This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
It's hard to believe but already it's Week 4 and we are into the Bye weeks. Both the Jets and 49ers will sit this week out, so there's a little bit of a smaller player pool from which to choose. Let's take a look at the obvious and not-so-obvious players for this week.
QUARTERBACKS
Patrick Mahomes ($9,200) comes in as the highest priced quarterback and rightfully so. He's scored at least 27.32 fantasy points in each of his first three games and has a good matchup against the Lions. He'll be playing indoors, so weather won't be a factor, and Darius Slay suffered a hamstring injury last game and won't be 100 percent. Use him in cash games if the price fits. Lamar Jackson ($8,300) has been mentioned here every week, and this week won't be any different. Despite revamping its defensive line, Cleveland's defense hasn't looked great so far, and it could be Jackson's arm that makes a difference. While the Browns will get back Damarious Randle, the other three starters in the secondary — Greedy Williams, Denzel Ward and Morgan Burnett — didn't practice this week and are listed as questionable. Using a stack of Jackson, Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews makes a lot of sense in this spot. One of the quarterbacks this week who has a ton of upside and will likely be under-owned is Philip Rivers ($7,800). While he'll be without Mike Williams (back), he's been using Keenan Allen ($8,100) a lot, and the receiver has at least 10 targets in each game this season. Austin Ekeler is a very capable pass-catcher out of the backfield, and the Chargers are one of the biggest road favorites (-16.5) in recent history. Finally, Matthew Stafford ($6,900) is poised to have a big week facing the Chiefs at home. This game has the highest over/under total of the week (55), and the Lions could find themselves throwing a lot if they're playing from behind. Stafford had 27.1 fantasy points Week 1, so the upside is there for him to easily make value at a sub-$7,000 price.
RUNNING BACKS
The chalk play of the week will likely be Austin Ekeler ($8,100) who gets to face the hapless Dolphins who are 32nd in the league against the run. Even if Melvin Gordon plays this week, it should be Ekeler who gets to handle the bulk of the workload. In addition, the absence of Justin Jackson this week only helps Ekeler's value. The other chalk play at the position should be the Giants' Wayne Gallman ($5,800). With Saquon Barkley out, Gallman is expected to handle the majority of touches out of the backfield and is nearly a lock for 15-plus touches. He's a capable pass-catcher who averaged a respectable 4.3 yards per carry his rookie season. A situation to monitor head into Sunday is the backfield for the Denver Broncos. Royce Freeman is dealing with a should injury and could sit out the tilt with the Jaguars. If that happens, Phillip Lindsay ($6,900) could be in for a bigger role, and Devontae Booker ($4,500) would likely get some touches as well. Another midranged player to consider is the Colts' Marlon Mack ($7,300). He's scored 15.8 and 25.4 fantasy points in two of his first three games and gets a solid home matchup against the Oakland Raiders. The contrarian play of the week has to be the Jaguars' Leonard Fournette ($6,400). Most will shy away from the away matchup in Denver, but Fournette is all but guaranteed to get 20-plus touches again this week. He has the goal-line work to himself, and Gardner Minshew ($6,700) has shown enough ability to keep the Broncos from completely stacking the line.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Sterling Shepard ($6,500) should be popular this week after scoring 23.6 fantasy points a week ago, especially given his price. The Redskins are 26th against the pass this season, and Josh Norman looks like a shadow of his former self. A good GPP play to consider is the Texans' Will Fuller ($5,900). He looks completely healthy and has seven targets in each of his last two games. DeAndre Hopkins ($8,700) should command a lot of attention, and Fuller should be able to get behind the defense for a big play or two Sunday. T.Y. Hilton is listed as doubtful for his matchup with the Raiders, meaning there should be a big game from either Parris Campbell ($5,600) or Zach Pascal ($5,400). A good strategy would be to use each in a tournament lineup, and using a stack of both with Jacoby Brissett ($7,300) is a sneaky stack that could pay off big. As mentioned earlier, Keenan Allen ($8,100) has double-digit targets in every game and is averaging 24.4 fantasy points through three games. He's expensive but should pay off in this spot against the Dolphins.
TIGHT ENDS
There might not be a chalkier pick this week than Will Dissly ($5,400), who is both cheap and has the best matchup possible. Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson and Greg Olsen have all torched the Arizona Cardinals, and is should be Dissly's turn this week. After being a little banged up Week 1, Dissly has scored three touchdowns in his last two games on 14 targets. This isn't a bad week to consider using him and another tight end, someone like Travis Kelce ($7,600). Delanie Walker ($5,700) is at an extremely affordable price for someone with 20-fantasy-point upside. He's got at least six targets in each of his first three games, and Atlanta has just been league-average allowing points to the opposing tight end.
DEFENSES
The Los Angeles Rams D/ST ($4,300) is a good team to target with their home matchup against Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers. Winston already has four interceptions on the year and has been sacked at least three times in every game this season. Aaron Donald should have a field day Sunday. While the Patriots D/ST ($5,200) has been great, they're the most expensive team this week, and they've had the luxury of facing the bottom-three offenses in the league (PIT, NYJ and MIA).
