Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Week 4: Advice for Fringe Flex Fantasy Football Starters

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Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

NFL football is a game of highs, lows and absolutes—except, of course, in the rare case of a regular-season tie. The same is true in fantasy, where a breakout performance can lead to an unexpected win and one flop can lead to a crushing loss.

As is the case in the real world, choices mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Here, we’ll try to help managers make the right lineup choices for Week 4, specifically targeting fringe starters riding the line between active slots and the bench.

For starts, we’ll focus on players rostered in no more than 70 percent of ESPN or Yahoo leagues at the time of writing, according to FantasyPros. For sits, we’ll focus on players rostered in at least 60 percent of ESPN and/or Yahoo leagues—we’re looking at the tough choices, not the common-sense decisions.

We’ll determine which players to start and which to sit based on factors such as projected role, supporting cast and matchup. We’ll also delve deeper into some of the best and worst fringe flex options of the week.

Picks are based on points-per-reception (PPR) scoring.

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Justin Rex/Associated Press

Start ‘Em

Sam Darnold, QB, Carolina Panthers

Taylor Heinicke, QB, Washington Football Team

Zack Moss, RB, Buffalo Bills

Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers

Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Buffalo Bills

Tim Patrick, WR, Denver Broncos

Austin Hooper, TE, Cleveland Browns

         

Sit’ Em

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Ty’Son Williams, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots

Robby Anderson, WR, Carolina Panthers

Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona Cardinals

Jonnu Smith, TE, New England Patriots

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Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

The Buffalo Bills are set to face a Houston Texans team that has been offensively inept since losing starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor midway through Week 2. That’s a great development for those rostering Zack Moss.

The Bills running back emerged as the lead option in Week 3, outpacing Devin Singletary 16 touches to 12. He finished with 60 rushing yards, three receptions, 31 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Both backs should be on display this week, as Buffalo is likely to get out to an early lead and coast. After watching rookie Davis Mills look lost in Week 3, it’s impossible to envision him going toe-to-toe with Allen, though the Texans insist they’ll let him try.

“He’s going to have a lot more put on him than we put on him last week,” Texans head coach David Culley said, per Aaron Wilson of SportsTalk 790.

Houston has allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, which means this is the perfect time to get Moss into your starting lineup.

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Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

At first blush, Week 4 might seem like a good time to lean on New England Patriots back Damien Harris. Fellow back James White is “out indefinitely” with a hip injury, and Bill Belichick may look to play keep-away with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, there are a couple of problems with this theory. The first is that Harris has seen his role and production dwindle with each passing week. He had 23 carries for 100 rushing yards in Week 1, 16 carries for 62 yards in Week 2 and six carries for 14 yards this past Sunday.

Even with White out, New England is going to use a committee approach to its backfield.

The other issue is that Harris will face a stout Buccaneers defense that has allowed the 10th-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs. Even if the 24-year-old sees a sizeable workload, he isn’t going to go off.

Harris managers should shelve him until New England takes on Houston in Week 5.

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Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

If you’ve been steadily streaming at the flex spot, now is a great time to pull Tim Patrick off the bench, or the waiver wire for that matter, as he’s rostered in only 23 percent of Yahoo leagues and 14 percent of ESPN leagues.

The 27-year-old has been overshadowed by pass-catchers like Courtland Sutton and Noah Fant, but he has quietly been a centerpiece of the Denver Broncos offense. Through three weeks, he’s caught 12 of 13 targets for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

With a touchdown in each of the first two weeks and 98 receiving yards in Week 3, Patrick presents a reasonably high floor for a flex candidate.

In Week 4, Patrick and the Broncos will face a Baltimore Ravens team that has been merely average against opposing wide receivers, ranking 17th in fantasy points allowed. With Baltimore’s high-octane offense setting the stage for a potential shootout, the Utah product should see targets early and often in this matchup.

It won’t be surprising to see Patrick top 100 yards and find the end zone this week.

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Justin Rex/Associated Press

So, we’re labeling Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold as a safe start against the Cowboys but not doing the same with Panthers wideout Robby Anderson.

This may seem incongruous, especially with the 28-year-old posting a 1,000-yard campaign in 2020, but there’s more at play than just past production and the looming matchup.

The reality is Anderson doesn’t seem to have the same chemistry with Darnold that he had with Teddy Bridgewater a year ago. Though he’s been targeted 11 times through three games, he has caught only five passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. He has not topped 60 yards in a single game.

It’s worth noting that the Temple product was only targeted twice in Week 3, even with Christian McCaffrey’s injury hampering the ground game.

D.J. Moore has emerged as Darnold’s go-to option and has logged 31 targets on the season. Rookie Terrace Marshall Jr. (14 targets) has also surpassed Anderson in the pecking order.

Dallas has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends, so this is a piece of advice that could look bad on Monday. However, Anderson’s floor is simply too low to trust him in Week 4. 

         

*Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference. Fantasy roster information and points against from FantasyPros.