San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers
Last week was full of surprises with plenty of players that completely underperformed. Kelvin Benjamin with zero catches, are you kidding me?! Maybe you had Emmanuel Sanders or Marvin Jones Jr. sitting on your bench, that stings.
To make the strain easier on analyzing matchups and making the gut-wrenching decision on who to leave on your bench or who to move to your starting lineup here is our start and sit list for Week 4.
Start ‘Em
Philip Rivers – QB San Diego Chargers
You pretty much want to start any offensive player you have when they play the New Orleans Saints. Rivers threw for over 300 yards last week against the Colts but failed to reach the end zone. I’m as confident as Ken Jennings on the Jeopardy! stage that old man Rivers is going to change that this week. I expect a monster game, 300+ yards, and 3+ touchdowns. Couple him with Benjamin or Williams and you could be in for a big day. – Ryan Dyrud
DeSean Jackson – WR Washington Redskins
The Cleveland Browns have the 25th ranked pass defense and have given up the 4th most fantasy points to receivers thus far. Jackson’s big-play ability and Cleveland’s inability to defend the deep ball should have your mouth salivating and he is a must start. Captain Kirk appeared back to form last week with a beautiful deep connection to Jackson for a touchdown. Good matchup and expect a strong performance. – Ryan Dyrud
Julian Edelman – WR New England Patriots
Garappolo was just named the starter for New England’s week 4 matchup against Buffalo, which boosts Edelman’s value as a wide receiver. Expect a ton of targets to go Edelman’s way and exploit the Bills’ suspect secondary. As a bonus, Edelman may find himself playing quarterback at some point as well as he is their emergency QB should Garappolo re-aggravate his shoulder. – Levi Lefler
Jordan Howard – RB Chicago Bears
With the injury to Jeremy Langford and Kadeem Carey also banged up, Jordan Howard finds himself on top of the depth chart and slated to get his first career start against the Lions. Jordan Howard has outplayed Langford in the limited action he has seen so it should be exciting to see him get a full workload in week 4 and see what he is capable of. Detroit should be glad to help Howard and his confidence as a 3 down back. – Levi Lefler
Sit ‘Em
Amari Cooper – WR Oakland Raiders
Cooper has had a solid start to his season with 15 receptions, 270 yards but has been kept out of the end zone for the first 3 games of the season. Unfortunately for Cooper owners, he faces a very formidable opponent in the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore has given up the 6th fewest points to wide receivers this season and will look to shut down the duo of Crabtree and Cooper. Surprisingly, Crabtree has seen more targets than Cooper thus far and I expect to see that trend continue if Cooper faces tough double teams throughout the afternoon. It’s tough to bench a rising star like Cooper, but this is the week to play it smart and start someone with a better matchup. – Ryan Dyrud
Eli Manning – QB New York Giants
Manning has thrown for roughly 300 yards in each of his first 3 contests and has 4 TDs to his 3 interceptions. These numbers aren’t necessarily bad, but if you look at his opponents in those games, it is very underwhelming. Manning has faced the likes of Dallas, New Orleans, and Washington so far this season. Washington is middle of the road against the pass and the other two find themselves at the bottom of the pack. The Giants now travel to Minnesota, who has already forced 9 turnovers this season. Don’t expect much from the veteran this week. – Levi Lefler
Mike Evans – WR Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Big Mike Evans has had a phenomenal start to his season replicating numbers from his rookie campaign and finding the end zone in each of the first 3 games, tying his TD total from last season. I like his size in almost any matchup expect for this week when he goes up against the vaunted Denver defense who has given up the 3rd fewest fantasy points to receivers this year and ranked 1st all of last season. If the pass rush gets to Winston early it will be a long day for the Buccaneer passing game. – Ryan Dyrud
Jamaal Charles – RB Kansas City Chiefs
J-Char owners have been very optimistic this week with the news that he is on pace to make his season debut on Sunday night. However, if he does suit up I think that he will be limited in snaps and Spencer Ware will still be the feature. Charles will eventually take back over as a must-start, but he may still be a week or 2 away. – Ryan Dyrud