Fantasy Football Quarterback Start/Sit Week 4: Should You Start Dak Prescott, Justin Fields, or Deshaun Watson?

It's been a wild opening three weeks to the season as far as quarterbacks go. Kirk Cousins is currently QB2 through three weeks. Jordan Love is QB4. Trevor Lawrence is QB18. Justin Fields is QB21. And Joe Burrow is QB30. Not exactly how we drew things up during draft day, right?

All that to say, we've got our work cut out for us as we try to figure out what to do with our start/sit decisions moving forward. 

You're obviously not benching any of those guys (more on that below), but there are plenty of other borderline fantasy starters we need to sift through. 

I'm going to use the list below to cover every quarterback start/sit situation for Week 4. The list is broken into tiers (which as pretty self-explanatory based on the names of them), and you can simply look at the list and make start/sit decisions -- because it's in order of preference! Think of it as my weekly quarterback rankings.

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No-Brainer Start 'Em

You drafted these guys as your starter. There's no reason to waffle on them based on matchups or anything like that. We don't even need to talk things through on any of these guys -- let's stop over-thinking things. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week: 

• Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

  • Herbert is QB1 on the year to-date and has an amazing matchup with the Raiders this week. 

• Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

  • Can the Bills keep up with the high-flying Dolphins? If the answer is yes (and I think it is), Allen will benefit big time.

• Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

  • With two top-10 performances in a row, Hurts is set up to continue that streak with a matchup against a Commanders defense that just got toasted by the Bills. 

• Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

  • The matchup isn't great, but the Cowboys put up 30 on the Jets. There's no reason Mahomes can't.

• Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

  • Until further notice, Tua is a top-5 weekly QB option. Strange, but true.

• Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts

  • Richardson looks good-to-go and should be a weekly top-10 quarterback start as long as he's healthy. I like the matchup against the Rams too.

• Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

  • Cousins continues to be a beast and should be able to continue his en fuego ways against the Panthers as the Vikings look for their first win.

• Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

  • Jackson hasn't looked fully locked-in yet and he also has a tough matchup this week. He remains a must-start, but he's not up there with the elite elite guys right now. 

• Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

  • Maybe I'm just stubborn, but I'm sticking with Burrow. He looked like he was starting to find some rhythm in the Bengals' Week 3 win over the Rams and has a nice matchup against the Titans. 

• Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Lawrence has been a little underwhelming over the last two weeks so I'm bumping him down a bit. But he has a fantastic on-paper matchup and continues to be a must-start. 

• Justin Fields, Chicago Bears

  • Fields has been one of the most disappointing players for fantasy thus far. If there's a week he'll get right, it's this one against a Broncos defense that just gave up 70 points. Is this his last stand?

Still Start 'Em

These guys are a little more of a borderline decision, but they're worth starting this week. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week: 

• Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

  • Dak has been very mercurial this season. He put up big numbers against the Patriots the last time these two teams played, but I'm still in wait-and-see mode before I bump Dak to an auto-start.

• Jared Goff, Detriot Lions

  • Jared Goff...must start? I don't think we're quite there, but he's getting dangerously close. While the Packers defense is good, but I still think Goff will be able to put up fantasy points. 

• Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

  • Geno's been disappointing this season with just one top-17 performance thus far, but I think he's still worth a start in deeper leagues as the Giants defense has given up a lot of points this year. 

• C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

  • Stroud has looked really good in back-to-back games, though things will get much tougher against the Steelers this week. I'd still feel ok about him in deeper leagues. 

• Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

  • Purdy might be without a few weapons this week, so I think we'll see a quieter performance against a Cardinals defense that has looked better than expected.

• Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos

  • The good news? Wilson has a great matchup against the Bears. The Bad news? He's finished at or below QB15 in two of three weeks so far. 

Deep League Starts

These guys are basically "sits" in a 12-team league. But they're likely someone you should start in a superflex league or a 16-team league. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week:

• Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

  • • Love has looked really good in spurts this season (though it hasn't been perfect). He's an interesting upside start at home this week against the Lions.

• Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

  • Stafford has been very mediocre this season. Not good. Not bad. I think he'll continue to be mediocre until Cooper Kupp comes back, so he's probably something like QB18-23 this week.

• Daniel Jones, New York Giants

  • I've seen Jones pretty high in some rankings this week, and I'm not sure why. He's looked for all of maybe a quarter and a half all season. I'm staying away from Jones where I can.

• Joshua Dobbs, Arizona Cardinals

  • Dobbs has been a pleasant surprise in averaging 21 fantasy points a game over the last two weeks. He has a tough matchup against the 49ers, but I think he's still startable in deeper leagues. 

• Mac Jones, New England Patriots

  • Jones is QB14 as of right now and is a viable weekly start in deeper or superflex leagues as long as he keeps this up. He should be able to air things out a bit against the Cowboys. 

Sit 'Em

These guys are "sits" in pretty much any league except a superflex. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week if you absolutely have to:

• Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Pickett has finished between QB17 and QB23 in all three weeks this season. I wouldn't expect anything different against the Texans this week. 

• Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints

  • The Jameis Experience is always an interesting one. He has some upside, but I'd try to stay away if you can avoid it (even though the matchup is admittedly pretty good).

• Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Mayfield came back to Earth last week and has an awful matchup this week. Stay away. 

• Sam Howell, Washington Commanders

  • Howell is coming off an awful four-interception game against the Bills and shouldn't be started against the Eagles this week. 

• Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

  • I'm not scared about the Vikings defense, but Young's first two games haven't looked great. Keep him on your bench if you can afford to. 

• Jimmy Garoppolo Las Vegas Raiders 

  • Jimmy G may not play this week (in which case it's Brian Hoyer or Clayton Tune time), but he shouldn't be in fantasy lineups outside of deep leagues. 

• Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons

  • I want to like Ridder, but the more I watch him...the more I just can't get there. He should be on your bench on the road againt a decent Jaguars defense.

• Ryan Tannehill, Tennesee Titans 

  • Tannehill is as washed as wash can be. It's not Will Levis time yet, but it's gotta be coming at some point. Keep Tannehill on your bench for the Bengals and beyond.

• Zach Wilson, New York Jets

  • Leaving his from last week: Don't start Zach Wilson. Ever. The Jets should take this advice too.

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