Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall-of-Famer Bob Harris and Gary Davenport have well over 40 years of experience as fantasy football analysts and three Football Writer of the Year Awards between them. They know their stuff—or at least that's what they tell themselves.
Each week during the 2024 season, Harris and Davenport are going to come together here at Footballguys to discuss some of that week's most polarizing fantasy options.
Five weeks into the 2024 fantasy football season, many managers are reeling. Elite quarterbacks and wide receivers are coming close to meeting expectations. Young running backs and tight ends are coming from nowhere to help win weeks.
Which disappointing stars will bounce back? What early-season surprises will fade as quickly as they arrive?
Those are the questions Harris and Davenport are trying to answer in Week 6—beginning with the best quarterback of his generation.
Mediocre Mahomes
Might as well start off Week 6 with another Panic Meter.
Patrick Mahomes II of the Kansas City Chiefs was drafted as a top-five fantasy option in most leagues, but after failing to throw a touchdown pass Monday night, Mahomes has just six scores for the season and barely ranks inside the top 15 for the season at his position. Can Mahomes rebound this year? Is he a "buy low?" Or is it time to start legitimately freaking out?
Harris: Panic Meter is at zero. Two things can be true at once. Mahomes can be the most effective quarterback in the NFL. He's a major reason the Chiefs are one of two 5-0 teams despite losing three major offensive pieces: Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice, and Marquise Brown. He's more than capable of keeping Kansas City's offense on schedule and fueling the fantasy fortunes of the one piece we're currently leaning into here (yes, Travis Kelce is a thing again, as we both suggested he would be heading into Week 3).
Also, Mahomes can be all those things without being a front-line fantasy quarterback. I know it sounds sacrilegious. But that's not on me. That's on you for not accepting the truth. There comes a point when we have to divorce names from numbers. And when you objectively assess Mahomes, you realize he's finished as Q15, QB20, QB16, and QB18 twice this season while averaging 14.0 points a game. If you feel like this is a new development, I have more news for you. The last time Mahomes had a top-10 weekly fantasy finish was Week 12 last year.
Mahomes' performance so far this season falls right into line with what he's become -- a solid fantasy QB2. No panic. No drama. Just reality.
Davenport: Dayum. Harris comes out swinging. Best run for the shelters—because truth bombs are dropping.
The thing is, you can't really argue with a thing he said.
Being the best quarterback in the NFL and the best quarterback in fantasy football are two very different things. The folks who drafted Mahomes early this year were drafting the name. The commercials. All the success they see him have on television.
But it's not like Mahomes put up huge numbers last year—he was sixth in passing yards. Eighth in touchdown passes And eighth among quarterbacks in fantasy points. He was a decent weekly starter. But he wasn't an elite fantasy option. But folks let themselves believe he would be with Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy joining the offense.
Now, Brown is toast. So is Rashee Rice, even if the Chiefs don't want to admit it. This year's offense in Kansas City is looking a lot like the 2023 iteration—and that's not going to produce elite fantasy numbers.
Mahomes is what he is—and that's much different in fantasy than reality.