Fantasy Football Week 4: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Fantasy Football Week 4: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Fantasy football is a wild ride each and every year, and 2021 has been no different.Three games into the season and the first overall pick in almost every fantasy draft is hurt—again.The highest-scoring wide receiver in fantasy football was barely drafted inside the top 20 at his position.The highest-scoring quarterback also happens to be the league’s oldest player.It’s a rollercoaster that can leave even the most jaded and experienced fantasy managers with vertigo.All the surprises have also left many fantasy teams in an early hole and in dire need of a win.

As the pressure to notch a victory and stop a skid increases, so does the stress involved in lineup decisions.The point of this article is to help relieve some of that stress.

As is the case every week here at Bleacher Report, I have combed through questions on the B/R App and picked some out that will hopefully aid both the managers who asked them and others in setting their Week 4 lineups.Let’s get to it.It’s a Mad, Mad World Is it safe to start (Chuba) Hubbard in flex over the great Cordarrelle Patterson — @KitchenBandit Well here’s a question we didn’t think would be leading off this column a week ago.The good news for fantasy managers who spent the first overall pick on Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey over the summer is that the hamstring injury he suffered last week against the Houston Texans doesn’t appear to be severe.

Per Darin Gantt of the team’s website , the Panthers aren’t placing McCaffrey on injured reserve in the hope that he’ll only miss a game or two.The bad news, of course, is that McCaffrey will miss time at all— there’s just no replacing him.Rookie Chuba Hubbard was decent in McCaffrey’s stead last week, piling up 79 total yards on 14 touches, but he also ceded some rush attempts to veteran Royce Freeman.Meanwhile, Cordarrelle Patterson has quietly been a bright spot for a bad Atlanta Falcons team in 2021.

The quasi-wide receiver/running back is coming off his first 100-yard effort of the season after piling up 102 total yards on 13 touches in last week’s win over the New York Giants.That fantasy managers are facing this dilemma at all is a testimonial to how weird fantasy football can be.That it’s a genuinely close call is just rubbing it in.But this is a “follow the touches” situation.It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where the Panthers look to establish the run against the Cowboys this week in order to keep Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense on the sideline.

That means more work for the rookie from Oklahoma State, giving Hubbard the edge here.The Call: Chuba Hubbard Three Wide Pick 3: (Amari) Cooper, (Brandon) Aiyuk, (Calvin) Ridley, Mike Williams, or (Tyler) Boyd? — @GoVoLs38 The first “yes” here is an easy call—Mike Williams of the Los Angeles Chargers has to be in starting lineups at this point.Every week.

Williams has recorded at least seven catches, 80 receiving yards and a touchdown in every game this season.He’s averaging over 10 targets a game and has found the end zone four times in three weeks.Only Cooper Kupp of the Rams has more points-per-reception points than Williams so far this season.Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers, on the other hand, is a pass.

It was good to finally get an Aiyuk sighting last week against the Green Bay Packers.However, he still has just five catches for 43 yards and a score on the season and now sits firmly behind Deebo Samuel and George Kittle in San Fran’s passing game pecking order.

Calvin Ridley’s 20 catches for 175 yards and a score so far isn’t what fantasy managers hoped from the Atlanta Falcons wideout, but he’s still averaging just under 10 targets a game.This week, he has a matchup with a reeling Washington defense that has given up the second-most fantasy points to receivers this season.That leaves one spot for two receivers—Amari Cooper of the Dallas Cowboys and Tyler Boyd of the Cincinnati Bengals.With Tee Higgins looking unlikely to play Thursday against the Jaguars, Boyd is tempting, especially given Cooper’s lack of production the past two weeks.But as Cooper showed with a ridiculous 13/139/2 stat line in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he has a fantasy ceiling that Boyd just can’t match.The Call: Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Mike Williams Where’s Robby? Christian Kirk or Robby Anderson this week? Also (Mike) Gesicki or (Pat) Freiermuth? — @bluecollarboyz Through three games this season, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson has been targeted 11 times.

Since catching a 57-yard score in Week 1, Anderson has just four catches for 46 yards, including a one-catch, eight-yard performance last week against Houston.Per Jonathan Alexander of the Charlotte Observer, head coach Matt Rhule admitted that the Panthers need to get Anderson more involved with the offense.”He has to be frustrated because he’s such a good player, such a good teammate,” Rhule said.”He’s not really getting involved.

The ultimate goal is winning, but I think getting everyone involved will help us win.” Still, until we see some signs of life from Anderson, it’s awfully hard to trust him in fantasy lineups, especially since the other option here (Christian Kirk of the Arizona Cardinals) had more catches and yards last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars than Anderson has had all season long.For much of 2021, Miami Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki pulled the same vanishing act, but that changed in a big way last week against the Las Vegas Raiders.

With Jacoby Brissett throwing check-downs most of the game, Gesicki was targeted a whopping 12 times, catching 10 balls for 86 yards.That yardage total isn’t great, but the fourth-year pro is still an easy call over rookie Pat Freiermuth of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who has just eight receptions for 82 yards in all three games combined this season.The Call: Christian Kirk, Mike Gesicki Gathering Moss Full PPR…need an RB2 and a flex.Chase Edmonds, Zack Moss, James Robinson, Kenyan Drake, Corey Davis? — @bojey We’ll start this one off with the easiest “yes” and the easiest “no.” The yes is James Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars in that RB2 slot.Robinson finally got going a bit last week against the Arizona Cardinals, racking up 134 total yards on 21 touches.He should see 18-20 touches again on Thursday night against a Bengals defense that is improved but still not great.

The no is New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis.The Jets draw a dream matchup for wide receivers with the porous defense of the Tennessee Titans.Given the woeful state of the New York offense, though, all Jets players are getting hard to trust in fantasy lineups if there are other viable options.Kenyan Drake of the Raiders is a pass as well.The touches just haven’t been there—even with Josh Jacobs on the shelf the past two weeks, Drake hasn’t had more than 11.We’re left with two options for one spot—Chase Edmonds of the Arizona Cardinals and Zack Moss of the Buffalo Bills.Moss was a healthy scratch in Week 1, but he recorded 91 total yards against Washington a week ago and three total touchdowns in the past two games.Edmonds logged 18 touches against the Jaguars in Week 3, but it was James Conner who found the end zone twice for the Redbirds.

Between Conner poaching short-yardage and goal-line work, and the Bills facing a Houston team they should beat handily (meaning Buffalo running the ball a lot late), Moss is the better play in the last spot.The Call: James Robinson, Zack Moss Mr.Jones and Me Need to fill a WR and two flex spots out of these five.Full PPR.

Marvin Jones , (Michael) Pittman, (Tyler) Boyd, (Darrell) Henderson and (Damien) Harris.Who starts? — @MRinker The best place to start here is with the wide receivers.Michael Pittman Jr.of the Indianapolis Colts is out.

While he is, for all intents and purposes, the top wide receiver for the Colts, the Indy passing game just isn’t racking up the stats for him to merit consideration over Marvin Jones Jr.of the Jaguars and Tyler Boyd of the Bengals.Boyd gets a bump in fantasy value with Tee Higgins out for Thursday night , but with Higgins out a week ago, Boyd still only caught four passes for 36 yards (and a score).Meanwhile, Jones has hauled in at least five passes and hit 55 receiving yards in all three games this season (with scores in two of three) ahead of a matchup with a Bengals team allowing the 10th most fantasy points to wideouts.In the flex spot, Damien Harris of the New England Patriots is a big fat “no thanks” in Week 4—he’s facing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that led the league in run defense the past two years and is surrendering just 63.7 yards per game on the ground in 2021.Were Darrell Henderson Jr.

of the Los Angeles Rams healthy, he’d be a solid play against an Arizona defense that James Robinson topped 130 total yards against last week.But Henderson missed last week’s win over Tampa with a rib injury, so even if he does return this week, it could be in a limited capacity.

Slot Boyd as the flex.The Call: Marvin Jones Jr., Tyler Boyd Sifting Through the Blah Big one here.Need a WR, RB and a flex between Corey Davis, DeVante Parker, Marquez Callaway, Leonard Fournette, Devin Singletary, Damien Harris or Chase Edmonds? — @cblack37 The wide receiver call here is equal parts easy to make and hard to stomach.With Jacoby Brissett under center last week, DeVante Parker managed just four catches for 42 yards on seven targets.About all that Marquez Callaway of the New Orleans Saints has done this season is catch the ugliest touchdown pass in recent memory.The New York Jets are admittedly a hot mess, but Corey Davis is the No.1 option in the passing game for Gang Green heading into a matchup with a Tennessee Titans defense that has given up the third-most PPR points to wide receivers in 2021.None of the other wideouts merit real consideration for the flex spot, which means two plays need to come from Fournette, Singletary, Harris and Edmonds.

And really, it’s two from three—Harris needs to be glued to benches against a Tampa defense allowing the third-fewest points to running backs.Mind you, the other three options aren’t great.Fournette’s Buccaneers don’t appear especially interested in running the ball.Edmonds is stuck in a split with James Conner, where the latter back is getting the goal-line work.Singletary managed just 26 rushing yards on 11 carries against Washington last week.

It’s a close call, but the edge here goes to the running backs playing for teams that could be milking big leads in the second half.In this case, that’s the Bills and Buccaneers.Singletary and Fournette get the start.The Call: Corey Davis, Leonard Fournette, Devin Singletary The Perils of Overthinking Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold or Joe Burrow? — @BiggWILL We’re far enough into the season that we have at least some inkling of who this year’s breakouts and busts might be, but we’re not far enough in that any of that is set in stone.Still, that won’t prevent fantasy managers whose season has gotten off to a rocky start from considering major changes to their starting lineups.Sometimes that can be necessary.

Other times it results in overthinking, developing into the yips.Sam Darnold has been a pleasant surprise this year, both for the Carolina Panthers and for fantasy managers.Three games into the year, he has passed for 888 yards and three scores.Darnold ranks 12th in fantasy points among quarterbacks ahead of a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys in which the Panthers are probably going to have to pass the ball.Nonetheless, he’s a pass.Joe Burrow of the Bengals was a trendy breakout pick among many fantasy managers this summer.The first overall pick in 2020 has posted relatively modest numbers heading into a plus matchup with the Jaguars on Thursday, although he did throw three touchdowns last week.

He’s a pass in Week 4, too.The right call here is the obvious call.Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens hasn’t quite lived up to expectations in the early-going, ranking eighth in fantasy points among quarterbacks.Also, the Denver Broncos are dead last in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks three weeks into the season.Jackson is always a threat to post a big week due to his rushing upside, though, and bad matchup or not, you have to roll him out.The Call: Lamar Jackson DraftKings DFS Question of the Week In DraftKings Fantasy Football Millionaire contest, am I crazy trying to play Emmanuel Sanders, Tim Patrick and Jaylen Waddle as my wideouts in order to try to fit (Derrick) Henry and (Alvin) Kamara at RB? — @AlbeenoPacino There’s certainly nothing wrong with trying to get running backs Derrick Henry [DraftKings DFS Value $8,800 ] of the Tennessee Titans and Alvin Kamara [DraftKings DFS Value $8,400] of the New Orleans Saints in DraftKings lineups this week.

Both backs will be the focal points of their respective offenses in Week 4 in top-10 fantasy matchups against bad defenses.Nothing is guaranteed in fantasy football, but those two are as close to sure bets as it gets.Denver Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick [DraftKings DFS Value $4,900] is an excellent value play at his position this week.With KJ Hamler joining Jerry Jeudy on injured reserve and Courtland Sutton likely to draw Marlon Humphrey in coverage this week against the Baltimore Ravens, Patrick should see a healthy target share.Speaking of target share, Jaylen Waddle [DraftKings DFS Value $4,900] of the Miami Dolphins had quite a one last week against the Las Vegas Raiders—he was thrown at 13 times, catching 12 for 58 yards.Averaging less than five yards a grab isn’t ideal, but Waddle’s going to get targeted a lot and has the explosiveness to turn a short pass into a long gain.If there’s a wideout here that deserves some skepticism, it’s Emmanuel Sanders [DraftKings DFS Value $4,900] of the Buffalo Bills.It’s no knock on Sanders, who blew up for 5/94/2 against Washington, but Sanders also had just six grabs over the season’s first two games, so rolling him out against Houston feels a bit like chasing last week’s numbers.

There are a couple of alternatives worth considering.Hunter Renfrow [DraftKings DFS Value $4,600] of Las Vegas caught five passes for 77 yards and a score last week and has been a consistent part of the Raiders passing attack this year.If you feel a little braver, while the offense of the New York Jets has been a nightmare, Corey Davis [DraftKings DFS Value $5,000] draws a dream matchup with a Titans defense surrendering the most DK points to receivers in 2021.

Rapid Fire As is the case every week, we’ll wrap things up here by firing up the two-minute drill and banging out some app questions in rapid-fire fashion.Have more Start/Sit questions? Leave them in the comments.I try to spend a few hours there on Friday and/or Saturday, answering as many as possible.(George) Kittle or (Kyle) Pitts this week? — @drknockerz Neither George Kittle of the 49ers or Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts has lived up to expectations this season, although Kittle is at least coming off a seven-catch effort against the Packers in Week 3.With both players having similar matchups, we’ll lean toward the warmer hand and more proven commodity in Kittle.

(Kirk) Cousins or (Ryan) Tannehill? — @btomfohrde This is a fairly easy call.Not only has Kirk Cousins of the Vikings been a top-five fantasy quarterback so far this season, but Ryan Tannehill of the Titans could be without his top two wide receivers in Week 4 with A.J.Brown and Julio Jones both nursing injuries.Also, as bad as the Jets are, opponents don’t need to throw to beat them, which could mean limited attempts for Tannehill.Cousins easily.(Miles) Sanders, (D’Andre) Swift or Allen Robinson? — @vgiglierano After watching the Bears throw for all of one yard against the Cleveland Browns last week, Robinson is on the fantasy shelf until the offense shows some signs of life.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles decided in their infinite wisdom to give their running backs three carries against the Dallas Cowboys.With Swift also on a top-five rip to open the season, the Lions tailback is the play.Emmanuel Sanders or Jakobi Meyers? — @patstanton As was mentioned earlier, while Sanders had a great game against Washington last week, the odds of two straight big stat lines aren’t especially promising.Meyers leads the Patriots in targets, catches and yards heading into a matchup with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers that has struggled mightily against opposing wide receivers this season.

Don’t get caught chasing ghosts and roll with Meyers.Kareem Hunt or Brandin Cooks? — @ATHLO After last week’s huge game, Cleveland’s Kareem Hunt is a top-10 running back.Meanwhile, there are only four players who have been targeted more times this year than Brandin Cooks, who ranks sixth in https://www50.myfantasyleague.com/2021/top?L=30219&SEARCHTYPE=BASIC&COUNT=32&YEAR=2021&START_WEEK=1&END_WEEK=3&CATEGORY=overall&POSITION=WR&DISPLAY=points&TEAM=* among wide receivers.In standard scoring formats, favoring the running backs is usually a good idea here.But in PPR, it’s Cooks who may well have the higher floor—the Texans are going to have to throw the ball against the Bills Sunday.

(Justin) Herbert or (Tom) Brady? — @rraiford77 This is a good problem to have—both Tampa’s Tom Brady and Justin Herbert of the Chargers are coming off big games and have favorable fantasy matchups in Week 4.But in addition to leading all quarterbacks in fantasy points through three games , Brady faces a Patriots defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks in the mother of all revenge games.Tommy Terrific for the win.(Dalton) Schultz or big Bob Tonyan at tight end? — @jgeheine It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Robert Tonyan of the Green Bay Packers hasn’t repeated last year’s ridiculous touchdown production.Through three games, he has managed just six grabs for 66 yards and a score.

Dalton Schultz of the Dallas Cowboys had the same number of catches, more yards and more scores last week against the Eagles alone.He’s the better Week 4 play.Eligibility restrictions apply.See draftkings.com for details.

Fantasy points allowed data courtesy of My Fantasy League .

Gary Davenport is a two-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Football Writer of the Year.Follow him on Twitter at @IDPSharks ..