Fantasy Football Week 4 Rankings: Flex and PPR Outlook for Each Position

A roll of the dice at the flex position can save fantasy football owners.

Just ask those who started Rishard Matthews (23 points), Devonta Freeman (37) or LeGarrette Blount (26) last week.

This is especially the case when it comes to points-per-reception (PPR) leagues, as the values of player rankings alter dramatically for the simple fact a player scores a point for catching a pass.

The back who sees half the team's snaps and is a quarterback's favorite safety valve? He's much more important in PPR leagues. Here's a look at how the flex positions stack up in PPR terms for Week 4.

Week 4 Schedule

Sunday, Oct. 04	Time (ET)
Monday, Oct. 05	Time (ET)
N.Y. Jets at Miami	9:30 am
Oakland at Chicago	1:00 pm
Houston at Atlanta	1:00 pm
N.Y. Giants at Buffalo	1:00 pm
Jacksonville at Indianapolis	1:00 pm
Kansas City at Cincinnati	1:00 pm
Philadelphia at Washington	1:00 pm
Carolina at Tampa Bay	1:00 pm
Cleveland at San Diego	4:05 pm
Green Bay at San Francisco	4:25 pm
St. Louis at Arizona	4:25 pm
Minnesota at Denver	4:25 pm
Dallas at New Orleans	8:30 pm
Detroit at Seattle	8:30 pm

Running Backs

Rank	Player/Team
1	Jamaal Charles
2	Eddie Lacy
3	Latavius Murray
4	Matt Forte
5	Devonta Freeman
6	Adrian Peterson
7	Marshawn Lynch
8	Joseph Randle
9	Karlos Williams
10	Frank Gore
11	Jeremy Hill
12	Mark Ingram
13	Danny Woodhead
14	T.J. Yeldon
15	Jonathan Stewart
16	Chris Ivory
17	Chris Johnson
18	Carlos Hyde
19	C.J. Anderson
20	Lance Dunbar
21	Giovani Bernard
22	Demarco Murray
23	Matt Jones
24	Ameer Abdullah
25	Lamar Miller
26	Melvin Gordon
27	Alfred Blue
28	Doug Martin
29	Alfred Morris
30	Darren Sproles

Obvious names like Jamaal Charles will dominate categories like this, but don't forget about a consistent, albeit underrated star such as Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears.

Owners may wince at the idea with Jay Cutler's status up in the air, but it doesn't matter if he continues to haul in passes out of the backfield. Forte has nine catches over the course of his first three games, though he was held without one in Seattle for obvious reasons this past weekend.

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Forte will have a big day against a struggling Oakland Raiders defense, which has already surrendered 22 catches to backs this season and allowed 18 or more points to the position in two of three games in standard leagues.

Also in for a big day? San Diego Chargers' pass-catching machine Danny Woodhead. He already has an impressive 31 points in standard leagues and it's clear through usage in comeback scenarios and in the red zone that rookie Melvin Gordon won't be stealing his catches through the air anytime soon.

Woodhead has 12 catches in three games as one of Philip Rivers' favorite targets. On the opposite side of the trenches this weekend rests a struggling Cleveland Browns defense, which has allowed 13 receptions to backs already. In short, Woodhead is in for another one of his usual stellar outings as a flex option.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player
1	Demaryius Thomas
2	Julio Jones
3	A.J. Green
4	Amari Cooper
5	DeAndre Hopkins
6	Randall Cobb
7	T.Y. Hilton
8	Brandon Marshall
9	Brandin Cooks
10	Odell Beckham
11	Larry Fitzgerald
12	Jordan Matthews
13	Mike Evans
14	Emmanuel Sanders
15	Calvin Johnson
16	Jarvis Landry
17	Michael Crabtree
18	Keenan Allen
19	James Jones
20	Terrance Williams
21	Donte Moncrief
22	Jeremy Maclin
23	Ted Ginn Jr
24	Eric Decker
25	Devante Adams
26	Pierre Garcon
27	John Brown
28	Nate Washington
29	Stevie Johnson
30	Vincent Jackson
31	Golden Tate
32	Anquan Boldin
33	Allen Hurns
34	Rueben Randle
35	Rishard Matthews

The usual names pepper the top of the list here, but a rather underrated budding star to know would be Houston Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins.

While Hopkins doesn't have the most encouraging quarterback situation, he's on pace for a jaw-dropping 208 targets this year. Houston's offense doesn't have anyone else to throw the ball to, which is great in standard leagues, but even better in PPR formats.

Hopkins already has 22 catches to his name this year to go with three scores and two performances of 98 yards or more. While the Atlanta Falcons don't give up a ton of points to wideouts, they do surrender a bevy of catches in each game as teams play from behind in an effort to keep up—so far the unit has allowed 34 catches to wideouts.

Another name who continues to pop up as a PPR monster who most didn't expect before the season? Try New York Jets wideout Brandon Marshall on for size. He's in an offense led by Ryan Fitzpatrick, but it hasn't stopped him from securing 23 catches and scoring in all three of his outings.

Some of it has to do with an injury to Eric Decker, who is a game-time decision this weekend in London, per Brian Costello of the New York Post. Either way, Fitzpatrick doesn't have a whole lot of options and even when Decker caught eight passes in Week 2, Marshall was right there with seven.

None of this even mentions the opponent, the Miami Dolphins, who are a leaky unit that have allowed three sets of wideouts to grab 40 passes combined so far. 

Tight Ends

Rank	Player
1	Greg Olsen
2	Martellus Bennett
3	Jimmy Graham
4	Charles Clay
5	Tyler Eifert
6	Travis Kelce
7	Jason Witten
8	Jordan Reed
9	Eric Ebron
10	Owen Daniels
11	Kyle Rudolph
12	Jared Cook

Even in PPR formats, tight end remains as volatile as ever and the matchup might prove more important than anything else.

Which is why PPR owners will also want to take a look at Martellus Bennett of the Bears. He only has 13 catches this year with one score, but the Raiders have been the worst against the position.

Oakland has not only surrendered 21 catches to tight ends, the unit has given up five touchdowns in three games. Look for Bennett to exploit the weakness for a major day.

Another player who hasn't blown away owners yet but should this weekend? Charles Clay of the Buffalo Bills, who continues to work his way into the offense but has 12 grabs and two scores so far.

Clay's upswing peaks this weekend with a matchup against the New York Giants, another defense that just cannot defend the position. The Giants have already allowed 20 catches and three scores to tight ends, meaning Clay figures to place well and find paydirt for a third consecutive game.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of October 2. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com.