Week 4 Fantasy Football Start/Sit & Waivers
We're getting to that stage of the season where, if you've made a slow start to the FF season, you need to turn things around sooner rather than later before the challenge for the playoff becomes too much.
So @K_H_Ray, @ZTwiceFF, & @MattFFDynasty are back with their weekly start/sits to help you either turn things around or continue pushing forward.
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Quarterback
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Starts
Start Of The Week
Joe Burrow Vs JAX (@K_H_Ray)
After knocking the rust off vs the Vikings in Week 1, things seem to be gelling for Burrow and his plethora of pass catchers. Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd are playing well in Higgins' absence and Mixon has put together a few good showings already. This offense is ready to go. Burrow takes on the Jaguars on TNF. Jacksonville are 0-3, but ranks well against the pass. This could very well be due to teams chewing clock once they are up big at the half! Feel good starting Burrow this week and letting the rest of your lineup duke it out on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts Vs KC (@MattFFDynasty)
Hurts is coming off a disappointing defeat to the Dallas Cowboys on MNF in Week 3, and despite having his lowest rushing total of the year (35 yards), he still managed 22.5 FP. Hurts appears to always have a safe floor whether it be with his rushing or having to throw the ball to chase a game. He now plays KC and I’m expecting a potential shootout against a KC defense that is allowing the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing QBs (26.2) so far this season. Hurts can be started with confidence this week.
Taylor Heinecke @ ATL (@ZTwiceFF)
Filling in for the injured Fitzpatrick, Heinecke has been sneaky good in his two starts this year. Even in a tough game against the Bills he still came through for fantasy with his rushing floor. The Washington defense has looked surprisingly shaky, leaving there more of a need for the passing game. I love the matchup against Atlanta this week and believe he's a reliable streamer or QB2 in 2QB leagues.
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Sits
Sit of the Week
Daniel Jones @ NO (@ZTwiceFF))
I'm expecting the hot start for Danny Dimes to cool off this week. Facing a top defense in New Orleans coupled with his heavily injured receiving core is tough circumstances for Jones. He may still have a decent floor with his rushing ability but I do not expect much this week.
Ben Roethlisberger @ GB (@K_H_Ray)
Boy, oh boy did Big Ben look bad on Sunday. Not much went right for the Pittsburgh offense and Roethlisberger padded an ever-growing low-light reel. He has been held to under 14 fantasy points in every game this season. The Packers defense isn't impenetrable, but there is little reason to believe that the veteran will put up top 15 fantasy production. Big Ben rides the bench once more.
Derek Carr @ LAC (@MattFFDynasty)
Carr has made a hot start to the season and currently sits as the QB9 in fantasy. However, he faces his toughest challenge yet in traveling to LAC this week, who rank Top 6 against opposing QBs in fantasy this season and have held elite QBs Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes to QB28 & QB8 respectively. They've been more beatable on the ground (Most rushing yards against in the NFL) than through the air this season.
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Running Back
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Starts
Start Of The Week
Jonathan Taylor @ MIA (@K_H_Ray)
A running back vs the Dolphins? Sign me up! Peyton Barber just torched the Phins with 111 yards and a TD. Taylor has been bottled up a bit this season, but the talent is there and the Colts may not be playing catch like they have been all season. It's time for a bounceback game for JT!
Joe Mixon Vs JAX (@MattFFDynasty)
Mixon’s heavy usage continued in Week 3 despite facing a strong PIT run defense, as he had 18 carries for 90 yards plus 1 reception for 4 yards. This week his task is much easier against a struggling JAX defense that gave up 69 rushing yards against ARI RBs and allowed James Conner to score 2 TDs. As Kevin mentioned, CIN could dominate early through the air and then chew down the clock with Joe Mixon.
D'Andre Swift @ CHI (@ZTwiceFF)
It almost feels like cheating choosing the PPR RB3 on the year but there are still some out there with apprehensions towards Swift. He is hyper-targeted in this Detroit offense, having 23 through 3 games. His opponent, the Bears, were just torched by the pass catching of Kareem Hunt and running of Nick Chubb. I'd expect Swift and Jamaal Williams to be great this week.
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Sits
Sit of the Week
Damien Harris Vs TB (@ZTwiceFF)
Harris has had his usage drop by 10% every week since week 1. Unless he scores he has not held much value or upside in lineups. James White was injured last week which will lead to more touches but he has a brutal matchup with Tampa's elite run defense. Not only does Harris lack upside this week but his floor is extremely low as well.
Ezekiel Elliott Vs CAR (@MattFFDynasty)
Ezekiel Elliott is coming off a strong Week 3 performance where he had over 100 yards from scrimmage and scored 2 TDs. However, this week he's facing a strong CAR defense that has allowed an average of only 45 rushing yards per game and the least fantasy points per game to opposing RBs. That, coupled with the fact that Pollard has become more involved in this backfield this season leads me to believe that expectations should be tempered this week with Zeke.
Tampa Bay Runningbacks @ NE (@K_H_Ray)
Both Fournette and RoJo continue to disappoint fantasy managers, as the bulk of Tampas offensive attack runs through Brady and his abundance of able pass catchers. Fournette has been somewhat involved in the passing game, as has Gio Bernard who put together a decent showing in Week 3. But it's hard to imagine that any of these guys become a confident start on a weekly basis. This Sunday night, Tampa travels to New England in what I have to imagine will be another version of the Brady show. One of these RBs could pop off for a long TD run/catch, but I'm not starting any of these players with any sort of confidence this week.
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Wide Receiver
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Starts
Start Of The Week
Odell Beckham Jr @ MIN (@MattFFDynasty)
In Week 3, OBJ had his first game back following his ACL injury last season and doesn't appear to have missed a beat. He finished with 5 receptions for 77 yards and 1 rush attempt for 10 yards against CHI and now gets a MIN defense that has struggled against the pass and have been involved in a couple of shootouts already this season. With fellow WR Jarvis Landry currently on IR, Baker Mayfield will be glad to have OBJ back and firing moving forwards.
DJ Moore @ DAL (@K_H_Ray)
I love DJ Moore. Target monster. Big, physical presence on the field. He has at least 8 receptions and 80 yards in all three games this season. While he may see a lot of Trevon Diggs this week, the Panthers make it a point each week to get Moore involved. And with CMC out for a few weeks, Carolina will likely be relying more on Darnold's arm for yardage and points.
Ja'Marr Chase Vs JAX (@ZTwiceFF)
Chase has looked the part of the top 5 pick in the draft so far this year catching at least 1 TD in every game. Burrow loves him and with the health of Tee Higgins being in question, Chase has no reason to slow down. Facing a bad team in Jacksonville this week Chase is a must start.
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Sits
Sit of the Week
Allen Robinson Vs DET (@MattFFDynasty)
It's been a rough start to the season for Allen Robinson, who is currently only the WR66. The matchup itself this week is a fairly appealing one against DET, however its the QB situation and running of this CHI offense that is killing ARob. His average Depth Of Target (aDOT) is only 7.6 Yds (17%tile in the NFL) and his average Air Yards per game are only 53 Yds. I'm fading Robinson until I see some improvement from the CHI offense.
Brandin Cooks @ BUF (@K_H_Ray)
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... Stop me if you've heard this one before (or if you read last weeks start/sit). Cooks once again lands on our Sit list. Ok, it's a hard sell to convince fantasy managers to bench the 6th best fantasy WR so far this season, so I may not even try. But it IS reasonable to assume that given how well the Bills defense has played (and what they did to McLaurin last week) that Cooks will be in for a tougher day than normal. Cooks has looked great and is far and away the number one offensive weapon for the Texans. I would expect the Bills to know this as well and do what they can to limit his production. Cooks will likely end up with the same amount of targets (he's averaging 10.6 per game), but I'm lowering expectations this week, expecially lowering his scoring chances.
Robby Anderson @ DAL (@ZTwiceFF)
Robby has completely lost his role as top WR in this offense to DJ Moore. Not only that but Terrace Marshall has been seeing increased reps and targets. Anderson has plenty of real life value for the Panthers but lacks involvement for him to be useful in fantasy. He is borderline droppable in redraft leagues and I would not feel comfortable playing him this week outside of a desperation play.
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Tight End
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Starts
Start Of The Week
Rob Gronkowski @ NE (@ZTwiceFF)
Gronk has looked nearly like his old self so far this season. He came out blazing with a pair of TDs in each of the first two games. Last week he didn't catch one but still had a respectable 9.5 PPR points. Heading back to New England this week, Gronk and Brady are likely to put on a show.
Tyler Higbee Vs ARI (@MattFFDynasty)
While Higbee doesn't necessarily have an easy matchup against a solid ARI pass defense, the one thing he does have, that not many fellow TEs do, is a healthy amount of involvement in his team pass offense. He's averaging over 91% of offensive snaps and has had 2/3 games with 5 receptions. Given just that involvement alone, it makes Higbee one of the more confident starts at the TE position each week.
Noah Fant Vs BAL (@K_H_Ray)
Rough week for Fant against the Jets, as the game got away from NY allowing Denver to play conservative ball. I would expect Fant to get much more attention in tight games, which they should have when the Ravens visit in Week 4. Both Kelce and Waller had great games against their defense and Fant should be able to do the same.
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Sits
Sit of the Week
Evan Engram @ NO (@K_H_Ray)
Engram had a lackluster game in his 2021 debut, though it is good to see him back on the field. In the game he recorded just two catches for 21 yards. As he plays more he should get back into the swing of the offense, but this Sunday the Saint's 9th best defense against TEs come to town. Hold off starting Engram until he (and the rest of his team) are healthier.
Dawson Knox Vs HOU (@MattFFDynasty)
Knox has made a solid start to the season and is currently the TE6. This Week BUF face HOU in what should be another easy victory for the Bills. Josh Allen hasn't been afraid the spread the ball around with his WR Diggs, Beasley and Sanders seeing 31, 30, & 20 targets respectively with Knox trailing them with 12. Knox hasn't topped 50 yards yet and feels slightly touchdown dependant, but given the state of the TE position he's more of a temper expectation selection rather than an actual sit.
Robert Tonyan Vs PIT (@ZTwiceFF)
Tonyan only has fantasy value if he's scoring TD's. He has one this year but has only received 8 total targets. Rodgers has utilized Adams of course but also MVS and the RBs more than Tonyan. He has a very low floor with minimal targets and I'd sit him in leagues if I had any other decent options.
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Waiver Recap
CLICK HERE if you missed Tuesday's waiver article - Waiver Stargazing
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Thanks for reading. Be sure to keep an eye out for both our weekly articles, Tuesday Waiver Targets & Wednesday Start/Sit and Waiver Recap with the @FF_Astronauts. Follow @K_H_Ray, @ZTwiceFF, & @MattFFDynasty on Twitter for more Fantasy Football content throughout the season, and hit us up with any of your Start/Sit or Waiver questions.
