Here are my fantasy football rankings, tiers and outlook for notable players Week 4.
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Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Week 4
Quarterbacks Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Quarterbacks
Maye has been as good as advertised this season. He’s tied for QB6 in fantasy scoring. The second-year QB is completing passes at a 72.6% rate and is averaging a solid 7.4 yards per pass attempt. Maye’s passer rating of 101.3 ranks ninth. He also adds rushing value, averaging 29 rushing yards per game, with one TD run. Start Maye with confidence in a home game against the Panthers.
Yes, Love has an attractive matchup against an abysmal Dallas pass defense. The Cowboys are giving up a league-worst 9.8 yards per pass attempt. Dallas gets CB DaRon Bland back from injury this week, which should help at least a little. But I can’t rank Love any higher than QB10. I’m worried about Love’s supporting cast. Green Bay will be without its best offensive lineman, tackle Zach Tom, and might also be without starting guard Aaron Banks. The Packers had trouble protecting Love against the Cleveland pass rush last week after Tom left the game early in the first quarter, and they now have to face a Dallas defense that has the sixth-highest pressure rate in the league. Love is also shorthanded at receiver with Jayden Reed on injured reserve.
Baker Mayfield is expected to get WR Chris Godwin back from an ankle injury this week. Godwin hasn’t played since the middle of the 2024 season. He’s also probably getting star left tackle Tristan Wirfs back with a knee injury. That’s the good news. The bad news is that WR Mike Evans is out with a hamstring, and starting linemen Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke went on injured reserve this week. I’ve got Mayfield ranked below consensus as a midrange QB2 in a tough matchup against the Eagles.
I would advise against starting Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart in his first NFL start. He has an arduous matchup against a Chargers defense that ranks fifth in DVOA against the pass. Dart is a willing and able runner who might be able to generate some rushing value right away, but his passing numbers probably won’t be pretty.
Running Backs Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Running Backs
After disappointing his investors the first two weeks, Hampton showed off his first-round pedigree in Week 3, with 19-71-1 rushing and 6-59-0 receiving on seven targets in the Chargers’ 23-20 win over the Broncos. Najee Harris tore his Achilles last week, which should mean big weekly workloads for Hampton. He has a promising Week 4 matchup against the Giants, whose run defense ranks dead last in the league and has given up the fourth-most fantasy points to RBs
Jeanty is one of only two qualifying running backs averaging negative yards before contact per carry — Chase Brown being the other. And Jeanty’s passing game usage has been really disappointing: six targets, five catches, three (!) receiving yards. If you can’t open holes for Jeanty in the running game, why not try to get him the ball in space? How about some screens? Don’t give up on Jeanty yet. The kid is talented. It’s possible he’ll have a get-right game this week at home in Las Vegas against a Bears defense that ranks 26th in DVOA against the run.
Brown is averaging 18.3 touches a game, and yet he’s RB31 in fantasy scoring. That’s largely a consequence of Brown averaging negative yards before contact per carry. The volume makes Brown playable, but he’s probably not in for a big game on the road against a rugged Denver defense.
The Cleveland backfield belongs to Judkins now. He played 55% of the offensive snaps last week against the Packers and got 95% of the rushing attempts for the Browns, carrying 18 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. But Judkins has a tough Week 4 matchup against a good Lions run defense that ranks fourth in DVOA and has given up the ninth-fewest fantasy points to RBs.
Pollard is only RB24 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring, but heavy usage is giving him a sturdy floor. With Tyjae Spears on IR, Pollard has gotten no fewer than 18 touches in any the Titans’ first three games. He’s averaging a respectable 9.8 fantasy points per game. I’ve got him ranked RB24.
A matchup with the Packers isn’t why I have Javonte Williams ranked outside of RB2 range. The Green Bay run defense isn’t impregnable, as Quinshon Judkins demonstrated with an 18-94-1 rushing day against the Packers in Week 3. last week. It’s much easier to run on the Packers than to throw on them. But the Cowboys have lost two of their three staring interior linemen in the last couple of weeks. First it was center Cooper Beebe, who’s on IR. Now it’s first-round rookie guard Tyler Booker, who won’t play this week. There might not be a lot of room for Javonte to run Sunday night vs. Green Bay.
Henderson’s snap shares for the Patriots in his first three NFL games: 35.2%, 31.7% and 45.9%. You’d think the rookie might crest a 50% snap share for the first time in Week 4 after Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled twice and Antonio Gibson fumbled once for the Patriots last week in a frustrating loss to the Steelers. The big question is whether Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are ready to demote Stevenson, who also had major fumbling issues last year. Henderson should be regarded as a midrange RB3 this week vs. a soft Carolina run defense that gave up the most fantasy points to running backs in 2024 and is yielding 5.7 yards per carry to running backs this season.
Swift is averaging negative 0.50 rushing yards over expected per carry. He was dead last in the NFL in that category last year at minus 0.69 rushing yards over expected per carry. His matchup against the Raiders isn’t especially favorable — Las Vegas has allowed the 11th-fewest fantasy points to RBs. I wonder if we might start seeing more of rookie RB Kyle Monangai in the Bears’ backfield with Swift failing to jump-start the Chicago ground game.
Wide Receivers Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Wide Receivers
It’s wild that it only took Odunze three games to beat his touchdown total for his entire rookie year. Odunze scored three touchdowns last year. He has four this year, with at least one in every game. It’s clear that Odunze has become Caleb Williams‘ lead receiver, with D.J. Moore sliding into more of a complementary role. Odunze is WR3 in fantasy scoring right now behind only Puka Nacua and Amon-Ra St. Brown. But the touchdowns are largely driving that. Odunze is outside the top 10 in targets, catches and receiving yardage — although not far outside the top 10 in all of those categories. What’s nice is that Odunze is going from one great matchup right into another. Last week it was the Cowboys. This week it’s the Raiders, who rank 26th in DVOA against the pass and have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to WRs. Rome is a must-start (but you knew that already).
Pearsall was a big part of the 49ers’ gameplan last week against the Cardinals. Turning 11 targets into eight catches and 117 yards. Pearsall and Christian McCaffrey accounted for 26 of the 49ers’ 38 team targets last week. If Pearsall is able to play through a knee issue and Jennings remains sidelined by an ankle injury, Pearsall should have another big day at home against Jacksonville.
Hill was a polarizing player in draft season, but he’s off to a solid start in 2025. He ranks WR22 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring, but after producing only 6.0 points in Week 1, he’s put up 13.9 and 13.4 points over the last two weeks. Hill has a 24% target share, and the Miami passing game has looked respectable, save for some ugly Tua Tagovailoa interceptions. Hill’s matchup against CB Sauce Gardner and the Jets isn’t a deal-breaker. Tyreek has gone over 100 yards in two of his last three games against the Jets.
McMillan checks in as a midrange WR2 this week, but beware: McMillan goes against the Patriots, who are expected to get their best cover man, CB Christian Gonzalez, back from a hamstring injury this week. McMillan has drawn at least eight targets in each of his first three NFL games, but his floor might not be that sturdy this week due to the difficult matchup.
Quentin Johnston and Keenan Allen are currently top-10 fantasy receivers, and Ladd McConkey is WR49 in half-point PPR scoring. Don’t push the panic button on Ladd, who’s still the Chargers’ best receiver. The presence of Allen and Johnston make McConkey more of a WR2 than the low-end WR1 he was last year, but Ladd will get it going this year. I have him ranked WR19 this week against the Giants.
The inclination is to think that CeeDee Lamb‘s absence due to an ankle injury is going to spike the target count for George Pickens this week against the Packers. Eh, maybe. One of the reasons a lot of people were enthusiastic about Pickens being traded to the Cowboys was that he might have been miscast as a lead receiver in Pittsburgh, and he wouldn’t have to play that role in Dallas with Lamb around. There have been times this season, where it looks like Dak Prescott was expecting Pickens to be in a certain spot, and he wasn’t there. Pickens isn’t a timing guy. He doesn’t run the full route tree the way Lamb does. Pickens is really great at making tough catches on the sideline. He has yet to prove that he can excel in any other facet. And the matchup this week is really tough. The Packers are allowing a league-low 4.8 yards per pass attempt. Pickens is a WR2 this week, but the floor might not be as stable as is commonly believed.
BTJ has a 28% catch rate so far this season, with seven receptions on 25 targets. He’s averaging 4.6 yards per target and 1.04 yards per route run this season after averaging 9.6 yards per target and 2.45 yards per route run last year as a rookie. I’m worried about Thomas. He and Trevor Lawrence seem to have zero chemistry. BTJ is dropping passes, and it seems like he’s going out of way to avoid contact, which makes me wonder if his wrist injury is bothering him. It’s not like BTJ isn’t tough. The dude played through a chest injury last year that probably would have kept a lot of other guys out. I’d love to see BTJ go for 100 yards and a touchdown this week and show us that he’s fine, but I’m not betting on that outcome. I’m ranking Thomas WR22 this week, and even that tepid ranking feels wildly aspirational.
Williams has drawn only 12 targets this season, which seems to fly in the face of offseason whispers that Jamo might play a bigger role in the Detroit offense this season. But Williams is still a high-end WR3. We know he doesn’t need heavy target volume in order to pop. Williams is averaging 21.8 yards per catch and 14.5 yards per target after three games, and he’s averaged 17.3 yards per catch and 10.2 yards per target for his career.
After playing through a back fracture last season, Pittman looks like a new man in 2025. He has 16-193-2 receiving and currently ranks WR13 in half-point PPR scoring. Pittman looks like a solid fantasy option in a Colts-Rams matchup that profiles as a potential shootout. Colts WR Alec Pierce is likely to be out with a concussion, which could funnel a couple of extra targets in Pittman’s direction.
Vikings WR Jordan Addison returns from a three-game suspension to face the Steelers in Ireland. It’s not clear whether Addison will play a full complement of snaps in his first game back, and Wednesday was the first day that Carson Wentz has ever thrown a pass to Addison in a Vikings practice. As talented as Addison is, I don’t think he’s playable in fantasy leagues yet.
Ayomanor might already be the Titans’ No. 1 receiver. We thought it would be Calvin Ridley, and Ridley has three more targets than Ayomanor. But Ridley had been targeted 21 times and has only caught eight of those targets. He’s had a lot of drops already — like, a problematic amount of drops. And Ayomanor has looked good. Cam Ward only has two TD passes in three games. They both went to Ayomanor. The problem is that Ward is averaging 168.7 passing yards per game, making Ayomanor and Ridley both risky starts.
Burden is an interesting stash who could develop into a playable fantasy asset by Thanksgiving, but he isn’t even close to playable right now. Burden has played less than 20 offensive snaps and has had snap shares of less than 30% in all three games.
Tight Ends Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Tight Ends
Ferguson is on pace for 153 receptions this season. His 27 receptions trail only Puka Nacua among all NFL pass catchers. And Ferguson should be busy again this week with star Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb out with an ankle injury. Ferguson faces his home-state team, the Packers, who seem like a tough matchup. But Green Bay has given up the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends this season. Ferguson is a strong TE play in Week 4.
Henry has 13-165-2 on 22 targets and leads all TEs in half-point PPR fantasy scoring with 11.7 points per game. Henry gets a great Week 4 matchup against the Panthers, who gave up the most fantasy points to TEs in 2024 and have given up the eighth-most fantasy points to TEs this year.
I’m still not entirely sold on Johnson. He’s TE4 in fantasy scoring, but Johnson is averaging just 6.3 yards per target, and he has a tough Week 4 matchup against a Bills defense that has allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to TEs. I’m ranking Johnson as a high-end TE2.
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