Flex Options for Week 4 (Fantasy Football)
Week 4 is upon us, and with it comes another weekly installment of flex options. Sometimes in fantasy football, the simple play is the right play. That’s the strategy we’re taking with our RB plays this week. These guys haven’t been blowing anybody away with their fantasy performances this year, but they are dominating backfield shares, which gives them solid floors even in sub-par offenses. I’d start them all over TreVeyon Henderson, RJ Harvey, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who might play in better offenses but are just not receiving enough work at this point to be startable. We’re taking the opposite approach with the WR plays this week, instead going for volatile players who I think could be sitting on a boom performance. Start them if you can afford to risk a goose in your flex spot for a chance at a big week.
Here are the players:
Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns
Hopefully, you played him last week, but if you let a tough matchup scare you off of him, now is your chance to make amends. It’s another bad matchup on paper against a high-powered Lions team that seems certain to put Cleveland into a negative gamescript. But we thought that was the case last week against Green Bay, and we learned two things:
- Cleveland’s defense is legit and can keep them in games even against tough opponents.
- Quinshon Judkins is good at football and is shaping into a matchup-proof RB2 rest-of-season.
Judkins had 18 totes for 94 yards and a TD last week, bringing his season total to 155 rushing yards on just 28 carries. If he can just get a little bit more involved in the receiving game (and avoid suspension), he’s got league-winner upside. Start him this week and hope he continues his breakout.
Tony Pollard, RB, Tennessee Titans
Speaking of matchup-proof, Tony Pollard is seeing a 90% (!) snap-share this season while backfield-mate Tyjae Spears remains on IR with a high-ankle sprain. Pollard hasn’t done anything incredible from a fantasy perspective with the high workload, but you will be hard-pressed to find a player with a safer floor in this range. He’s averaging 9.8 FPTS on 20 opportunities per game this year, and has finished no worse than RB31 through three games. This week, he’s got a matchup with a Houston defense that’s been decently generous to the RB position – Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten both found paydirt against them last week. Start Pollard again while Spears remains on IR for at least another week, and know he won’t lose you your matchup.
D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears
Similar to Pollard, D’Andre Swift is another volume play. He may not be seeing 90% snap shares, but he’s getting 18 opportunities per game in an offense capable of moving the football, which is more than Pollard can say. Swift is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry this year, but he’s still managed to finish inside the top-30 RBs each week. The matchup is very nice, as Swift draws a soft Raiders defense and a 48.0 point O/U. He’s caught three passes every week so far, which gives him a nice floor, and I like his chances of finding the endzone this week, which would be more than enough to return Top-24 value in your flex position.
Matthew Golden, WR, Green Bay Packers
You might need to lace up the old steel underpants for this one, because Golden is yet to score double-digit fantasy points in his young career, but the rookie first-rounder’s fantasy value is trending upwards heading into a Week 4 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. His snap shares have increased each week so far (50%, 60%, 70%), so if that trend continues, this is the week he becomes a full-time player. It couldn’t come at a better time, as Dallas is quite literally the best matchup in the league for opposing WRs. The Packers are sporting a 27-point implied team total in this one, so Golden should see plenty of opportunities to score his first NFL TD. Start him in your flex if you’re feeling a little frisky this week, or if your other options are names like Tee Higgins, Calvin Ridley, or Keon Coleman.
Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Mooney is another boom/bust flex option, but we’ve seen it work before in this Falcons’ offense. He posted nine top-36 finishes at the position last year, including one with Michael Penix Jr. at QB in Week 16. The matchup with the Washington Commanders is not a scary one from a WR perspective – they allowed Las Vegas Raiders’ WR2 Tre Tucker to score three TDs last week. I expect Atlanta to be throwing the ball plenty as they try to keep up with a high-powered Washington offense, and Mooney is going to be running a ton of routes like he always does. If Penix can connect with him, which is a big ‘if’ at this point, Mooney could easily return flex value for your team. He’s startable this week in deep leagues over names like Travis Hunter and Stefon Diggs.