’s availability ahead of the Falcons’ Week 4 game with the Cleveland Browns.
Rapoport did add that Patterson was pushing hard to play, and there was optimism he could suit up. However, an injury that started as a footnote now has Patterson’s status for Sunday in question.
Can fantasy managers trust Patterson in Week 4?
This is a really tough dilemma for Patterson’s fantasy managers this week. Through the first three weeks, he has 302 rushing yards at an average of 6.2 yards per attempt and two rushing touchdowns.
His work in the receiving game has been limited, with just seven targets, four receptions, and 28 yards. However, as a fantasy asset, his rushing work has ensured he is averaging over 14 points per game.
The problem this week is judging how much usage Patterson will see and how effective he will be with that usage. The optimistic outlook is that the Falcons do not have many other options at RB that they can trust. Tyler Allgeier has struggled in his first two NFL games, and Damien Williams is on the injured reserve.
Therefore, we could see plenty of Patterson, regardless of his injury. The issue will really come if the game gets out of hand and the Falcons decide not to risk Patterson any further.
Additionally, this is a reasonably tough matchup for Patterson. The Browns have allowed an average of just 16.93 fantasy points per game to opposing RBs this season. That places them as a slightly tougher than average matchup in Week 4.
It is tough to bench Patterson this week if he is active. However, starting him comes with a huge risk because we just don’t know how much he will be able to play.
The prudent move would be to consider benching him if you have other viable options. Check out PFN’s RB fantasy rankings to see where your other options rank in comparison to Patterson.
Can you trust Tyler Allgeier if Patterson misses time?
As we discussed above, Allgeier has struggled this season. His 16 rushing attempts and single target have yielded just 60 yards in total. However, his opportunities have been somewhat limited, having played less than 40 percent of the snaps in both weeks.
If Patterson is out, then Allgeier should handle the majority of the work. However, the Falcons did elevate RB Caleb Huntley from their practice squad for the Week 4 matchup.
Therefore, Huntley and Avery Williams could both see touches this week and take away from the ceiling for Allgeier. That uncertainty means that Allgeier remains just a 16-team flex option even in the absence of Patterson.