Welcome to Week 4 in the NFL. Believe it or not, we’re almost one-third of the way through the fantasy football season. If you’re riding high with a winning record, you want to keep that momentum going, but if you haven’t faired so well, the next couple of weeks are important.
There are some fantasy-relevant players who have really good opportunities to help you win, and a couple of stars that face tough matchups this week. Here is who you should start and sit in Week 4.
Quarterbacks
Starts
Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Fitzmagic is still going strong and he has finished inside the Top 10 in fantasy points two weeks in a row. This week he gets the prime matchup against the Seattle Seahawks who have allowed the most passing yards to quarterbacks this year. Good chance the Dolphins are going to play from behind most of this game, forcing Fitzpatrick to throw.
Joe Burrow vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
One thing you want from your quarterback, at least from a fantasy standpoint, is that he throws the ball as much as possible, and Burrow’s 141 pass attempts are second-most in the league. This week he gets the Jaguars, who have allowed an NFL worse 80% completion percentage and the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
Other Quarterbacks To Start: Deshaun Watson, Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, Cam Newton, Drew Brees
Sleeper
Baker Mayfield at Dallas Cowboys
Cleveland is starting to tolerate watching a Baker Mayfield commercial every 30 seconds when the team is winning, but that can’t be said in fantasy, as he’s QB25 this season. Mayfield has the opportunity to enter the Top 10 this week as he faces the Cowboys, whose passing defense is not that good meaning there’s a good chance he’ll be trying to play catchup in this game.
Sits
Ryan Tannehill vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
This is tentative that these two teams play this week, signs are pointing to Monday or Tuesday.
What should have been a good matchup for Tannehill against the Vikings was not, he had below 15 fantasy points for the first time since Week 13 of last year and no touchdowns since Week 6.
This week he faces the Steelers who are one of the stronger defenses and lead the league in sacks, quarterback hurry percentage and are second in interceptions and quarterback knockdown percentage.
Nick Foles vs. Indianapolis Colts
Congratulations to Nick Foles getting the starting job in Chicago, but unfortunately, he gets a tough challenge this week. The Colts, who had the seventh-most interceptions last year, lead the league in that category through the first three games this season.
Other Quarterbacks To Sit: Carson Wentz, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr
Bust
Daniel Jones
I had very high hopes for Jones coming into the season. The injury to Saquon Barkley has shown to be detrimental as the offense as a whole looks lost. He couldn’t produce against a banged-up 49ers defense, the Rams should be able to shut him down.
Wide Receivers
Starts
Allen Lazard vs. Atlanta Falcons (Monday)
Lazard emerged last week as the No. 1 for the Jets while receiver while Davante Adam was out with a hamstring issue. This week’s matchup sets him up for another big game, the Falcons are coming off back-to-back double-digit blown leads and have given up the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers this year.
Odell Beckham Jr. at Dallas Cowboys
OBJ in Cleveland has not been what we thought it would be.
This week though, he’s a start in your lineup against Dallas, which we know he can ball out against with one hand.
Other Wide Receivers To Start: Tyler Boyd, Robert Woods, Braxton Berrios, Preston Williams, Will Fuller
Sleeper
DeVante Parker vs. Seattle Seahawks
Parker had such a strong end to last season that he was taken as a higher WR2 in most drafts this year, but he has struggled out of the gate. He has the best opportunity to get things going against Seattle whose 934 air yards are the highest by 354, and 12.7 yards gained-per-catch are second-highest in the league.
Sits
Terry McLaurin vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens are going to look to make a statement after the performance from Monday night against the Chiefs. McLaurin is going to see a lot of Marlon Humphries who averaged just five yards per-target last year.
A.J. Green vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
I had high hopes for Green this year, but it just hasn’t happened. The fact that the Bengals are very pass-heavy and Green hasn’t produced isn’t great. Add that with the emergence of Tee Higgins and it makes him hard to trust.
Other Wide Receivers To Sit: Darius Slayton, Corey Davis, Sammy Watkins, Keelan Cole, Brandon Aiyuk
Bust
T.Y. Hilton at. Chicago
Philip Rivers does not favor his wideouts, he didn’t do it in San Diego/Los Angeles, and he’s not going to change the way he plays at 38-years-old. Hilton’s targets have steadily dropped each week and the matchup is not good either.
Running Backs
Starts
James Robinson at Cincinnati Bengals
The Jacksonville air attack was atrocious last week against the Dolphins, the only reason they were remotely in that game was because of the performance of Robinson. Here’s to you Mr. Robinson, getting a matchup against the Bengals who have allowed the second-most rushing yards and first downs on the ground this year.
Devin Singletary at Las Vegas Raiders
Singletary performed well last week as the primary back with Zack Moss out with a toe injury. If Moss misses another week, Singletary is primed for a great performance. The Raiders have allowed 5.6 rushing yards-per-attempt which is the third-most in the league. Singletary’s ability to catch the ball helps as Las Vegas has allowed the most receiving yards to running backs so far this season.
Other Running Backs To Start: Darrell Henderson, Mike Davis, Jerick McKinnon, David Johnson, Jonathan Taylor
Sleeper
Kenyan Drake at Carolina Panthers
The opportunities are there as he’s averaging close to 20 touches-per-game, it just hasn’t resulted in the big points. Drake has only seen the end zone once this year, but he’s going to see a Panthers defense that allowed seven rushing touchdowns through the first three games of the season.
Sits
Antonio Gibson vs Baltimore Ravens
The Washington rookie has been a touchdown dependant flex-start at best this year, and he’s second to J.D. McKissic to snap shares. In this really tough matchup, I don’t trust him.
Myles Gaskin vs. Seattle Seahawks
Gaskin has emerged as the starter in the Miami backfield, and I like him going forward, but I would hold back my expectations this week. The Seattle passing defense is bad, but the run defense has been good, allowing the third-fewest rushing yards-per-carry this season. His ability to catch the ball does put him as a flex start in PPR, however.
Other Running Backs To Sit: Leonard Fournette, D’Andre Swift, Devonta Freeman, Todd Gurley
Bust
Joshua Kelley
Kelley’s stock had risen in the first couple of games, but we saw his snaps, touches, and overall production take a big drop last week.
This is an unfortunate matchup against Tampa Bay, who was one of the best run defenses in 2019 and continue that as their 2.9 yards-per-carry is the second-best this year.
Tight Ends
Starts
T.J. Hockenson vs. New Orleans Saints
Amongst tight ends, Hock has done well as he sits inside the Top 10 this year. He’s going against the Saints this week who have allowed big games to Darren Waller and Robert Tonyan over the last two weeks.
Jimmy Graham vs. Indianapolis Colts
The matchup on paper isn’t ideal, but coach Matt Nagy loves Jimmy Graham where it counts, the red zone. Graham is second in red zone targets and has the most red zone touchdowns this season. Nick Foles was looking for Graham a lot in his relief effort last week; Graham has a huge upside this week.
Other Tight Ends To Start: Darren Waller, Noah Fant, Mike Gesicki, Robert Tonyan, Mo Alie-Cox
Sleeper
Dalton Schultz vs. Cleveland Browns
If you’re a Dallas Goedert owner or you streamed Jordan Reed while George Kittle was out, this might be the week to get Schultz if he’s available. He has 16 targets in the last two in games with a quarterback that leads the league in pass attempts.
He has a favorable matchup against the Browns who have allowed the third-most targets and receptions to tight ends this year.
Sits
Greg Olsen at Miami Dolphins
With as impressive Russell Wilson has been in the passing game, it hasn’t brought any value to Olsen as he’s seeing only 11.76% of the snap share this year. There are much better available options this week.
Austin Hooper at Dallas Cowboys
The matchup is great on paper, and Hooper is such a talent, but the numbers for him don’t reflect that. He’s 23rd in routes run amongst tight ends this year and has primarily been used to block.
Other Tight Ends To Sit: Evan Engram, Rob Gronkowski/O.J. Howard, Jack Doyle, Jordan Atkins
Bust
Zach Ertz at San Fransisco 49ers
With everybody who catches passes for the Philadelphia Eagles injured, including the other primary tight end, you would believe Ertz is a good play this week, but that’s just not the case. This Eagles offense is not able to move the ball through the air and going against a 49ers defense who has allowed just 13.3 yards-per-game to tight ends, they’re going to put all their effort into stopping Ertz.