Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 4

In the midst of an embarrassing showing by the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs, it was Brandon LaFell, not Julian Edelman, who captured the eye of fantasy owners everywhere.

Owners are accustomed to seeing Edelman, Tom Brady's favorite target not named Rob Gronkowski, soak up targets and production. It simply was not the case by night's end Monday:

NAME	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	TGTS	Fantasy Points
B. LaFell	6	119	19.8	1	10	17
J. Edelman	4	23	5.8	0	8	2

The final numbers are a bit concerning for Edelman owners, especially considering the Chiefs entered the night giving up the ninth-most points to the position. Edelman was getting his targets, but for the second week in a row, he failed to crack 10 fantasy points.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Meanwhile, LaFell—who joined the team this past offseason—exploded and made himself a top-10 scorer at the position.

It was easy to dismiss eight targets that turned into four catches last week, but now LaFell is impossible to ignore in all formats. His recent outburst speaks to the high praise leveled in his direction this past offseason by coach Bill Belichick when he told reporters this: “I think he’ll be able to carve out a role for himself here—might be a big one. I don’t know. We’ll see,” per Doug Kyed of NESN.com.

The good news is that the immediate future is bright for both players based on the schedule. New England's next three opponents fall inside the top 20 teams that surrender the most points to wideouts, with two falling inside the top 10.

Edelman is sure to bounce back sooner rather than later. The targets are there, which will eventually lead to more production from a guy who was a top-20 scorer a season ago with six contests in the double digits. With that in mind, the opportunity to buy low in a trade right now is certainly a viable option if the other party is willing to surrender him for dirt cheap.

LaFell is more of an unknown commodity after his first four years were spent in the confines of a run-first offense in Carolina, but the hints that he is developing a strong rapport with Brady make him worth a flier in all leagues moving forward.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.