Fantasy Football Week 4 Low-Ranked Starters: Jordan Love, Ashton Jeanty, and More

Last week's attempt to find fantasy starters who were ranked outside that group at their position was a somewhat successful endeavor seeing a 50% hit rate:

• Drake Maye threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns (with an interception) while running for 45 more yards, leading the team. He finished as QB7 on the week.
• Isiah Pacheco continued to struggle mightily as a fantasy player. I thought a Chiefs' running back would have a good week, but that turned out to be Kareem Hunt, who scored a touchdown and finished around RB20.
• George Pickens got even more looks when Ceedee Lamb went down early in Week 3 against the Bears. Pickens caught five passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, finishing in the top 20 WRs in both standard and PPR.
• Kyle Pitts Sr. was part of a major team disappointment, as Atlanta was beaten 30-0 by the Carolina Panthers. Pitts had just four receptions for 39 yards, ending up as TE20.

Let's do it again and find a player at each offensive fantasy position who is ranked outside of the weekly starters but will end up finishing in that group. The rankings our based on our FantasySP projections, and we're using the top 10 as “starters” for QB and TE and the top 20 for RB and WR.

Check out the FantasySP projections each week to see which players are primed for breakouts and help make your toughest lineup decisions.

Quarterback

Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers @ Dallas Cowboys

Love might have the best matchup of the week against Dallas. The Cowboys have allowed the most yards per pass attempt and the most fantasy points to quarterbacks. That even includes holding Jalen Hurts to 152 yards on 6.6 per attempt in Week 1.

Since then, Dallas gave up 450 yards to Russell Wilson on 11.0 per attempt and 298 yards on 10.6 per attempt to Caleb Williams. Those two combined for seven touchdowns and one interception. The Cowboys are a prime team to target right now.

Love is dealing with injuries to players around him, including both wide receivers and on the offensive line. Christian Watson is on IR while recovering from a torn ACL, and Jayden Reed just hit IR himself with shoulder and foot injuries.

Green Bay will be without three offensive linemen: starters Zach Tom and Aaron Banks, and the guy who would take over for Tom, Anthony Belton. Down to a third right tackle and without his left guard isn't a great start for Love, especially with his receivers also hurting. It's enough to look elsewhere if you're risk averse.

The matchup is good enough to have me believing in Love, though. It doesn't have to be pretty; he just has to rack up numbers. With how poorly Dallas has defended the pass, Love has a good chance at a strong fantasy day.

Running Back

Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Chicago Bears

It feels like cheating to pick Jeanty based on where he was drafted in fantasy and the expectations immediately thrust upon him. He was supposed to be a no-doubt fantasy starter every week, a star who would lead your team to victory.

Instead, Jeanty ranks around RB30 in both standard and PPR and hasn't been a top-20 back in any week. He has averaged just 48 rushing yards per game and 3.1 yards per attempt, and Jeanty's five receptions have gained three yards. Jeanty hasn't been effective in real or fantasy football.

In kind, our FantasySP projections have him ranked around 30th in Week 4, a player possibly worth benching. The matchup is in his favor, though, and it might be his first successful week. The Bears have given up the second-most yards per rush attempt and the seventh-most fantasy points to running backs.

All three teams the Bears have faced have averaged over 4.5 yards per rush attempt against Chicago, and the past two teams (Detroit and Dallas) have been near 6.0. This is a team that is vulnerable against the run and a player who was expected to be much better. This could finally be the week that Jeanty shows some of the skill that made him a top-10 pick.

Wide Receiver

Jordan Addison, Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Addison returns from his three-game suspension for this one in Dublin, Ireland. The Vikings' passing game hasn't been great to start the season, and Addison's absence might explain a lot of that. Justin Jefferson is great, but no one else on the team has even 10 catches or 100 yards.

A big part also has to do with play calling, as the Vikings have attempted fewer passes than any other team. After Jefferson and tight end T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota is relying on Jalen Nailor and Adam Thielen, uninspiring options. With Addison back and Aaron Jones Sr. lost to the IR, maybe the team will look to throw more.

The matchup here is a very good one, as Pittsburgh has given up the fourth-most yards per pass attempt and the seventh-most passing yards per game. That has also come with allowing more than 25 points per game, 11th most. Even though they gave up just 14 points last week against New England, that took both an interception and a fumble in the end zone, with Pittsburgh getting more lucky than anything.

With a more experienced quarterback in Carson Wentz under center and more weapons in the passing game, the Vikings might take advantage of a good matchup and throw the ball. That would give Addison a chance at a strong debut.

Tight End

David Njoku and Harold Fannin, Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions

Who do you believe in more? The two tight ends are tied for second on the team with 18 targets and are first (Fannin, 15) and second (Njoku, 12) in receptions among Cleveland pass catchers.

The top four in snaps among skill players in Cleveland are Fannin, Njoku, Jerry Jeudy, and Cedric Tillman, essentially making up the pass-catching core. (Wide receiver Isaiah Bond is getting more involved also.) Both tight ends will stay involved in the offense, so it might depend on if the passing game can find anything.

Detroit is the right matchup: they have allowed the seventh-most yards per pass attempt and fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends. Mark Andrews had six catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns against the Lions last week, and Green Bay's Tucker Kraft scored another touchdown in Week 1, though he had just 16 yards on two catches (Week 2 against the Bears was a better performance).

With a team that struggles to stop the pass and two players who have been involved in the offense, both Njoku and Fannin are intriguing mid-to-low-level fantasy players. Njoku has played more snaps, but Fanning has been a little more productive; it's a 50/50 split.

I'll give the slight advantage to the veteran Njoku, though it's very close, and both players can be considered if you don't have a solid option.