Week 4 is here and the we get a couple of teams on byes this week. That along with a few games that are virtually unplayable from a fantasy perspective leave a main slate with only a few good options at some spots. My initial player pool was the smallest I have gotten to in a long time so this weekend should be pretty boom or bust for me personally. That being said, let’s get into the breakdown and see if there are any good plays we’re potentially missing.
Carolina Panthers (21.75) @ Houston Texans (25.75)
At first look this was a bit of a pass-over game for me, nothing I hate, nothing I really like. But the more I look at it, there are some plays I can get behind. First of all, Kyle Allen should have a lot harder time scoring against this defense than last week, so I’m not sure I’ll be looking there. CMC is always in play and I’ll be looking his way heavily again this week with is near 100% snap count for this offense. For the Carolina receivers, I personally prefer Curtis Samuel at his price and will likely be using him as a one off receiver in some of my lineups. Greg Olsen is also still in play at tight end after his monster week last week. My initial player pool had 0 Texans players, but then I thought maybe a team projected to score over 25 points should get some ownership from me. But I just don’t know where to look for it. Watson is a fine play, but I like other players better at his price. I actually have the Texans projected for a good run game here, but I don’t know which back to roster so I’ll probably just stay away. For the receivers, I don’t see myself paying up for Hopkins, but Will Fuller should be a good GPP play as always. All that said, I’m probably not going to be on the Texans, but if you stack them they should be low owned and have a decent chance of going off in this one.
Cleveland Browns (19) @ Baltimore Ravens (26)
So, I don’t think the Ravens offense is as good as they’ve gotten credit for thus far. They beat up on two terrible defenses in the first two weeks, then scored some garbage time points against the Chiefs. The Browns will be the actual first good defense the Ravens have seen thus far, and for that reason I’m just completely staying away in this one (might possibly play some Ingram, but we’ll see). The Browns offense thus far has looked pretty awful and unable to consistently move the ball. I don’t see that changing this week on the road against a solid Ravens defense. I actually like the Ravens defense this week against a terrible Browns offensive line.
Washington Redskins (23) @ New York Giants (26)
I like this game so much I could probably write an entire post on just this game and the good spots the players are in. But let’s start with what the potential game script looks like. Ideal game script here is both these defenses are terrible, like they have been all year, and this game turns into a shoot out that smashes the over. In my opinion, this is the game that I see most likely turning into a shootout (yes, I know the Chiefs are on this slate). I really like both quarterbacks in this game, but Jones will certainly be very popular after last week. However, I think I actually prefer Keenum more in this one. The Redskins have shown that they are completely incapable of moving the ball on the ground and the Giants are currently ranked dead last in pass defense. For the running backs, again I like both sides. I think Chris Thompson will go under the radar this week while the Redskins will use him in the passing game heavily. For the Giants, we get Wayne Gallman at $4500. In this spot he should be almost guaranteed for double digit touches with a decent shot at getting to 20 touches. I keep hearing him being talked down, but I’ll be all over him this week as a value running back. All 3 Redskins receivers are in play for me, and assuming Terry plays he is probably the best value play of the week at receiver and I’ll use him as a one off in lineups where I’m not stacking this game too. Trey Quinn is a sneaky value play at 3k on Draftkings with his high potential for a lot of short ADOT targets. For the Giants we know where targets are going, Shepherd and Engram. Both are in play for game stacks as well as one-offs in other lineups. I really like Engram as a leverage play against Waller and Dissley. In this game will probably make or break the slate for me.
Los Angeles Chargers (29.5) @ Miami Dolphins (15)
Another week, another opportunity to target the Dolphins defense. I’m going to help everyone out here, don’t galaxy brain this one and just PLAY AUSTIN EKELER. This is the last game they have Ekeler as the main back and they have no reason to not use him immensely. Gordon will be on a strict snap count and Jackson has already been ruled out. I also really like the Chargers passing game, with Allen projecting as my number one receiver this week due to other injuries for this receiving corp. Inman will likely move into the 2 spot and at 3k should be a very popular value option this week. Oh yea, I’ll be using Rivers stacks this week as well, no reason not to against this poor defense. For the Dolphins… a couple of the receivers actually seem ok. Albert Wilson and Preston Williams will likely seem some play from me this week, but nothing crazy exposure wise. Chargers defense is also of course in play if you can afford them.
Oakland Raiders (19.5) @ Indianapolis Colts (26)
This might be an ugly game from a real life perspective, but there are definitely some fantasy relevant plays here. For the Colts it looks like Hilton will likely be out so either Colts tight end should be in play, but I’m not going to try and figure out which cheap receiver gets the targets. I’d rather just play Marlon Mack in a plus spot this week. While the Raiders aren’t expected to score much this week, they should be down and we know where their passing targets go. Waller and Williams; I think both are in good spots in this one and can be used as one-off pass catchers in lineups. Colts defense is a sneaky play for defense against the Raiders traveling east for an early game.
Kansas City Chiefs (30.75) @ Detroit Lions (23.75)
A battle of undefeateds in this one with a high total in a dome. As with most weeks, I really like the Chiefs entire offense in this one. I’ll definitely have may fair share of Mahomes stacks with any of his pass catchers. I also think either Chiefs running back is in play, but I’ll lean towards McCoy with more upside. The more interesting play here to me is the Lions offense. I really like Stafford and the passing game in this one paired with either or both of Golladay and Jones. Lastly, Kerryon Johnson is one of my favoriterunning back plays this week and I think we should see him used more heavily in the pass game here as opposed to other weeks. Any way you slice this should be a good game to stack, but I’ll likely end up on more Stafford than Mahomes just for the salary savings.
New England Patriots (24.5) @ Buffalo Bills (17.5)
The over/under for this game just keeps moving down, which is not surprising with how good these defenses have been thus far. This game has turned into a compete stay way for me as I think this will be a low scoring, grid it out sort of a game. Normally I would say Patriots defense is in play against Allen, but they are priced too high for me to recommend that play as well.
Tennessee Titans (21.25) @ Atlanta Falcons (24.75)
This game screams under for me. I think the Titans defense is good enough to slow down the Falcons, while their offense is just too one-dimensional. That said, Freeman should be in play if Ito Smith is ruled out, otherwise both are unplayable. Julio is actually one of my favorite high-priced receivers this week. If the Falcons are going to move the ball at all, Jones should be heavily involved. Finally, I think Henry is one of my top running back plays this week, he is reasonably priced and always has the chance of just breaking the slate open.. although I would really prefer to avoid the Falcons defense in the dome.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (19.75) @ Los Angeles Rams (29.25)
First things first, I’m finally off Gurley this week… so he’ll probably have a monster game. But more seriously, I don’t see how the Bucs are going to move the ball against this defense. If they do Evans will should be heavily involved, but I just don’t see it happening. However, the Rams passing game should have a field day against this defense. While I think there are better options than Goff this week, I think the best one-off receiver play of the week is Cooper Kupp. I will be using him heavily to get my exposure to this Rams passing game. Finally, the Rams defense is squarely in play against the turnover prone Bucs.
Seattle Seahawks (26.75) @ Arizona Cardinals (21.25)
We’ve got ourselves the team playing the Cardinals which is a good spot for any offense. I actually like so much of this Seahawks offense it will be hard to pick and choose which part to use for each lineup. The passing game looks solid with Wilson stacked with any of Lockett, Metcalf, or Dissly. Lockett and Dissly are looking to be super chalk this week, but for good reason. The tight end spot is all Dissly’s now and the Cardinals have been giving up an insane amount of fantasy points to tight ends. Locket has also shown to be Wilson’s favorite target and has that big play upside we are looking for in a GPP. I’ll probably just go with Metcalf stacked with Wilson for a contrarian stack instead of Locket. I’m also not giving up on Carson at running back. This should be a great spot for him and expect him to turn it around here. The Cardinals should be down in this game, but they will continue their high-paced air raid offense. I don’t like Kyler this week, but I like both Fitzgerald and Kirk for their high volume in this offense. Finally, I really like David Johnson in this matchup, the Cardinals really should start using him more in the passing game and starting running the ball just a little bit to get Kyler some help.
Minnesota Vikings (18.5) @ Chicago Bears (19.5)
This game is pretty yucky from a fantasy perspective. I’m not going to say much here other than I’m completely fading the game. If you want to play Dalvin Cook based just on talent and volume I understand, but this should be a low scoring game with a lot of running and clock management. Bothe defenses are probably in play against teams capable of committing turnovers.
Jacksonville Jaguars (17.25) @ Denver Broncos (20.25)
I love the Broncos defense at home against a rookie quarterback this week. Other than that this game is just going to be a few fringe plays. We know most of the Broncos touchdown equity will either come from Lindsey or Sanders, so I’ll have them sprinkled into my player pool. I expect the Jags to be down in this one, and the receiver I like the most for them is DJ Chark, so I may have a bit of him as well. Really, though this game is mostly a stay away.
Firkz DFS 