Eric Decker, Geno Smith's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 4

The New York Jets offense may be permanently labeled a work in progress with quarterback Geno Smith at the helm. This will be tough for fantasy football owners of wide receiver Eric Decker, but the veteran wideout still has enough speed and guile to put up respectable numbers while his teammates struggle to find any consistency.    

REC	YDS	AVG	TD	TGTS
4	48	12.0	1	9

CMP/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	FUM	LOST	RSH YDS
17/33	209	1	1	2	1	4

Smith completed just nine of 20 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown through three quarters of the Jets' Week 4 contest against the Detroit Lions. Of those nine completions, four went to Decker, including the touchdown toss. ESPN's Rich Cimini noted that Decker hurt his own cause with drops:

This may be immaterial to fantasy owners, as Smith has little in the way of reliable options beyond Decker.

Decker's play was limited by a hamstring injury in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears, when he had just one catch. However, he's clearly emerged as Smith's favorite target and appears to be a lock to reel in five-plus catches every week with the amount of targets he is getting (seven in each of the first two games, per ESPN.com).

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

His numbers won't be nearly as strong as they were with Peyton Manning in Denver, but consider him a starting WR2 or flex option just about every week. Forty-eight yards isn't a strong output, but the Lions have one of the better defenses in the league so far.

As for Smith, he's no better than a bench player up to this point and a spot starter in two-quarterback leagues. He has great arm strength and decent accuracy, but he needs to display more consistency from week to week before he cracks the starting fantasy football lineup. If he can't limit the turnovers, he may not even be a lock as the Jets starter with veteran quarterback Michael Vick lurking behind him on the depth chart.