Michael Florio’s Week 4 Fantasy Football Positional Rankings!

Remember all that I wrote about Josh Gordon and how it may affect the other Patriots weapons last week? Well, apply it to this week. After all that, Gordon did not play, but he is expected to play this week. Speaking of expecting to play this week… there are a number of players that are up in the air. My positional rankings are based on whether or not I expect them to suit up, but obviously that changes as more news becomes available. Continue to check back all the way up until Sunday morning for rankings update.

More On My Positional Rankings

• It may be surprising to some to see Zeke as my number 1 RB in standard, but I truly believe he is in for a big week. He faces a Lions team that has allowed 6.34 yards-per-carry to RBs this season. For those of you who like raw numbers, they have allowed 450 rush yards, the next closest is the Cardinals who have allowed 370 rushing yards. Add in that Zeke has seen his targets increased every week and you have a RB with guaranteed volume in a great matchup.
• Speaking of the Cardinals, they have allowed 32.60 fantasy points per game (FPPG) to RBs this season. Chris Carson, who had a league-high 34 touches in Week 3, comes in very high for me. Last week he played 72 percent of the snaps, compared to just 14% for Penny. Perhaps Pete Carroll is the new Bill Belichick, but I trust Carson as a top-15 RB.
• Speaking of RBs I love this week… fire up Gio Bernard. I know this isn’t a hot take, but I definitely have him higher than most this week, especially in PPR. The Falcons struggle against pass-catching backs. They’ve allowed the most receptions to RBs the past two years, allowed 14 to Christian McCaffrey in Week 2 and 15 to Alvin Kamara last week. Gio should be plenty busy this week.
• We had a number of QB changes this week. I am most excited for Baker Mayfield, especially seeing what he did with to the Jets. For those wondering, here is how the targets broke down with Mayfield: Jarvis Landry 9, Antonio Callaway 5, Rashard Higgins 3. This gets me excited for Callaway. Bakermania is running wild in Cleveland and I like him as an upside flier.
• Josh Rosen will also start this week, which has me somewhat excited for the Cardinals offense. Now, I don’t suddenly think they will fix all their issues, but Sam Bradford looks ready for a retirement home. Rosen targeted Christian Kirk more than anyone in his limited time and has me excited for him as an upside flier. I am also excited for Ricky Seals-Jones, who has been targeted but held back by Bradford’s inability to get anything going downfield.
• Oh, speaking of the Cardinals… they continue to misuse David Johnson. Last week he ran just two routes out wide and none in the slot. Terrible.
• The last QB change is C.J. Beathard playing for the now-injured Jimmy Garoppolo. The one thing I have faith in Beathard is to throw the the RB more. Last season when the 49ers acquired Jimmy G, the RBs numbers in the passing game dropped dramatically. In fact, last year the player he targeted most was Carlos Hyde. Fire up Matt Breida this week!
• The Packers backfield is a mess. Last week was the first time all three were active this season and Jamaal Williams led them in snaps (43 percent), Aaron Jones led them in carries (6) and Ty Montgomery led them in the passing game. I still think Williams has a slight edge, but this is a situation to avoid.
• Kenyan Drake hit the bench. In a great matchup last week he played 66 percent of snaps, but that is largely because he is a better pass-blocker than Frank Gore. Drake had five carries and two catches, while Gore had six carries. I cannot trust Drake right now.
• I am also scared about Alex Collins, who played 49 percent of the snaps, compared to Buck Allen’s 54 percent. I still have Collins ranked as an RB2, but he is trending in the wrong direction.
• Antonio Gates is a legitimate sleeper this week. Literally 33 percent (3-of-9) of his targets have come in the end zone this season. The 49ers have allowed a league-high 3 TDs to TEs this season. He is a sleeper for those looking to replace an injured tight end (there’s been too many).
• The Bears face the Bucs in a matchup that has a ton of Fantasy implications. Yet, the players I am most excited to write about are Trey Burton and Taylor Gabriel. The Bucs this season have been torched by slot receivers allowing a league-high 513 yards, along with 3 TDs. Ideally the Bears will employ Allen Robinson there this week, but that is something they’ve done less-and-less as the season has gone on. In Week 3 he didn’t line up in the slot at all, instead the Bears used Gabriel and the now-injured Anthony Miller there. Gabriel led the team with 10 targets too. Both he and Burton should see volume as the Bears look to exploit the Bears weakness.
• Alshon Jeffrey may return this week but I find it hard to trust him. He was just cleared for contact and I imagine will be on a snap count. Additionally, the Eagles offense has yet to click this season and is littered with injuries. I would need to be desperate to get him in my lineup.

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