Another week and another round of bold predictions for the Fantrax crew. This fantasy football season is already off to a wild start. Raise your hand if you had Kirk Cousins, Melvin Gordon, Mike Williams, and Dalton Schultz all in the top-10 at their positions through three weeks of play. Well, hey, if your hand is up, then you’ve nailed some major bold predictions of your own!
It’s more likely though that you’re as pleasantly surprised as the rest of us by a variety of players and teams thus far. That’s what makes this game so great. Sure, there are some obvious players who are keeping it business as usual with top-ranked performances. Then there are the players exceeding our most wild expectations that even the best of us didn’t see coming. Hence why it’s okay to be bold once in a while.
Each week, our Fantrax staff writers will make their fantasy football bold predictions for you to get excited about, help sway those lineup decisions, and take your team to the moon!
Be sure to follow all of these bold predictions and more @Fantrax on Twitter and @fantraxsports on Instagram!
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2021 NFL Week 4 Bold Predictions for Fantasy Football
Make sure to check out all of our Week 4 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Kicker | D/ST | PPR | Flex
Corey Davis, New York Jets Wide Receiver
Bold Prediction: 7 receptions, 103 yards, 1 touchdown
23.3 PPR fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Colin McTamany, @LincoCammytan on Twitter
Colin’s Breakdown: Corey Davis and the Jets’ matchup at home against the Tennessee Titans this week catches my attention for a few reasons. The obvious narrative is that Davis will face off against the franchise that drafted him and he spent his first four seasons with. This is not a “revenge game” necessarily with any sort of hard feelings, but you have to think he wants to stick it to his former team with this opportunity.
More importantly for Davis and the Jets, the Titans passing defense is a much softer matchup than their first three opponents, the Panthers, Patriots, and Broncos. Those three teams, in that order, are allowing the least amount of passing yards per game to opponents this season. The Titans are allowing the 15th-most passing yards.
Furthermore, Jets wide receivers, Elijah Moore and Jamison Crowder are both managing injuries that could jeopardize their availability on Sunday. All things considered, I’m making the bold prediction that this team bounces back offensively and Corey Davis is a big reason why.
Terrace Marshall Jr., Carolina Panthers Wide Receiver
Bold Prediction: 8 receptions, 118 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
25.8 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Mike Omelan, @mikeomelan on Twitter
Mike’s Breakdown: To make the call that rookie, Terrace Marshall Jr., goes off in just his fourth NFL game is certainly a bold prediction. So far, in the first three weeks, he’s combined for 10 receptions, 91 yards, and has yet to score a touchdown. However, there’s good reason to believe Week 4 might be a breakout performance.
For starters, the 3-0 Panthers have yet to trail in any game this season. The defense has held their first three opponents to an average of 10 points per game. They’ve never played from behind and therefore haven’t had to rely as much on Sam Darnold’s arm to win.
Heading on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, who average 30 points per game, will be the Panthers’ biggest test yet. Without Christian McCaffrey’s 7.5 targets average, in two fully healthy 2021 games, I like Marshall to increase his role in the passing game. If DJ Moore and/or Robby Anderson receive a majority of the defensive attention, Marshall has the ability to stretch the field and rack up fantasy points.
Julio Jones, Tennessee Titans Wide Receiver
Bold Prediction: 6 receptions, 108 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
28.8 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Justin Dunbar, @talkMVP on Twitter
Justin’s Breakdown: It’s hard to bank on Julio Jones after he scored just 6.2 PPR points in Week 3 and ran a route on just 55% of the team’s passes. By all accounts, this was simply a measure to monitor Jones’ snaps, as Tennessee identified this is a low-stakes game that could be won easily. I’m still optimistic heading into Week 4 because, well, it’s Julio Jones!
With AJ Brown now sidelined with a hamstring injury, there’s no reason not to expect Jones to run a route on anything fewer than 85% of the team’s pass attempts. He’ll be facing much less competition for targets. Facing a Jets defense that ranks 25th in PFF coverage grade is music to our ears. Even if he misses out on the yardage total, the touchdown opportunities should be there.
The Jets giveaway the ball at the second-highest rate, which is a big reason for this bold prediction as I expect the Titans to possess the ball most of this game. Long story short, Jones is a talented receiver, has little to no target competition, and is facing a very poor secondary. Don’t overthink this, folks.
Michael Carter, New York Jets Running Back
Bold Prediction: 13 carries, 61 rushing yards; 5 receptions, 47 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
21.8 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Michael Govier, @mjgovier on Twitter
Michael’s Breakdown: Michael Carter is the running back that the Jets want to get involved more in their work-in-progress offense. Sure, it’s a bold prediction for any rookie to drop over 20 fantasy points this early in their first season, but Carter is ascending as a key piece in New York. Coming home to play the Tennessee Titans should be the cure to what ails this offense.
On the season, the Titans are top-12 in limiting rushing yards and are middle of the pack at best in passing yards. Tennessee is bottom-six in Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA). The Jets simply cannot play any worse and just when you think it’s time to completely abandon a team in the NFL, they come back from the brink!
Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team Quarterback
Bold Prediction: 375 total yards, 3 total touchdowns
27.0+ fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Ahaan Rungta, @AhaanRungta on Twitter
Ahaan’s Breakdown: Through the first three weeks of the season, the Atlanta Falcons are a bottom-three fantasy defense against quarterbacks. Only three teams have allowed more passing touchdowns and only three teams have allowed more rushing yards to quarterbacks than the Falcons.
Although Taylor Heinicke hasn’t been relying heavily on designed runs just yet, his dual ability makes him a threat to scramble on the ground and produce in the air. He will do exactly that on his way to a win indoors in Atlanta’s dome. My bold prediction this week is the above monster day from Heinicke as he completes 30 of 42 passes. It only helps matters if wide receiver Curtis Samuel makes his season debut in Week 4 coming back from a stint on the injured reserve.
It should be obvious now why Heinicke gets the more favorable write-up in my Week 4 Love/Hate column.
Zack Moss, Buffalo Bills Running Back
Bold Prediction: 14 carries, 65 rushing yards; 3 receptions, 37 receiving yards; 2 total touchdowns
25.2 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Lauren Auerbach, @lkauerbach on Twitter
Lauren’s Breakdown: It’s usually not the best move to rely on Buffalo’s backfield for fantasy production. While the Bills are a high-octane offense, much of their scoring comes via wide receivers or Josh Allen’s legs. But, a Week 4 matchup for Zack Moss against the Houston Texans is just too juicy to pass up.
In Week 3, Moss rushed for 60 yards and caught three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. He also out-snapped Devin Singletary for the first time this season (55% to 43%). The Bills are 17-point favorites this week, and the Texans are giving up the ninth-most fantasy points to running backs. This should equal lots of fantasy goodness for Moss, with the Bills likely turning to their backfield more than usual.
Moss has a knack for finding the end zone, and he should be able to take advantage of the Texans this week. To really make this a bold prediction, I’m betting that Moss scores once through the air and once on the ground.
Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Back
Bold Prediction: 19 carries, 90 rushing yards; 5 receptions, 41 receiving yards; 2 total touchdowns
30.1 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Mick Ciallela, @themick23 on Twitter
Mick’s Breakdown: I am not sure if anyone has noticed, but Tom Brady is going up against Bill Belichick in Foxboro on Sunday Night. A Brady revenge game narrative is in play and most of the country will be tuning in to witness. Belichick knows this and I believe he will do everything in his power to avoid embarrassment by his former protégé in front of the entire world.
The last thing Belichick wants is for Brady and Rob Gronkowski to return to their old stomping grounds and light up the scoreboard. I expect New England to utilize some five and even potentially four-man boxes. Belichick will test Brady to see if he can put his ego aside and check to the run when the defensive look warrants it.
That could mean a big day for Leonard Fournette and the driving force behind my bold prediction. Fournette is averaging four catches per game this season and could see even more targets if Giovani Bernard is out. Bernard has yet to practice this week after spraining his MCL in last week’s loss. Fournette should get plenty of opportunities to handle the rock in this game. That volume could result in a big day for “Lombardi Lenny.”
More fantasy football fun for Week 4: Waiver Wire | FAAB Guide | Buy-Low, Sell-High Trade Targets | Start & Sit | Loves & Hates | Stock Watch | Sleepers & Streamers | QB Streamers | D/ST Streamers |
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