Fantasy Football Week 4 Running Back Start/Sit: Cam Skattebo, Chase Brown and More

Welcome to Week 4's fantasy football start/sit breakdown for the running back position!

Normally, I'd start with a summary of last week's results, but my picks last week were so truly awful that I don't want to spend any more time on them. Feel free to go back and see the massacre for yourself, but I'll just say this: I listed Zach Charbonnet as a start and he didn't play at all with an injury … that was probably my second-best pick of the week.

Thankfully, you live and you learn. Weekly picks on fringe fantasy starters is always going to be a high-variance game. Hopefully I can bounce back this week with some better results. Without further ado, let's get started! 

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

Running Backs to Start Week 4

Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns

Judkins was one of the players I missed on last week, as I didn't see his role expanding as fast as it did. But there's clearly no stopping his takeover of the Browns' backfield — he handled 18 of 19 carries against the Packers, in a game less than 20 days after he first officially joined the team. 

Even better, Judkins also has been seeing some passing-game work, which wasn't a strength of his profile coming out of Ohio State. He didn't play in long-down and distance situations, but he did feature in the two-minute drill. He led the Browns' backfield with a 32% route participation rate — that's by no means ideal, but it's something.

This is a tough matchup, as the hapless Browns are 10-point underdogs on the road in Detroit. But Cleveland's defense managed to shut down the Packers enough last week to keep things relatively close.

As long as things are close, Judkins should be carrying the load. And he has also been efficient with his touches, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and racking up 69 breakaway yards (neither Jerome Ford nor Dylan Sampson has a single breakaway run this season). Fire up the second-round rookie as an RB2 or flex this week. 

Cam Skattebo, New York Giants

Once again, I'm righting my wrongs here. Although I was very excited by Skattebo's Week 2 usage, I doubted his ability to get there against an elite Chiefs run D. Clearly, I was wrong. With some help from Tyrone Tracy Jr. exiting early with an injury, Skattebo racked up 121 combined yards and a touchdown. 

Tracy is set to be out again this week, so Skattebo should once again be the Giants' bell cow. Still, he's not a completely no-brainer play.

New York's matchup against the Chargers' isn't great. Jaxson Dart is getting his first start, which could mean fewer checkdowns and even potentially less overall offensive efficiency than with Russell Wilson under center. But Skattebo should get the volume, and he so far appears to have the talent, ranking first among all qualified RBs in PFF Offense Grade. He's a solid RB2 this week. 

Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots

My first two picks were fun, riding the wave of exciting rookies taking over backfields. This pick is the opposite of that. Stevenson was already a boring veteran who is mostly mentioned by fantasy analysts as a roadblock in TreVeyon Henderson's way. Then he fumbled twice in Week 3, his eighth and ninth fumbles of the last two seasons, and was benched. 

So what am I doing suggesting him as a start in Week 4? Well, although he was benched for the end of Week 3, Mike Vrabel's postgame comments suggested that Stevenson won't be banished to the shadow realm entirely. It's a little concerning that he was third to take reps at practice on Wednesday, so his job isn't entirely secure. But until we hear otherwise, we can assume Stevenson will still be at least involved in the Patriots' backfield.

Even including his benching last week, he has a 55% snap share, a 41% RB rush share, and an 8% target share for the season. And as long as he is involved, this is a great spot for Stevenson.

The Patriots host the Panthers this week, who have picked up where they left off last season by being one of the softest matchups for running backs in the league. Their overall fantasy numbers aren't actually that bad, but they have given up the fourth-most rushing yards per game to the position.

Stevenson is by no means a must start, but I like his chances to bounce back with a solid outing in this spot … just watch the news in case we get confirmation of his status one way or another.

Running Backs to Sit Week 4

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders

I had “Bill” as a start last week, and, although he saved his day with a TD, that was clearly a bad pick. Instead of taking over the Commanders' backfield with Austin Ekeler done for the season, Croskey-Merritt saw just eight carries, three fewer than Chris Rodriguez Jr., who was a healthy scratch in Weeks 1 and 2.

Jeremy McNichols was also involved, serving as a passing-down back and breaking a 60-yard TD on one of his four carries.

I do still think that eventually Croskey-Merritt will take over this backfield. After all, he leads all qualified RBs in PFF Rushing Grade. If that happens this week, this pick will look stupid.

If it doesn't, we're looking at a player who is barely involved in the passing game and is not a lock to see even 50% of the RB carries. That's not a startable fantasy option, especially in a bad matchup with the Falcons, so I recommend looking elsewhere in Week 4.

David Montgomery, Detroit Lions

Last week, I listed Montgomery as a player to sit (if it feels like I'm reusing a lot of the same players, that's because I am — there are only so many running backs in the league who aren't obvious must-starts or complete non-factors). Obviously, that went terribly, as he ran all over the Ravens to the tune of 152 yards and two TDs on just 12 carries. If it weren't for Jonathan Taylor and his three TDs, Montgomery would have been the overall RB1 on the week.

So why am I doubling down on fading Montgomery after he just stuffed me in a locker last week? Well, my reasons are more or less the same. Montgomery is clearly playing second fiddle to Jahmyr Gibbs, with nine fewer carries and 13 fewer targets on the season.

That means his fantasy production is heavily tied to the Lions' overall offensive success — if Detroit doesn't have lots of plays and lots of goal-line opportunities, Montgomery is unlikely to have enough volume to succeed.

And, although they are once again arguably the best unit in the league despite their Week 1 struggles, I'm worried about the Lions' offense this week, especially on the ground. The Browns' defense has been absolutely lights out against opposing RBs this season. Opposing backs are averaging a putrid 2.2 yards per carry against Cleveland, by far the lowest mark in the NFL. And it's not like they've been facing scrubs: those numbers came against Chase Brown, Josh Jacobs, and King Derrick Henry himself. 

Could Montgomery make me look stupid again? Easily. At the very least, he has great TD equity on a Lions team that is 10-point favorites and still projected for over 27 points despite the tough matchup. But if Cleveland's defense keeps holding strong, he could be in for a dud. He's not a must-start even after an elite outing last week.

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

This one is a tough call. On the one hand, my number one rule is always to follow the usage, and Brown's usage has been unimpeachable. He has played 66% of the Bengals' snaps, handled 84% of their RB rushes, and even seen a respectable 12% target share. Eventually, this workload has to turn into fantasy points … right?  

Maybe not. So far this season, Brown has averaged just 7.9 half-PPR points per game. The Bengals' O-line has literally given him negative run to run: He has a truly staggering -54 yards before contact through three weeks. And there's no reason to think that will improve, as their passing game looked supremely unthreatening with Jake Browning under center in Week 3.

To be fair to Browning, that was a tough first matchup of the season with the Vikings' defense. But things don't get much easier this week against the Broncos, who also have one of the league's best defesnes. The Bengals are 7.5-point underdogs in this one, only projected to score 17.5 points.

Along with a potential negative game script, that means fewer chances for Brown to save a bad efficiency day with a goal-line TD. Once again, Brown is not a must-bench. But for someone consistently drafted in the first few rounds a month ago, he's a very risky option.