We are through four weeks of the NFL season, and already, we have had plenty of pleasant surprises and unforeseen disappointments. Many of the same old players and teams have picked up right where they left off; some teams who are normally non-existent have come alive, and there are those teams who might need to think about rebuilding soon.

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The NFL has had a few players come out of nowhere already and find some success. None are bigger than Bears running back Tarik Cohen. He was not well known coming into the season, but he is such a versatile back who can play special teams, run, and catch the ball out of the backfield. He has been one of Mike Glennon’s favorite targets so far this season, and Cohen shows no signs of slowing down, even if Jordan Howard continues having success. Another nice surprise has been the huge improvement that Jared Goff has shown from last season. He finally is starting to show that he deserved to be the first pick, and he has helped the Rams start 3-1. He has finally opened up the offense more, and this has helped Todd Gurley have a better start to the season than last year. Chris Thompson of the Washington Redskins has been dynamic out of the backfield to start the season. Even with Kelley playing, he has shown he is a capable playmaker the Redskins can rely on this season. Lastly, DeShaun Watson has looked pretty solid after he has taken over as the Texans QB for Tom Savage. He is a dual threat who has expanded the Texans offense in many different ways. It will be interesting to see if this early success lasts an entire season. There have also been a few surprise teams that have found some success early in the season as well.

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The Los Angeles Rams are 3-1, and appear to be playing better in all three facets of football. The Jaguars have started off 2-2, to many fans’ surprise. They looked fantastic in their win in London over the Ravens, and Bortles is starting to perform like he should. Lastly, the Tennessee Titans also look like a better team this season. They have a more explosive offense all around, and their defense has also improved in the early stages from last year as well, despite the rout they faced against Houston this past week. It will be interesting to see if these three teams can continue to play this well for an entire season. While the NFL has had some pleasantly surprising players and teams, they have some equally disappointing players and teams.

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David Johnson has obviously been the biggest disappointment, but it truly is not his fault. Many fantasy football owners were disappointed to hear about his wrist injury after they drafted him in the top three picks of their drafts, but he will come back and be an elite back later this season, I believe. Adrian Peterson has been an absolute flop for the Saints, and I personally think they are wasting him. He still has a lot of talent, but he needs more consistent carries in the Saints crowded backfield, which will likely not happen with Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara getting most of the touches thus far. Eddie Lacy has also been miserable for the Seahawks, and has slid all the way to third on their depth chart. Eddie Lacy has had a very disappointing decline the last few seasons, and it does not appear to be getting better in Seattle. Andy Dalton has also been terrible through three games. He has had very little success staying upright and getting the ball to star receiver AJ Green. He was better in Week 3, but he still is not getting the job done for the Bengals. To wrap it up with the disappointments, Donte Moncrief has almost been non-existent for the Colts the first three weeks. He was expected to have a breakout season, but he has not been getting the ball as much as fans anticipated. I would not be surprised if he has very little success for the rest of the season, because of all of the woes the Colts have faced so far this year, including Andrew Luck’s recurring injuries. There have been some surprisingly bad starts to the season for a few teams, in addition to the individual disappointments.

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The Bengals are not a very good football team right now, and they are not going anywhere anytime soon. They will get Burfict back soon, but he is not enough to save the Bengals season. A 1-3 start was not what they had in mind, and Marvin Lewis may finally get canned at the end of the season. The New York Football Giants have started 0-4, and it is likely the Giants will miss the playoffs now. Brandon Marshall figured he was joining a contender, but the man just may be cursed. He has never played in a playoff game in his career, and that trend does not appear to be ending soon. Lastly, the Seattle Seahawks have once again started the year slow. Their offensive line stinks, and their defense has not looked as sharp as anticipated. The NFC West is not a very good division, but they still have to win 9 games, more than likely, to win it. The Seahawks need their defense to play better, and they have to pick up the run game or they can expect their woes to continue.

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The beauty of the NFL is that not many things are certain. Who knows what the playoff picture could look like after a few more weeks. Will upstart players continue to emerge? Will struggling teams continue to struggle? It will undoubtedly continue to be another fun season of NFL football!