Keoni's Fantasy Football Starts and Sits for Week 4
Hello everybody! Welcome to another article discussing my starts and sits of the week. It’s the last week of September of 2022, and oh boy, has the month gone so fast. So much has happened in football over the course of this month. We know a lot more about the players in the NFL, but with each new week comes twists and turns and decisions to be made about our fantasy teams. That's why I'm here to help you with the tough decisions and to help you pick those top players to start as well as those that should be left on your bench.
In fantasy, no one can hear you scream about your losses… except maybe the neighbors and you know whoever is in the room with you and probably your pets, but other than that, no one can hear you scream.
Starts of the Week
QB
Tom Brady- TB Buccaneers vs KC Chiefs
He might seem like a must-start every week, but so far this season, the Buccaneers have not been that great of an offense, having scored 20 or less points total as a team each game. Tom Brady is the QB 27 right now, having scored less than 20 fantasy points each game depending on your scoring. He only has three touchdowns on the year and an interception, but and it's a big but (about as big a but as Miami's butt punt)… the Buccaneers are getting weapons back this week. Mike Evans is going to play and both Chris Godwin and Julio Jones were at practice and it seems like they will play this weekend. That is a huge deal for a team who has not had all of their weapons so far this season
He's going against the Kansas City defense which is ranked 24th against the position, having allowed nearly four and a half more points than the league average to quarterbacks in fantasy. They've also allowed at least two touchdowns in each of their games to the quarterback. This has the potential to be a shootout, despite the Tampa Bay defense being very good. Both quarterbacks can find ways to move the ball down the field, and this will be the first time this season Tom Brady shows why he’s considered the goat.
RB
Dameon Pierce- HOU Texans vs LAC Chargers
He clearly has been making strides to being the guy for that team, getting more and more touches each week starting with 12, then getting 16 and last week almost doubling his week 1 load with 22 total touches. While there wasn't much competition to begin with, it took him a few games to show what he is capable of and acclimate to the NFL. He had over 100 scrimmage yards last week and got in the endzone for a nice RB 10 finish in half-PPR leagues.
He goes against the Chargers who just gave up nearly 150 yards to the position and have allowed more and more fantasy points to running backs which has increased each week. Pierce is getting better while the Chargers run defense is getting worse, especially with Joey Bosa out for a while, which does not help them in trying to combat the run.
WR
Tyler Lockett- SEA Seahawks vs DET Lions
In each of the last 2 games, he has had 11 targets and 9 catches. He has averaged just over 91 yards in those 2 games as well. He is a big option for Geno Smith, who as I said earlier this week, is above the league avg. in passing completion percentage. Geno Smith is a viable QB to facilitate good numbers from his receivers, and Lockett has quickly become the top receiver in Seattle. He is the number 1 receiver in targets(26) receptions(21) and yards 211 there. The only thing he doesn't have is a touchdown, but going up against Detroit who have given up 4 to the position so far makes that a definite possibility. You like to see it as well because he felt like he went away for a minute. It's good to see him back.
TE
Tyler Conklin- NYJ Jets vs PIT Steelers
I'm going out on a limb on this one, but tight end is kind of a shallow position. He is currently the tight end 4 on the season because he has been pretty consistent. He has a total of 24 targets and he's caught 18 of them. Last week, he went 8 for 8 for 84 yards which is by far his best game of the season. While Zach Wilson coming back might change things up and shift things around in that offense, there's always a possibility the young QB will be under pressure and dump off passes to his tight end. I'm not expecting huge numbers from him, but this is a week he can act as a streaming option.
Both teams are not very good, so it could really be anybody's game. With those types of games, you never know who's going to hit off, and there's always a chance that the tight end is one of those guys. It's a shot in the dark, but I have faith that he can put up decent numbers for what you need from the tight end position.
Sits of the Week
QB
Jameis Winston- NO Saints vs MIN Vikings
Jameis Winston, through 3 games of the season, already has more interceptions than he does touchdowns; he has 4 total touchdowns to 5 interceptions and while that might be good for my 40 for 40 prediction, it's not good for fantasy. He doesn't face a super super tough defense in Minnesota, but they held Aaron Rodgers to under 10 fantasy points, and they held Jared Goff to under 15. While Jared Goff is no top quarterback, it's still indicative that they can stop the QB from scoring, especially when there's only been two passing touchdowns against the Vikings this year.
Jameis is hurt and some of his weapons might not be playing including Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara who are both banged up. This limits options both for his mobility and with who he can pass to. As a side note, Chris Olave probably benefits the most in this game, but because of his bad back and lack of weapons potentially, put Jameis on your bench this weekend. Don't bother waking up early just to watch him play.
RB
Clyde Edwards-Helaire- KC Chiefs vs TB Buccaneers
He has looked fairly decent this year being the running back 4 so far. He does have 3 touchdowns and gets targeted in the past game, but he has seen less than a 45% snap count in each game this season, leading to no game over 12 total touches. Within that, he's never ran the ball more than 8 times in a game this season. He's also coming off a game with 0 rushing yards on 7 attempts. That does not look good for a running back who's supposed to be in the top 5 of the position.
Even worse, they are going against the Tampa Bay defense which is number one in the league against the run. They have allowed no touchdowns to the position which is something he'll probably need to get to have a good game this week. The Bucs also haven't allowed more than 84 yards on the ground to the position. Furthermore, running backs against Tampa Bay defense are scoring over 9 fewer fantasy points than the league average. It's a bad matchup and I don't think he's going to have the same luck he's had previously this season. Sit him! Sit him! Sit him!
WR
DJ Moore- CAR Panthers vs ARI Cardinals
I really like DJ Moore, and I wanted him to have a good start to the season. He got a new quarterback in Baker Mayfield, so there were possibilities, but it just hasn't been there so far. He's had 1 week that was okay, but that was because of a touchdown. Otherwise, he's had under 10 fantasy points in each of his games, and he’s had no more than 43 yards or three catches. That is really bad for a guy who you were expecting to be at minimum a wide receiver 2.
They're going against the Cardinals which isn’t a super great defense, but the Cardinals have also faced offenses that have number one guys in the league. The Panthers just don't have anybody like that currently. This is one of those where it's not a bad matchup, but I just don't like the connection between Mayfield and Moore, so unless we see strings of games where he is putting up big numbers, I'm sitting him.
TE
Gerald Everett- LAC Chargers vs HOU Texans
This guy is boom or bust, and he's coming off a week where he caught 2 of his 6 targets for 25 yards in a really bad performance. This offense and just team in general is really really beat up. Justin Herbert has the rib injury while the linemen are injured with 2 of them being out most likely. Keenan Allen will also probably be back which will take away potential targets from the other pass catchers.
While Houston is not a great team, their defense against the tight end ranks in the top 10 having only allowed 1touchdown and less than 50 yards per game. They have allowed nearly 3 points less in fantasy to tight ends compared to the league average. This is not a good matchup for Everett and other factors with this offense lead me to declaring him as a sit of the week.
That will do it for the start/sits of week 4. I hope you can take this information and use it for your benefit. That is the goal, and while no one can hear you scream with your fantasy loss, hopefully you can hear me through this article and prevent that loss from even happening. Stay Dreamin’!
