Fantasy Football: Start'em, Sit'em for Week 4

Every week, we list several players that we believe should start on most fantasy rosters. We do the same with folks that should take a seat on most fantasy rosters. Of course, my recommendations are made under general terms as I have no way of knowing the specifics of your roster.

For example, one of my teams (ten-team keeper league) has Chris Johnson, Steven Jackson, Ahmad Bradshaw, Darren McFadden, Marion Barber and Ricky Williams as my running backs.

In a week where they are all playing and are all healthy, Johnson and Jackson have been used as my two starters with either Bradshaw or McFadden as my flex. In other words, I've had to sit a guy that I've ranked as a top 20 running back and could have appeared on my Start'em side.

Yes, I know, it's a good problem to have.

But if you want some custom advice based on your roster, free to send your start/sit questions via Twitter @EDSFootball, check out our Week 4 fantasy rankings at TheTipDrill.com or post your question in our Fantasy Football Forum.

Players to Start for Week 4:

QB - Kyle Orton, Broncos (at Titans): The Titans have the fifth-ranked pass defense (178.3 yards per game) and have allowed only one passing touchdown so this might not be the ideal matchup for Orton. But over the past four games including Week 17 (2009), Orton has thrown for 1,509 yards. In addition, Knowshon Moreno is not expected to play this week and the Broncos currently have four receivers with 10+ receptions and 140+ yards through Week 3.

QB - Bruce Gradkowski, Raiders (vs Texans): No team has allowed more passing yards or fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks than Houston. In a game and a half, Gradkowski has thrown for 417 yards and two touchdowns.

RB - LaDainian Tomlinson, Jets (at Bills): So far this season, it's been clear that Tomlinson is running better than Shonn Greene. L.T. has 37 carries for 208 yards and a touchdown with nine receptions for 60 yards. He is averaging nearly 90 yards (from scrimmage) per game and 5.6 yards per carry. Greene is averaging under 45 yards (from scrimmage) per game. This week could (or should) be a big week for both backs as the Bills have one of the league's worst run defenses.

RB - Justin Forsett, Seahawks (at Rams): Last week, the trio of Justin Forsett, Leon Washington and Julius Jones had 18 carries. The good news for Forsett owners was he got 17 of them. Although coach Pete Carroll said that last week's allocation of carries was no future guarantee of carries, it looks as though Forsett is finally getting the opportunity he deserves. With a matchup against the Rams, who rank 25th against the rush (133.7 yards per game allowed), Forsett should have his biggest week yet.

WR - Austin Collie, Colts (at Jaguars): Collie is either leading or tied for the lead in receptions (27), receiving yards (1,915) and receiving touchdowns (four) through three weeks. His 16-game pace is ridiculous: 144-1915-21. While there is absolutely no way he maintains that pace, he will have a much better season than most had expected a month ago. And this week Collie faces the Jaguars, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to receivers this year.

WR - Louis Murphy, Raiders (vs Texans): Catching two-thirds of his passes from Gradkowski, Murphy has flourished with the Gradkowski-for-Campbell switch at quarterback. Over the past two weeks, Murphy has 11 receptions for 210 yards and one touchdown. The Texans are tied with the Redskins for most fantasy points allowed to wide receivers this season.

WR - Mark Clayton, Rams (vs Seahawks): Last year, Clayton had only 34 receptions as the No. 2 receiver in the Ravens' offense. Through three games, he has half that in the Rams' offense and only 12 wide receivers have had more targets than Clayton. Only six teams have allowed more fantasy points to opposing wide receivers than the Seahawks.

TE - Aaron Hernandez, Patriots (at Dolphins): Through three weeks, Hernandez still leads the Patriots in receiving yards (211). In fact, he's ranked 20th in the NFL in receiving and only Jermichael Finley (Green Bay), Antonio Gates (San Diego) and Dustin Keller (NY Jets) have more from the tight end position. In fact, Hernandez, who was on my free-agent pickups list, is still available in 52-percent of Yahoo! leagues as of Thursday night.

Note: Our free fantasy football contest for Week 4 (based on the Patriots at Dolphins game) is open.

Players to Sit for Week 4:

QB - Carson Palmer, Bengals (at Browns): Palmer ranks fourth in the NFL in pass attempts (122), but he ranks 26th in completion percentage (56.6 percent) just behind benched QB Jason Campbell (57.7%) and recently-released QB Trent Edwards (55.8%). During garbage time in Week 1, Palmer played well. But in the past two weeks, Palmer has completed only 35 of 72 passes (less than 50%), threw for under 200 yards in both games and has only one touchdown with two interceptions.

RB - Ray Rice, Ravens (at Steelers): Rice, who missed the final ten minutes of last week's game, should play on Sunday even if he's not 100 percent. Meanwhile this week's opponent has limited all running backs this year to 42 rushing yards or less. Considering the list includes Atlanta's Michael Turner and Tennessee's Chris Johnson, it'd be foolish to expect a big week from Rice even if he's the only player to rush for 100-plus yards (Week 16 last year) against the Steelers since 2008.

RB - Jahvid Best, Lions (at Packers): Best did not practice on Thursday and will likely be a game-time decision on Sunday. Earlier in the week, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that Best will play unless the pain is "unbearable." If the Packers establish an early (big) lead, the Lions may decide to not overuse (and risk injury to) Best if he's healthy enough to play.

RB - Marshawn Lynch, Bills (vs Jets): There's no reason to believe that Lynch won't lead the Bills in carries again this week. After getting three carries in Week 1, Lynch has 30 carries for 143 yards in the past two games -- solid if not spectacular. But the Jets have allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards (61.7 per game) in 2010. With the potential for C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson to take carries away, I'd sit Lynch on my bench this week.

RB - Brandon Jackson, Packers (vs Lions): This is a matchup that Jackson should feast on. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing running backs than the Detroit Lions. That said, Jackson has 18 carries and only 41 rushing yards in the last two games as the team's starting running back. John Kuhn has played better (15 carries for 67 yards).

WR - Brandon Lloyd, Broncos (at Titans): The eight-year veteran receiver is playing out of his mind. In the 84 games he's played, Lloyd is averaging 32.3 receiving yards per game. Although Lloyd ranks second in the NFL in receiving yards this year, I expect a regression to the mean for Lloyd, especially against the toughest defense they have faced so far this year.

WR - Lance Moore, Saints (vs Panthers): Last week, Moore had a monster week (6-149-2). In the first two games of the season, however, Moore had a combined three receptions for 23 yards and no touchdowns. In other words, he had two, zero and 26 fantasy points over the past three weeks. While it's not impossible for Moore to have a huge week (again), it's just as (if not more) likely that he has a dud performance.

WR - Terrell Owens, Bengals (at Browns): One thing is for sure: quarterback Carson Palmer is throwing to Batman and Robin. Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens rank fourth and fifth in the NFL in targets, respectively. That said, Owens has caught only 14 of his 33 targets. Palmer's horrible, Owens isn't getting any younger and the Bengals are a run-first team.

TE - Brent Celek, Eagles (vs Redskins): From a fantasy perspective, Celek's value has taken a big hit with the (injury and subsequent) benching of Kevin Kolb. Through three weeks, Celek ranks 21st in targets among tight ends. Eighty-seven NFL players have more receiving yards than Celek (101). To make matters worse, only seven teams have allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing tight ends this year. It doesn't seem like this will be his week to bounce back.

For more lineup help, our Week 4 rankings will be available here: Top 25 QBs | Top 40 RBs | Top 50 WRs | Top 20 TEs

Note: You can follow us (please?) on Twitter @EDSFootball or "like" us on Facebook.

Good luck in your Week 4 matchup (unless you're playing me).