Fantasy Football Week 4 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Justin Boone's lineup advice

Justin Boone provides a weekly look at undervalued fantasy players to consider starting this week and potential busts you might want to leave on your bench.

For the rest of your lineup decisions, consult his Week 4 rankings .

Shough is off to an impressive start, posting the fourth-most fantasy points among quarterbacks so far. That includes very consistent production with weekly finishes as the QB6, QB8 and QB6 through three games.

After fielding the fastest-paced offense last season, Kellen Moore has picked up where he left off. The Saints are nearly a full second quicker in neutral pace of play, which leads to plenty of volume for Shough and company.

We're set up for a Monday night shootout, with a Falcons team that looked much more competitive with Michael Penix Jr. under center last week. Atlanta's defense is giving up the 12th-most fantasy points to passers and had to place its best cornerback A.J. Terrell on injured reserve. You can confidently project another QB1 result from Shough.

Jared Goff at Panthers – Speaking of corners heading to IR, Carolina just lost both Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson for at least the next four weeks and possibly longer. Even though we tend to avoid Goff when he's outdoors, we'll make an exception here in a game that's tied for the highest projected point total on the week at 51.5.

Bryce Young vs. Lions – Young is on the other side of that contest and facing a Lions defense that's been without several starters. Unsurprisingly, that's led to Detroit allowing the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this year. Young is positioned well for his third top-12 finish on the season.

Love is fresh off a breakout game against the 49ers, where he put up 109 scrimmage yards and a receiving touchdown on 26 touches. That was by far his strongest usage of the season (64% snap share) and a sign of things to come for the third overall pick.

We might have even seen this happen sooner if it wasn't for his preseason ankle injury, but fantasy managers who drafted him in the third round aren't complaining now.

Next up is a potential positive game script against a Giants defense that's given up the 10th-most fantasy points to running backs this season, including Javonte Williams (72 yards, two TDs), Kyren Williams (97 yards, one TD), Blake Corum (92 yards) and Tony Pollard (96 yards). Get ready for a big week from Love, who is a top-10 RB in my rest-of-season trade value charts .

Aaron Jones Sr. vs. Dolphins – Jones, who turns 32 in December, can't hold up to massive workloads forever, but he should do well against a Miami team that's allowed the most fantasy points to running backs, including top-five finishes in each of the first three weeks.

Braelon Allen at Bears – Breece Hall is sidelined, opening the door for the 22-year-old Allen, who's flashed on his limited touches. Chicago's defense has permitted at least 80 scrimmage yards to every starting RB its played.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt vs. Colts (London) – Rachaad White is dealing with a shoulder injury that could keep him out this week. That may leave the recently signed Austin Ekeler and rookie Kaytron Allen as the only backups behind JCM. As I wrote about in my trade tips column , Bill is being underrated after a 48-yard TD was called back on an illegal formation penalty last week. I'm excited to see what he can do against a Colts defense that's the sixth-easiest matchup for RBs.

Golden is tied for the seventh-most targets per game through three weeks, just ahead of his teammate Christian Watson. While both players are performing well, Watson has received significantly more praise and sits as the WR3 overall in fantasy points per game. However, Golden isn't far behind at WR14.

With the current state of Green Bay's offense, Watson and Golden are going to remain busy. The Packers have lost Jayden Reed for the season, Tucker Kraft is still working his way back to form after last year's ACL tear and the run game is non-existent.

At the moment, Golden is looking like one of the best fantasy picks you could have made this summer. Expect his strong production to continue against Tampa's pass funnel defense.

Josh Downs at Commanders (London) – With Alec Pierce sidelined, the Colts have finally turned up the volume for Downs, who has 20 targets, 12 catches and 149 yards over the last two games. Now, he squares off with a Commanders secondary that's allowed the most fantasy points to receivers.

Michael Wilson at Giants – After posting his best stat line of the young season (11-89-1 on 17 targets!), Wilson gets his easiest matchup so far in Week 4. The Giants defense has been responsible for a top-20 WR finish in each of the first three weeks and Wilson is next.

Jameson Williams at Panthers – A high-scoring game against a defense that's missing its top two corners sounds like the perfect get-right spot for Williams. This will be a spike-week for the Lions' boom-or-bust wideout.

Johnson has been an excellent late-round selection and an extremely consistent fantasy starter in the opening month. Among tight ends, he's fifth in receptions, sixth in yards and tied for first with three touchdowns. That's helped generate TE7, TE13 and TE5 weekly finishes.

A friendly matchup with the Falcons awaits in Week 4. Atlanta is the seventh-most generous defense to fantasy tight ends, including allowing a league-high three touchdowns to the position through three games.

Jordyn Tyson has one more week on IR and isn't immediately expected back, so Johnson will continue to be a strong fantasy TE1.

Kenyon Sadiq at Bears – Following his seven-catch, 105-yard, one-touchdown breakout last week, Sadiq has been limited in practice with a back injury. As long as he's healthy, he'll be a top-12 TE option, with Adonai Mitchell and Mason Taylor still week-to-week.

Darren Waller vs. Lions – Waller gets to take on the same Detroit defense that was responsible for Sadiq's massive stat line in Week 3. Not only are the Lions giving up the most fantasy points to the position, they've allowed six touchdowns to tight ends in three weeks. If Jalen Coker is limited or ruled out, that would push Waller even higher up my rankings.

During his rookie season, in the nine outings where Maye played at least 85% of the snaps, he never finished lower than QB17. Last year, we saw him combine that high floor with a high ceiling and he finished as the QB3 overall in fppg, while scoring less than 14 fantasy points only one time.

This season, he's been under 13 fantasy points in all three outings and currently sits as the QB35.

Yes, there have been injuries to A.J. Brown and the offensive line. The matchups have also been tougher (Seahawks, Steelers, Jaguars) after having an easier schedule in 2025. However, it's still hard to explain the disappearance of Maye's once high floor.

Even against a softer opponent in the Bills, it's hard to trust Maye in your lineup until we see him turn this around. Though Buffalo allowed four TDs to Jared Goff, they held C.J. Stroud and Justin Herbert to QB15 and QB23 finishes, respectively.

I'm not dropping Maye, but I am sending him to my bench in the leagues where I have a decent streaming option.

Justin Herbert at Seahawks – Herbert is also on the list of quarterbacks who have been massive disappointments in September. This doesn't look like a bounce-back week with Ladd McConkey's status uncertain and the Seahawks' defense waiting for them in Seattle.

Bo Nix at 49ers – Nix finally stepped up for fantasy managers last week, in part thanks to a rushing touchdown. They all count though. We'll see if he can get the Broncos into scoring position as frequently against a 49ers defense allowing the eighth-fewest fantasy points to QBs.

Hampton has been unspectacular in the early part of the season, saving his fantasy performances in the first two weeks by scoring touchdowns. That's important since his role in the passing game is limited and potentially shrinking.

Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal had their usage increase, resulting in Hampton only running a route on 16% of the dropbacks in Week 3. While I'm not concerned about his job security, it is worrisome that we might be talking about a three-man committee in an offense that's stumbled so far.

The Seahawks aren't a defense to target either, since they're giving up the fifth-fewest points to runners. The schedule also doesn't relent for the next couple months with matchups against the Broncos, Chiefs, Rams, Texans and Ravens.

Hampton might have to be started depending on your roster, but he's more of a TD-or-bust RB3 right now.

Rhamondre Stevenson at Bills – Stevenson might be slightly undervalued in terms of his rest-of-season value, since his usage rebounded after fumbling in Week 2. Unfortunately, he's another ball-carrier sharing his backfield in a struggling offense. He's a TD-or-bust RB3 in a game where the Pats could fall behind quickly.

Tony Pollard at Ravens – While the Ravens have given up solid stat lines to the likes of Jonathan Taylor and Javonte Williams, we can project the same for Pollard in a game the Titans will likely trail. Scoring opportunities are also few and far between for Tennessee.

J.K. Dobbins at 49ers – Dobbins has been held to 36 yards, 36 yards and 53 yards during his first three appearances this season. He only caught one pass and has yet to visit the end zone. He's just a low-ceiling fantasy option, with RJ Harvey soaking up all the pass-catching work.

Through three weeks, Egbuka's numbers haven't been terrible, especially when you consider the overall state of the Bucs' offense. Stat lines of 5-63-0, 3-16-1 and 5-62-0 aren't going to destroy your chances of winning a fantasy week, but they aren't going to lead you to victory either.

Now, he'll have to build on those performances without the help of Baker Mayfield for the next few weeks. Jalon Daniels is an intriguing rookie backup, but expecting him to improve this offense is wishful thinking.

So even in a positive matchup with the Packers, I have Egbuka ranked as a volatile WR3/flex option.

Ladd McConkey/Quentin Johnston at Seahawks – McConkey was seen walking around the locker room with a limp after being downgraded to DNP for Thursday's practice. Even if he suits up, the injury and matchup with the Seahawks is enough for me to bench him. Meanwhile, Johnston has been so bad this year that he would just be a risky WR3/flex option if McConkey sits out. Tre' Harris is an intriguing stash though.

Rome Odunze vs. Jets – The Bears' passing game is being split four ways instead of three now that Kalif Raymond has a legitimate role. Odunze's average depth of target is nearly double his fellow receivers and he isn't getting many of the easy targets. That makes him a TD-or-bust WR4/flex.

Xavier Worthy at Raiders – Worthy hasn't topped 25 yards this season. A big play is possible at any point, but he's a very dangerous flex swing with an extremely low floor for fantasy managers.

It turns out other defensive coordinators get to watch prior game film and after seeing Schultz catch 12 passes for 140 yards in Week 2, the Colts made it a priority to cover him last Sunday. The result was just three targets, three receptions and 30 yards.

With Nico Collins expected to return this week, the volume scam for Schultz is over. The Cowboys have also held every tight end other than Isaiah Likely under 25 yards.

While Schultz can still be started as a lower-end TE2 streamer, you should be able to find a better option.

Colston Loveland vs. Jets – Loveland isn't commanding the immense target share he had down the stretch last season. With the Bears being content to spread the ball around more, Loveland is just a risky TE2 until we see otherwise. New York's defense hasn't given up a touchdown to tight ends yet, with 44 yards being the highest output against it.

Kyle Pitts Sr. at Saints – When Drake London is healthy, Pitts is an afterthought in the Falcons' passing attack. His stat lines of 0-0-0, 1-15-0 and 1-5-0 should have been reason enough for you to drop him this week.