Welcome to Week 4!

This week feels flavored by who is going to be in and out of the lineup even more than usual. Let's quickly recap the Fantasy-relevant injury news!

Keenan Allen makes his return, maybe he will help Chicago's floundering offense (I do not feel confident). Davante Adams will miss Week 4's game, as will Raiders teammate Michael Mayer. We may see Brock Bowers play a full-time role for the first time this season! He has run a route on just 66% of Las Vegas dropbacks through the first three weeks. We also will see Jakobi Meyers in an expanded role! He's been effective as a WR1 before, particularly as a man-coverage winner.

Jordan Love is expected to return in Week 4! How will he look as he tests out his ankle's health in game action? How aggressive will Matt LaFleur be in attacking with the pass game? It's a huge divisional rivalry showdown with the 3-0 Minnesota Vikings! Can we trust these Green Bay receivers for Fantasy purposes?!

I hope that these rankings help you make the right decisions in Week 4. Whatever happens, I'll encourage you to try to take it all lightly. If it turns out that you guessed wrong on this Sunday's start/sit decisions, consider taking a short break from the games to breath in the shifting seasons in the autumn air. We're simply playing a game about a game on this Sunday. The game will always be there for us to come back to, even if we don't win this week. Even if your season is lost, you can find endless fresh ways to keep enjoying football. Send me a tweet (not a DM, I will not see it during the season), we can start a new Guillotine league! Whatever happens, no need to let today's NFL results be anything more than what they are -- unpredictable and completely unrelated to us in any way!

I have not even finished hitting on this week's major injury news!

I was traveling and off the grid this Friday evening and all of Saturday, so I caught up on a lot of the injury news this morning. Some of it came out of nowhere, yet another reminder at how futile it would be to attach any personal identity into the work that we do in attempting to make sense of what might happen on any given week in the NFL. Early in the week, Brandon Aiyuk was one of my favorite targets for Week 4 DFS. This morning, I caught up on the news. Deebo Samuel is surprisingly expected to be back! George Kittle will join him! Kenneth Walker is back as well! Tough break for Fantasy managers relying on Zach Charbonnet.

Few Fantasy managers are down bad more than Tank Dell drafters so far in 2024. We will not see Dell in action this week. While that sucks for Dell drafters, it is fantastic news for Nico Collins!

But maybe it won't even be good news for Collins! Dell's absence could mean more heavy personnel packages and rushing from the Texans, especially if the Jaguars can't keep pace. Who knows what will happen?! Both of these offenses have been terribly disappointing in 2024.

Trey McBride will miss Week 3, but Sam LaPorta appears set to play! Both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will miss Philadelphia's Week 4 game! Could it possibly be Johnny Wilson's time to shine? Or is Jahan Dotson the Eagles WR to take a shot on as a flex play? Maybe the answer is neither, and the Saquon Barkley drafters are just going to keep winning.

This has been a wild weekend of injury news already, and we haven't even gotten the games rolling yet. Welcome back to Sunday! Welcome back to chaos.

The DFS Helper should help point you in the right direction, but feel free to reach out to me on Twitter if you have any further questions! I try to respond to tweets throughout the week; I also have a weekly Twitter Q&A each Sunday morning to answer any lineup setting questions you have. Good luck this weekend everybody!

Tier 1 -- Cash Game Considerations
Jayden Daniels ($6,500), Andy Dalton ($5,300)

Tier 2 -- Preferred Tournament Options
Andy Dalton ($5,300), Kyler Murray ($6,800), Jayden Daniels ($6,500), Derek Carr ($5,900), Patrick Mahomes ($7,100)

Tier 1 -- Cash Game Locks
None

Tier 2 -- Cash Game Consideration
Saquon Barkley ($8,000), Chuba Hubbard ($5,700), James Conner ($6,500), Brian Robinson ($6,100)

Tier 3 -- Preferred Tournament Options
Breece Hall ($7,800), James Conner ($6,500), Saquon Barkley ($8,000), Carson Steele ($5,500), Jordan Mason ($6,700), Aaron Jones ($6,400), Zack Moss ($5,900), Brian Robinson ($6,100), Chuba Hubbard ($5,700)

Tier 1 -- Cash Game Locks
Diontae Johnson ($5,600)

Tier 2 -- Cash Game Consideration
Rashee Rice ($7,300), Chris Godwin ($6,800), Drake London ($6,200), Nico Collins ($7,200), Ladd McConkey ($4,800)

Tier 3 -- Preferred Tournament Options
Drake London ($6,200), Chris Olave ($6,500), Ladd McConkey ($4,800), George Pickens ($5,700), Rome Odunze ($5,200), Nico Collins ($7,200), Marvin Harrison Jr. ($7,500), Diontae Johnson ($5,600), Terry McLaurin ($5,800), Rashid Shaheed ($5,500), Jauan Jennings ($5,600), Rashee Rice ($7,300), Tutu Atwell ($4,800), Jayden Reed ($6,000)

Tier 1 -- Cash Game Consideration
Dallas Goedert ($5,100), Zach Ertz ($4,000)

Tier 2 -- Preferred Tournament Options
Cole Kmet ($4,400), Brenton Strange ($3,100), Tommy Tremble ($2,800)

Tier 1 -- Cash Game Considerations
Jayden Daniels ($8,200), Andy Dalton ($7,000)

Tier 2 -- Preferred Tournament Options
Andy Dalton ($7,000), Jayden Daniels ($8,200), Kyler Murray ($8,700), Patrick Mahomes ($8,500), Justin Fields ($6,800), Jordan Love ($7,200)

Tier 1 -- Cash Game Locks
None

Tier 2 -- Cash Game Consideration
Breece Hall ($8,000), Chuba Hubbard ($6,500), James Conner ($7,500), Brian Robinson ($7,300), Carson Steele ($5,800)

Tier 3 -- Preferred Tournament Options
Breece Hall ($8,000), Carson Steele ($5,800), James Conner ($7,500), Zack Moss ($6,900), Brian Robinson ($7,300), Chuba Hubbard ($6,500), Alvin Kamara ($8,600), Saquon Barkley ($9,700)

Tier 1 -- Cash Game Locks
None

Tier 2 -- Cash Game Consideration
Diontae Johnson ($6,200), Nico Collins ($7,700), Drake London ($6,600), Chris Godwin ($7,300), Rashee Rice ($8,500), Marvin Harrison Jr. ($8,200)

Tier 3 -- Preferred Tournament Options
Drake London ($6,600), Chris Olave ($6,900), George Pickens ($6,100), Marvin Harrison Jr. ($8,200), Rashee Rice ($8,500), Terry McLaurin ($6,500), Ladd McConkey ($5,700), Rome Odunze ($6,400), Jayden Reed ($6,300), Rashid Shaheed ($6,100), Tank Dell ($5,900), Christian Watson ($5,600), Xavier Legette ($5,200), Tutu Atwell ($5,800)

Tier 1 -- Cash Game Consideration
Zach Ertz ($5,100), Cole Kmet ($5,300)

Tier 2 -- Preferred Tournament Options
Cole Kmet ($5,300), Brock Bowers ($6,500)

*Be sure to check back for updates on Sunday.*

QB -- Jayden Daniels
RB -- Breece Hall
RB -- Chuba Hubbard
WR -- Diontae Johnson
WR -- Drake London
WR -- Nico Collins
TE -- Cole Kmet
FLEX -- Marvin Harrison Jr.
D/ST -- Panthers

Designed for large-field tournaments

QB -- Justin Fields
RB -- Alvin Kamara
RB -- Breece Hall
WR -- Rome Odunze
WR -- George Pickens
WR -- Drake London
TE -- Brock Bowers
FLEX -- Zack Moss
D/ST -- Texans

Tier 1 -- Locked-in

QB1 - Jayden Daniels
QB2 - Kyler Murray
QB3 - Josh Allen
QB4 - Lamar Jackson

Tier 2 -- Upside to finish as the top scorer in Fantasy, but there's risk

QB5 - Jalen Hurts
QB12 - Justin Fields
QB13 - Caleb Williams
QB15 - Anthony Richardson

Tier 3 -- Betting on touchdowns with pocket passers

QB6 - Joe Burrow
QB7 - C.J. Stroud
QB8 - Patrick Mahomes
QB9 - Dak Prescott
QB10 - Jared Goff
QB11 - Jordan Love
QB14 - Brock Purdy
QB16 - Geno Smith
QB17 - Andy Dalton

Tier 4 -- Fine to start if needed, I would not want to use these players

QB18 - Sam Darnold
QB19 - Baker Mayfield
QB20 - Derek Carr
QB21 - Aaron Rodgers
QB22 - Kirk Cousins
QB23 - Daniel Jones
QB24 - Deshaun Watson
QB25 - Matthew Stafford
QB26 - Justin Herbert
QB27 - Will Levis
QB28 - Bo Nix
QB29 - Trevor Lawrence
QB30 - Gardner Minshew
QB31 - Jacoby Brissett
QB32 - Snoop Huntley 

Tier 1 -- Locked-in

RB1 - Breece Hall
RB2 - Saquon Barkley
RB3 - Bijan Robinson
RB4 - Jordan Mason
RB5 - Alvin Kamara
RB6 - Jahmyr Gibbs
RB7 - De'Von Achane
RB8 - James Conner
RB13 - Josh Jacobs
RB14 - Aaron Jones
RB15 - David Montgomery
RB16 - James Cook
RB17 - Zack Moss
RB19 - Brian Robinson Jr.
RB20 - Chuba Hubbard
RB23 - Cam Akers (if Dameon Pierce doesn't play)
RB24 - Carson Steele

Tier 2 -- Role checks out, but can we trust the offensive environment?

RB9 - Derrick Henry
RB10 - Kyren Williams
RB12 - Jonathan Taylor
RB18 - Devin Singletary
RB21 - Tony Pollard
RB25 - J.K. Dobbins
RB26 - Najee Harris

Tier 5 -- I have several concerns

RB27 - Jerome Ford
RB28 - Rachaad White
RB29 - D'Andre Swift
RB30 - Rhamondre Stevenson
RB34 - Javonte Williams

Tier 6 -- I also like to live dangerously

RB23 - Kenneth Walker
RB31 - Bucky Irving
RB32 - Braelon Allen
RB33 - Rico Dowdle
RB35 - Roschon Johnson
RB36 - Tyjae Spears
RB38 - Chase Brown
RB40 - Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Tier 7 -- Desperation plays

RB34 - Zach Charbonnet
RB37 - Alexander Mattison
RB39 - Justice Hill
RB41 - Ezekiel Elliott
RB42 - Zamir White
RB43 - Ty Chandler
RB44 - Jaleel McLaughlin
RB45 - Emanuel Wilson

Tier 1 -- Locked-in

WR1 - CeeDee Lamb
WR2 - Nico Collins
WR3 - Marvin Harrison Jr.
WR4 - Ja'Marr Chase
WR5 - Rashee Rice
WR6 - Amon-Ra St. Brown
WR7 - Justin Jefferson
WR9 - DK Metcalf
WR10 - Chris Godwin
WR11 - Drake London
WR13 - Diontae Johnson

Tier 2 -- Slightly more risk, but probably gonna deliver a big score

WR8 - Malik Nabers
WR12 - Chris Olave
WR14 - Mike Evans
WR15 - Brandon Aiyuk
WR18 - D.J. Moore
WR19 - George Pickens
WR22 - Jayden Reed
WR23 - Terry McLaurin
WR25 - Tee Higgins
WR27 - Jaxon Smith-Njigba
WR28 - Rome Odunze
WR29 - Jakobi Meyers

Tier 3 -- Offensive environment or matchup concerns keeping them out of Tier 2

WR15 - Garrett Wilson
WR20 - Zay Flowers
WR21 - Amari Cooper
WR24 - Tyreek Hill
WR30 - Ladd McConkey
WR33 - Rashid Shaheed

Tier 4 -- Super solid projections (even if there's not quite as much blow-up game potential)

WR26 - Stefon Diggs
WR34 - Christian Kirk
WR36 - Khalil Shakir
WR47 - Darnell Mooney
WR51 - Wan'Dale Robinson
WR60 - Greg Dortch

Tier 5 -- I have no idea what to expect from this group, but it could be fun!

WR29 - Calvin Ridley
WR31 - Deebo Samuel
WR33 - Jameson Williams
WR36 - Xavier Worthy
WR37 - Christian Watson
WR41 - Tutu Atwell
WR42 - Tyler Lockett
WR43 - Xavier Legette
WR44 - Keenan Allen
WR45 - DeAndre Hopkins (was hoping to see his playing time rise again last week, but he still played just 45% of the snaps)
WR52 - Andre Iosivas
WR53 - Jauan Jennings
WR54 - Josh Palmer
WR56 - Dontayvion Wicks
WR62 - Keon Coleman
WR63 - Allen Lazard
WR64 - Jalen Tolbert
WR65 - Michael Wilson

Tier 6 -- Desperation plays

WR39 - Jaylen Waddle
WR40 - Michael Pittman
WR41 - Brian Thomas Jr. (near-worst-possible matchup for him)
WR46 - Jerry Jeudy
WR48 - Courtland Sutton
WR50 - Romeo Doubs
WR53 - Quentin Johnston
WR54 - Demarcus Robinson
WR55 - Tre Tucker
WR57 - Brandin Cooks
WR58 - Jahan Dotson
WR59 - Jalen Nailor
WR61 - Alec Pierce
WR62 - Josh Downs
WR63 - Keon Coleman
WR64 - Allen Lazard
WR65 - Michael Wilson
WR66 - Johnny Wilson

Tier 1 -- Locked-in

TE1 - Dallas Goedert
TE2 - Jake Ferguson
TE3 - Brock Bowers
TE4 - Travis Kelce
TE5 - George Kittle
TE6 - Sam LaPorta
TE8 - Cole Kmet
TE10 - Mark Andrews (godspeed)
TE11 - Isaiah Likely

Tier 2 -- Don't love the matchup/game set-up

TE7 - Dalton Kincaid
TE9 - Kyle Pitts
TE12 - Pat Freiermuth

Tier 3 -- Streamers

TE13 - Mike Gesicki
TE14 - Tyler Conklin
TE15 - Zach Ertz
TE16 - Hunter Henry
TE17 - Brenton Strange
TE18 - Noah Fant
TE19 - Colby Parkinson
TE20 - Jonnu Smith
TE21 - Tommy Tremble
TE22 - Dalton Schultz
TE23 - Tucker Kraft
TE24 - Erick All Jr.
TE25 - Jordan Akins
TE26 - Chig Okonkwo
TE27 - Cade Otton
TE28 - Hayden Hurst
TE29 - Elijah Higgins
TE30 - Johnny Mundt

I'll be in your inbox every weekday and every Sunday morning for the foreseeable future! NFL is back, baby! I am so grateful and excited to be able to deliver this newsletter to you as we navigate the 2024 season together. Thank you! This is going to be fun!

If you have any feedback on the newsletter, feel free to send them my way. Thank you for reading! And please, do check out Beyond the Boxscore on FFT! Dan and I put a lot of work into that podcast project and aim to make it fun and accessible for any level of NFL fan!