Fantasy Football Week 4 Wide Receiver Start/Sit: Chris Olave, Tee Higgins and More

Welcome to Week 4's fantasy football wide receiver start/sit breakdown. As always, before getting into the upcoming week, I would like to take a look back at last week's results. And honestly, although they might not look ideal at first glance, I'm happy with how my picks performed.

On the start side, Jauan Jennings missed Week 3 entirely with an injury, but he was ruled out early enough that you hopefully had time to get him out of your lineup. Both Michael Pittman Jr. (16.3 half-PPR points) and George Pickens (15.3) finished as top-20 receivers.

On the sit side, I did have one massive miss in the form of Courtland Sutton, who returned to an every-down role en route to a massive WR2 overall finish. But Travis Hunter was a dud once again, and my bold call of the week, Emeka Egbuka, didn't kill us with a solid-but-not-great 11.5 points despite Mike Evans exiting early.  

This week, I plan to keep rolling. If we can avoid the one massive miss (I should have known not to trust Sean Payton), I will absolutely take last week's results every week. Let's get right into it!

For more help with your toughest Week 4 start/sit decisions, check out FantasySP's NFL Start/Sit tool!

Wide Receivers to Start Week 4

Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

I understand that the Thomas Jr. experience has been terrible so far this season. The sophomore WR is just the WR51 in half-PPR scoring so far this season, and he has yet to crack double-digits in a week. The vibes are terrible, too, as the prevailing narrative is that BTJ is now scared of contact.

But here's the thing. Thomas has still seen a 21% target share in this Jaguars offense, good for eight targets per game. He's getting looks down the field, too, with a 37% air yards share. Even if he's scared to go over the middle, he's still the same explosive athlete he was at the end of last season, when he seemed to provide a huge play every other week. 

At the end of the day, usage and talent are key in fantasy football — BTJ still has both on his side. Unless you're incredibly stacked at WR, he should be in your lineup for Week 4 despite a below-average matchup with the 49ers.

Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers

I don't expect Johnston to remain a top-five fantasy receiver for the rest of the season. But at this point, there's no real reason to think he can't continue to be a quality weekly fantasy asset. 

The Chargers are passing at a high rate, and Justin Herbert is dealing. Unless the Oronde Gadsden II breakout continues, they don't really have a pass-catching TE or a target-hog RB to speak of. As for QJ himself, his role is excellent: a 21% target share and team-high 34% air yards share on a 92% route participation rate.

Really, the only thing that should make you hesitate to put Johnston in your lineup is the fact that he's Quentin Johnston. In his rookie and sophomore years, the 2023 first-rounder seemed like a massive bust, struggling both with earning targets and catching those he did earn.

But, at least so far, this is a new QJ: He ranks 15th among qualified WRs in PFF grade and has zero drops. Heading into an excellent matchup with the Giants' defense, put him into your lineup as a WR3 or flex option with confidence. 

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

I didn't think this would need saying, but Olave showed up in a few trending decisions on the Start/Sit tool. He is also projected to be started in under 50% of leagues this week. So let me say this: Olave is a must-start in all formats this week. 

I could get into the nitty-gritty, but really, there's only one stat that is necessary to show that Olave should be started: he leads the NFL in targets. Yes, those targets are from Spencer Rattler and in a Saints' offense that is one of the worst in the league. But it simply doesn't matter. Volume is king, and that level of volume will almost always turn into points. 

It may not be efficient, but the Saints' offense is playing fast and almost always playing from behind, which means Olave should continue to rack up targets. Especially in a game where New Orleans will be trying to keep up with Josh Allen and Co., he is a no-brainer start. 

Wide Receivers to Sit Week 4

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals

This one hurts, as I've always been a fan of Higgins and a believer that he has genuine WR1 talent. But it's hard to ignore how bad Cincinnati's offense looked with Jake Browning under center in Week 3. That was against a tough Vikings' defense, but things don't get any easier this week on the road against the Broncos. 

For his part, Higgins saw only two targets in Browning's first start, catching just one for 15 yards. For the season, he is down to just a 15% target share in Cincinnati's offense. That number should trend up, but at this point we have to assume that the efficiency won't be there as long as Browning is the one throwing the passes. With this in mind, Higgins is someone I'm benching wherever possible this week. 

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions

Honestly, this is probably a stupid pick on my part. Williams is exactly the kind of player who is capable of having a massive game and making this look incredibly stupid. We know he has explosive ability, and we know this Detroit offense is capable of massive games.

With that said, Williams just isn't someone we can feel confident starting at this point. He has just a 12.6% target share in the Lions' offense so far this season, good for four targets per game. He is seeing looks downfield, so his air yards share is a very healthy 32.1%. But four deep targets per game is the profile of boom-bust flex option, not the weekly WR2 or WR3 that Williams was being touted as during draft season. 

Meanwhile, the Lions face the Browns this week. Cleveland's offense is miserable, and their defense has been stingy. That's a bad combination for the Lions' passing attack (to be fair, we know this Detroit team is willing to run up the score). Jameson is not a must-bench, but looking for a higher-floor option is probably the safest play for this week.

Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

I guess I'm going three-for-three on picking talented players who could absolutely burn me this week. Like Higgins and Williams, Harrison is by no means a must-bench. He hasn't lived up to expectations, but he's still the Cardinals' clear WR1, and we know he can have big games. 

On the other hand, Harrison isn't Arizona's top target. He's seeing just an 18% target share in their offense, and his connection with Kyler Murray still doesn't seem to be operating at 100%.

He also has a tough matchup for this Thursday night matchup, as the Seahawks' defense has allowed the second-fewest points per game to opposing receivers so far this season. There's nothing worse than starting your week with a dud, so I recommend at least considering other options over MHJ if you have them.