Week 4 is underway and there are multiple shootouts to choose from when setting your fantasy lineups. These are my favorite plays and biggest fades heading into the weekend.
Quarterback
Start: Daniel Jones, Colts
Jones is playing too well to be benched by fantasy managers, even in a tough matchup with the Rams. Jones leads the league in EPA per dropback. He’s ninth in CPOE and fifth in PFF passing grade.
Shane Steichen is maximizing his skill set with the second-highest play-action rate in the NFL. Jones has the benefit of play-action on 38 percent of his dropbacks. His 11.2 yards per attempt on these throws ranks third among qualified passers. The Rams haven’t been particularly good at defending play-action this year. The rank outside the top 20 units in both EPA and yards per play allowed on play-fakes.
Start: Justin Herbert, Chargers
As expected, Herbert is still slinging it. He leads the league in passing yards per game (287) and the Chargers are the league leaders in pass rate over expected.
They are one percent higher in PROE than any other team. Herbert is now squaring off with a Giants defense that ranks 24th in EPA per dropback allowed. The G-Men have given up the 11th-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this year.
Sit: Michael Penix, Falcons
Without much rushing potential on the ground, Penix needs to be a top-notch passer through the air to get it done for fantasy purposes. He has been anything but that through three games. PFF has graded him as their No. 34 passer. Penix sits at 27th in EPA per dropback and 30th in CPOE. He is the QB29 in fantasy points per game. That’s not even playable in Superflex.
Sit: Dak Prescott, Cowboys
This is a nightmare scenario for Prescott. He’s facing a juggernaut Green Bay defense that is allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing passers, and he will do so without his top wide receiver as CeeDee Lamb is expected to be sidelined multiple weeks with a high-ankle sprain.
Since entering the league, only Amari Cooper has been a more efficient target for Prescott. Vegas is also down on Dallas with a 20.25 implied team total.
Running Back
Start: Cam Skattebo, Giants
With Tyrone Tracy sidelined because of a shoulder injury, the backfield takeover is complete for Skattebo. He out-carried Devin Singletary 10-4 in Week 3 and set season-highs in usage through the air with a 61 percent route rate and a 31 percent target share. Skattebo caught six passes for 60 yards on top of his 10/60/1 rushing line. PFF currently has him graded as their No. 3 back. Skattebo is effective on the ground and will be resilient to negative game script because of his receiving role. He has secured his spot in the RB2 ranks for Week 4.
Start: Jordan Mason, Vikings
The Vikings humiliated the Bengals in Week 3 to the point that they were able to pull their starters late in the game. Mason was dominating the backfield work for Minnesota before the fourth quarter. He had 17-of-24 carries and a 59 percent route rate. Now he and the Vikings are 2-5-point favorites over the Steelers in Ireland. This is another great setup for Minnesota’s newly minted workhorse.
Sit: Alvin Kamara, Saints
The 0-3 Saints are obviously struggling to create positive game script for their star running back. That has never been much of an issue for Kamara because of how involved he is through the air. Playing from behind at all times is finally catching up to him this year. Kamara has a nine percent target share and .1 targets per route run through three weeks. Both of those numbers would be career lows. For comparison, he had a 22 percent target share and a monstrous .28 targets per route in 2024. The falloff in receiving usage is so drastic that it’s threatening to knock Kamara out of the RB2 ranks entirely.
Sit: Tony Pollard, Titans
The Tennessee Titans are the biggest underdogs of the week, projected to lose by seven points on the road to the Texans. Pollard is dominating work for the Titans, but it has hardly mattered for his fantasy output. He has found the end zone once this year and isn’t seeing much work as a pass-catcher. His six percent target share ranks 42nd among all running backs. The Texans are the 11th-best defense by EPA per rush allowed and Pollard isn’t likely to be playing from a lead for much of Week 4. Players like Skattebo, J.K. Dobbins, and Jaylen Warren are pulling away from him in the ranks.
Wide Receiver
Start: Ladd McConkey, Chargers
If it’s ever going to happen for McConkey, it’s going to be in Week 4. McConkey is running 63 percent of his routes from the slot this year. The Giants have allowed more targets and yards to the slot than any other team. They also plan man coverage at the fifth-highest rate. McConkey crushed man coverage as a rookie. His numbers against man are down this year, but he still leads the Chargers’ starting trio in PFF receiving grade (73.4) and yards per route run (1.6) against man coverage.
Start: Emeka Egbuka, Bucs
Chris Godwin’s status is up in the air for Week 4 and Mike Evans is going to be sidelined with a hamstring issue. That leaves just Egbuka to handle the WR1 duties for Tampa Bay. Egbuka currently ranks second among all rookies in PFF receiving grade (71.1) and YPRR (1.8). If Godwin returns, Egbuka will likely spend even more of his Sunday in an outside receiver role. He was primarily a slot receiver in college but has blossomed on the boundary as a Buccaneer, averaging a stellar 2.3 YPRR from an outside alignment. With targets up for grabs in Tampa Bay, Egbuka’s increasing role will make him a must-start on Sunday.
Sit: Travis Hunter, Jaguars
Hunter’s role on offense is declining, and head coach Liam Coen made it clear that there won’t be any changes to that role anytime soon.
Liam Coen was asked if injuries at WR will mean a role change for Travis Hunter on offense
the answer is no
and that he will “probably” only play “F” and CB as a rookie, and not grow into the “Z or X or 12” this year.
That means Parker Washington will take Dyami Brown’s snaps pic.twitter.com/v9bH8hApsi
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) September 24, 2025
Hunter ran 82 percent of the routes in Week 1 and saw a 29 percent target share. His route rate dipped to 61 percent for each of the next two games. His target share fell to 15 percent and then six percent. He is also coming off a season-high defensive snap rate of 68 percent. The two-way skill set that made him such a special player entering the NFL is now killing his fantasy value.
Sit: Josh Downs, Colts
Even with Alec Pierce leaving Week 3 early because of a concussion, the Colts didn’t seem awfully interested in finding more opportunities for Downs. His route rate held steady at a dismal 59 percent and he earned just three targets. AD Mitchell more than doubled his weekly route rate, making it clear he will be the one seeing an uptick in volume when Pierce is ruled out for Week 4. The Colts don’t view Downs as a full-time player and fantasy managers need something to change for him to be anything more than a WR4.
Tight End
Start: Dalton Kincaid, Bills
Kincaid’s role leaves a lot to be desired. His 61 percent route rate ranks 28th at the position. He is, however, earning plenty of volume when on the field. Kincaid is being targeted on 23 percent of his routes and is averaging 2.1 yards per route run. He has been especially effective against zone coverage this year, trailing only Tyler Warren in YPRR versus zone. The Saints use zone coverage at a top-10 rate and the Bills have the highest implied team total (31.75) of the week by a wide margin.
Start: Jake Ferguson, Cowboys
Lamb missed much of Week 3 with his ankle injury. That was and will continue to be devastating for the offense, but PPR scoring does not care how good or bad the Cowboys look. Ferguson was a target-earning phenom in Week 3, racking up 14 targets on a 26 percent target share. He claimed much of Lamb’s role as an underneath option for Prescott while George Pickens stuck to intermediate and deep work. Ferguson doesn’t need to come that close to his Week 3 output to remain a mid-range TE1.
Sit: Brenton Strange, Jaguars
Even though the Jags have struggled to get their wide receivers going, it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. Liam Coen has funneled more expected fantasy points to his wide receivers than any team outside of the Chargers.
Strange, in turn, sits at 16th in both expected fantasy points per game and 19th in target share. He is nothing more than a low-end TE2.
Sit: Travis Kelce, Chiefs
This is what washed looks like. Kelce is 18th among tight ends in target share at 16 percent. He is being targeted on 15 percent of his routes, a mark that ranks 23rd among tight ends. His 1.34 yards per route run are a career low, as is his 64.1 PFF receiving grade. Kelce simply isn’t earning enough opportunities to stick in the TE1 ranks anymore.