Q: Are we going to see Sam Darnold regression or can he keep this up?
He can absolutely keep this up, and that’s because he’s not doing anything earth-shattering besides being very efficient. Having Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Kevin O’Connell’s scheme, and T.J. Hockenson soon, too will help with that… and look at his upcoming matchups out of the bye! He’s got Detroit this weekend, the Rams next week, then the Colts, and then the Jags. He’s averaging just over two passing touchdowns per game, which is perfectly sustainable – even if there’s a correction, he’s not going to fall far. And with these matchups coming up being as good as they are, he’s probably going to be much closer to the hyper-efficient side of the spectrum than less efficient.
Q: Concerned about James Conner? Can JuJu be the long-term answer as a flex?
Asking if JuJu can be a flex sets the bar very low – we’re looking for like 8-10 points a game from a flex with upside. So in that sense, yeah – he’s an ideal candidate for the flex spot now and long term. His production is much more sustainable than Xavier Worthy, but there’s also a chance we'll see Xavier Worthy get some more work than he’s getting right now as the season wears on. But even then, JuJu earned a very nice target share at 24%, which is more than enough to classify him even potentially as a low WR2. So yeah, he can be trusted there.
As for the concern about James Conner, there’s not really any reason to be concerned about James Conner the player… but the team that he’s on and the situation he’s in is an entirely different conversation. Arizona is very hot and cold on offense, and we saw the cold end of the spectrum last week against Green Bay when they went down 24-0 in the second quarter. That led to season lows in snap share (29%), rush attempts (37%), and route participation (22%). Up until last week, Conner was sitting at 67% snap share, 64% rush attempts share, and 50% route participation from Weeks 1-5. Given just a one-week sample of Conner not coming through – and in a game script where an early down RB like he is wouldn’t traditionally rack up volume anyway – I’m not overly concerned about Conner at this point. He’ll continue to be a quality RB2 start.
Q: Do you think Diontae Johnson gets traded – and if so, where?
The only destination that I think really makes sense and would make everyone happy in real life and in fantasy land is Kansas City. He’s killing it in Carolina thanks to some negative game scripts and I think he’s going to keep doing that as long as Andy Dalton is under center, but I could totally see the Panthers moving him if the right offer came in. I know JuJu looked pretty good filling in for Rashee in Week 5, but that was one game – there’s a chance that doesn’t happen again (even though his usage points to that being his role).
The nice thing is that it’s not like Diontae is stuck in a situation like Amari Cooper was in where he was getting all these targets but they were hardly catchable and the offense stank – he’s perfectly fine where he is. And because of that, I don’t really feel like I want to see him moved because he’s able to be a fantasy WR1 right now. It’s not broke, so let’s hope the Panthers don’t try to fix it.