Fantasy Football Week 4 Rankings: Projections and Matchups to Love

The fantasy football realm is off to a bang in Week 4 thanks to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green.

In a juicy matchup against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football, Green led his team to a 22-7 win while catching 10 passes for 173 yards and a score, good for a solid 23-point outing that is sure to have him among some of the highest scorers of the week.

Call it yet another lesson in how critical matchups are on a week-to-week basis. With potential shootouts on the schedule and good teams beating up on floundering ones, owners have no shortage of plus-matchup opportunities to utilize on the way to victory.

Week 4 Schedule

Sunday, October 2	Time (ET)
Monday, October 3
Indianapolis at Jacksonville	9:30 a.m.
Buffalo at New England	1 p.m.
Seattle at N.Y. Jets	1 p.m.
Detroit at Chicago	1 p.m.
Carolina at Atlanta	1 p.m.
Oakland at Baltimore	1 p.m.
Tennessee at Houston	1 p.m.
Cleveland at Washington	1 p.m.
Denver at Tampa Bay	4:05 p.m.
L.A. Rams at Arizona	4:25 p.m
New Orleans at San Diego	4:25 p.m
Dallas at San Francisco	4:25 p.m
Kansas City at Pittsburgh	8:30 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Minnesota	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Drew Brees	24
2	Cam Newton	23
3	Philip Rivers	20
4	Kirk Cousins	19
5	Matthew Stafford	18
6	Andrew Luck	18
7	Ben Roethlisberger	17
8	Alex Smith	17
9	Carson Palmer	17
10	Russell Wilson	16
11	Joe Flacco	14
12	Blake Bortles	13
13	Dak Prescott	12
14	Tyrod Taylor	12
15	Eli Manning	12

Welcome to the Drew Brees show, otherwise known as Week 4.

The New Orleans Saints quarterback is the second-highest scorer at the position so far this year, posting two outings of 25 or more points and throwing eight touchdowns.

Brees has had some simple matchups, but it doesn't matter much—especially if they keep flowing. They do in Week 4 when the Saints travel to take on the San Diego Chargers and a defense that has allowed the seventh-most points to quarterbacks on average and five passing scores over three outings.

Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions sits right behind Brees in scoring and in a better position this weekend.

Stafford gets to beat up on the Chicago Bears (Detroit gives up a lot of points to quarterbacks, too, but have fun starting Brian Hoyer or Jay Cutler), owners of a defense that has allowed 16 or more points twice while playing inexperienced players such as Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott.

Stafford has 25 or more points over two games already, meaning he's another 20-point lock this weekend.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Le'Veon Bell	16
2	Melvin Gordon	15
3	LeGarrette Blount	15
4	Lamar Miller	14
5	David Johnson	14
6	Ezekiel Elliott	14
7	Mark Ingram	13
8	C.J. Anderson	13
9	LeSean McCoy	13
10	Carlos Hyde	12
11	Todd Gurley	12
12	Jordan Howard	12
13	Frank Gore	11
14	Matt Forte	11
15	DeMarco Murray	11
16	Orleans Darkwa	11
17	Christine Michael	10
18	Jerick McKinnon	10
19	Dwayne Washington	9
20	Theo Riddick	9
21	Charles Sims	8
22	Spencer Ware	8
23	Devonta Freeman*	8
24	Isaiah Crowell	8
25	Cameron Artis-Payne	7
26	Chris Ivory	7
27	Terrance West	7
28	Latavius Murray	6
29	Matt Jones	6
30	Justin Forsett	6

On the other side of the Saints-Chargers encounter is the latter's Melvin Gordon, who seems to have slotted right into his role as one of the best backs in the league.

After a disappointing rookie showing, Gordon has 13 or more points in all three games this year alongside four rushing scores. His scores come by way of an all-important fantasy stat provided by Rotoworld's Nick Mensio:

The Saints allow the most points to running backs on average, so Gordon failing to have a big day would land as one of the biggest fantasy upsets of the year.

Whether owners realize it or not, New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount sits second in scoring at the position this year as he acts as a workhorse with Tom Brady missing in action.

Blount has a minimum of 22 carries in every game so far and has managed 18 or more points twice. He's now looking at an AFC East dance with the Buffalo Bills, owners of a unit that has crumbled in recent weeks, allowing a minimum of 22 points alongside five total rushing scores over two games.

This is the last week of Blount's supreme production before Brady returns.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Antonio Brown	20
2	Marvin Jones*	18
3	Allen Robinson	17
4	Julio Jones*	16
5	Odell Beckham Jr.	15
6	Alshon Jeffery*	15
7	DeAndre Hopkins	15
8	DeSean Jackson*	14
9	Demaryius Thomas	12
10	Tyrell Williams	12
11	Brandin Cooks	10
12	Emmanuel Sanders	10
13	Larry Fitzgerald	10
14	Willie Snead*	10
15	Terrelle Pryor	9
16	T.Y. Hilton	9
17	Stefon Diggs	9
18	Travis Benjamin	9
19	Kelvin Benjamin	8
20	Jeremy Maclin	8
21	Brandon Marshall	8
22	Mike Evans	8
23	Doug Baldwin	8
24	Amari Cooper	8
25	Allen Hurns	7
26	Sammy Watkins*	7
27	Steve Smith Sr.	7
28	Michael Floyd*	7
29	Sterling Shepard	7
30	Julian Edelman	7
31	Eric Decker*	7
32	Michael Crabtree	6
33	Jamison Crowder	6
34	Golden Tate	6
35	Will Fuller	6

Almost without fail, a wideout going against the Cleveland Browns is the best play at wide receiver each week.

This week the slot belongs to DeSean Jackson of the Washington Redskins, who scared owners this week with a limited tag in practice but shouldn't have any problems suiting up for a great encounter.

Great news, as the Browns allow the most points to wideouts on average, having coughed up 25 or more points to each set of wideouts encountered and a pair of receiving scores in every game.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers land two slots behind the Browns in terms of points allowed to wideouts so far this year. 

This is great news for Denver Broncos' lead man Demaryius Thomas. He has been something of a letdown so far this year with only one game above 11 points.

A matchup against the Buccaneers and a defense that has permitted seven receiving touchdowns in three games should have him developing a better connection with new quarterback Trevor Siemian in a hurry.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Jordan Reed	11
2	Greg Olsen	10
3	Rob Gronkowski*	10
4	Kyle Rudolph	9
5	Zach Miller	9
6	Delanie Walker*	8
7	Travis Kelce	8
8	Dwayne Allen	8
9	Dennis Pitta	7
10	Julius Thomas*	7
11	Jimmy Graham*	6
12	Coby Fleener	6

There will be plenty to go around for Washington weapons against the Browns this weekend, including tight end Jordan Reed.

Reed is another guy who hasn't lived up to his reputation yet. He hasn't found a way to score or total more than seven points in a game, though these sort of negatives tend to go out the window against the Browns.

Cleveland has allowed seven or more catches to tight ends in two games so far, showing a vulnerability Philadelphia and Baltimore tight ends couldn't exploit for a score.  Being one of the most talented players in the league, Reed absolutely can.

While it's advisable to ignore Chicago quarterbacks, it is best to shine a spotlight on tight end Zach Miller.

Miller's two touchdowns and 19 points last week weren't a fluke—backup quarterback Brian Hoyer discovered what a weapon he can be and the coaching staff had to take notice. 

Now Miller gets to go against the Lions, the team allowing the most points to opposing tight ends on average after surrendering five touchdowns to the position over three games. At the least, Hoyer or Jay Cutler will pepper Miller with a ton of targets, which he can clearly turn into meaningful production.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Broncos	10
2	Seahawks	9
3	Texans	9
4	Panthers	9
5	Cardinals	8
6	Bills	7
7	Jets	7
8	Patriots	6
9	Rams	6
10	Colts	6

It seems obvious to peg the Seattle Seahawks as a defense to start.

Here it goes anyway—Seattle has the best matchup of the week thanks to a cross-conference duel with the New York Jets, the team managing to allow the most points to opposing D/ST units on the season.

This honor comes in large part because Ryan Fitzpatrick decided to throw six interceptions a week ago. While it's doubtful he does so again, folks know the drill with Richard Sherman and Seattle's secondary.

In what should be a low-scoring affair, Seattle should see plenty of chances to take the football away and post great fantasy production.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	8
2	Adam Vinatieri	8
3	Blair Walsh	8
4	Josh Lambo	8
5	Justin Tucker	8
6	Dan Bailey	7
7	Dustin Hopkins	7
8	Chandler Catanzaro	7
9	Matt Prater	7
10	Nick Novak	6

One of the biggest winners of the Minnesota Vikings shocking the world this year despite losing a starting quarterback is kicker Blair Walsh.

Owners can continue to benefit right alongside him. After going for 14 points and a pair of six-point outings, Walsh shouldn't have any problems getting back into the realm of double digits this weekend against the New York Giants.

No team allows more points to kickers than the Giants, a bend-but-don't-break defense that has allowed only four extra points made on the season but 11 field goals.

Walsh has already attempted nine on the season and only missed a pair, so he's an obvious high scorer this weekend.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.