Those who thought Ezekiel Elliott might be eased into a heavy workload in Dallas are about as shocked as when we found out who shot JR. Okay, I'm not that old ... I just know the story.
Through four weeks, Elliott ranks second among running backs in touches, he's third in touch distribution and first in rushing yards. This has Elliott as a top-eight fantasy running back after the quarter point of the season. Add in Dak Prescott's No. 10 ranking among quarterbacks, and it's apparent the Cowboys' rookie backfield is ready for prime time.
Speaking of exceeding expectations, Matt Ryan has 23 more fantasy points than any other quarterback in the NFL. Yes, that's an average of six more fantasy points per game. This is an absolutely ridiculous stat to look at, and it shows us just how dominating he's been.
Though, one must wonder whether Ryan is simply takin advantage of bad competition. Two of four outings have come against pass defenses that rank in the bottom three of the NFL. That won't be the case this Sunday in Denver against the Broncos.
Michael Crabtree put up three touchdowns last week against the Baltimore Ravens. Not only was it just the second time Crabtree has put up two touchdowns since the 2012 season, it's his first three touchdown game. Now in 20 games with Derek Carr as his quarterback, Crabtree has caught 111-of-183 targets with 13 touchdowns.
Is it now time to consider the former San Francisco 49ers first-round pick a WR1 option? Based on what we've seen over the past season and a quarter, that's a reasonable conclusion to draw.
Want an unusually bad stat to reference to friends at the bar? Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans is catching just 53 percent of his passes since enterin the NFL. This hasn't had a major impact on his fantasy performance, as the former first-round pick has put up two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and is on pace to put up nearly 1,500 receiving yards. It's just something to keep an eye on should the Bucs actually attempt to get the run game going.
It's hard to imagine anyone being worse than the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns have been against tight ends this season. Dallas has allowed 28-of-32 targets to tight ends to be completed this season. It is also yielding 11.6 yards per completion and 10.1 yards per attempt.
Meanwhile, the Browns have allowed 32-of-39 passes to be completed for 324 yards and three touchdowns. That's just some horrible stuff right there.
Since the start of last season, Jordan Reed has caught 112-of-149 passes for a 75.2 completion percentage. He's also hauled in 13 touchdowns for a better than 10 percent touchdown rate. These are numbers Rob Gronkowski couldn't even dream of.