Week 4 is upon us. The Broncos against the Jets on Thursday Night Football was more entertaining than anyone would have thought and gave us excitement on both sides of the ball. Bradley Chubb and Josey Jewell held a sack party against the Jets, with both linebackers getting to the quarterback twice. Pierre Desir was torched on the field regularly, but also managed seven solo tackles, two interceptions, and one pass defended, with one of the interceptions being brought to the house for six. Marcus Maye and Quinnen Williams both disappointed despite the plus matchup.
In deeper IDP leagues that do not treat the position as purely a novelty, deciding who to sit and who to start often becomes a challenge. With that in mind, we will take a look at a few players we should both be started and sat in IDP leagues. We will try to avoid the obvious such as starting Devin White or Myles Garrett and instead focus on players who will actually be debated for this weekend’s contests.
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Start em
Johnathan Abram (S – LV)
I love me some Johnathan Abram. Arguably the most exciting safety in the league to watch, Abram has disappointed this season with five missed tackles. He has still been a steady contributor but was quiet in the tackle department in Week 3 with just two solo tackles and one assist. Thankfully he had an interception to salvage his fantasy day, but fantasy managers may be turned off by the two solo tackle count. It is true that three total tackles from someone touted here as a DB1 option is a massive letdown, but pivoting off of him when he has the Bills on tap is not recommended. Buffalo has surrendered the most fantasy points per game to the safety position, making Abram a must start DB1 option for Week 4.
Nasir Adderley (S – LAC)
Nasir Adderley continues to impress, in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers he recorded seven solo tackles and two assists. He played 90 percent of the snaps for the second straight week and had Desmond King relegated to a sub-package role. With Chris Harris on short-term injured reserve, King will move into the slot and is no longer a threat to steal snaps at safety. Tampa Bay is more of a neutral matchup from a fantasy points allowed perspective (20th in fantasy points surrendered to the safety position), but as mentioned above, this has as much to do with the strength of the safeties they have played this season as it does anything else. Adderley is nearing must-start territory, so unless you are unusually loaded at safety or defensive back with three plus elite options, Adderley should probably be in your lineups for this plus matchup.
Micah Kiser (LB – LAR)
Kiser had a slow night at the office in Week 3, recording just four solo tackles and one QB hit despite playing 100 percent of the snaps. While no one should be expecting Kiser to become Corey Littleton in this defense, he is in the same role and should have some of the same high volume games. He will be a little more inconsistent than we were used to seeing from Littleton, who was locked in as an LB1 during his last couple of seasons with the Rams. However, his snaps and role in this particular defense keep him as a weekly LB2 option with LB1 upside. Four solo and one QB hit sounds like a disappointing stat line due to the absence of assists or any other counting stat but is still a solid line for someone you plucked off the waiver wire earlier this season. Kiser is poised to be extremely active against a New York Giants offense that has surrendered the fifth most fantasy points to the linebacker position.
Matt Milano (LB – BUF)
Matt Milano came roaring back from injury to record six solo tackles, two assists, one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass defended, and one QB hit against the Rams in Week 3. He did not miss a snap and will be locked into an every-down role once again this weekend. Milano should be especially active in Week 4 against what should a ground-oriented attack from a Las Vegas Raiders offense that is set to be without their top two receivers in Henry Ruggs and Bryan Edwards. With that being said, you are not playing matchup here, you are playing the player. Milano is healthy and should go back to be counted as an LB3 with weekly LB2 upside.
Maxx Crosby (DE – LV)
Crosby had an excellent bounce-back performance in Week 3, notching two sacks on Cam Newton. He finished with a two sack, two solo tackle, two tackle for loss, two QB hit stat line. Left for dead by many fantasy managers after a quiet two weeks to start the season, Crosby highlighted why you don’t leave a player who had 10 sacks as a rookie, in a weaker defense, on your bench. The Bills are a tough matchup from a fantasy points allowed perspective, but Crosby needs to be in lineups regardless. Josh Allen was sacked four times last week against the Rams, highlighting that early in the season fantasy points allowed numbers can be a little skewed by opponents in the sample. Buffalo is actually a plus matchup in which Crosby should be active against both the run and the pass. Fire him up as a DL2 with DL1 upside.
Montez Sweat (DE – WAS)
You probably do not need to be told to start Montez Sweat, especially with Matt Ionnadis out, and Chase Young looking doubtful. However, Sweat should be given DE1/DL1 consideration for Week 4. Sweat racked up three solo tackles, one assist, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and four QB hits. With the Ravens on tap for Week 4, Sweat can be a monster in a near every snap role. The Ravens have a good offensive line but are going to have their hands full with a defensive front that still features former first round picks Da’Ron Payne, Jonathan Allen, and Montez Sweat. Baltimore allowed four sacks in Week 3, and while they may not need to drop back to pass 28 times against Washington, it is obvious that the upside is here for Sweat to have another massive output.
Sit em
Ben Niemann (LB – KC)
Niemann recorded two solo tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one QB hit, and fumble recovery in Week 3 against the Ravens. Niemann is currently playing behind Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson and saw just 43 percent of the snaps last week. In Week 3, that meant just 24 snaps. Niemann has been a solid contributor to this point of the season but trusting him on a week to week basis, even against the New England Patriots in Week 4, is going to be tough to do, especially if Willie Gay’s increasing snaps come at Niemann’s expense. Chasing sacks from a 4-3 linebacker is not recommended. Keep Niemann on benches this week.
Willie Gay Jr. (LB – KC)
Speaking of Willie Gay Jr., as talented as he is, the rookie saw just nine snaps on defense in Week 3. He logged 15 snaps on special teams so he has some extra tackle opportunities, but he needs to be glued to benches until he at least passes the aforementioned Brad Niemann in the rotation. He should supplant Damien Wilson at some point of this season, but Wilson has been playing well through three weeks to prevent Gay from stealing his snaps too. The Patriots are a plus matchup as there should be plenty of tackle opportunities for the linebacking corps, but it is Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson who should be tapped as options, not Gay or Niemann. Keep Gay as a depth option, his time is coming, but now is not the time to insert someone with his floor into your lineup.
Charles Omenihu (DE – HOU)
Outside of ocean deep leagues, Charles Omenihu should be left on fantasy benches. Omenihu recorded a sack for the second straight week and deserves to be taken seriously in ocean deep leagues, but for those in 12 team leagues, you should be able to tap a higher floor option for Week 4. He saw just 50 percent of the snaps in Week 3, and the recommendation here is to keep him benched until the byes, or until he starts to receive at least 60 percent of the defensive snaps. Omenihu is a hold, but keep him on benches against Minnesota. The Vikings have surprisingly surrendered the fewest fantasy points to the defensive end position.
Chase Winovich (DE – NE)
Winovich is starting to emerge and should be a consistent option by the end of the season, but as of now, he is still stuck around 50 percent of the snaps. When the Patriots do not have four up front, he is sometimes asked to eat space rather than rush the passer. He has too high of a motor not to excite and give himself a chance to make plays, but we would like to see a more consistent pass-rushing role before suggesting him on a non-bye week. If you just so happen to have Cameron Heyward, Jadeveon Clowney, and/or Stephon Tuitt on your roster, you may be forced to turn to him, but otherwise, let’s see him get a more consistent role first. He had his first sack of the season in Week 3 but had just one solo tackle and one QB hit on top of the solo tackle, sack, and tackle for loss points he received on the sack. The Chiefs do not project as a good matchup as they have relinquished the sixth fewest fantasy points to the defensive end position. Keep him on benches.
Shaquill Griffin (CB – SEA)
Griffin was so outstanding in Week 3 that some IDP managers may be thinking about starting him in a DB slot this week. If you play in an interception heavy league that makes sense, but for those in tackle heavy leagues or balanced formats, Griffin may be better left on the bench. The Dolphins are going to have to air it out against the Seahawks in Week 4, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is not going to test Griffin in coverage 12 times and have nine completions.
Griffin had an insane 11 solo tackles, one interception, and one pass defended in Week 3 and has almost no chance to repeat this type of performance. Dak Prescott has shown a unique willingness to test number one corners repeatedly in coverage this season, trusting Amari Cooper to win his routes. Fitzpatrick does not have a route running savant to beat Griffin constantly, so fade Griffin outside of CB and/or interception heavy formats.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyContext.
