The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 4

Welcome to Week 4, Footclan! The Fantasy Footballers brought their Starts of the Week to Thursday’s show. During this segment, they discussed their players and their rationale for selecting those players. A brief breakdown of the guys’ picks is featured below, while the entire episode is here.

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Andy’s Starts of the Week

QB – Aaron Rodgers vs. PIT
Andy put it best when he stated, “Pittsburgh is toast.” Derek Carr looked lights out against the Steelers in Week 2, completing 28 of 37 passes for 382 yards and two touchdowns. This season, every touchdown scored on the Steelers has been through the air. Rodgers appears to be back to his old self, finding his groove, and targeting Devante Adams a considerable amount. Pittsburgh is allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to the wide receiver position, meaning Rodgers will often find Adams.

RB – Joe Mixon vs. JAX (Thursday Night)
Andy made a bold statement on Thursday’s show. He stated Mixon would be RB1 of the week as the offense gets the run game going. Mixon, thus far this season, has underperformed the opportunities given to him. Mixon is currently seeing 91.8% of the Bengals’ rush share. In this matchup, Mixon should get back on track, with the Jaguars ranking 29th against opposing fantasy running backs.

WR – Odell Beckham, Jr. @ MIN
There should be a shootout in Minnesota with this contest. This year, the Vikings rank 29th against opposing wide receivers. They are also allowing a 75% completion rate which is unheard of. The Vikings thought Patrick Peterson’s addition to the team would make all the difference, but that has not been the case so far. Beckham should see a lot of balls in his direction.

TE – Noah Fant vs. BAL
Baltimore has been dead last against tight ends over the previous three weeks. Fant needs to step up even more in this game with the devastating injury to KJ Hamler following the Jerry Jeudy injury. Last week, Denver shut out the Jets, not relying on the passing game (Teddy Bridgewater completed 19 of 25 passes for 235 yards and zero touchdowns). Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams each scored a touchdown on the ground. Relying solely on the run game won’t fly when the Broncos take on the Ravens. Bridgewater is going to have to throw the ball, and Fant will be a significant target.

Jason’s Starts of the Week

QB – Tom Brady @ NE
Brady needs just 68 yards passing to break Drew Brees‘ record for career passing yards. The Buccaneers are facing a strong New England defense that has only allowed 479 total passing yards on the season. Brady knows the system. And Jason believes that when it’s Goat vs. Owl, the Goat wins (Mike and Andy were just as confused as you are). This game is a highly anticipated matchup, and Brady shouldn’t disappoint when in your starting lineup.

RB – David Montgomery vs. DET
Montgomery isn’t going anywhere, no matter what quarterback is under center. This week, Montgomery battles a Lions team giving up the fifth-most fantasy points to running backs (this includes the game last week where Baltimore decided not to run the ball, with Lamar Jackson as the lead rusher with 58 yards). Look for Montgomery to have a massive game in Week 4. Get first downs and establish the run, something the Bears need to do to have a chance of succeeding. That starts with Montgomery.

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WR – Terry McLaurin @ ATL
Jason selected McLaurin as his wide receiver start, a player he points out has been mostly disappointing this year. He had a great Week 2, but Week 1 and Week 3 did not impress. Atlanta’s defense looks to be better, but Jason says they aren’t. Atlanta has a banged-up secondary, and they are not getting pressure on the QB. Taylor Heinicke has been willing to air it out, and hyper-targeting Scary Terry is in the cards. Look for McLaurin to have a monstrous top-5 WR game.

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TE – Evan Engram @ NO
Engram is probably available to pick up off waivers. He will be too necessary in this contest, with wideouts Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton leaning in the direction of not playing on Sunday. Last week, Engram registered 55% of the snaps (insert Fifty-Five drop). This contest against New Orleans is not the best matchup, but Engram led his team in targets just last season. Daniel Jones needs to target his TE in Week 4.

Mike’s Starts of the Week

QB – Jalen Hurts vs. KC
Hurts is Mike’s Start of the Week at the QB position, even though Hurts objectively looked bad in Week 3. Remember, this is fantasy and not real life, so of course, Hurts finished the week as QB10. This week, Hurts looks to redeem himself against a Chiefs team allowing 26 fantasy points a game.

RB – Jonathan Taylor @ MIA
Miami allows 136 rushing yards a game, having been scorched by the Bills running backs and Peyton Barber – RBs that weren’t expected to be scoring threats. Mike foresees this week as the week Taylor scores since he has been shut out in that department this season.

WR – Devonta Smith vs. KC
Last week, Smith had a grueling game versus Trevon Diggs, looking a little overmatched. Still, Smith happened to see 23% of the team’s targets. The air yards are there; they just haven’t landed yet. Smith should see a bounce back with this contest. There is a 54 point over/under this week, worth keeping in mind.

TE – Dawson Knox vs. HOU
Mike’s tight-end selection is a streamer for Week 4. He goes with Knox, the Buffalo TE who has run the ninth most routes at the tight end position this season. As of late, Knox has seen an increase in snaps. He also scored in back-to-back games. Houston has given up top 10 points to the TE position in each week of this season. Week 4 should be no different.