Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 4: Latest Fantasy Lock and Flop Predictions

A star may be born Sunday.

When the Cleveland Browns travel to San Diego to take on the Chargers, they will be taking their porous run defense with them. The Browns can't stop the run, and through the first three weeks of the season, they rank 30th in run defense.

The Chargers have the perfect weapon to exploit the soft spot. Melvin Gordon III is a rookie running back with explosive speed who is hungry to show that the Chargers made the right move when they selected him with the 15th pick in the first round of the NFL draft last spring. So far, Gordon has 190 yards on 44 carries, picking up 4.3 yards per attempt.

That's fine, but the Chargers want more from him, and this is his best chance so far to deliver.

Gordon deserves to be in your starting fantasy lineup. In this piece, we'll look at which players you should start and which ones you should sit in Week 4.

Position	Player	Team	Opponent	Lock/Flop
QB	Andy Dalton	Cincinnati	Kansas City	Lock
QB	Matthew Stafford	Detroit	Seattle	Flop
QB	Derek Carr	Oakland	Chicago	Lock
RB	Melvin Gordon	San Diego	Cleveland	Lock
RB	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay	San Francisco	Flop
RB	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City	Cincinnati	Lock
WR	Odell Beckham Jr.	NY Giants	Buffalo	Lock
WR	Andre Johnson	Indianapolis	Jacksonville	Flop
WR	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo	NY Giants	Lock
TE	Greg Olsen	Carolina	Tampa Bay	Lock
TE	Kyle Rudolph	Minnesota	Denver	Flop

Top Locks

Andy Dalton, Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals

Tell me the truth: Did you have Andy Dalton as the second-rated quarterback (121.0) in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers before the season got underway? I didn't think so.

Dalton may not be able to sustain his excellence throughout the season, but he should be able to keep it up for one more week against the porous and injured Kansas City Chiefs secondary (29th in passing yards allowed and 32nd in passing touchdowns allowed).

The Chiefs suffered a nightmarish last-second defeat in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos and got blown out in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers. They may not be ready for a top-level effort against Dalton and the Bengals.

Dalton has thrown for 866 yards and eight touchdowns in the first three games, and he has also run for a score. If he doesn't get crushed by pass-rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali early in the game, he should have a field day while throwing to A.J. Green and Marvin Jones as the Bengals light up the scoreboard.

Brad Penner/Associated Press

Odell Beckham Jr., Wide Receiver, New York Giants

Fantasy owners may hesitate for an instant before inserting Odell Beckham Jr. into their lineups this week because the Giants will be playing the 2-1 Buffalo Bills in upstate New York.

Owners may feel that a contest against an improving team like the Bills in front of their worked-up home fans is not a great situation. But it is—because the Bills defense has a big problem. The Bills rank 28th on defense overall and 30th against the pass, which means Beckham should have a field day.

After his brilliant 2014 season, Beckham is just getting warmed up this year, catching 19 passes for 269 yards and two scores through the first three games. If the Giants offensive line can give quarterback Eli Manning some protection, Beckham will have a huge day.

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Greg Olsen, Tight End, Carolina Panthers

Whenever Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton faces a challenging situation, he is going to look for Greg Olsen to keep a drive alive or make a big play.

Newton has already targeted Olsen 28 times this year, and Olsen is going to be a huge challenge for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. The Bucs are vulnerable in the red zone, as opponents are scoring touchdowns 88 percent of the time when they get into that situation, per Daniel House of FantasyVictory.com.

Olsen has caught 15 passes for 215 yards and two scores so far this season, and he has the route-running skills and hands to cause a lot of damage against the Bucs.

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Fantasy Flops

Matthew Stafford, Quarterback, Detroit Lions

An 0-3 start is a big problem for the Detroit Lions, and it's unlikely to get much better this week when the Lions head on the road to take on the reigning NFC champion Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks came home winless prior to last week's game against the Chicago Bears, but the defense registered a shutout in Seattle's first win of the year. The Lions and Matthew Stafford have more firepower than the Bears, but we expect the Seahawks defense to play even better in this game.

The hard-hitting Seahawks defense will have Kam Chancellor for his second game of the season, and his teammates will make life hard for Stafford. He is already battered and bruised after taking big hits from the Minnesota Vikings and Broncos in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively, and that's not the best way to go into Seattle.

Stafford has thrown for 814 yards, but he has five interceptions to go with his five touchdowns. Stafford may get it together later in the year, but it won't happen in this game.

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

Eddie Lacy, Running Back, Green Bay Packers

The Packers are huge favorites as they leave the Midwest and head to San Francisco to face the 49ers. The Packers are 3-0 and have already played three emotional games against the Bears, Seahawks and Chiefs, and they may have a hard time coming up with a huge effort against a team that was blown out by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals in the last two weeks, respectively.

However, the Niners were a different team in the season opener at home against Minnesota, and they will likely put forth a better effort as they return to Levi's Stadium. It will be difficult to beat Rodgers and the Packers, but it may not be hard to shut down Eddie Lacy and the running game.

Lacy has an ordinary 140 yards after three games, and the 49ers are 16th in rushing defense, allowing 98.0 yards on the ground per game through three weeks. They held Adrian Peterson to 31 yards on 10 carries in the opener, and they can put up a similar effort against Lacy.

Don't play Lacy this week.

Andre Johnson, Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts

We're not going to sit here and tell you that it's all over for Andre Johnson, but it's getting close to the final act.

Johnson is no longer the star wideout who made big plays for the Houston Texans. The Indianapolis Colts were hoping they could resurrect his star by teaming him up with signal-caller Andrew Luck, but that plan is not working. Johnson has gotten older (34) and slower, and he is having a hard time separating from opposing defensive backs.

Luck has targeted Johnson 18 times, but Johnson has caught just seven passes for 51 yards and no touchdowns. He should have an opportunity against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Luck will go to T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Coby Fleener before throwing to Johnson.

Sit Johnson on your bench.