Fantasy football week 4 was a wild one. Lots of players got hurt or generally underperformed. A lot of teams who thought they had a chance are now thinking otherwise. Before you freak out, let’s run through some scenarios and see where you land. Based on that, I’ll give some ideas of what to do next. It’s not over until you give up, so don’t worry too much just yet.

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If you’re over .500

Four weeks is just under a third of the season in most formats. Even with the extra week, after four weeks your team should be looking good if you’re in the title hunt. If you’re 3-1 or 4-0, now might be the time to start sending picks and depth to try to consolidate and bolster your starting lineup some.

I always say that no two leagues are alike, so don’t take any of this as anything more than general advice. I’d start by targeting one of the lower teams in the standings who might be looking to rebuild already. See who their best player is and offer them a 2-for-1. The idea here is to try to give up two bench players for a flex option, or a flex and a WR3 for a WR1. You get the idea.

Players I’m looking for here are CeeDee Lamb (WR – DAL) or Stefon Diggs (WR – BUF), both of whom have underperformed on the year. These two could be the reason that the other team isn’t doing so well and they might want to move on.

Don’t sell the farm or give up too much to do it, but it’s easily worth a price check. If you have your own first start with that and a player like Michael Pittman (WR – IND). Depending on the other team, that could be enough. No way to know until you ask, right?

If you’re 2-2

This is the worst place to be in all of dynasty. Being in middle wins you zero titles and earns you zero top picks. It sucks, no other way to put it. If you’re in the middle through 4 weeks, you might need to make a decision based on your league if you haven’t already.

Being in the middle isn’t bad if your team is great but just missing the mark. You still have time to finish 9-5 and make the playoffs as the 1 seed, so don’t panic. On the other hand, if your team has overperformed then you might finish at 2-12 and be looking to start over.

If you’re on the fence, try out trades from both sides and see what bites. If everyone in your league feels like they can contend and aren’t willing to give up their studs then maybe you can pivot and be first to start trading for picks instead. Being 2-2 means there’s no wrong answer, per se.

You could also try to play the middle as a plan too and trade for players like Michael Thomas (WR – NO) or Jerry Jeudy (WR – DEN), whom I’ve mentioned before, as players who should return and potentially help you out. Maybe start feeling out what your second-round pick can get in a trade and go from there. Whatever you decide, make sure you commit to it 100%.

If you only have one win so far

If you’re 1-3 right now it might be tough to set your lineup this week. It might feel like all hope is lost and you’re dead in the water. That may not be the case though. Similar to what I said for those teams at .500, you are in a spot where you probably need to pick a direction, it’s just more likely that you may choose to rebuild.

Rebuilding can be a lot of fun if you actually go all in. I’ve mentioned it multiple times before, but with each passing week, the decision should be clearer and clearer. On top of that, the number of teams who may want to rebuild has the potential to go up, increasing your competition.

Being 1-3 isn’t all bad though. You might be able to make some moves to turn things around, and no time like the present to try. Send out offers for your second and a depth piece to see what kind of player you can get. Maybe you need an RB and James Robinson (RB – JAX) or Cordarrelle Patterson (RB – ATL) are available for the right price.

Adding a single piece or two to your injured team could turn you from a pretending right back into a contender. Don’t give up unless you honestly think it’s over. 1-3 isn’t the end of the year, there’s a lot of time left to get back in the win column.

If you’re winless

If you’re 0-4 then it’s probably time to turn off the lights on your 2021 and start looking ahead. If you don’t have your first-round rookie pick that should be your first target. If you do, or once you get it back, then it’s time to tank, and tank hard.

Make sure you look at the rules within your league before taking this advice though. Some commissioners don’t take kindly to actively tanking while others almost encourage it. Either way, stay involved, set your lineups, and just bide your time while the others all vie for your valuable players.

Start out by identifying your best player and send a crazy high offer to the best team in the league. Try to include guys on IR or rookies who are underperforming, like newly injured DJ Chark (WR – JAX) or Elijah Moore (WR – NYJ). These guys have tons of value to you next year but little to no value to the team they’re on now.

In general, you want to add to your future in exchange for your present. I’ll go more into it in future articles, but for now, settle into the idea that you’re going for the worst in the league. There’s no value in scoring points now if you’re rebuilding. Just ride the wave and have as much fun as possible in the process.

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Andrew Hall is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or follow him @AndrewHallFF.