With Thursday Night Football in the books, we only have one undefeated team remaining. The parity in the NFL this year is incredible, and it’s making the league that much more fun. With that parity, comes tremendous value plays on a weekly basis. The goal of this quick article is to highlight three players each week that are likely to be found on the waiver wire, and can also be plugged into your starting lineup as a starter. As always, I’ll try and avoid the obvious plays.
Week 4 Fantasy Football Streamers
Marcus Mariota, Atlanta Falcons, QB:
This isn’t the first time I’ve written up the upside of Marcus Mariota, but people still haven’t caught on. Believe the hype. Despite being rostered in under 30% of leagues, he’s the QB13 on the year, thus far. He’s good. It’s ok to say it. This week, he’ll have a favorable matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Clowney missed last week, and may miss this week again. Garrett was in a single-car accident this week, and won’t be 100% if he plays this week either, if he even plays. Mariota already has the ability to scramble for rushing yards, and without the Browns top two defensive linemen, Mariota has the ability to put up monster numbers on the ground, which give him an incredibly solid floor for the week. On top of that, Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Olamide Zaccheaus are starting to develop a rapport with the QB. Expect an excellent fantasy week for Mariota.
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys, WR:
He’s still rostered in under 50% of leagues, but the WR2 on the Cowboys is getting ready to make his debut on the season, after coming back from injury. After seeing what James Robinson has done this year, I’m not going to fear anybody coming back from an ACL injury. If Gallup says he’s ready, I’m going to assume that he’s ready. Cooper Rush has shown he’s a starting caliber QB in this league, and there’s a chance Dak Prescott may be back for this week’s game as well. Regardless, all of the Cowboys receiving corp is in play against the porous Washington defense. Trevor Lawrence, Jared Goff, and Jalen Hurts all put up monster numbers against this defense, and the Cowboys have the best running game of the group, so there’s no doubt in my mind the Cowboys will be able to put up a balanced attack. You’ll want to pick up Gallup early, before he puts up the numbers.
Rex Burkhead, Houston Texans, RB:
I’m not necessarily making the argument that Rex Burkhead is a starting caliber running back. All I’m saying is that if you need to start a running back off of the waiver wire this week, Burkhead is the one you should start. He’s owned in under 30% of leagues at the moment, and despite his position as the RB2 behind Pierce, he’s still getting opportunities to put up fantasy points. The rushing attempts aren’t exactly there, but the targets are. He’s had 8, 3, and 5 targets over the past three weeks, and this week he’ll be going up against a 27th ranked defense against running backs, AND the Chargers will probably be leading the game, forcing a positive game script for a passing down back. It’s not my favorite play, but he can get the job done.
Also make sure to check out our Week 4 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex Rankings