The Biggest Start/Sit Decisions for Week 4 (Fantasy Football)
Week 3 has come and gone, leaving some fantasy rosters barren. Injuries piled up fast: James Conner, CeeDee Lamb, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Mike Evans, and Najee Harris all went down. To make matters worse, Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin were also just ruled out. But it’s not just the injuries. Some of our early draft picks have not paid off: Drake London, Ladd McConkey, Ashton Jeanty… the list of early-round duds keeps growing. What does that mean? We are all scrambling, duct-taping our lineups together, and praying to the fantasy gods for a W. Nothing stings worse than losing because you benched the wrong QB (cough Justin Fields cough) or flexed the wrong WR.
That’s why each week I’m breaking down the FootClan’s most-searched lineup questions from the Fantasy Footballers’ Start/Sit tool to help the FootClan find the edge to stack wins. Week 4 is here!
Bo Nix or Jordan Love?
It’s the battle of Starts of the Week!
In the first corner, we have Mike’s guy: Bo Nix. Nix hasn’t exactly been the fantasy stud that managers thought they were drafting. Picked around QB7–QB8 in most leagues, he’s sitting all the way down at QB26 in fantasy points per game through three weeks. If you haven’t cut him yet, you are absolutely terrified to start him. The efficiency? Brutal. Per PlayerProfiler, he’s 29th in yards per attempt, 31st in first down rate, and 26th in passing yards. PFF even has him graded dead last among QBs, despite playing behind the league’s best pass protection. If this is the sophomore slump, it’s hitting hard.
Uh Oh: Bo Nix has the best pass protection in the NFL, but is the lowest-graded QB on the season by a significant margin.
😳😳😳
(via @benbbaldwin) pic.twitter.com/qy8wCB8AF7
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 18, 2025
So what’s the move: ride it out or pull the plug? If there’s ever a week to give Nix one more shot, it’s Week 4 against the Bengals. This game carries the fourth-highest implied total on the slate, which screams potential. But here’s the catch: the Bengals’ defense, while still the butt of jokes, has been way softer against the run than the pass. They’re dead last in fantasy points allowed to RBs, while sitting in the middle of the pack against QBs and WRs. With Denver favored by 7.5, the script might not call for Nix to air it out. On paper, it looks like a bounce-back spot, but it could just as easily turn into a big game from JK Dobbins instead.
In the other corner, we’ve got Andy’s guy, Jordan Love. Like Nix, Love hasn’t exactly been doing fantasy gamers any favors, sitting at QB19 in fantasy ppg. The efficiency, however? World’s better than Nix. Per PlayerProfiler, he ranks 4th in yards per attempt, 8th in first down rate, and 14th in passing yards. The caveat? The Packers haven’t needed Love to win games. Their defense and run game have carried them, well, until last week. The almighty Packers fell to the Cleveland Browns. Why? Because they played scared. This week, I expect a different approach. Look for Green Bay to lean on the air attack we know Love is capable of. Before Week 3, he had the highest ADOT in the league. Against the Browns? Dead last.
According to https://t.co/zTZTZmQvBa, Jordan Love had an Average Depth of Target (ADOT) of 1.9 vs. CLE.
That's the lowest single game ADOT of the year so far.
He went into the game with the highest ADOT in the league. (13.49) pic.twitter.com/AUqEzpcv2O
— Lindsay Rhodes (@lindsay_rhodes) September 21, 2025
Vegas set the game line at 47.5, which means they expect plenty of scoring. And now the Packers get a home game against the Dallas Cowboys. Chef’s kiss. As Andy pointed out, the Cowboys are dead last in yards per attempt allowed, in CPOE allowed, and in explosive pass play rate. The Cowboys allowed Russell Wilson to have a career game two weeks prior, and now he’s benched. I think the Packers put on a show this week against Dallas.
Verdict: Jordan Love with the knockout
Chase Brown or Quinshon Judkins?
Without Joe Burrow, this Bengals’ offense has been a complete disaster, and fantasy managers are feeling every bit of it. Chase Brown is currently averaging less than 10 fantasy points per game and hasn’t even cracked 100 rushing yards TOTAL through three weeks. Their O-line couldn’t block a pop-up ad, sitting dead last in yards after contact per attempt. As soon as Brown gets the ball, he is getting absolutely hammered. On the rare occasion they string something together, Jake Browning usually nukes it with a turnover. The Bengals travel to Denver this week. At least it’s not as brutal as last week’s slog against Minnesota. Denver ranks 23rd in fantasy points allowed to RBs and just let the Colts’ backfield drop 31.5 on them in Week 2. My concern? Cincinnati’s offense line not being able to get the job done for Brown.
Quinshon Judkins surprised pretty much everyone last week after finishing RB11 against a tough Packers defense in his 2nd NFL career start. He had 18 carries for 94 yards and a TD. Now the Browns head to Detroit, where the Lions have shown they can light up the scoreboard. The good news? Cleveland’s defense has been no joke. If they can keep things close, Judkins should be leaned on heavily again. If it turns into a blowout early, however, we might see more Joe Flacco than anyone wants. Not even the coaches.
Verdict: Quinshon Judkins looks the part, and after what he did against Green Bay, I’m not about to park that kind of upside on my bench.
Brian Thomas Jr. or Quentin Johnston?
Brian Thomas Jr. has been the definition of an early-round dud this season, and honestly, the Jaguars’ offense as a whole has been a letdown outside of Travis Etienne. Something just isn’t clicking between BTJ and Trevor Lawrence. He’s 15th in targets, yet somehow 66th in receptions, 53rd in yards, and leading the league in drops per PlayerProfiler. Travis Hunter continues to see his offensive snaps and opportunities diminish as he plays more on the defensive side of the ball, and yet BTJ still isn’t getting it done. Not great. The Jags head to San Fran this week to face an undefeated 49ers squad, but they will do it without Nick Bosa on the other side. Bosa was 4th in pressure rate and 2nd in QB hits before he went down with a season-ending knee injury, which is a huge break for Trevor Lawrence. Even so, Jacksonville’s going to have to get it together fast if they want any shot at knocking off this Niners team.
Meanwhile, waiver-wire gem Quentin Johnston is leading the Chargers in receiving yards. He’s quietly sitting as the WR8 in fantasy points per game (18.6 ppg) despite only seeing targets on 18% of his routes. What a time to be alive. Who could have predicted he would finally fix those drop issues from previous seasons? This Chargers offense is absolutely humming on top of it all. They rank 6th in total yards per game and lead the NFL in Pass Rate Over Expectation. Justin Herbert is cooking.
Pass rate over expectation (PROE) leaders and weekly PROE:
The Chargers simply refuse to run the ball pic.twitter.com/c859nPqvoF
— Sam Hoppen (@SamHoppen) September 16, 2025
This week, Johnson faces off against the NY Giants, who allow 37.4 fantasy points per game to WRs. Dak Prescott just put on a clinic against them in Week 2 after posting 361 passing yards and two TDs. Herbert should THRIVE. We love that for Quej.
Verdict: Bench Brian Thomas Jr. for Quentin Johnston. Yes. It’s week 4, and that is where we are.
Hunter Henry or T.J. Hockenson?
Just like we all totally predicted before the season, Hunter Henry is sitting as the TE3 in fantasy points per game. (Ok, kidding) But after last week’s overall TE1 performance, it’s hard not to get hyped for the vet. He’s leading the Patriots in target share (Stefon Diggs WHO?) and also leads all TEs in red zone looks and TDs. Now he gets the Panthers, who rank 24th against the position.
Hock Daddy has had a slower start to his season. He’s currently sitting at TE23 on the season in fantasy PPG. Last week was better than the first two weeks, though. That gives me promise. Sure, it was against one of the worst defenses in the league, the Cincinnati Bengals, but a TE5 finish after finishing TE31 and TE42 the weeks prior gives me hope. Could it be the Carson Wentz effect? This week, the Vikings head across the pond to Ireland to face the Steelers. On paper, Pittsburgh looks intimidating with the league’s most expensive defensive room, but reality says otherwise. They rank second-to-last in fantasy points allowed to TEs, and Hunter Henry just put up two TDs and over 90 yards on them. Mike’s got Hockenson as his Start of the Week. The only wrinkle is the weather. Rain could be in play, so keep an eye on that.
Verdict: I’m sticking with Hunter Henry. He’s been steady for three straight weeks, and while the Panthers are a tougher matchup than the Steelers, they don’t erase TEs. Hockenson’s production last week was propped up by a TD, not yardage, and that worries me. I’d rather bank on Henry at home than roll the dice on Hockenson traveling nearly 4,000 miles for an international game. We’ve all seen how messy those overseas matchups can get.
Week 3 reminded us how wild fantasy football can be—between injuries and early-round duds, nothing feels safe. But that’s the grind we signed up for. Chase the right matchups, keep an eye on the injury reports, and when in doubt, trust your gut. And hey, if you need backup, you know where to find me on X—or catch Mike live Sunday morning before kickoff. Let’s lock in, send one up to the fantasy gods, and make Week 4 another victory.
Comments
Great job fox!