Fantasy Football Week 4: Darren McFadden, Drew Brees and 5 Fantasy Locks

That’s right folks, it’s already Week 4 of the 2011 NFL season and that means it’s also moving into the fourth week of fantasy football.

With the bye weeks coming up fast, it’s important to get as many wins as you can while your roster is still loaded with playing stars instead of a bench full of top draft picks.

This week has many great matchups across the board, but there are a few games that will yield you a huge day as a fantasy owner.

These following five players are the biggest fantasy locks of the weekend, and if you have these players or have a chance to trade for them or pick them in a pool, do so with confidence.

Check back for more on the NFL world as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s Football Page to get your fill of the NFL.

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Darren McFadden

There is no better running back in the NFL right now that the Oakland Raiders star Darren McFadden and the New England Patriots are going to find that out the hard way.

With 61 rushes for 393 yards and three touchdowns, coupled with 11 catches for 84 yards and another touchdown, McFadden has been an absolute machine so far this year.

Even with the Patriots boasting the 10th-best run defense in the league, they haven’t faced a back like McFadden.

They did face a lesser back in Buffalo’s Fred Jackson who carved them up in the pass game as well as the run game, and that’s the blueprint McFadden will use to beat down the Patriots in Week 4.

Drew Brees

Only Tom Brady of the New England Patriots has more fantasy points than Drew Brees, and a matchup for Brees and the New Orleans Saints against the Jacksonville Jaguars will be closer than people think.

While the Saints defense shouldn’t have trouble stifling rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert, it will have plenty of trouble stopping running back Maurice Jones-Drew. With a shootout possible, Brees will have to pass the Saints to another victory.

If the game gets out of hand early, New Orleans will hand the ball off much more than usual, but its mediocre run game will be supplanted by the short passing game of Brees. Either Way, Brees has another lights-out day.

Calvin Johnson

The Detroit Lions have one of the best receivers in the league, and now that the team is having success, people are starting to realize just how good Calvin Johnson really is.

Johnson is currently on pace for 32 touchdowns this season, and while that is unrealistic, the fact that he has two touchdowns in each of his first three games shows just how good the star really is.

While the star may only have 16 catches in three games, the 225 yards and six touchdowns should calm your nerves and a matchup against a porous Dallas Cowboys secondary will yield him another touchdown or two.

Peyton Hillis

Although he missed last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins, the bruising running back will be available to beat down the injured Tennessee Titans.

While his numbers haven’t been impressive so far, Hillis has showed glimpses of the back he was early in 2010, but he needs a perfect matchup to go off against. That’s where the Titans come in.

Tennessee isn’t terrible on defense, but it will watch the tape on Colt McCoy picking apart the Dolphins’ secondary apart and give Hillis the room to make his moves.

Jermichael Finley

The Green Bay Packers haven’t looked as indestructible as they had for the first two weeks, but the Chicago Bears defense is one of the best in the entire NFL.

With that said, even the best defenses in the entire league can’t stop a 6’5” tight end with hands as sure as a sunrise like Jermichael Finley.

The perfect opponent for Finley is a defense that has trouble covering tight ends, and that’s what he gets in Week 4 when the Packers face off with the Denver Broncos.

After a mediocre Week 1 and a solid Week 2 point output, it was his seven catches for 85 yards and three touchdowns he had in Week 3 that reminded fantasy owners why they took him so high.