Who To Start And Sit In Week 4 Of The 2015 Fantasy Football Season

We’re three weeks into the fantasy football season, which means it’s time to make some hot takes. CJ Anderson has no trade value right now. He’s sharing carries in a pass heavy offense. Andre Johnson is cooked. There’s a reason he isn’t catching the ball because Indianapolis knows it too. Dion Lewis is a thing. He waved off LeGarrette Blount on a goal line situation in the first half last week. Bill Belichick is onboard. Larry Fitzgerald can play when his quarterback doesn’t suck. He’s not dead yet. Get out there and make some deals. Don’t give up on everyone, but at least make some rankings for yourself to work off of.a

Below is a list of guys I’m focused on for one reason or another this week. They’re especially important in daily fantasy sports (DFS) leagues like DraftKings. If you’re curious about guys you don’t see listed here, you can always find me on Twitter (@MrT_BroBible) to ask questions, but remember to mention league specifics like PPR. You can always ask about trades as well.

You Know Who You Should Start?

Derek Carr (QB – Oakland)

Our friend Tom Brady is on the bye this week and there are a lot of great streaming options to replace him. Andy Dalton has a fine situation against Kansas City, who’s given up the most points to fantasy quarterbacks so far. Tyrod (otherwise known as TyGod) Taylor should do work against the Giants. I’m, however, pushing the Derek Carr agenda. He finally has two receivers who can do something with him after playing with scrubs last year. He’s thrown for over 300 yards and at least touchdowns in the last two weeks and now takes on the Bears. You’ve seen the Bears give up eight passing touchdowns in the first three weeks of the season and they were blown out in two of those games so it could’ve been worse. Thankfully the Raiders aren’t good enough to blow anyone out, so a competitive game  means  more passing work for Carr. You also will probably have to the ability to grab Carr on waivers if you messed up since Taylor and Dalton should both be gone by now.

Karlos Williams (RB – Buffalo)

You didn’t just blow your FAAB budget on Williams to sit him on the pine. He looks to start this week as LeSean McCoy can’t shake his hamstring injury. Karlos has shined in limited work this year as he’s the only running back to score a touchdown in each game. The Giants have given up 18.3 points to fantasy running backs so far this season. That sounds like a match made in heaven.

Jonathan Stewart (RB – Carolina)

I proclaimed on Twitter recently that Stewart just wasn’t going to be able to get things done this season. He’s been very disappointing in the first three games of the year despite having relatively easy opposition. This is the last week I’m riding him. He faces the third worse run defense in the league in Tampa Bay, who has given up 138 rushing yards per game.  Let’s go buddy. It’s time to get things done.

Allen Hurns (WR – Jacksonville)

Vontae Davis is pretty good at shutting down opposing receivers. I love Allen Robinson, but life will be tough for him this weekend. With Jacksonville likely trailing in this game and looking to pass, Blake Bortles will need to throw to someone. In steps Allen Hurns, playing on the opposite side of Robinson and away from Davis. He’ll be seeing a lot of targets as Davis shuts down the other side of the field.

Ty Montgomery (WR – Green Bay)

As you can see we’re reaching a little deeper at receiver for you this week. That’s life after injuries and the bye week, but we’re trying to help you out. The Packers use three receiver sets as much as any team in the league and Davante Adams looks to miss the game with a high ankle sprain. When he sits, Montgomery immediately becomes a factor as the next man up for the Packers. San Francisco’s defense is pretty terrible and they’ll put the man power they have towards Randall Cobb and James Jones. That should leave Montgomery open to shine.

Charles Clay (TE – Buffalo)

Clay is the answer to your Gronk needs this week because the Giants linebacking and safety group are awful at covering the opposition in the passing game. They’re fourth in the league in points allowed to tight ends through three weeks and there are no signs of them getting better. Clay got a nice contract from the Bills in the offseason and came through big for them last week. Buffalo clearly wants to get him the ball and there could be more targets available with Sammy Watkins banged up.

NOTE: Cameron Artis-Payne is worthy of the same analysis and could have a big game if Jonathan Stewart doesn’t play.


You Know Who You Should Sit?

Ryan Tannehill (QB – Miami)

A preseason darling, Tannehill shot up draft boards and became a starting quarterback for many a fantasy team. He should ride the bench this week as the Dolphins head to London to take on the Jets. The Jets’ have arguably the best corners in all of football and have held fantasy quarterbacks under 10 points in each of their first three games. The quarterbacks they’ve faced include Andrew Luck and Sam Bradford, so we’re not talking about pushovers here. There are better options than Tannehill on Sunday.

Justin Forsett (RB – Baltimore)

I didn’t expect this at the beginning of the season, but it turns out the Steelers are pretty good against the run. Part of it has been game flow with them getting a big lead on their opponent, but they’re also only giving up 3.6 yards per carry. Forsett has struggled as it is. He’s clearly in a time share and the goal line work is going elsewhere. He also isn’t as big a part of the passing game without Gary Kubiak around. Things are not looking good for Forsett and you need to sit him if you have other guys ready to rock.

Alfred Morris (RB – Washington)

It’s not just the presence of Matt Jones, but a large reason for Morris’ place on this list if the rookie RB from Florida. Jones just looks better than Morris right now and the Redskins are giving him more of the rock. With the Eagles coming in allowing 3.1 yards per carry, the fewest of any team in the league, there just aren’t enough positives in Morris’ corner to start him right now.

Allen Robinson (WR – Jacksonville)

We mentioned Vontae Davis above. I need to see that Robinson is good enough to run circles around him before I can start him against one of the league’s best corner backs. Blake Bortles isn’t good enough to put the ball where it needs to be even if Robinson gets a split second away from Davis.

Golden Tate (WR – Detroit)

People still trotting Tate out in their starting lineups and I can’t understand why. It’s not that Tate is a bad player. It’s just that there aren’t enough targets for him with Calvin Johnson in the lineup and Matthew Stafford looking for his RBs and TE as well. Tate has been underwhelming so far this season having not found the end zone and only passing 60 receiving yards once in three games. Seattle does a nice job shutting down opposing passing games, so once again Tate will find himself without the lion’s share of opportunity.

Heath Miller (TE – Pittsburgh)

Michael Vick has never been an accurate passer. He’s more about his legs and his arm strength than anything else. That doesn’t help Miller’s cause as Vick takes over for Ben Roethlisberger. It’s also not a good look that Baltimore has shut down tight ends this week. Everyone loves Tyler Eifert, but do they realize the Bengals bageled him last week? The cornerbacks are so bad in Baltimore that teams are just attacking with their receivers and that’s going to happen again here.