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With the first set of bye weeks taking place this week, fantasy owners are left without Aaron Rodgers and Carson Wentz. While Rodgers was starting in virtually every league, Wentz has shown enough promise to be considered a borderline QB1 in the right matchups. He may even enter that discussion as early as next week, when he’ll head to Detroit after his bye to take on a Lions defense that has given up the most fantasy points to QBs through the first three weeks.
Take a look at my top QBs for Week 4 compared to FantasyPros’ ECR ranks:
Fantasy Football rankings - Week 4
View Available Players| # | Player (team) | Matchup | ECR™ | vs. ECR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cam Newton (CAR) | at ATL | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Drew Brees (NO) | at SD | 3 | +1 |
| 3 | Philip Rivers (SD) | vs. NO | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Matthew Stafford (DET) | at CHI | 5 | +1 |
| 5 | Andrew Luck (IND) | at JAC | 4 | -1 |
| 6 | Carson Palmer (ARI) | vs. LA | 8 | +2 |
| 7 | Kirk Cousins (WAS) | vs. CLE | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) | vs. KC | 6 | -2 |
| 9 | Blake Bortles (JAC) | vs. IND | 9 | 0 |
| 10 | Derek Carr (OAK) | at BAL | 10 | 0 |
| 11 | Dak Prescott (DAL) | at SF | 15 | +4 |
| 12 | Russell Wilson (SEA) | at NYJ | 14 | +2 |
| 13 | Ryan Tannehill (MIA) | at CIN | 18 | +5 |
| 14 | Eli Manning (NYG) | at MIN | 16 | +2 |
| 15 | Matt Ryan (ATL) | vs. CAR | 13 | -2 |
| 16 | Joe Flacco (BAL) | vs. OAK | 12 | -4 |
| 17 | Andy Dalton (CIN) | vs. MIA | 11 | -6 |
| 18 | Jimmy Garoppolo (NE) | vs. BUF | 25 | +7 |
| 19 | Trevor Siemian (DEN) | at TB | 17 | -2 |
| 20 | Brock Osweiler (HOU) | vs. TEN | 20 | 0 |
| 21 | Tyrod Taylor (BUF) | at NE | 21 | 0 |
| 22 | Alex Smith (KC) | at PIT | 19 | -3 |
| 23 | Sam Bradford (MIN) | vs. NYG | 24 | +1 |
| 24 | Marcus Mariota (TEN) | at HOU | 27 | +3 |
| 25 | Jameis Winston (TB) | vs. DEN | 22 | -3 |
| 26 | Ryan Fitzpatrick (NYJ) | vs. SEA | 26 | 0 |
| 27 | Jacoby Brissett (NE) | vs. BUF | 30 | +3 |
| 28 | Brian Hoyer (CHI) | vs. DET | 23 | -5 |
| 29 | Blaine Gabbert (SF) | vs. DAL | 28 | -1 |
| 30 | Cody Kessler (CLE) | at WAS | 31 | +1 |
| 31 | Case Keenum (LA) | at ARI | 32 | +1 |
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Notes & Analysis:
- Drew Brees and Philip Rivers will square off in what should be a high-scoring affair in Week 4 when the Saints travel to San Diego. They’ve both proven to be voluminous passers with capable weapons on offense. Not to mention, both of their defenses can go completely missing for entire quarters at a time.
- Matthew Stafford has been on fire to start the 2016 season, much like he ended the 2015 season. Now he gets a Chicago defense that has too many injuries to even keep track of. He’s a surefire QB1.
- Carson Palmer has struggled lately, mainly with turnovers, but I’m looking for him to bounce back nicely at home against the Rams. Los Angeles just struggled to stop the Buccaneers through the air.
- Speaking of bounce backs, Kirk Cousins played well in Week 3 and now he gets a cake home matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Put him in your lineup unless you have a much better option.
- Blake Bortles looks sure to regress after three weeks of poor QB play, but I’m willing to give him one more chance before I cut bait. Maybe the stage in London will give him a little inspiration this week — plus, a matchup against a Colts secondary that’s given up 330+ passing yards in two of three weeks surely doesn’t hurt his chances.
- Dak Prescott is an ideal streaming option for those in need — he’s a dual-threat QB who is safe with the ball. If Dez doesn’t play, it’ll ding him a few spots in the rankings but he’s going to be able to produce against the 49ers either way.
- Russell Wilson doesn’t seem like a great bet for production this week. He’s hobbled with multiple injuries and faces a stellar NYJ defensive front, which should have no problem bull rushing Seattle’s weak offensive line. I’d sit him this week and let him heal up during his bye.
- Matt Ryan is fantasy’s No. 1 QB after three weeks of play, but after these next three weeks, it wouldn’t surprise me if he fell all the way out of the top 10 at his position. His brutal three-game stretch starts with Carolina, followed by Denver and Seattle.
- I have Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett both ranked as if they will start this weekend. When the starting QB decision is announced, I’ll simply remove one of them. Jimmy G would be a low-end QB2 with his shoulder issues and Jacoby is not a legit fantasy option.
- I’m very interested to see if Trevor Siemian had a flukey, four TD game in Week 3 or if he’s really getting better before our eyes. I’m going to take the conservative approach and say it’s a mixture of both, but he’ll still need to prove himself before becoming a realistic fantasy consideration.
Best of luck in Week 4. Hit me up on Twitter with any Fantasy Football questions.