Week 4 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Justin Fields Leading Fantasy QBs, D'Andre Swift Steps Up, a New Lead Back in Cincy, and More

Week 4 of the NFL regular season is nearly in the books, with just two Monday night games remaining. Before we turn our attention to those games, let’s go over some fantasy football takeaways from Sunday’s games.

We’ll cover offensive players in this story - check back soon for a story on defensive players.

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Another Weird Week for Fantasy QBs

It’s been a strange start to the fantasy season for quarterbacks, and week 4 was just a continuation of the unexpected results. The top three fantasy quarterbacks for the week: Justin Fields, Jordan Love and Baker Mayfield. Sam Darnold and Andy Dalton are also top-10 fantasy QBs at this point.

Fields has been a weak fantasy QB through three weeks (when the Steelers went 3-0). In a losing effort Sunday, Fields had 312 passing yards, one touchdown and no picks, along with 55 rushing yards and two scores on 10 attempts.

The Steelers are not built to win with Fields throwing that much, so I wouldn’t get too excited about his overall performance. Fields will continue to be a streaming option in standard leagues, but a much safer starting option in deeper leagues.

Love was playing for the first time since week 1. He started the game poorly, got going a bit in the second half, but really had a big fantasy day because the Packers were behind by multiple scores most of the day, and the offense pretty much abandoned the run.

Love attempted 54 passes, completing 32 for 389 yards and four touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions. He only rushed once for six yards. Much like in the case with Fields, this statline is not a recipe for winning - yes, Love is a weekly starting option, but don’t expect these kinds of numbers more than a time or two per season.

Mayfield bounced back from a couple down/average fantasy weeks with 347 passing yards, two touchdowns and no picks in week 4. He added 10 rushing yards and a score on four attempts.

Mayfield is the No. 3 fantasy quarterback for the season before the Monday games take place, showing he should be in starting lineups in all formats. You still have to play matchups a bit with him, and he’s not an automatic start like Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts, but more often than not, Mayfield should probably be in your lineup.

Darnold was good again in week 4, completing 20 of his 28 passes for 275 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He added 15 yards on seven scrambles and also lost a fumble.

The turnovers are a bit concerning, but the big yardage and touchdowns offset the mistakes and make Darnold a good fantasy option. I keep doubting Darnold every week, and he continues to deliver. As the No. 4 overall fantasy QB right now, he really needs to be in starting lineups until his production falls off - he’s finally won me over after a month of strong fantasy results.

Dalton wasn’t as good as he was in week 3, but he still delivered good fantasy results in week 4. He was 25-of-40 for 220 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Dalton added nine rushing yards on three attempts.

For as long as he’s starting, Dalton will be on the streaming quarterback list every week. Determining whether or not to play him will depend on your other options and his defensive matchup that week.

D'Andre Swift Says Not so Fast

The talk all week was that Swift was washed up and that Roschon Johnson was going to be the new lead back in Chicago. Swift responded with one of his best games in recent memory.

Swift rushed 17 times for 93 yards and a touchdown, while adding 72 receiving yards on seven receptions and targets. Johnson had 26 rushing yards and a score on seven attempts and was not targeted in the passing game. Swift played 38 offensive snaps to Johnson’s 22.

Let’s hope you didn’t drop Swift yet, because he still looks like the lead back in Chicago to me. He doesn’t have a stranglehold on the starting job, but for the time being, Swift remains the top Chicago fantasy back and a possible flex starting option every week.

Is Chase Brown Going to Overtake Zack Moss?

In Cincinnati, Moss played 40 offensive snaps to Brown’s 27, but it was Brown that had the better day overall.

Both players got 15 rushing attempts, with Brown going for 80 yards and two touchdowns, while Moss had 51 yards and no scores. Moss had 27 yards and a touchdown on four catches and targets, while Brown added 12 yards on two catches and three targets.

The snap counts suggest that Moss is still the lead back, but after their performances, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brown continues to play enough snaps to possibly be fantasy relevant.

Neither RB are great standard league starting options because they are splitting snaps and work, but both are good options in deeper formats. We’ll need to keep tracking the RB situation in Cincy.

Brian Thomas Jr. Continues to Deliver

Malik Nabers is stealing a lot of headlines amongst the rookie wide receivers, but Thomas turned in another good game in week 4 and really is off to a great start.

Thomas had 86 yards and a touchdown on six receptions and nine targets this week. He has at least 47 receiving yards in each game this season. Thomas has been targeted nine times in each of the past two games, which is another good sign. 

He’s owned in most fantasy leagues, but has started in less than 30% of leagues in each week so far. His week 4 performance might be enough to bump him over 30%. He should be a bigger part of start/sit stories moving forward, so check back with FantasySP for those articles.

Taysom Hill Scores Twice Before Leaving

Hill left week 4’s game with a rib injury, but rushed for 24 yards and two touchdowns on six attempts before departing.

Those couple scores have Hill as a top-five fantasy TE of the week so far. Hill’s status will be one to watch as the week progresses - he’s already dealt with a bruised lung injury this season, which has held him back from being a bigger part of the Saints’ offense.

Pat Freiermuth had 57 yards and a score on five receptions and seven targets and is currently fantasy TE2.

Tucker Kraft had 53 yards and a touchdown on six receptions and nine targets. He’s the top fantasy TE in PPR formats despite also fumbling once.

Travis Kelce finally got going with 89 yards on seven receptions and nine targets. With Rashee Rice likely out for at least several weeks, expect Kelce to be the go-to target for Mahomes again.

Overall, the tight end position had a little bit better week, with nine players finishing with 10 or more PPR fantasy points. George Kittle, Dallas Goedert, Jake Ferguson and Dalton Kincaid were all top-10 finishers, so some of the better options also delivered positive results.

Among the poor performers at the position were Mike Gesicki, Kyle Pitts and Mark Andrews.