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Fantasy: Best Week 4 Lineups, Rankings

Two things were lost in the mix of the NFL and President Donald Trump’s public feud over the national anthem and what constitutes a protest and what doesn’t, and both strictly have to do with football. And we’ll stick to just daily fantasy football lineups and rankings before Week 4 and for the rest of the season.

While controversy runs amok throughout the league, Week 3 actually provided some spectacular games and performances. Most notably, the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers started off the week with an awesome Thursday night performance, with the latter team looking like it could provide FanDuel and DraftKings owners with some relatively cheap options for the coming weeks.

Also, Week 3 displayed top-notch performances for less expensive wide receivers across the league, which could help daily fantasy sports (DFS) players make the most of weekly budgets.

Second-year Rams quarterback Jared Goff looked almost exactly like the franchise cornerstone the team had hoped for, slinging three touchdown passes while completing 22 of his 28 passes. A full year in the league plus a pair of healthy receivers in Sammy Watkins, who caught two of his TDs, and Robert Woods, who had a 100-yard game, certainly helped Goff.

And the Rams benefited from running back Todd Gurley’s 113 yards with a pair of rushing touchdowns and one receiving score. Gurley has looked much sharper over the last two weeks and has been one of the premier backs in the league since his rookie year. But now he actually has a quarterback that’s playing consistently well in Goff, who is currently third in the league in completion percentage (70.4) and passer rating (118.2), with five touchdown passes thus far. That’s just as many TDs Goff had over seven games all of last season.

We also saw the receiving floodgates burst open. Unlike the first two weeks, we hadn’t really seen a ton of options outside of the expensive superstars. But the Giants' Sterling Shepard, the Packers' Geronimo Allison and the Vikings' Stefon Diggs all came up huge.

But that doesn’t mean they all made the top of the rankings this week. Here are Week 4’s rankings for FanDuel, DraftKings and other DFS platforms.

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Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton reacts after a touchdown in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium Sunday. USA Today via Reuters/Jeremy Brevard

QB

1. Cam Newton, Panthers

2. Russel Wilson, Seahawks

3. Eli Manning, Giants

4. Andy Dalton, Bengals

5. Tom Brady, Patriots

Brady’s the no-brainer pick and likely one of the most expensive buys of the week. Newton has not played well at all, with four interceptions compared to two touchdown passes, but the Patriots D is by far the worst in fantasy against passers, allowing 29.2 points per week, according to FFToday. Like Newton, Wilson is struggling with his accuracy, but he’s yet to throw a pick and gets a Colts defense that is sixth-worst versus QBs. The Giants' lack of running game means Eli will be throwing a ton almost every week, and he’ll face the Bucs on the road, driving the price down somewhat. Tampa Bay is just two spots behind the Pats with 25.7 points allowed to QBs. Dalton should also be cheap because, well, the Browns.

RB

1. LeSean McCoy, Bills

2. Christian McCaffrey, Panthers

3. Leonard Fournette, Jaguars

4. Jordan Howard, Bears

5. Todd Gurley, Rams

Gurley could be worth the price tag against a Cowboys rushing defense that’s eighth-worst in fantasy through two games (20.8 per week). McCoy has struggled the last two games, so maybe his cap hit goes down as he stares down Atlanta in Week 4. The Falcons let up 22.8 points, on average, to backs through three games. The Patriots are also last in points allowed to rushers, so McCaffrey’s a logical pickup, especially in PPR settings. Fournette’s the force Jags needed in the backfield—he’s currently seventh in the league with 199 rushing yards though at 3.5 yards per carry. But he’s also getting a ton of touches: 57, third-most in the league. Howard has a Thursday matchup with Green Bay, which is ninth-worst versus RBs.

WR

1. Odell Beckham Jr., Giants

2. Golden Tate, Lions

3. Allen Hurns, Jaguars

4. Keenan Allen, Chargers

5. Doug Baldwin, Seahawks

Pairing Beckham and Manning, or Wilson and Baldwin, could be a clutch move this week. Tampa Bay’s secondary can’t contain Beckham, and you can say the same for Baldwin against Indy’s ninth-worst ranking against opposing receivers. Tate’s currently tied for second in the league with 21 catches, and he could find the end zone for the second time this season when facing the Vikes. If you don’t believe the Jags' offense is for real, maybe skip the much cheaper option of Hurns and go for Allen, who finally looks healthy. But will that last?

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San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) runs against Los Angeles Rams inside linebacker Alec Ogletree (52) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium on September 21. USA Today Sports via Reuters/Kyle Terada

TE

1. Zach Ertz, Eagles

2. Rob Gronkowski, Patriots

3. Cameron Brate, Buccaneers

4. Jesse James, Steelers

5. Travis Kelce, Chiefs

Ertz and Gronkowski remain the top TEs this week. Ertz is only above Gronk because of his lower price, but he’s still in the top 10 in the league in receiving yards, 245, just seven more than the Patriot’s 238. Brate should reach the end zone for the second straight week against a Giants D that’s fourth-worst in the league against TEs. James has quietly been Pittsburgh’s third-best pass catcher, with 12 balls out of 17 targets, and leads the team with two receiving touchdowns. Kelce had an off week but has a favorable matchup against Washington at home.

FLEX

1. Carlos Hyde, RB, 49ers

2. LeGarrette Blount, RB, Eagles

3. Dalvin Cook, RB, Vikings

4. Pierre Garcon, WR, 49ers

5. Frank Gore, RB, Colts

Hyde might on the verge of a true breakout season, while Garcon is far less expensive than other marquee receivers. Blount is likely to see a lot more carries after Darren Sproles’s terrible injuries. Also, why not keep riding the rookie backs in Blount and Cook? Gore’s a risk because he’s facing Seattle, but the Seahawks haven’t been themselves this year, letting up 19.6 fantasy points per week to running backs.

Defense

1. Pittsburgh

2. Baltimore

3. L.A. Chargers

4. Cincinnati

5. Kansas City

Both the Steelers and Ravens have two of the best defenses in the league so far, ranking in the top five in points allowed per game. Their division battle could be a huge defensive slugfest, but the Steelers right now have a stronger pass rush with 11 sacks. The Bengals are giving up 20 points a game but should drive that number down against Cleveland. Kansas City is at home to face a Redskins unit allowing 6.7 points per week to fantasy defenses, seventh-worst. At home, the Chargers may be an underdog pick because Philly is coughing up 7.3 points per week to opponents.

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