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It is only Week 4, which means there is still plenty of time to get back into being relevant in your fantasy league or squander your lead. The amount of injuries top star players seems to be piling up as Saquon Barkley was added to the list with a high ankle sprain. If you rode him to a 3-0 start and are worried about maintaining your winning ways, don’t worry, that is where we come in. Here are you Week 4 fantasy starts and sits.
On their bye weeks: Jets and 49ers
Starts
Austin Ekeler, RB, Chargers: Ekeler is playing the Dolphins. That should be enough of a reason right there. There has also been news that Melvin Gordon could be returning soon, but he won’t play this week even if he returns. Ekeler has had at least six receptions in every game so far, and he has a total of four touchdowns this week. Play him. Justin Jackson could even be a sneaky play as a flex option in deeper leagues.
Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington: This is a simple one as well. McLaurin has caught a touchdown each of the first three weeks of the season. The Giants give up the most points to opposing wide receivers, according to Fantasy Pros. It also helps that you don’t have to worry about the possibility of Dwayne Haskins starting bucking this trend.
Will Dissly, TE, Seahawks: Dissly has three touchdowns in the past two weeks. He has also caught 11 passes for over 100 yards over that same span, and now he is up against the Cardinals you surrender 21.6 points per game to opposing tight ends. Get this guy in your lineup.
QB Stream
Kyle Allen, QB, Panthers: He had four (!!!!) touchdowns in his first start against the Cardinals last week. To be fair, the Cardinals are the third best matchup for opposing quarterbacks so far this season, but the Texans happen to be the sixth best matchup. If you are experiencing quarterback blues try and ride the Allen train for as long as Cam Newton is out.
Sits
Josh Allen, QB, Bills: It is time to get off this Allen train. That is for the moment anyway. He will be facing the Patriots this week who have only surrendered 5.9 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks per week. With all the injuries to quarterbacks, it may be hard to find a replacement, but I’d rather take a dice roll on someone else for the week than trust Allen to light up New England.
Aaron Jones, RB, Packers: Jones has a few things going against him this week. The first one being he is recovering from a shoulder injury on a short week where he plays on Thursday Night Football (he was listed as a full participant during Tuesday’s practice). The next thing is he and Jamaal Williams have basically split touches. Jones has gotten the valuable goal line carries, which resulted in two touchdowns saving his performance last week, but that is hardly a safe bet. Finally, he is facing the Eagles who are the fifth best defense at stopping opposing running backs in fantasy.
Mike Evans, WR, Bucs: This is one where I wouldn’t blame you for leaving in your lineup after a monster Week 3. Here is my view of it though. The first two weeks Evans caught six passes on 13 targets for 89 yards and no touchdowns. In Week 3 against the Giants who are the worst defense in fantasy at stopping opposing wide receivers, he caught eight passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns. Now he is going to be going up against the Rams who are second to only the Patriots in giving up the fewest yards to opposing wide receivers.
Dawson Knox, TE, Bills: Some of you may have to start Knox because that is how the tight end position goes sometimes. The Patriots have just stopped opposing tight ends in their tracks so far this season only giving up 1.7 points per week to them. Maybe last week was the start of Knox becoming Allen’s new safety blanket, or it was a matter of the Bills taking advantage of the Bengals inability to cover tight ends.