Week 4 Monday Night Fantasy Football Rankings: Geno Smith or Jared Goff? Where do David Montgomery, Tyreek Hill, Kenneth Walker, Tony Pollard and Others Rank?

Ranking the best fantasy football starting options for Monday's pair of NFL games.

Week 4 of the NFL regular season has a pair of Monday night games.

We usually do a start/sit article comparing the options from the two teams playing, but with four teams involved tonight, I’m going to switch things up and rank the top fantasy options among quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers and D/STs. I’ll also offer up my reasoning behind the rankings. 

Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.

Quarterbacks

1. Geno Smith

2. Jared Goff

3. Tyler Huntley

4. Will Levis

I agree with the FantasySP week 4 quarterback projections on the order of the four guys playing.

Smith and Goff are clearly the better side of the two games tonight, and the average matchup for Smith gives him the nod over Goff, who has a brutal matchup.

Huntley’s matchup with the Titans is average, but I simply can’t trust him over Smith or Goff. Levis has a tough matchup against the Dolphins and hasn’t looked very good this season. 

I see a couple lower-scoring games, and average fantasy QB play at best, so I hope you already had your starting quarterback play.

Running Backs

1. Jahmyr Gibbs

2. De'Von Achane

3. David Montgomery

4. Tony Pollard

5. Kenneth Walker III

6. Zach Charbonnet

7. Raheem Mostert

8. Tyjae Spears

There’s a good crop of fantasy RBs in this contest. Unfortunately, there’s also some stiff defensive tests for the backs to face.

Gibbs and Montgomery face off against a tough Seahawks’ run defense. I see Gibbs getting involved in the passing game to be the top PPR back from today’s games. Montgomery should get enough work on the ground, and maybe a score, to only finish behind Gibbs and Achane.

Achane has an above-average matchup against the Titans. I wanted to take Achane over Gibbs, but just don’t trust the Dolphins’ offense enough without Tua Tagovailoa. Achane, Gibbs and Montgomery should be started in every league regardless of matchup though.

Pollard has a great matchup against the Dolphins, but I simply can’t justify playing him over Gibbs, Achane and Montgomery. The other problem facing Pollard is that Spears is taking away a good amount of snaps and touches, which limits Pollard’s fantasy outlook/value. I can’t put Spears any higher simply because I don’t trust his workload week to week.

I have Walker and Charbonnet in back-to-back spots in my rankings. I see Walker and Charbonnet splitting the workload in Walker’s first game in a couple weeks, and the brutal matchup against the Lions makes them even more unappealing. I’d try to avoid playing either Seattle back outside deeper leagues.

Mostert slots in seventh, but most of that is because of his uncertainty to play. If a report comes out that he’s good to go and has no restrictions, I’d consider him over Walker and Charbonnet too.

If Mostert can’t go, then Achane’s fantasy value rises even more, but I’d still prefer Gibbs over him. Jeff Wilson and Jaylen Wright would probably split the work if Mostert is out, and barring a long play or touchdown, neither would deliver good fantasy results.

Wide Receivers

1. DK Metcalf

2. Amon-Ra St. Brown

3. Tyreek Hill

4. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

5. Jameson Williams

6. Jaylen Waddle

7. Calvin Ridley

8. Tyler Lockett

9. DeAndre Hopkins

There’s some good receivers in tonight’s games, but between poor quarterback play and tough matchups, things are not all that easy to rank.

The Seattle receivers have a very favorable matchup against the Lions’ defense, and for that reason, Metcalf is my top fantasy wideout in tonight’s games. He’s got some competition for targets/catchers in JSN and Lockett, but I expect Metcalf to lead the way again tonight.

The Lions’ wideouts have a tough, tough matchup against the Seahawks, but you simply can’t take St. Brown any lower than No. 2. You just have to trust your top-end fantasy wide receiver to get the job done, and I think ARSB will do enough to only finish behind Metcalf.

It’s crazy to see Hill even third on a list of fantasy wideouts, let alone when only talking about receivers from four teams. Hill didn’t do much without Tagovailoa last week, and the matchup against the Titans is a tough one. I am still riding with Hill because of his big-play ability and upside should Huntley prove to be a somewhat capable passer.

I like Smith-Njigba after that. It’s really a tossup between him and Lockett for this spot, but I like the younger wideout to deliver after a bit of a down game in week 3. 

I like Williams next. I wanted to take him higher, but the tough matchup didn’t allow for it. I think he could excel if the Seahawks prioritize taking St. Brown out of the picture.

Waddle comes in sixth, which again, is wild. He’s just not a great fantasy option without Tagovailoa around, and I can’t put him over anyone else because there’s a real chance he flops again.

I like Ridley next. He and Hopkins have been pretty inconsistent, and the matchup is also rough. I’m taking Ridley over Hopkins because he’s got more targets on the season.

After that, I got Lockett. There’s a real chance Lockett could finish as a top-three fantasy receiver from tonight’s games, but with Metcalf and JSN beside him, it’s hard to be too confident in Lockett.

Lastly, I have Hopkins. Again, there’s a chance he makes me look foolish and he’s a top-end fantasy option tonight, but it’s a confidence thing with the final several receivers on my list, and I just don’t have confidence in him after one solid fantasy performance in week 3.

Tight Ends

1. Sam LaPorta

2. Noah Fant

3. Chigoziem Okonkwo

4. Jonnu Smith

There’s only one really good fantasy tight end (LaPorta) in tonight’s games, and everyone after that is only an option in really deep leagues.

LaPorta hasn’t gotten going yet, but you simply have to keep starting him if he’s healthy. The matchup is favorable to possibly break out.

Fant lands here because he’s been slightly more involved offensively, but a tough matchup makes him a TE to avoid if possible. Okonkwo gets the slight edge over Smith because he’s got a chance to score. 

Really though, I’m only starting LaPorta tonight if I can help it, and even him I’m not super confident in.

Kickers

1. Jason Myers

2. Jake Bates

3. Jason Sanders

4. Nick Folk

In what I anticipate being low-scoring games, all four kickers could have chances for decent fantasy nights if the offenses can move the ball a bit, but also have drives bog down.

I take Myers over Bates because the Seattle offense has been a bit better so far this season, and because Detroit tends to be more aggressive, possibly taking field goal attempts away from Bates. Sanders gets the edge over Folk because of the upside of the Dolphins’ offense.

Myers and Bates are the only two I’d really want starting in a standard league, while Sanders and Folk are more just deep league possibilities to me.

Defense/Special Teams

1. Dolphins

2. Titans

3. Seahawks

4. Lions

With low-scoring games predicted, any of these defenses could have above-average fantasy nights.

I’d target the Dolphins, Titans game first and like Miami’s defense to finish as the top fantasy D/ST tonight. Tennessee makes a lot of mistakes, giving the defense ample opportunities to score. Miami’s offense is a different animal without Tagovailoa, and a couple turnovers could help the Titans post a good fantasy score too.

The Seahawks, Lions game is one I think will be low-scoring, but has a decent chance of being a shootout too, and for that reason, I don’t like either of the defenses. Seattle’s unit has played better this season, so they get the slight edge over Detroit.

Offensive Overall Rankings (OP or Flex spots)

1. Jahmyr Gibbs

2. DK Metcalf

3. Amon-Ra St. Brown

4. Tyreek Hill

5. De’Von Achane

6. David Montgomery

7. Geno Smith

8. Jared Goff

9. Jaxon Smith-Njigba

10. Sam LaPorta

11. Jameson Williams

12. Jaylen Waddle

13. Tony Pollard

14. Tyler Huntley

15. Calvin Ridley

16. Tyler Lockett

17. Kenneth Walker III

18. Will Levis

19. DeAndre Hopkins

20. Zach Charbonnet

21. Noah Fant

22. Raheem Mostert

23. Tyjae Spears

24. Chigoziem Okonkwo

25. Jonnu Smith

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