Puka Nacua
19.14 proj
Expected back from the groin and hip problem, but limited in practice all week and surgery is still on the table. Your highest-projected starter and your biggest question mark.
No games were played last night. The only Week 4 game in the books is Thursday's Cleveland Browns 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 24, and neither your roster nor The Daddies' had a single player in it. So this one looks forward: everything in your Week 4 matchup is still live, and almost all of it kicks off tomorrow.
LordHaveMRSA
0.00
The Daddies
0.00
Nothing played. Projections: 104.14 to 113.10 - you are a nine-point underdog.
Roman Wilson
Free agent
Three catches, 74 yards and a touchdown Thursday night. Six targets in every game this season and nobody in your league owns him. His Week 4 is already over, so this is a Week 5 buy.
Braelon Allen
12.78 proj
You dropped him. With Breece Hall out, he is now the lead New York Jets back against a Chicago Bears defense ranked 26th against running backs. honeybadgerr1 picked him up.
Where the matchup stands
Both teams on 0.00 - the whole matchup is ahead of you
Thursday night's Steelers at Browns was the only Week 4 game played. Neither you nor The Daddies rostered anyone in it. Thirteen of your fourteen players kick off tomorrow, Sunday, October 4; Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) is the lone Monday night man, at the New Orleans Saints at 8:15 PM Eastern.
You are a nine-point underdog on projections: 104.14 to 113.10
The Daddies are 1-2 with 294.60 points. Their lineup is Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs, 21.22 projected), Jeremiyah Love (Arizona Cardinals, 15.89), Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles, 14.67), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle Seahawks, 22.36), Malik Nabers (New York Giants, 13.90), Tyler Warren (Indianapolis Colts, 12.20) and Jordan Addison (Minnesota Vikings, 12.86). The soft spot is Saquon Barkley, who faces an elite Los Angeles Rams run defense and is being ranked as a borderline top-twelve back despite sitting outside the top thirty in half-point scoring on the season. If he busts, this is winnable.
0-3, and it is not all bad luck
The 371.02 points scored against you is the most anyone in this league has absorbed - genuinely rotten scheduling. But your 271.50 scored ranks 11th of 12, and your potential points of 288.20 means your lineup calls have cost you only about 17 points across three weeks. The lineup is not the problem. The roster is.
Your starters - nobody has played yet
| Slot | Player | Kickoff and call |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Geno Smith (New York Jets) - 14.78 proj | Sun 1:00 PM ET at Chicago Bears. Start. He went 31-of-37 for 321 yards and three touchdowns in Week 3. Close call - see below. |
| RB | Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) - 15.37 proj | Sun 1:00 PM ET vs Arizona Cardinals. Start. With Jaxson Dart out for the season and Jameis Winston under center, the Giants want to run and shorten the game. Volume is coming. |
| RB | Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) - 13.60 proj | Sun 1:00 PM ET at Philadelphia Eagles. Start. Your only other option is Brian Robinson, who projects 4.23. |
| WR | Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) - 19.14 proj | Sun 1:00 PM ET at Philadelphia Eagles. Start, but check the inactives at 11:30 AM. See the injuries section. |
| WR | Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) - 9.69 proj | Sun 4:25 PM ET at Las Vegas Raiders. Start, reluctantly. He gave you 4.00 points in Week 3 and is second on the Chiefs receiver depth chart. Lowest-projected starter you have. |
| TE | Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) - 17.53 proj | Sun 1:00 PM ET at New York Giants. Start. Your second-highest projection and the safest floor on the roster. |
| FLEX | DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) - 14.03 proj | Sun 1:00 PM ET vs New England Patriots. Start. Limited in practice with a shoulder but drew 10 targets in Week 3 while hurt. |
Since there is nothing to recap, here is the Sunday lineup with each man's kickoff and projection, and whether I would leave him there.
Bench over starter, and the one real decision
Geno Smith or Drake Maye at quarterback - the data is split
You have Geno Smith (New York Jets) in and Drake Maye (New England Patriots) on the bench. The human analysts side with you: one set of Week 4 rankings puts Drake Maye at QB15 with the note that they are no longer willing to start him until A.J. Brown is back, while Geno Smith ranks ahead of him off that 31-of-37, 321-yard, three-touchdown Week 3. Sleeper's projection says the opposite - Maye 17.90, Smith 14.78 - because Maye faces a Buffalo Bills defense allowing the most fantasy points to opposing receivers in football. Swapping would narrow the projected gap from nine points to six. I would still start Geno Smith: the Jets face a Chicago Bears team playing without Caleb Williams, and Smith is the one actually playing well right now. But this is a coin flip, not a clear call.
Week 3's lesson: Xavier Hutchinson 8.50, Xavier Worthy 4.00
Looking back at the 88.36 to 133.84 loss - your bench receiver Xavier Hutchinson (Houston Texans) outscored your starting receiver Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) better than two to one. The bigger wound was at quarterback, where Drake Maye (New England Patriots) handed you 5.76 points. You have already fixed that slot. Worthy stays in only because the alternatives - Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks, 6.29 projected and third on his depth chart), Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills, 4.85) and Konata Mumpfield (Los Angeles Rams, 1.59 now that Puka Nacua is back) - all project worse.
Your roster shape is the real problem
You carry eight wide receivers, three running backs, two quarterbacks and one tight end. In a lineup that starts two running backs and a flex, that is backwards. Behind Kyren Williams and Cam Skattebo you have Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons), who is second on the Falcons depth chart and projects 4.23. One hamstring and your season is over. Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) are your drop candidates - spend the next two waiver runs on running backs, not another receiver.
Injuries on your roster
Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) - groin and hip - expected to play
Head coach Sean McVay said he expects Nacua back Sunday at the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Rams' own Week 4 injury report lists him good to go. But he practiced limited all week and reporting is clear that surgery remains on the table if he does not improve. He is your highest-projected starter at 19.14. Check the 11:30 AM Eastern inactives before you walk away from your phone; if he sits, Konata Mumpfield (Los Angeles Rams) is the direct replacement - he put up 93 yards on eight targets and a touchdown in Week 3 with Nacua out.
DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) - shoulder - start him
Limited in practice, expected to play. He drew 10 targets in Week 3 with the same shoulder, which tells you how the Bills are using him. No action needed.
Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - ankle - leave him benched
He reached a full practice late in the week, but the consensus read is to sit him, and he projects 8.93 behind four receivers you like better. He is also the obvious cut if a running back you want appears on waivers.
Waivers - you have $59 of your $100 FAAB left
| Player | Why | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers) | Three catches, 74 yards and a touchdown Thursday, and six targets in every single game this season. He is becoming Aaron Rodgers' preferred target and the most-added player in fantasy football over the last 48 hours. Unowned in your league. His Week 4 is done - this is a Week 5 and beyond buy. | $8 |
| Jauan Jennings (Minnesota Vikings) | Justin Jefferson is ruled out with an ankle, and Jennings is the direct beneficiary against the Miami Dolphins at 4:05 PM Eastern. Projects 10.86, which beats Xavier Worthy. Free in your league and startable tomorrow. | $6 |
| Isaiah Davis (New York Jets) | The handcuff - the backup running back who takes over if the starter goes down - behind Braelon Allen with Breece Hall out. Projects 7.72 and is free. The cheap way to fix your running back depth. | $3 |
| Mack Hollins (New England Patriots) | Pure streamer against a Buffalo Bills defense allowing the most fantasy points to receivers in the league, 32.1 per game. Projects 8.85. Only if you want a dart throw for the flex. | $1 |
FAAB is the hundred-dollar season-long budget you bid with on waiver pickups; you have spent $41 and sit ninth in waiver order. Roman Wilson has already played his Week 4 game, so he helps you from Week 5 onward. Jauan Jennings and Mack Hollins can help tomorrow.
One you do not own who went off
Roman Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers) - 3 catches, 74 yards, 1 touchdown Thursday night
Roughly 13.4 points in full point-per-reception scoring in a game where the Steelers lost 27-24. He has now scored in consecutive weeks and has drawn exactly six targets in every game he has played this season - that is a role, not a fluke. He is a free agent in your league and the single most-added player in fantasy football right now. Put the claim in. He cannot help you tomorrow, but he is a weekly flex starter from Week 5 on and you are a 0-3 team that needs upside, not another third receiver on a bye-prone depth chart.
Looking ahead to tomorrow
Thirteen of your fourteen players play Sunday, October 4. Six of your seven starters are in the 1:00 PM Eastern window - Geno Smith, Kyren Williams, Cam Skattebo, Puka Nacua, Trey McBride and DJ Moore - so this matchup will be effectively decided by about 4:00 PM. Xavier Worthy goes at 4:25 PM Eastern at the Las Vegas Raiders. Brian Robinson is the only Monday night piece and he is on your bench.
Two of your starters, Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua, are in the same game at Philadelphia, and your opponent's Saquon Barkley is on the other sideline. A low-scoring, Rams-run-defense-dominated afternoon in Philadelphia hurts his lineup more than yours. Your tight end Trey McBride also plays in the Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants game that features your own Cam Skattebo and your opponent's Malik Nabers and Jeremiyah Love - four of the fourteen relevant players in one 1:00 PM game.
Set it and check inactives at 11:30 AM Eastern. The only button you need to be ready to press is Konata Mumpfield for Puka Nacua.