Fantasy Football Week 4 Wide Receiver Start/Sit: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Christian Watson, Jauan Jennings

Welcome back to FantasySP’s weekly fantasy football wide receiver start/sit breakdown! Last week’s selections worked excellently. Quentin Johnston had a solid outing, while Diontae Johnson was one of the highest scorers of the week. Meanwhile, Brian Thomas Jr., Jaylen Waddle, and Michael Pittman averaged just 5.8 Half-PPR points. Demarcus Robinson was a bust, but I will certainly take a hit rate of five for six given the volatility that comes with weekly decisions. Without further ado, let’s take a look at this week’s receivers to start and sit.

For more help with your toughest Week 4 Start/Sit decisions, check out FantasySP’s NFL Start/Sit tool!

Fantasy Football Wide Receivers To Start Week 4

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks @ Detroit Lions

With two duds out of three weeks to start his sophomore season, JSN is projected to be started in under half of fantasy football leagues this week. However, his underlying usage has been consistently positive in all three games. Smith-Njigba currently has an 84.1% route participation rate, including running more routes than even D.K. Metcalf in last week’s matchup. His 22% targets per route run and 20.4% target share are also very solid. At the same time, he’s seeing more usage down the field, with an ADOT up to 9.0 from 6.4 as a rookie. 

JSN is still running the majority of his routes, 85.2%, from the slot … which works out perfectly for this week’s matchup. The Lions have allowed the third-most yards to players lined up in the slot, over 100 yards per game. In a dome matchup that promises to be a shootout, JSN should be locked into lineups. 

Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons 

Rashid Shaheed managers, myself included, are understandably frustrated after last week’s goose egg. The speedster is projected to be started in just 42% of leagues. However, I plan to forgive, forget, and roll him out there again, and I recommend you do the same. It is true that the vast majority of Shaheed’s production so far this season has come on big plays. He has just seven receptions through three games, and two of those receptions have accounted for 77% of his Half-PPR points.

However, Shaheed’s usage is not indicative of him being an entirely boom-or-bust player. His 21.5% target share ranks 31st in the NFL, while his 47.2% air yards share ranks seventh. The main reason for Shaheed’s low volume through three weeks is that the Saints simply didn’t need to pass much in Weeks 1 and 2 … thanks in no small part to his two long touchdowns. In Week 3, a closer matchup, Shaheed saw five targets and over 100 air yards. With the Saints 2.5-point underdogs in Atlanta, Shaheed has a good chance for a bounceback game. 

Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals vs. Washington Commanders

Wilson is currently projected to be started in under 3% of fantasy leagues; he’s only rostered in just over 10%. However, while he’s by no means a must-start, the sophomore receiver is in a very good spot in Week 4.

The main reason to like Wilson is the matchup with the Commanders. Washington ranks dead last in points allowed to opposing receivers, and it’s not particularly close: They’ve allowed 44.7 points per game, the next closest team has allowed 36.4. Wilson has obviously taken a back seat in this Cardinals offense with the arrival of Marvin Harrison Jr., but he still has a respectable 15% target share. That number should be even higher this week, as Trey McBride will likely be out with a concussion. Wilson isn’t a guaranteed stud, but things look great for him this week. I would certainly start him over all of the following names…

Fantasy Football Wide Receivers To Sit Week 4

Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittman headlined this section last week, and he probably will every week until fantasy managers come to their senses and move him to the bench. Despite being the WR73 and averaging less than 5.0 Half-PPR points per game, Pittman is still projected to be started in the majority of fantasy leagues this week. 

To be fair, Pittman’s fantasy woes aren’t really his fault. The big issue is that, thanks to a combination of Anthony Richardson’s woeful accuracy and the Colts’ run-heavy scheme, Indianapolis ranks dead last with under 16 catchable targets per game. Pittman personally has a 55% catchable target rate, meaning he has just 11 catchable targets through three games. That number would be one thing for a deep threat, but Pittman is a possession receiver with a relatively average 10.3 ADOT. He simply isn’t seeing enough valuable, quality targets to reliably produce fantasy points. Combine that with a matchup with the Steelers, the worst opponent for WRs through three weeks, and Pittman belongs on benches.    

Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings

Jordan Love is looking likely to return this week, bringing new hope to the fantasy fortunes of all of Green Bay’s weapons. However, Watson should not be rushed back into lineups. Through three weeks, he has a route participation rate of just 55.7%. He has been below 50% in each of the last two weeks, splitting snaps with Dontayvion Wicks. As a result, he has just two targets, total, over the last two weeks. 

To be fair, those two weeks were with Malik Willis under center for Green Bay. Jordan Love is a big upgrade, and Watson is the kind of big-play receiver who can make a part-time role work. But I don’t think there is any receiver in the league I would recommend playing on a route participation rate of less than 50% — that’s simply not enough opportunities to provide fantasy value. Until we see his involvement in this offense climb back up, Watson is a massively boom-or-bust desperation flex play, nothing more.  

Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots

I’m honestly surprised by how much everyone is buying into Jennings’ massive game last week. Yes, 40+ fantasy points is absurd, and we have to take that into consideration. But Jennings is currently ranked as a top-30 wide receiver in consensus rankings and projected to be started in over half of leagues. That’s crazy for a guy who still has six times as many career games with below five Half-PPR points (33) as he does above 10 (five).

Yes, Deebo Samuel will probably still be out. But, prior to Sunday, Jennings had averaged just 4.3 points per game in five games with Samuel sidelined. As a 49ers fan, I love Jennings, and I would love to be proven wrong on this one. But everything is setting up for Jennings to disappoint managers with a very mediocre outing following the game of his life. 

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