Week 4 Fantasy Football Projections: Underrated WRs Who Will Blow Up This Week

Without the replacement officials’ erratic pass interference calls, Week 4 will see several fantastic fantasy football performances from wide receivers.

Now that the regular officials are back on the field, the NFL in general should be more predictable. The Baltimore Ravens easily beat the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night, which certainly suggests a return to normalcy. 

Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin both had big days against a depleted Browns secondary, and more wide receivers facing soft matchups will turn in impressive performances.

Here are the wideouts who have not received a significant amount of attention, but will have huge games this week.

Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman has targeted Jackson nearly twice as often as any other receiver. Freeman has given the 6’5” wideout a chance on 27 occasions this season, while Mike Williams is second on the team with 14 targets.

While Tampa Bay does rank 31^st in the league in passing attempts thus far this season, they will not be able to avoid taking to the air this week against the Washington Redskins.

The Redskins have allowed the second-most yards per game through the air, and the only team that has been worse in the secondary is Tampa Bay. Washington QB Robert Griffin III will have success early and get on the scoreboard, forcing the Bucs to respond.

When Freeman takes to the air, he will be looking towards Jackson, which will be fantastic for the wideout’s fantasy owners.

Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers

It may be strange to see Jennings’ name on a list of underrated receivers, but after gaining just 69 yards with no touchdowns this season, his fantasy owners have had little reason to brag about having him on their roster.

While his production has not been up to the standards he set for himself in the past, he is still Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target. The reigning MVP has thrown Jennings’ way 19 times this season, which is tied with Jordy Nelson for second on this team. However, Jennings missed the team’s Week 2 matchup with the Chicago Bears.

Rodgers is throwing to the Packers’ star receiver nearly 10 times per game this year. Against a disoriented New Orleans Saints defense, these opportunities will finally turn into yardage and touchdowns.

Fantasy owners have been waiting for the Packers offense to start putting up the same numbers as it was last season, and that will happen in this game. 

Wes Welker, New England Patriots 

Welker is another player that was not expected to be seen on a list of underrated players at his position. But after an offseason of bickering with the Patriots over his contract and a shocking snub in Week 2 where he was relegated to the bench in favor of Julian Edelman, few would consider him to be a top-five receiver anymore.

Across the season this may end up being true, but against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Welker will be as productive as any wideout in the NFL. The first time the Pats faced Buffalo last year, Welker had his best game ever with the franchise when he caught 16 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. 

He is one of the most intelligent wideouts in football, and knows the Bills extremely well from facing them twice a season since 2007. In addition, Buffalo is averaging the sixth-most fantasy points allowed per game to wide receivers this season, according to NFL.com.

While Brandon Lloyd has become a large part of the Patriots offense and has been targeted 33 times this year, Welker remains one of Brady’s favorite options and he has looked his way 26 times.