Fantasy Football Week 4 Rankings: Top Players, Sleepers and Positional Guide

We're heading into the quarter mark of the 2016 NFL season. 

How's your fantasy team doing?

Whether you're 3-0, 0-3 or somewhere in between, don't fret; there's still plenty of time to surf the waiver wire, add some new talent to your team and start piling up those wins. 

As we head into Week 4, here are all the projected top players at each position, as well as some sleepers. 

Note that the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles are on byes in Week 4.  

Quarterback 

Rank	Player	Team
1	Cam Newton	CAR
2	Drew Brees	NO
3	Andrew Luck	IND
4	Philip Rivers	SD
5	Carson Palmer	ARI
6	Matthew Stafford	DET
7	Russell Wilson*	SEA
8	Kirk Cousins	WAS
9	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT
10	Dak Prescott	DAL
11	Joe Flacco	BAL
12	Andy Dalton	CIN

Top Player: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

It's likely that very few fantasy owners who actually drafted Drew Brees this season expected him to be one of the safest starts by Week 4, but that's exactly the situation in which we find ourselves.

Cam Newton's offensive line allowed eight sacks to the Minnesota Vikings. Andrew Luck has thrown an interception and lost a fumble in each of his last two games. Philip Rivers didn't throw a single touchdown in the San Diego Chargers' Week 3 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. 

And there's Brees, leading the league in passing after three weeks, per ESPN:

"

Drew Brees had yet another huge week. Here are your NFL leaders in Pass, Rush and Rec Yds through Week 3. pic.twitter.com/S8r5pbs6wr

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 27, 2016"

The New Orleans Saints might be winless, but Brees is still producing in fantasy. He has the second-most points of any quarterback in fantasy this season so far, with 71.88.

And in some ways, a struggling Saints team is better news for Brees owners, as long as they're not Saints fans. After all, the further behind New Orleans falls in games, the more the team will rely on Brees' arm to catch up.  

Running Back 

Rank	Player	Team
1	David Johnson	ARI
2	Le'Veon Bell	PIT
3	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL
4	Todd Gurley	LA
5	C.J. Anderson	DEN
6	DeMarco Murray	TEN
7	Melvin Gordon	SD
8	Christine Michael	SEA
9	Matt Forte	NYJ
10	Mark Ingram	NO
11	LeSean McCoy	BUF
12	Lamar Miller	HOU
13	Carlos Hyde	SF
14	LeGarrette Blount	NE
15	Spencer Ware	KC
16	Devonta Freeman	ATL
17	Isaiah Crowell	CLE
18	Latavius Murray	OAK
19	Frank Gore	IND
20	Charles Sims	TB
21	Jordan Howard	CHI
22	Theo Riddick	DET
23	Jeremy Hill	CIN
24	Jerrick McKinnon	MIN
25	Tevin Coleman	ATL
26	Matt Jones	WAS
27	Rashard Jennings	NYG
28	Giovanni Bernard	CIN
29	Kenyan Drake	MIA
30	Justin Forsett	BAL
31	T.J. Yeldon	JAC
32	Cameron Artis-Payne	CAR

Top Player: Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers

Fantasy owners who have been stashing Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell on their benches for the last three weeks can finally plug him into their lineups in Week 4.

And if you want to take Steelers coach Mike Tomlin at his word, we'll be seeing "a lot" of Bell on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs:

Fantasy owners should be relieved that Bell will apparently not be on a pitch count in his first game back following suspension, but there is, of course, still an element of the unknown in starting him without knowing his conditioning level.

Bell only played six games in 2015 but racked up 556 yards on 113 carries and three touchdowns in that span. Fantasy owners will look for Bell to return to a workhorse role in both the Steelers' rushing and passing games, as the lackluster offense scored only three points in a loss to Philadelphia in Week 3.  

Wide Receiver

Rank	Player	Team
1	Antonio Brown	PIT
2	Julio Jones	ATL
3	A.J. Green	CIN
4	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG
5	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU
6	Marvin Jones	DET
7	Allen Robinson	JAC
8	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI
9	Brandin Cooks	NO
10	T.Y. Hilton	IND
11	Demaryius Thomas	DEN
12	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR
13	Amari Cooper	OAK
14	Doug Baldwin	SEA
15	Alshon Jeffery	CHI
16	Dez Bryant	DAL
17	Mike Evans	TB
18	Travis Benjamin	SD
19	Jarvis Landry	MIA
20	Stefon Diggs	MIN
21	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN
22	DeSean Jackson	WAS
23	Brandon Marshall	NYJ
24	Jeremy Maclin	KC
25	Eric Decker	NYJ
26	Devante Parker	MIA
27	Sterling Shepard	NYG
28	Terrelle Pryor	CLE
29	Will Fuller	HOU
30	Sammy Watkins	BUF
31	Michael Floyd	ARI
32	Michael Crabtree	OAK

Sleeper: Jaron Brown, Arizona Cardinals

Norm Hall/Getty Images

Arizona's Jaron Brown doesn't appear on the list of top 32 wide receivers to start this week in fantasy football, but if one of your starters is injured or you're looking to experiment a little with your flex position in Week 4, you may want to take a look at the Cardinal. 

First, there's the potential for targets. As Adam Levitan of Fantasy Labs conjectured, with Michael Floyd going through the concussion protocol, Brown could play on as many as 70 percent of the Cardinals' offensive snaps:

Then there's Brown's established ability to produce. 

In Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brown found the end zone and amassed 78 yards on two targets. While that not might get you very far in a points-per-reception league, in standard scoring it would do just fine. 

With Floyd potentially missing time in Week 4 against the St. Louis Rams, Brown could see more usage and production. Even if Floyd plays, he's been slow to produce this season, so Carson Palmer could be looking to get his other pass-catchers more involved. 

Tight End

Rank	Player	Team
1	Greg Olsen	CAR
2	Jordan Reed	WAS
3	Rob Gronkowski	NE
4	Travis Kelce	KC
5	Delanie Walker*	TEN
6	Jimmy Graham	SEA
7	Julius Thomas	JAC
8	Dennis Pitta	BAL
9	Zach Miller	CHI
10	Eric Ebron	DET
11	Kyle Rudolph	MIN
12	Gary Barnidge	CLE

Sleeper: Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts 

The Colts' Jack Doyle is the third-highest-scoring tight end in fantasy this season with 25.70 points. 

But it's almost certain that he's available on wires in your league this week. 

Doyle has 137 receiving yards and two touchdowns on the year so far. Both those touchdowns came in a dominant Week 1 performance against the Detroit Lions. 

But many fantasy owners are either loath to carry two tight ends on their roster or to drop the tight end they drafted in the mid-rounds of the draft. Still, if you have the option to play a tight end in your flex position, you can definitely stash someone like Doyle on your bench or mix him into your lineup from week to week. 

The Colts are struggling, to be sure. But they have a favorable matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. Doyle could have a big day. 

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit
1	SEA
2	HOU
3	MIN
4	DEN
5	ARI
6	CIN
7	KC
8	NE
9	MIA
10	NYG
11	CAR
12	BAL

Top Unit: Minnesota Vikings

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

The Vikings are the top-scoring defense/special teams unit in fantasy so far this season, with 59 points on the year. 

Defensively, Minnesota leads the league with 15 sacks and is tied for second in interceptions with five. Its four fumble recoveries also lead the NFL. 

The Vikings have also allowed just 40 points this season, the third-lowest in the league. 

Kicker

Rank	Player	Team
1	Stephen Gostkowski	NE
2	Dan Bailey	DAL
3	Justin Tucker	BAL
4	Adam Vinatieri	IND
5	Steven Hauschka	SEA
6	Matt Bryant	ATL
7	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI
8	Blair Walsh	MIN
9	Graham Gano	CAR
10	Josh Brown	NYG
11	Brandon McManus	DEN
12	Chris Boswell	PIT

Top Player: Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens

Justin Tucker has scored the second-most points of any kicker in the NFL in fantasy this season with 37. He also boasts the most field goals made of more than 50 yards, with three in that category.

One such field goal was a 54-yarder in Week 3 that clinched the Ravens' victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, propelling them to 3-0 on the season.

It was a clutch performance, and ESPN Stats & Info reminded us just how clutch Tucker has been in these situations throughout his career:

If you need a kicker to make a long attempt or want someone who probably won't miss, Tucker is the guy to start in Week 4.  

Rankings and scoring leaders via NFL.com and current as of Tuesday, Sept. 27.