Fantasy Football 2014: High-Profile Studs Guaranteed to Struggle in Week 4

Although fantasy football owners need production from everyone in their lineup to be successful, there is no question that the early-round picks are vital.

Elite players have the potential to dominate during any given week and almost single-handedly lead their owners to victory. Unfortunately, even top players have poor performances every once in a while. That often results in a loss, which is something that every owner must deal with.

There are some players who must be start every week due to their ability, regardless of the matchup. The following players fall under that category, but fantasy owners should brace for worse-than-usual production in Week 4.

Andrew Luck

Most expected Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck to take that next step to an elite level in 2014. He certainly hasn't disappointed through three games, with over 900 passing yards and nine touchdowns. With that said, Week 4 could prove to be a struggle for the Stanford product.

This is despite the fact that Luck is coming off a huge Week 3 performance that netted him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, per John Glennon of The Tennessean:

Indianapolis will host the AFC South rival Tennessee Titans, which provides Luck with a much tougher matchup than some may realize. The Titans boast the NFL's No. 2 pass defense as they are surrendering just 170 yards per game, and opposing signal-callers have a quarterback rating of 71.6.

Luck seems well aware of what he and the rest of the Indy offense are up against, according to TitansOnline.com.

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I think they're ranked fifth in the NFL in total defense. They do a heck of a job. Obviously, I don't think they've played as well as they wanted to the past couple of games, but you watch the film and it's a bunch of good, good players. ... We understand them, and we have our hands full. We know, we're talking in the locker room, anytime you're playing in a division game, you're playing Tennessee, you know it's going to be a dog fight. We know they're going to bring it. We know we'll bring it, and we know it's going to be tough.

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The Colts have won five straight against the Titans, and Luck is a perfect 4-0 against them in his career. While he has done well in the win column, Luck has actually struggled to do much from a statistical standpoint when faced with the Titans.

He has just two touchdowns and four interceptions to go along with a subpar 71.3 quarterback rating against Tennessee. Perhaps Luck is a different quarterback now than he was in past years, but the Titans are still a tough defense to crack.

Since Indianapolis' running game is going well right now, look for the Colts to lean on that dimension, which will ultimately result in a modest stat line for Luck.

LeSean McCoy

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Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy won the NFL rushing title last season, which marked his first in head coach Chip Kelly's offense. With a full year of Kelly's tutelage under his belt, a repeat performance certainly seemed like a very real possibility.

Shady may be able to pull it off yet, but the start has been less than ideal. McCoy is just 17th in the league with 175 yards, and he is averaging a paltry 2.9 yards per tote. McCoy has gotten some play in the passing game with 10 grabs for 64 yards, but he hasn't even been the Eagles' best back this season, with Darren Sproles earning that title.

There is no denying the fact the McCoy has been average at best, but he is seemingly in denial about his current form, according to the NFL's official Twitter account:

Perhaps some players in the NFL would be satisfied with McCoy's current stat line, but a guy who gained over 2,000 total yards and scored 11 times in 2013 should expect better.

While McCoy can't help but improve moving forward, that improvement will be delayed until Week 5 at the earliest. The Eagles will take on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4, and while the Niners defense isn't as formidable as it once was due to injuries and departures, it is still stout against the run.

San Francisco is allowing just over 85 rushing yards per game and 3.8 yards per carry. The 49ers have also surrendered a single rushing touchdown through three contests. The Niners have proved much easier to pass on with seven touchdowns allowed through the air, so Sunday's game may be in the hands of Eagles quarterback Nick Foles.

Teams have committed to preventing McCoy from beating them, but the Eagles are still 3-0. Even so, taking Shady out of the equation is the opposition's best chance to win, and that is precisely what San Francisco will try to do.

Andre Johnson

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Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson is unquestionably the greatest player in franchise history, and it can be argued that he is worthy of Hall of Fame consideration when his career comes to an end. He is still capable of making big plays at 33 years of age, but his perceived fantasy value is largely based on reputation.

Johnson has just 16 grabs for 191 yards and no touchdowns so far this season. That latter point has been an issue for much of his career, in fact. Despite his immense skill, Johnson has never caught more than nine touchdowns in a season. No. 80 had just 11 touchdowns combined from 2011 through 2013, for that matter.

According to Brad Evans of Yahoo! Sports, Johnson is quickly losing his fantasy luster due to his inability to find paydirt:

Doing so in Week 4 against the Buffalo Bills certainly won't be easy. Johnson is likely to go one-on-one with up-and-coming cornerback Stephon Gilmore, and it isn't as if Johnson has an elite quarterback throwing him the ball. Ryan Fitzpatrick is mediocre at best, which is why the Texans do their best to hide him by running more often than not.

The Bills also have an elite pass rush with Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and Jerry Hughes. Fitz may not have much time to throw, and that doesn't bode well for Johnson's fantasy ceiling.

With all of those factors working against Johnson, don't look for his breakout performance to occur in Week 4.

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