Braelon Allen
FREE - $0
Dropped at 3:09 AM. Nobody claimed him. Add him today.
No games have been played since yesterday's report - Week 3 closed on Monday night and Week 4 does not start until Thursday, October 1 at 8:15 PM Eastern. So this one is forward-looking, and it is dominated by one thing: waivers cleared at 3:09 AM Eastern this morning, and the single best running back available in fantasy football went unclaimed by all twelve teams. He is sitting in free agency right now, for nothing. Marco dropped him to make the claim that won.
LordHaveMRSA
0.00
The Daddies
0.00
Week 4 has not kicked off. Marco is 0-3 and last in the league by record. His first starter plays Sunday at 1:00 PM Eastern.
Puka Nacua
Questionable
Hip. Two games missed. Sean McVay is hopeful, not certain.
Geno Smith
26.04 last week
The $12 claim was right. Start him over Drake Maye.
Where the matchup stands
LordHaveMRSA 0-3 - dead last by record, and the schedule is only half the excuse
Marco has allowed 371.20 points, the most in the league by fifteen points. That is genuinely rotten luck. But he has also scored 271.50, which is eleventh of twelve teams. Both things are true, and the second one is the one he can fix. Losing 88.36 to 133.84 last week was not a bad beat; 88.36 is a bad score.
Week 4 opponent: The Daddies (1-2, 294.60 points scored)
Beatable on paper - they are the only team in the league that has allowed more points than Marco relative to their record, and they have lost two of three. But their starting lineup is not soft: Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle Seahawks), Malik Nabers (New York Giants), Quinshon Judkins (Cleveland Browns) and TreVeyon Henderson (New England Patriots). Marco needs roughly 115 points, which means he needs the Puka Nacua question to break his way.
Waivers cleared this morning - and the one that got away
| Player | Why | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Braelon Allen, RB (New York Jets) | Lead back with Breece Hall week-to-week. Three soft run matchups ahead. Marco's only real running back depth behind two starters. | $0 - free agent, do it today |
| Mack Hollins, WR (New England Patriots) | A.J. Brown out into mid-October. Nineteen percent target share, six of nine targets for 87 yards in Week 3. | $4-6 |
| Kirk Cousins, QB (Las Vegas Raiders) | Three touchdowns in three straight games, 20-plus points in each of the last two. Only a backup-quarterback luxury - skip unless a bye forces it. | $1-2, or pass |
WON: Geno Smith (New York Jets) for $12 - good money, good call
Smith threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns in Week 3 for 26.04 fantasy points. He faces the Chicago Bears on Sunday, one of the softest pass defenses in the league. This was the right $12.
WON: Konata Mumpfield (Los Angeles Rams) for $9 - paid full price for a career day already banked
Mumpfield caught four of eight targets for 93 yards and a touchdown in the Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos. That was his career high, and it happened because Puka Nacua was out. If Nacua plays Sunday, Mumpfield is the Rams' fourth option again and this $9 bought a bench body. Defensible as Nacua insurance, expensive as a starter.
DROPPED: Braelon Allen (New York Jets) - and all twelve teams then ignored him
This is the headline. Allen was released to make room for Mumpfield. Hours earlier, Breece Hall (New York Jets) had been declared week-to-week with a quad injury, making Allen the Jets' lead back. He is currently the number two overall waiver target in fantasy football, rostered in only 14 percent of leagues, with the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots on his next three schedules. CBS Sports put a 20 percent FAAB bid on him. Nobody in this league bid a dollar - they all piled onto Ollie Gordon (Miami Dolphins), who went for $52. Allen is in free agency as of 8:15 AM Eastern. Free agency is open and live; another team already made a free-agent move at 6:55 AM. Claim him now, for $0, before somebody wakes up.
Waiver claims processed at 3:09 AM Eastern today. FAAB - the $100 season-long budget for bidding on waiver pickups - is now down to $59 for Marco. He won two claims and both cost him a roster spot.
Injuries and practice news on his roster
Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) - Questionable, hip. This is the week's whole ballgame.
Nacua has missed Weeks 2 and 3 with a hip injury that Sean McVay has also described as groin soreness. McVay said Monday he is hopeful Nacua plays at the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, but called his status to be determined - noticeably cooler than his earlier suggestion that Nacua would be available in Week 4. Surgery is reportedly still on the table if he does not improve. The Rams kick off at 1:00 PM Eastern Sunday, so there is no late window to hide in. Watch Wednesday, Thursday and Friday practice reports. If Nacua is full or limited by Friday, he starts over Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) without hesitation.
Nobody else on the roster carries a designation - as of Wednesday morning
Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams), Cam Skattebo (New York Giants), Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks), DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills), Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals), Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs), Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills), Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) and Drake Maye (New England Patriots) are all clean. That is a Wednesday-morning snapshot: the first official Week 4 practice reports land this afternoon, and Cooper Kupp's back has put him on the report in each of the last two weeks without ever costing him a game.
No byes in Week 4 - all thirty-two teams play
Nothing to plan around. Every player on the roster is available.
The start/sit calls before Sunday
| Slot | Player | Status |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Geno Smith (New York Jets) at Chicago Bears, Sun 1:00 PM | START. Correct call. Drake Maye (New England Patriots) goes to Buffalo, where the Patriots have already given up nine sacks and eight turnovers on the season - Buffalo's defense is a popular streaming play this week for exactly that reason. |
| RB | Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) at Philadelphia Eagles, Sun 1:00 PM | START. 21.80 points last week, his best of the year. Tough matchup, no alternative. |
| RB | Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) vs Arizona Cardinals, Sun 1:00 PM | START. 13.00 last week. Note he plays the same game as Trey McBride - a shootout helps both, a slog hurts both. |
| WR | Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) vs Los Angeles Chargers, Sun 4:25 PM | START. 14.60 last week and the most dependable receiver on the roster. |
| WR | Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) at Las Vegas Raiders, Sun 4:25 PM | THE WEAK LINK. Four points last week in a game the Chiefs won 24-10 - genuinely awful. He is the seat Puka Nacua takes if Nacua is cleared. |
| TE | Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) at New York Giants, Sun 1:00 PM | START. 16.50 last week. No decision here. |
| FLEX | DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) vs New England Patriots, Sun 1:00 PM | START. 12.70 last week, at home against a Patriots defense that has been generous. Fine. |
Decision 1: Puka Nacua over Xavier Worthy, if the Friday report allows it
Healthy Nacua is a top-eight receiver in full PPR - a league where every catch is worth a point, which suits his volume. Worthy scored four points last week. If Nacua practices Thursday and Friday and is not downgraded, he starts and Worthy sits. If Nacua is limited or does not practice Friday, do not gamble a 1:00 PM kickoff on it.
Decision 2: whether Braelon Allen should be starting over Cam Skattebo by Week 5
Not this week - Skattebo has been fine and Allen needs one game to prove the workload is real. But Allen is the higher-upside player the moment the Jets hand him eighteen carries. Add him now and that becomes a choice rather than a regret.
Marco's earliest kickoff is Sunday, October 4 at 1:00 PM Eastern. This is the lineup as it currently stands, with the two decisions that actually matter flagged.
Roster spot math - who comes off to make room for Braelon Allen
The roster is full at fourteen - seven starters and seven bench. Adding Braelon Allen means dropping someone.
Drop Xavier Hutchinson (Houston Texans). He is the cleanest cut: a depth receiver who scored 8.50 points on the bench in Week 3 and is behind better options in Houston. Marco picked him up off free agency last week at no cost, so nothing is sunk.
Do not drop Drake Maye (New England Patriots) even though he is benched this week. He is a genuine asset and the Geno Smith start is a matchup call, not a permanent demotion.
Konata Mumpfield (Los Angeles Rams) becomes the next cut the moment Puka Nacua is confirmed active - but not before, because if Nacua sits again, Mumpfield is the Rams receiver who benefits.
Elsewhere - the monster game Marco does not own
Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints) put up 23.30 points in Week 3 - and he is already gone
Johnson is the number three tight end in fantasy football through three weeks and is now rostered in this league, so there is nothing to do about him. Marco has Trey McBride anyway, so it would have been a luxury. Worth knowing for trade talk: the team holding Johnson has a surplus at a position Marco is strong at, which is rarely how a trade gets done.
The realistic version: Kenyon Sadiq and Kalif Raymond both went, Braelon Allen did not
Kenyon Sadiq (New York Jets) caught seven of eight targets for 105 yards and a touchdown and was claimed. Kalif Raymond (Chicago Bears) went for six catches, 90 yards and a touchdown and was claimed. This league is paying attention to box scores and not to depth charts - which is precisely why the lead running back on an NFL team is still available at 8:15 in the morning. That is the inefficiency to exploit today.