Week 4 Fantasy Football Rankings: Deion Branch and WRs Ready to Bounce Back

A number of top receivers looked very human this week and came back to earth after posting numbers up in the stratosphere during the first few games of the season. I think these guys are going to be motivated all week, not forgetting about how they were shut down and limited to a very few numbers of catches, if any at all.

Look for a big rebound from each and every one of these guys next week.

Deion Branch

Branch was held without a catch after piling up 15 receptions for 222 yards in his first two games.

Branch is one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets along with Wes Welker, but he could not find him in the loss to the Bills on Sunday.

With New England having one of the best passing offenses in the league, look for Branch to haul in quite a few receptions next week as the team looks to bounce back from that defeat.

Steve Smith

Cam Newton hooking up with Steve Smith for a long bomb was a huge part of the Carolina offense the first two weeks of the season.

Jacksonville and the insane monsoon in Carolina found a way to slow Smith down in Week 3. He was held to just two catches for 15 yards and looked pedestrian out there.

Weather permitting, Smith and Newton will be looking to make magic happen for long gains next week once again.

Hakeem Nicks

Nicks started the year with a bang against Washington, grabbing seven catches for 122 yards and then added four more for 38 yards and a score in Week 2.

He was limited to three receptions for 25 yards while Victor Cruz was hauling in bombs from Eli Manning for scores.

I think teams will have to key-in more on Cruz this week, allowing Nicks to get free and see some single coverage. If they don’t, the Giants will burn them like they did the Eagles.

Santonio Holmes

Holmes was noticeably absent from the Jets’ passing game against the Raiders. He managed only one catch for 19 yards against a weak Raiders’ secondary that lost Nnamdi Asomugha. He didn’t have a great statistical game against Jacksonville in Week 2, but it was such a blowout early and he still managed to score a TD.

Look for a rebound game next week from Holmes, as the Jets need him to play big in order to win games. 

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