Daily Fantasy Football Week 4: Lineup Advice, Matchup Guide for 1-Week Leagues

With many stud fantasy players unavailable in Week 4 due to injuries and byes, you have to look at the matchups to find the best value for your weekly fantasy leagues.

Finding a potential sleeper further down the player list could help you spend more on the more high-profile players who are more consistent from week to week. This balance is what can help you win big money in a daily league.

Here is a look at the best and worst options for each position with predictions for the ultimate team in Week 4.

Quarterbacks

Name	Team	Opp.	Price
Philip Rivers	SD	JAX	$8,400
Colin Kaepernick	SF	PHI	$8,100
Eli Manning	NYG	WAS	$6,900
Blake Bortles	JAX	SD	$6,500

While the top quarterbacks will always be there, the smartest play this week might be Philip Rivers, who is playing as well as ever since the start of last season. He has thrown six touchdown passes and only one interception against some good defenses while spreading the ball around to everyone on the field.

Bleacher Report's Christopher Hansen had this to say about the veteran after the Week 2 win over the Seattle Seahawks:

With top running backs Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead out, the Chargers will have to rely on the passing game more. Against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have allowed the most passing yards in the NFL this season, he should have a huge game.

Colin Kaepernick represents more good value thanks to his matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, a defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Eli Manning and Blake Bortles are a bit riskier, but they are quality options if you want to save money at the quarterback position.

Name	Team	Opp.	Price
Cam Newton	CAR	PIT	$8,000
Tom Brady	NE	KC	$7,900
Alex Smith	KC	NE	$7,000

Tom Brady has had three favorable matchups this season but could only manage a total of 31 points. This does not bode well for the rest of the year when the opponents get better.

Pete Damilatis of Pro Football Focus notes how poorly Brady has fared on downfield passes:

No matter what the price, it does not make sense to utilize the future Hall of Famer.

Meanwhile, Alex Smith is also risky at his cost even after throwing three touchdown passes last week. He is on a run-heavy team and he will not throw for a lot of yards, especially against a Patriots defense allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Cam Newton is also someone to avoid until his offensive line starts finding a way to protect him.

Running Backs

Name	Team	Opp.	Price
DeMarco Murray	DAL	NO	$9,000
Le'Veon Bell	PIT	TB	$8,800
Eddie Lacy	GB	CHI	$8,000
C.J. Spiller	BUF	HOU	$7,800
Lamar Miller	MIA	OAK	$6,900
Donald Brown	SD	JAX	$6,300

There is a reason DeMarco Murray and Le'Veon Bell are the top options. They have both been outstanding this season and should be able to keep it up this week. If you want to splurge, do not be afraid to throw some money down on these stars.

The good news is there are more options for those looking to save some money for other places. Eddie Lacy has not had a great year to this point, but the talent and opportunity is there to turn things around against a poor Chicago Bears run defense.

He did seem confident in a turnaround after the game at least, explaining, "I don’t know, we just have to change our mindset. We had a few opportunities that, as backs, we didn’t take advantage of, whether we made the wrong read or tried to press too much. It’s a long season and we’re going to get it where we need it to be."

This is a rare chance to get a top running back for cheap, and he could be worth the value.

Meanwhile, C.J. Spiller could also break out along with Lamar Miller in favorable matchups against the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders, respectively. 

As for Donald Brown, he is the only option in the Chargers backfield and has a chance to really take advantage of his opportunity against the Jaguars, which have allowed a league-high 28.7 fantasy points to opposing running backs.

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Name	Team	Opp.	Price
LeSean McCoy	PHI	SF	$8,700
Jamaal Charles	KC	NE	$8,300
Reggie Bush	DET	NYJ	$7,400
Frank Gore	SF	PHI	$7,200
Chris Johnson	NYJ	DET	$6,800

Even though Murray had a strong game in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, that defense has shut down Matt Forte and Andre Ellington in consecutive weeks. With LeSean McCoy struggling to get going, he is not worth the risk.

The same could be said for Jamaal Charles, who is still nursing an ankle injury and is no guarantee to play on Monday night. At the most, he will likely split carries with Knile Davis against an improving New England Patriots defense.

Of course, the best two defenses against the run this year have been the Detroit Lions and New York Jets, two teams facing each other in Week 4. This should keep fantasy players away from any of the four running backs who get carries in this battle, including Reggie Bush, Joique Bell, Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory.

With better options elsewhere, it is simply not worth the risk.

Wide Receivers

Name	Team	Opp.	Price
Calvin Johnson	DET	NYJ	$9,300
Antonio Brown	PIT	TB	$8,400
Jeremy Maclin	PHI	SF	$8,000
Michael Crabtree	SF	PHI	$7,000
Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	ATL	$6,600
Brandin Cooks	NO	DAL	$6,200
Torrey Smith	BAL	CAR	$5,000
Brian Hartline	MIA	OAK	$4,700

Wide receiver might be a position to spend a lot of money on to find one big-time player who will be a safe option no matter what happens. In this case, you might as well go as big as possible with Calvin Johnson.

The Lions receiver is seriously looking forward to facing the Jets, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com:

Antonio Brown is another top target to spend money on this week after seeing what Julio Jones did to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense last week.

Jeremy Maclin and Michael Crabtree could end up having an interesting duel against each other with both the Eagles and 49ers struggling to defend wide receivers this season.

For those looking deeper down the list, Torrey Smith has not had the start many have hoped for, but he led the team with eight targets last game. It is worth the risk to see if he can finally have that breakout game for a low price.

Name	Team	Opp.	Price
Reggie Wayne	IND	TEN	$6,900
Roddy White	ATL	MIN	$6,900
Sammy Watkins	BUF	HOU	$6,400
Devin Hester	ATL	MIN	$6,200
Hakeem Nicks	IND	TEN	$5,800
Kendall Wright	TEN	IND	$5,700

Reggie Wayne has not gotten into the end zone this year and only has seven catches in his last two games. It costs way too much money for fantasy owners to expect a turnaround this week. The same goes for Roddy White, who has also dealt with injury issues.

Meanwhile, Devin Hester cannot be expected to replicate his Week 3 performance, making him a waste of a pick.

Sammy Watkins has fared well to this point of the year, but he is also difficult to trust on a weekly basis.

Tight Ends

Name	Team	Opp.	Price
Jimmy Graham	NO	DAL	$8,200
Antonio Gates	SD	JAX	$5,800
Delanie Walker	TEN	IND	$5,700
Niles Paul	WAS	NYG	$5,100

Jimmy Graham is the best tight end in the league and will be a top option every week, especially when Julius Thomas is on bye. The extra cost for a top player is worth it.

At the same time, fantasy players can save some of their budget by looking toward Antonio Gates or Delanie Walker, two tight ends who have performed well this season and have nice matchups in Week 4.

Niles Paul also represents a solid option for competitors hoping the Washington Redskins player can keep up his current hot streak against the New York Giants.

Harry How/Getty Images

Name	Team	Opp.	Price
Rob Gronkowski	NE	KC	$7,600
Vernon Davis	SF	PHI	$6,200
Jason Witten	DAL	NO	$5,900

Although Rob Gronkowski has scored touchdowns in two of the first three games, he still has a limited workload, as noted by Adam Levitan of Rotoworld:

He is dependent on scoring to make him a worthy fantasy play, which is too much risk if you can avoid it.

Vernon Davis is still dealing with an injury and could be limited as well if he does suit up. Meanwhile, Jason Witten has done very little this year and guessing a big game will happen is not a smart strategy. 

Defense

Team	Opp.	Price
San Diego Chargers	JAX	$5,300
Buffalo Bills	HOU	$5,100
Baltimore Ravens	CAR	$5,000

Not to keep picking on the Jaguars, but their offense has been atrocious this year, even with Blake Bortles taking over the starting job at quarterback. The Chargers have been playing well enough to take advantage of this matchup.

The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens both can also expect a lot of sacks against poor offensive lines. At that point, anything can happen when it comes to turnovers and possible touchdowns. 

Team	Opp.	Price
San Francisco 49ers	PHI	$5,500
Chicago Bears	GB	$4,900
New York Giants	WAS	$4,900

The 49ers are one of the more expensive squads on the list, which makes sense based on how well the unit has played this year. However, facing the Philadelphia Eagles offense is a challenge for anyone.

Meanwhile, the Bears could end up having a rough day against the Green Bay Packers, assuming Aaron Rodgers bounces back after a poor outing.

Pos.	Player	Team	Price
QB	Colin Kaepernick	SF	$8,100
RB	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	$8,800
RB	Donald Brown	SD	$6,300
WR	Calvin Johnson	DET	$9,300
WR	Brandin Cooks	NO	$6,200
WR	Torrey Smith	BAL	$5,000
TE	Delanie Walker	TEN	$5,700
K	Cody Parkey	PHI	$5,200
D/ST	San Diego Chargers	-	$5,300

Note: All player values courtesy of FanDuel.com. 

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