Fantasy Football Week 4 Rankings: Latest Position-by-Position Rundown

With a ton of talented players on bye this week, chances are you had to scour the waiver wire for some help. Chances are you also have to rely on your studs this week with a shallow pool of players to pull from. 

In an effort to help you make the correct lineup decision, I've graded each player's "startability" this week based on their ability, matchup, offense and consistency and also highlighted one intriguing player from each position worth focusing on. Don't have the bye-week blues—beat them with my rankings this week.

Notes: For a full explanation of the rankings, go here. Abridged version: "Ability" measures a player's overall talent, proficiency at his position and ability to produce fantasy numbers. "Offense" measures how much that team's offense improves his fantasy stock. The overall "startability" grade is weighted. All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard scoring leagues. 

Schedule

Sunday, Sept. 28	Time (ET)
Monday, Sept. 29	Time (ET)
Miami at Oakland	1 p.m.
Green Bay at Chicago	1 p.m.
Buffalo at Houston	1 p.m.
Tennessee at Indianapolis	1 p.m.
Carolina at Baltimore	1 p.m.
Detroit at NY Jets	1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh	1 p.m.
Jacksonville at San Diego	4:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Francisco	4:25 p.m.
Atlanta at Minnesota	4:25 p.m.
New Orleans at Dallas	8:30 p.m.
New England at Kansas City	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
1	Matt Stafford	48	23	13	8	A+ (92)
2	Drew Brees	49	14	14	9	A (86)
3	Philip Rivers	42	24	10	7	A (83)
4	Aaron Rodgers	49	10	14	9	A (82)
5	Colin Kaepernick	44	23	10	5	A (82)
6	Matt Ryan	46	12	11	7	B+ (76)
7	Nick Foles	40	13	14	7	B (74)
8	Cam Newton	47	9	10	8	B (74)
9	Jay Cutler	41	15	13	4	B (73)
10	Andrew Luck	48	5	12	8	B (73)
11	Tony Romo	42	14	10	6	B- (72)
12	Tom Brady	45	15	4	5	C (69)
13	Ben Roethlisberger	41	15	7	4	C (67)
14	Jake Locker*	36	21	4	3	C- (64)
15	Joe Flacco	39	8	5	3	D (55)

I won't lie to you, folks. I was scared enough of Andrew Luck this week to start Kirk Cousins over him in one of my leagues. Whoops. That's what I get for doubting fantasy's top option at the position thus far this year, I suppose. 

The decision was steeped in logic, though. I swear. Tennessee has given up just 10.3 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks and are allowing just 170 passing yards per game, both second in the NFL. And in two games against them last season, Luck managed a decent but unspectacular 28 fantasy points in total. 

The Titans are giving up 134.3 rushing yards on the ground per game, however, and that's 24th in the NFL. And the Colts have already shown they aren't afraid to pound the rock, as they ran the ball 38 times against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Week 2 loss. 

Can you sit Luck if you own him? Probably not. Should you be expecting 15-17 points rather than 20-25 points from him in this contest? Absolutely.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
1	Matt Forte	47	21	14	10	A+ (92)
2	DeMarco Murray	46	15	13	9	A (83)
3	Jamaal Charles	48	10	14	10	A (82)
4	Le'Veon Bell	46	12	13	9	A (80)
5	LeSean McCoy	49	3	15	10	A- (77)
6	Eddie Lacy	44	15	12	6	A- (77)
7	Arian Foster*	47	6	13	10	A- (76)
8	Donald Brown	33	25	13	5	A- (76)
9	Frank Gore	42	15	11	7	B+ (75)
10	Lamar Miller	39	20	8	4	B (71)
11	Matt Asiata	30	22	14	3	B (69)
12	Ahmad Bradshaw	36	15	8	7	B (66)
13	Doug Martin	40	14	6	5	B (65)
14	Darren Sproles	41	3	12	6	B - (62)
15	C.J. Spiller	43	6	8	5	B - (62)
16	Maurice Jones-Drew	35	18	5	4	B - (62)
17	DeAngelo Williams*	34	13	10	4	B - (61)
18	Trent Richardson	34	15	8	3	B- (60)
19	Reggie Bush	43	1	9	6	C+ (59)
20	Bernard Pierce*	35	10	8	5	C+ (58)
21	Chris Ivory	38	6	8	6	C+ (58)
22	Fred Jackson	37	6	8	5	C (56)
23	Stevan Ridley	36	9	7	4	C (56)
24	Joique Bell	40	1	9	6	C (56)
25	Carlos Hyde	35	15	4	2	C (56)
26	Khiry Robinson	33	10	7	4	C- (54)
27	Pierre Thomas	36	10	4	4	C- (54)
28	Toby Gerhart	35	15	1	3	C- (54)
29	Shonn Greene	31	17	4	2	C- (54)
30	Chris Johnson	37	6	6	5	C- (54)

What is a fantasy owner to do with C.J. Spiller? There's no question that he's the more talented player than Fred Jackson, but the Buffalo Bills continue to feed Jackson the rock. Sure, Spiller had 24 fantasy points in the first two weeks, but six of those came from a kick return touchdown. And then last week it was Fred Jackson who blew up, going for 16 points.

Frankly, Spiller's going to be a feast-or-famine option for you all year long. This week's game feels like it could be a feast, as the Houston Texans are giving up 19 fantasy points per week, 23rd in the NFL, but how much of that pie will be slapped onto Jackson's plate?

If you own Spiller, you're betting on black and hoping the roulette wheel lands your way. When it does, you're in the money. After all, Spiller is always just one long run away from making your day. Just know that Jackson is lurking, always capable of being Buffalo's main man.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Rank	Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
1	Calvin Johnson*	50	22	14	10	A+ (96)
2	Antonio Brown	47	20	11	10	A (89)
3	Dez Bryant	49	18	13	9	A (89)
4	Brandon Marshall	48	13	14	10	A (85)
5	Jeremy Maclin	39	20	14	8	A- (81)
6	Julio Jones	49	10	13	8	A- (80)
7	Jordy Nelson	48	9	14	8	A- (79)
8	Michael Crabtree	40	23	10	6	A- (79)
9	Randall Cobb	45	9	13	8	B (75)
10	Julian Edelman	39	16	12	8	B (75)
11	Andre Johnson	46	15	5	8	B (74)
12	Alshon Jeffery	44	13	12	5	B (74)
13	Cordarrelle Patterson	42	18	9	5	B (74)
14	Kelvin Benjamin	38	19	10	6	B (73)
15	Mike Wallace	44	8	12	7	B- (72)
16	DeAndre Hopkins	43	15	7	6	B- (71)
17	Golden Tate	35	22	10	4	B- (71)
18	Vincent Jackson	45	10	7	6	C+ (68)
19	Roddy White	38	10	11	6	C (65)
20	Sammy Watkins	41	13	7	4	C (65)
21	Anquan Boldin	34	23	5	3	C (65)
22	Keenan Allen	35	17	10	3	C (65)
23	Steve Smith	36	10	10	7	C (63)
24	Brandin Cooks	37	9	10	6	C- (62)
25	Reggie Wayne	40	6	8	6	C- (62)
26	Marques Colston	38	9	8	5	C (60)
27	Terrance Williams	33	18	4	4	D+ (59)
28	Kendall Wright	36	12	5	5	D+ (58)
29	Malcom Floyd	28	17	10	2	D+ (57)
30	Torrey Smith	38	10	4	3	D (55)
31	T.Y. Hilton	35	6	8	4	D (53)
32	Markus Wheaton	26	20	3	2	D (52)
33	Eric Decker*	37	2	6	6	D (51)
34	Hakeem Nicks	32	6	8	4	D (50)
35	Mike Evans	33	10	3	1	D- (47)

I know you don't want to believe in Vincent Jackson any longer. Believe me, I get it. With just 15 fantasy points total after three games, he's looking like a bust.

Ah, but Mike Glennon might just save his value. With the young quarterback stepping into the fold, Jackson could return to form. Remember, with Glennon as the team's quarterback for most of last year, Jackson finished with 78 receptions for 1,224 yards and seven touchdowns. Right now, Jackson's probably hearing "reunited and it feels so good" in his head this week. 

And this week's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers could be promising. The Steelers have allowed 20 or more fantasy points to opposing wide receivers twice this year, so Jackson could be in line for his breakthrough performance. 

I know it's hard to trust him after being burnt three times in a row. But this will be the week Jackson reaffirms his worth. 

Tight Ends

Player	Ability (0/50)	Matchup (0/25)	Offense (0/15)	Consistency (0/10)	OVERALL GRADE (0/100)
Jimmy Graham	50	25	15	10	A+ (100)
Rob Gronkowski	47	15	13	9	A (84)
Vernon Davis*	44	15	11	8	A- (78)
Antonio Gates	37	24	10	6	A- (77)
Martellus Bennett	40	5	12	7	B (64)
Greg Olsen	41	2	11	8	B (62)
Delanie Walker	33	18	7	4	B (62)
Zach Ertz	40	5	11	6	B (62)
Jason Witten	40	7	7	7	B (61)
Owen Daniels	36	9	8	5	C+ (58)

Antonio Gates just keeps on chugging along, folks, and fantasy's No. 4 tight end thus far this season should be in line for another big contest this week. The Jacksonville Jaguars are bad defensively—really, really bad—giving up an NFL-worst 306 passing yards per game and 16.7 fantasy points per week to opposing tight ends, 31st in the NFL. 

Sure, Gates had just one catch for eight yards a week ago. He also torched Seattle for seven receptions, 96 yards and three touchdowns the week before. The points should be overflowing for Gates in this one.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Defense
1	New England Patriots
2	Detroit Lions
3	Houston Texans
4	San Diego Chargers
5	Miami Dolphins
6	Carolina Panthers
7	Pittsburgh Steelers
8	Buffalo Bills
9	Atlanta Falcons
10	Indianapolis Colts

Kickers

Rank	Kicker
1	Nick Novak
2	Dan Bailey
3	Shaun Suisham
4	Cody Parkey
5	Stephen Gostkowski
6	Matt Bryant
7	Robbie Gould
8	Mason Crosby
9	Adam Vinatieri
10	Caleb Sturgis

Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than Andy Dalton and Johnny Manziel playing receiver.