Thursday Night Fantasy Football Starting Options | Are Dak Prescott and Daniel Jones Possible Starters? What About Devin Singletary, Rico Dowdle and More?
Breaking down the best fantasy football starting options from the week 4 Thursday night game between the Cowboys and Giants.
Week 4 of the NFL season kicks off with an NFC East clash between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.
Let’s go over the top fantasy football starting options for the contest, as we do before every primetime game here at FantasySP.
Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.
Quarterback Fantasy Outlooks
Dallas’ Dak Prescott and New York’s Daniel Jones will lead their teams into battle on Thursday night.
Prescott has completed just 60.7% of his passes in 2024, going for 851 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s added 22 yards and a score on the ground.
Jones has completed 59.6% of his passes for 600 yards, four touchdowns and two picks. He’s rushed for 67 yards, but no touchdowns.
This is a favorable matchup on paper for Jones, while being a bit tougher test for Prescott. Dallas has allowed opposing QBs to score 20 fantasy points per game, while New York has allowed 15.
The week 4 projections still favor Prescott, who is set at 17 fantasy points. Jones is at a respectable 15.
Both quarterbacks will be part of start/sit articles before the Thursday game kicks off, so check back to FantasySP for that story. Both teams are dealing with injuries to several players, so things might be a bit easier on both QBs.
I still trust Prescott more than Jones, but would prefer Jones over a number of other possible streamers this week. Again, be sure to check back for that QB start story.
Running Back Fantasy Outlooks
New York’s Devin Singletary is the best fantasy running back in this game. He’s dominated the backfield touches through three weeks, with 42 rushes for 197 yards and two touchdowns and an additional 58 receiving yards on nine receptions and 10 targets.
Tyrone Tracy got seven touches in week 3, and could be utilized a little more on a short week. He’s still not a good fantasy starting option outside deep, deep leagues.
For Dallas, Rico Dowdle leads the way after getting 11 touches a week ago. Ezekiel Elliott got just four touches. Dowdle has 147 total yards on 31 touches this season, while Elliott is at 93 total yards and the team’s lone RB touchdown on 24 touches.
The matchup for the Giants’ RBs is the most favorable going into week 4, as the Cowboys’ defense has allowed opposing RBs to average 37 fantasy points through three weeks. New York’s defense allows opposing RBs to score 21 points per game.
Singletary is projected for 15 PPR fantasy points in week 4. Dowdle is at 10 points, Elliott eight and Tracy doesn’t crack the top 63 (which go to two points).
Singletary should be a must start in all league types this week after a good start to the season and a favorable matchup. Dowdle and Elliott splitting the work means those two should only be trusted with starts in deeper leagues, and I would not want to start either if I could help it.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks
There’s some good fantasy receivers in this game, starting with Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb and New York’s Malik Nabers.
Lamb has 13 receptions on 24 targets for 218 yards and a touchdown so far this season. He’s had seven targets in back-to-back games, which is very unusual for him. Nabers is at 271 yards and three scores on 23 receptions and 37 targets. He’s gotten 30 targets over the past two weeks.
Nabers will be helped out by Wan'Dale Robinson (123 yards and one touchdown on 15 catches and 24 targets). Darius Slayton is battling an injury, but also only has 66 yards on seven catches and 10 targets this season. Those are the only two wideouts, aside from Nabers, with over 50 receiving yards.
Jalen Tolbert (136 yards and one score on 10 catches and 16 targets) and Brandin Cooks (75 yards and a touchdown on eight grabs and 15 targets) will help Lamb out. KaVontae Turpin has 55 yards and a score on five catches and eight targets, while Jalen Brooks has 52 yards on three catches and seven targets.
The Cowboys’ wideouts have the more favorable fantasy matchup, as the Giants’ defense has allowed opposing wideouts to score 33 points per game so far. Dallas’ defense has allowed an average of 26 fantasy points.
Lamb and Nabers are each projected for 16 PPR points this week. Cooks and Robinson are at 10 points each, while no other wideouts crack the top 78.
Let’s start by saying Lamb and Nabers are must starts. I trust Nabers a bit more right now, but given the matchup, think Lamb has the bigger fantasy game.
Cooks and Robinson are possible starting options in standard leagues, and will likely be part of start decisions, so check back for a possible story on them. Those two should be starting in deeper leagues. Tolbert is another solid deep league starting option in my eyes.
Turpin, Brooks and Slayton are deep, deep league options, but players I’d prefer to stay away from in week 4.
Tight End Fantasy Outlooks
Jake Ferguson leads the Dallas tight ends, while Theo Johnson has played the most TE snaps for New York.
Ferguson missed week 2, but still has 110 yards on nine catches and 16 targets for the season. He had 11 targets in week 3.
Dallas backup TE Luke Schoonmaker got just two targets with Ferguson back in the picture last week, so his fantasy value has fizzled up.
Johnson has played 163 offensive snaps, only behind Nabers, but has just 31 yards on two catches and seven targets. Chris Manhertz and Daniel Bellinger have played 73 and 46 snaps, respectively, but Bellinger is the only one with any catches - two for 20 yards.
It’ll be an average matchup for the Dallas tight ends, while being a bit tougher test for the New York TEs.
Ferguson is the only TE from this game in the week 4 top 25 projections, at 11 PPR points.
Ferguson needs to be starting every week he’s playing, especially at a weak fantasy TE position. He could be fantasy TE1 by the end of the week.
Johnson, and every other tight end in this game, should be avoided in all formats. Nobody has consistently performed yet, and I’m not wasting a start on these guys, regardless of how big a fantasy league is.
Kicker/Defense Fantasy Outlooks
Dallas’ Brandon Aubrey is one of the better fantasy kickers in the game, while New York will trot out Greg Joseph.
Aubrey has made all 10 of his field goals and five of his extra points so far this season. Joseph kicked in week 3 for the first time, missing his lone field goal and making all three extra points.
Aubrey is projected for nine points, while Joseph is at seven.
Aubrey is definitely a kicker to play this week, and you should be playing him every week at this point. Joseph is a kicker to avoid - even though he could score several points this week, I simply don’t trust him.
With both defenses a bit banged up, life could be tough on the defenses.
Dallas has allowed 89 points already, while New York has given up a more respectable 64. The Cowboys have allowed 1,030 total yards, while the Giants have given up 884. Dallas has three takeaways and seven sacks, while New York has four takeaways and 14 sacks.
The Cowboys’ defense is projected for eight fantasy points, while the Giants are at seven points.
I honestly don’t trust either defense at this point/in this game, so I’d do my best to avoid both. I think the Dallas D/ST has more upside, but the numbers don’t back that up and I wouldn’t want to get burned by them.
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