Fantasy football · Week 4
Start 'em, sit 'em: Week 4, 2026
Full-PPR and guillotine calls every week of the season: first calls Wednesday morning, updated each morning through Sunday, and graded against what actually happened.
Raiders · Waivers · QB · RB · WR · TE · K · DEF · Flex · Guillotine · FAAB
Week 4 has no byes and two quarterback rooms in transition. Baker Mayfield is out at least three weeks with a dislocated throwing thumb, so undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels starts for Tampa Bay and every Buccaneer pass catcher drops a tier. Caleb Williams is still out with the hamstring and Chicago had not named a starter as of Tuesday night. Jayden Daniels traveled to London without being cleared, and Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins and Puka Nacua were all unresolved Wednesday morning, which is reason enough to leave them off the sheet rather than guess at a status. The board is defined by its extremes: Miami is implied for 14.0 points, the lowest of the week, while Baltimore and Buffalo sit at 27.5. Detroit is the worst defense in the league against both quarterbacks and tight ends. Washington is 31st or worse against everything except the run, where it is first, which is a split worth playing on both sides. The approach this week is to buy volume in games that have points in them and fade the three offenses implied under 18.
Raiders
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Brock Bowers
PPRStartGuillotineStartBowers returned from the September 8 meniscus trim in Week 3 and immediately drew a team high 13 targets, catching 10 for 116 and a touchdown. Kansas City ranks first in the league against both quarterbacks and receivers but 20th against tight ends at 8.0 per game, so the volume has to go somewhere. Eight catches and 90 yards is 17 points before a score.
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Jalen Nailor
PPRSitGuillotineSitNailor has caught five of 11 targets for 52 yards in three games, a 45 percent catch rate, and Kansas City allows the fewest fantasy points in the league to receivers at 10.7 per game. With Jack Bech on injured reserve the work still goes to Bowers and Tucker before him. Three or four points.
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Michael Mayer
PPRSitGuillotineSitLast week's sit missed on a red zone touchdown, but the usage split is the point: three targets for Mayer against 13 for Bowers in their first game together. Kansas City is 20th against tight ends and that soft spot belongs to Bowers. Two or three catches for 20 yards is under five points.
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Kirk Cousins
PPRSitGuillotineSitThis is not the touchdown regression call that missed last week when he scored 22.2. Kansas City allows 10.3 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, fewest in the league, and Cousins is at 30.7 attempts per game with Las Vegas implied for 21.5. Two hundred twenty yards and a touchdown and a half is about 15 points against an 18 point line.
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Tre Tucker
PPRSitGuillotineSitTucker has 15 targets for 189 yards and Kansas City allows a league low 10.7 fantasy points per game to receivers. Four catches and 63 yards is right at 10 points, nowhere near the PPR line and sitting exactly on the guillotine line. The guillotine call is the thinner of the two.
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Ashton Jeanty
SplitPPRSitGuillotineStartJeanty is averaging 3.27 yards on 63 carries, but 16 targets and a 79.6 percent snap share give him a receiving floor. Twenty one carries for 69 yards plus four catches is about 14.4 points, a coin flip at the PPR line and comfortably above the guillotine line. Too thin for ceiling, solid enough for survival.
Waiver wire
Cody White, WR, Las Vegas. Start-ready no, stash yes. Signed from the practice squad to the active roster Tuesday after Jack Bech went on injured reserve with a forearm injury. Fourth in the receiver pecking order behind Brock Bowers, Tre Tucker and Jalen Nailor, but Nailor has caught five of 11 targets all season, so the opening is real. FAAB one to three percent.
Braelon Allen, RB, New York Jets. Start-ready. Breece Hall is week to week with a quad strain and Allen is the lead back, with Isaiah Davis as the change of pace. The caveat is the offense: the Jets are 26th in rushing yards per game and 30th in yards per carry. Volume play only. FAAB eight to 12 percent.
Kendre Miller, RB, New Orleans. Start-ready in deeper leagues. Travis Etienne is out with a hamstring and the Saints have hinted at injured reserve. Miller has 13 carries and a touchdown on the season and now splits with Alvin Kamara on an offense throwing a league high 44 times a game. FAAB five to 10 percent.
Jalon Daniels, QB, Tampa Bay. Stash. Undrafted rookie named the starter for at least three weeks with Baker Mayfield's thumb dislocated. Not a Week 4 start against Green Bay, but a starting NFL quarterback on a roster nobody owns. FAAB one to two percent.
Case Keenum, QB, Chicago. Start-ready as a streamer. Threw for roughly 250 yards with two touchdowns plus a rushing score in a 27 to 7 win over Philadelphia in his first start, and Caleb Williams is on a three to four week hamstring timeline. Chicago has not formally named him, with Tyson Bagent out of concussion protocol. FAAB one to three percent.
Jalen Royals, WR, Kansas City. Stash. Caught a touchdown in Week 3 as the third receiver on the offense carrying the slate's highest implied total at 26.0. Two targets a game is not startable yet, but the price never gets lower. FAAB three to six percent.
Ryan Fitzgerald, K, Carolina. Start-ready. Seven for seven on field goals including four for four in Week 3, kicking for an offense that threw 48 times for 291 yards and one touchdown last week. Stalled drives are where kicker points come from. FAAB one to two percent.
Kalif Raymond, WR, Chicago. Stash. Six catches on seven targets for 90 yards and a touchdown in Week 3 with Keenum under center. Third in the Bears receiver order behind Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, and the role may not survive Caleb Williams' return. FAAB one to three percent.
Quarterbacks
Start 'em
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Tyler Shough
PPRStartGuillotineStartShough leads the league with 132 attempts, 44 per game, and Atlanta has generated only five sacks and three takeaways in three games. With Travis Etienne ruled out there is even less reason for New Orleans to run. Two hundred eighty yards and two scores is about 19 points, clear of the line without needing a rushing spike.
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Sam Darnold
PPRStartGuillotineStartDarnold threw 45 times for 379 yards and four touchdowns in Week 3 and Seattle is a seven point home favorite with a 24.75 implied total. The Chargers allow 20.3 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks and their line is tied for 28th in pressure allowed, so Seattle should be playing ahead. Three hundred yards and two scores is 20 points.
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Jacoby Brissett
PPRStartGuillotineStartBrissett has thrown 117 passes in three games, 39 per game, and the Giants have one sack all season, fewest in the league. Clean pockets at that volume put 280 yards and two touchdowns on the table, roughly 19 points, and Arizona is favored on the road.
Sit 'em
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Justin Herbert
PPRSitGuillotineSitLos Angeles carries the slate's third lowest implied total at 17.75 as a seven point road underdog at Lumen Field, and the Chargers line is tied for 28th in pressure allowed at 44.2 percent. Herbert has 88 attempts, among the lowest of any full time starter. That projects near 13 points against an 18 point line.
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Cam Ward
PPRSitGuillotineSitTennessee is an 11.5 point underdog with a 16.0 implied total, second lowest of the week, and Ward has thrown for 181 and 182 yards in his last two games. Baltimore is 11th against quarterbacks. Even with fourth quarter volume the projection is about 13 points.
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Deshaun Watson
PPRSitGuillotineSitDifferent setup from last week's sit that just missed at 18.3. Cleveland carries an 18.0 implied total in a 38.5 point game, second lowest on the board, and Pittsburgh is sixth against quarterbacks at 14.3 per game with eight sacks against a Browns line tied for 28th in pressure allowed. Watson threw for 144 yards in Week 3.
Running backs
Start 'em
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Kenneth Walker III
PPRStartGuillotineStartWalker has 65 carries and 18 targets in three games at a 75 percent snap share, and Kansas City owns the slate's highest implied total at 26.0. Without a touchdown that is 120 rushing yards plus four catches, about 18 points. Las Vegas is middling against backs at 11.7 per game, which is not enough to cap that volume.
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Jaylen Warren
PPRStartGuillotineStartRico Dowdle did not practice Monday or Tuesday with a toe injury and Warren handled 20 touches for 176 yards without him in Week 3. That workload is 17 to 18 points before any score, clear of the line even against a Cleveland front that ranks ninth against running backs.
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Kyren Williams
PPRStartGuillotineStartWilliams went 15 carries and six catches for 158 yards in Week 3, and Philadelphia has three sacks and zero takeaways all season, the only defense in the league without a turnover. Fifteen carries plus five receptions is about 17 points with no touchdown, and the Rams are three point favorites.
Sit 'em
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Omarion Hampton
PPRSitGuillotineSitHampton is averaging 3.86 yards on 50 carries and the Chargers are a seven point road underdog with a 17.75 implied total, third lowest of the week. Seattle is seventh against backs at 9.3 per game and the Chargers line is tied for 28th in pressure allowed, which shortens drives. Eight points is the projection.
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Ollie Gordon II
PPRSitGuillotineSitGordon inherits the De'Von Achane role but has 20 carries for 48 yards on the season, 2.4 per attempt, and Jaylen Wright may be back from the foot issue. Miami's 14.0 implied total is the lowest on the slate against a Minnesota defense that leads the league with 14 sacks and ranks fourth against backs. Seven points.
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Jonathan Taylor
SplitPPRSitGuillotineStartWashington allows 7.0 fantasy points per game to running backs, fewest in the league, while ranking 31st or worse against quarterbacks, receivers and tight ends, so Indianapolis will move the ball through the air in London. Taylor's 88.9 percent snap share still floors him near 13 points without a score, which is under the PPR line and clear of the guillotine line. Healthy, settled role, projection between the two.
Wide receivers
Start 'em
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Michael Wilson
PPRStartGuillotineStartWilson saw 17 targets in Week 3 and caught 11 for 89 and a score, and the Giants have one sack all season so Brissett will have time to keep feeding him. Eight catches and 75 yards is 15.5 points before any touchdown. New York is 21st against receivers, which is support rather than the case itself.
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Chris Olave
PPRStartGuillotineStartOlave caught nine of 13 targets for 107 yards in Week 3 and Tyler Shough is throwing 44 times a game, the most in the league. New Orleans carries a 25.75 implied total on Monday night and Atlanta is 26th against receivers at 23.0 per game. Seven catches and 90 yards is 16 points with no score.
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Drake London
PPRStartGuillotineStartLondon caught nine of 10 targets for 194 yards in Week 3 and his double digit target floor does not need help. New Orleans is 12th against receivers, so this is a usage start rather than a matchup start. Seven catches and 100 yards is 17 points before a touchdown.
Sit 'em
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Tre' Harris
PPRSitGuillotineSitHarris has 16 targets and no touchdowns through three games and the Chargers carry a 17.75 implied total as a seven point road underdog. Seattle is fifth against receivers at 12.3 per game and the Chargers line is tied for 28th in pressure allowed, which shortens the dropbacks. Eight points is the honest number.
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Emeka Egbuka
PPRSitGuillotineSitBaker Mayfield is out at least three weeks with a dislocated throwing thumb and undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels makes his first start. Tampa Bay's 18.0 implied total is tied for lowest of the week and the Bucs leaned on 13 personnel in Week 3. Twenty targets do not survive that quarterback change: call it eight or nine points.
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Xavier Worthy
PPRSitGuillotineSitWorthy has 10 catches for 63 yards on 15 targets, 6.3 yards a reception, and Las Vegas allows the fourth fewest fantasy points to receivers at 12.3 per game while leading the NFL with nine takeaways. Volume without depth against that secondary projects near five points.
Tight ends
Start 'em
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Travis Kelce
PPRStartGuillotineStartKelce has 18 targets, 14 catches and 231 yards in three games at a 78 percent snap share, and Las Vegas is 30th against tight ends at 13.7 per game, the one soft spot in a defense ranked first against both quarterbacks and receivers. Without a touchdown that is roughly 12.4 points.
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Trey McBride
PPRStartGuillotineStartMcBride drew 11 targets in Week 3 and caught nine for 75 yards, and the Giants' one sack all season means Brissett gets to work the middle of the field. Seven catches and 65 yards is 13.5 points before a score. New York is ninth against tight ends, so this rests on volume, not matchup.
Sit 'em
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Mark Andrews
PPRSitGuillotineSitAndrews caught three of five targets for 24 yards in Week 3 and Tennessee allows 3.0 fantasy points per game to tight ends, fifth fewest in the league. Baltimore being an 11.5 point favorite points to Derrick Henry closing the game rather than a fourth quarter passing script. Six points.
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Evan Engram
PPRSitGuillotineSitEngram failed to catch either of his two targets in Week 3 and San Francisco is seventh against tight ends at 3.7 per game. Denver's 22.25 implied total on the road does not create the volume he would need to matter. Five points against a 10 point line.
Kickers
Start 'em
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Chase McLaughlin
PPRStartGuillotineStartMcLaughlin is nine for nine on field goals and leads the league in attempts at three per game. With Baker Mayfield out and an undrafted rookie making his first start, Tampa Bay's drives are more likely to stall inside field goal range, which is where kicker points come from. The case is stalled drives, not the 18.0 implied total.
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Ryan Fitzgerald
PPRStartGuillotineStartFitzgerald is seven for seven on the season including four for four in Week 3. Carolina moves the ball and does not finish: Bryce Young threw 48 times for 291 yards and one touchdown in Week 3. Detroit is 32nd against quarterbacks and 29th against receivers, so the Panthers should reach scoring range repeatedly, with a 65 percent rain forecast discouraging the last 20 yards.
Sit 'em
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Riley Patterson
PPRSitGuillotineSitMiami's 14.0 implied total is the lowest on the slate and Patterson is five of seven on field goals. Minnesota leads the league with 14 sacks against a Dolphins line 22nd in pressure allowed, which ends drives short of range rather than inside it. One field goal and one extra point is five or six points.
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Cameron Dicker
PPRSitGuillotineSitDifferent from last week's sit that missed at nine. The Chargers were at home in a 48.5 point game then; now they are a seven point road underdog at Lumen with a 17.75 implied total, third lowest of the week. Dicker is three of five on field goals, the worst conversion rate among high volume kickers. Six points.
Defenses
Start 'em
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Vikings D/ST
PPRStartGuillotineStartMinnesota leads the NFL with 14 sacks and Miami is 22nd in pressure allowed at 40.2 percent with Malik Willis at quarterback, no touchdowns and an interception in Week 3. Miami's 14.0 implied total is the lowest of the week. Four sacks, a turnover and the points allowed tier is about nine points, none of it requiring a defensive touchdown, which is not forecastable.
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Steelers D/ST
PPRStartGuillotineStartPittsburgh has eight sacks and six takeaways against a Cleveland line tied for 28th in pressure allowed at 44.2 percent, and Watson threw for 144 yards in Week 3. Cleveland's 18.0 implied total lands in a scoring tier worth one to four points. Three sacks, two turnovers and the bonus is roughly nine, with no return score needed.
Sit 'em
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Eagles D/ST
PPRSitGuillotineSitPhiladelphia has three sacks and zero takeaways in three games, the only defense in the league yet to force a turnover. Matthew Stafford threw 55 times last week and the Rams carry a 23.25 implied total as road favorites, which puts the points allowed bonus at zero. Two points.
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Chiefs D/ST
PPRSitGuillotineSitKansas City has four sacks in three games, tied for 29th in the league, and Las Vegas scored 35 points in Week 3. A 21.5 implied total against them wipes out the points allowed bonus and the Chiefs are not generating the pressure to make up for it. Roughly five points against an eight point line.
Flex
Running backs, receivers and tight ends for the flex spot, beyond the calls above.
Start 'em
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba
PPRStartGuillotineStartSmith-Njigba caught 10 of 14 targets for 128 yards and two scores in Week 3 and Seattle is a seven point home favorite. Eight catches and 105 yards is 18.5 points before any touchdown, the widest margin over the line on this slate. The Chargers are 18th against receivers.
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Jahmyr Gibbs
PPRStartGuillotineStartGibbs handled 20 carries and eight targets in Week 3 and Carolina is 30th against running backs at 24.3 per game behind the worst pass blocking line in the league, which keeps Detroit on the field. Ninety five rushing yards and six catches is 20 points with no score, for a team implied at 27.0.
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Davante Adams
PPRStartGuillotineStartAdams caught seven of 13 targets for 137 yards in Week 3 and that target volume holds whether or not Puka Nacua clears the hip issue. Philadelphia is 22nd against receivers with zero takeaways all season, and Stafford threw 55 times last week. Seven catches and 100 yards is 17 points before a touchdown.
Sit 'em
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Carnell Tate
PPRSitGuillotineSitTate has a 25 percent target share and an 84 percent snap share, but Tennessee is an 11.5 point underdog with a 16.0 implied total, second lowest of the week, and he has no touchdowns on 20 targets. Four catches and 41 yards is about eight points. Usage does not rescue a call when the offense is projected for two scores.
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Tony Pollard
PPRSitGuillotineSitPollard has 38 carries for 173 yards and no touchdowns, and Tennessee being an 11.5 point road underdog takes the second half carries away. Baltimore is 16th against backs. Twelve carries and two catches is about eight points against a 14 point line.
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Jameson Williams
PPRSitGuillotineSitWilliams has 17 targets for 127 yards and no touchdowns through three games while Detroit's volume runs through Gibbs, LaPorta and St. Brown. Carolina is second against receivers at 12.0 per game and the forecast calls for a 65 percent chance of rain on Sunday night. Seven or eight points.
Guillotine survival
Guillotine survival: no byes this week, so nobody is short on bodies, which means the floor comes from picking the right side of three lopsided games. Tennessee at Baltimore, Miami at Minnesota and the Chargers at Seattle each have a team implied under 18, and starting from the wrong side of those is how a roster lands in the bottom spot. The lower lines make a couple of players startable here who are not startable in full PPR. Jonathan Taylor faces the league's stingiest run defense and still clears 10 on snap share alone, and Ashton Jeanty's receiving work does the same behind a middling rushing average. With three teams already chopped in most leagues, the waiver pool now holds real starters, so the rosters still holding budget are the ones with options.
Guillotine FAAB
Budget discipline at this stage of a guillotine season: you are three weeks in with roughly a third of the field gone in most formats, and the pool is about to get better rather than worse. Spend 15 to 25 percent of the remaining budget on a player who starts for you this week, and nothing above single digits on a stash. The chopped rosters release two kinds of player worth real money. The first is a lead back on a functional offense, because volume is the only thing that reliably clears a 10 point line. The second is a target hog on a team with a competent quarterback. What is not worth a big bid is a boom or bust deep threat or a backup kicker, because the guillotine format punishes the zero far more than it rewards the spike.
Named targets, widely available. Cody White, Las Vegas: promoted from the practice squad Tuesday with Jack Bech on injured reserve, and behind only Bowers, Tucker and Nailor in a passing game averaging 30.7 attempts. He is a stash at one to three percent, not a starter yet, but he is the Raider worth watching. Braelon Allen, New York Jets: Breece Hall is week to week with a quad strain and Allen is the early down back, though the Jets rank 30th in yards per carry, so pay eight to 12 percent and expect volume rather than efficiency.
Kendre Miller, New Orleans: Travis Etienne is out with a hamstring and the Saints have hinted at injured reserve, which puts Miller behind only Alvin Kamara on an offense throwing 44 times a game. Five to 10 percent. Case Keenum, Chicago: he beat Philadelphia 27 to 7 in his first start with two passing touchdowns and one rushing, and Caleb Williams is on a three to four week timeline. One to three percent for a streamer with a job.
Jalen Royals, Kansas City: a touchdown in Week 3 and the third receiver role behind Rice and Worthy on the offense with the slate's highest implied total. Three to six percent as a stash. Ryan Fitzgerald, Carolina: seven for seven on field goals for an offense that reaches scoring range and does not finish, which is the entire kicker thesis. One to two percent, start him this week.
How calls are graded
Every call is locked at its player's kickoff and graded on full-PPR points from the official box score: a point per reception, a tenth of a point per rushing or receiving yard, one per 25 passing yards, six per rushing or receiving touchdown, four per passing touchdown, minus two per interception or lost fumble. Two-point conversions and return touchdowns aren't counted.
Kickers: three per field goal, one more from 40 to 49 yards and two more from 50 or longer, one per extra point, minus one per miss. Defenses: one per sack, two per interception or fumble recovery, six per defensive or return touchdown, two per safety, plus points allowed (the opponent's final score): shutout 10, 1 to 6 is 7, 7 to 13 is 4, 14 to 20 is 1, 21 to 27 is 0, 28 to 34 is minus 1, 35 or more is minus 4.
A start cashes if the player reaches the line for his position; a sit cashes if he stays under it. PPR lines: QB 18, RB 14, WR 14, TE 10, K 8, DEF 8. Guillotine lines are survival floors: QB 15, RB 10, WR 10, TE 7, K 7, DEF 6.
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