8 keys to a fantasy football victory in Week 4

Fantasy football analyst Sal Vetri delivers his keys to victory for Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season.

The pick-up-and-play of the week is … Michael Wilson

Wilson is coming off a career-high game in Week 3. He produced eight catches for 64 yards on nine targets. The Cardinals’ second-year player saw production in both the short and deep parts of the field. He was used on out routes, routes over the middle of the field and downfield routes. This versatility is exactly what we want to see in fantasy.

Wilson will now face a Commanders secondary that allows the second-most passing yards per game. Wilson has benefited from Marvin Harrison Jr. playing across from him. Defenses must focus more attention on Harrison, which was not something Wilson had last year playing across from Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch. Pick up and play Wilson in a strong Week 4 matchup.

The best spot of the week belongs to … Rome Odunze vs. LAR

Odunze is coming off a big performance of 112 yards and one touchdown against the Colts. He finished as a top 10 fantasy receiver on the week while earning a team-high 11 targets. But it gets better because Odunze saw 49% of the Bears air yards in this game and this translated to six targets of 20+ yards.

This week Odunze faces the Rams, the best matchup any WR could have this season. L.A. has allowed nine passing yards per play this season, according to NFL Pro. That’s 17% higher than any other team in the league. They’ve allowed three receivers to total over 130 yards, including Jauan Jennings’ 175-yard, three-touchdown performance last week. Start Odunze with confidence.

The sketchy spot of the week belongs to … Josh Jacobs vs. MIN

Jacobs is coming off a poor game where he scored just 5.3 fantasy points on 15 touches. What makes this look even worse is that his own backup, Emanuel Wilson, scored 15.5 points on 14 touches. This is still Jacobs’ backfield based on snaps, and he saw most of the work early on in Week 3 before the game got out of hand late. But Wilson has likely earned a role in this offense off his strong play to open the season.

That’s not great for Jacobs, and neither is his Week 4 matchup. Jacobs will face the Vikings. According to PFF, the Vikings have the No. 1 ranked rushing defense in the NFL. They allow just 3.6 rushing yards per play, the fewest in the league. It’s a sketchy spot for Jacobs this week; don’t be surprised if he struggles again.

Diontae Johnson is trending up

Johnson’s outlook looks much better after just one game with new starting QB Andy Dalton. Johnson earned 38% of the Panthers targets in Week 3 and turned this into a career-high 122 receiving yards and one touchdown. Through three games, Johnson leads the Panthers with a 29% target share.

But that’s not all. Adam Thielen injured his hamstring in Week 3. He’s now on IR and will miss at least four games. This opens up even more opportunities for Johnson, who earned 35% of the targets after Thielen left in Week 3. Expect the strong production to continue in Week 4 because Johnson faces the Bengals, who allow the fourth-highest EPA per passing play, according to NFL Pro.

Mark Andrews is trending down

Andrews played just 33% of the Ravens’ snaps in Week 3 and only ran six routes. This led to just one target and zero fantasy points in Week 3. Through three games, Andrews has totaled just 65 yards on eight targets. His 3.2 fantasy points per game rank 30th among all TEs. It’s been bad for Andrews, but this usage needs more context.

The Ravens only threw 15 times in Week 3, and coach John Harbaugh told reporters Andrews’ snaps were lower because the Ravens were using heavy personnel to run the ball. Baltimore was up by multiple scores for most of the game against the Cowboys in Week 3, so they leaned heavily on the run game.

Not only that, but Andrews was just in a car accident last month. He didn’t start practicing again until two days before the season started. It’s fair to assume this could be impacting his play. Overall, Andrews is trending down after Week 3, but this could be an interesting time to buy low.

The must-start of the week is … Cam Akers vs. JAX (if Joe Mixon is out)

Akers started last week in place of an injured Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce. The expectations were high for him after he had a productive preseason and training camp. But in Week 3, he struggled. Akers produced just 29 total yards on 10 touches. Luckily, he found the end zone to salvage what could have been a brutally bad performance.

But this was a tough spot for Akers. He was facing the Vikings’ No. 1-ranked run defense, and the Texans played from behind all game. But this week Akers will face the Jaguars’ 22nd-ranked run defense, according to PFF. Jacksonville also ranks 30th in tackling and they just allowed 87 yards and one touchdown to James Cook last week.

If Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce are out again, you should start Akers in Week 4.

The sleeper play of the week is … Xavier Legette vs. CIN

Legette is the Panthers’ first-round rookie receiver. He’s 220 pounds and runs an impressive 4.39 40-time. According to PlayerProfiler, he’s a top-3% athlete among all wide receivers to ever attend the NFL combine. Through three games this season, Legette has earned just 77 yards on 10 targets. But this should change moving forward because Adam Thielen is now on IR.

Legette was the direct replacement for Thielen in Week 3. He finished that game with 42 yards on three targets from Andy Dalton. Expect Legette to earn a larger role in Week 4, and the matchup is also strong. He’ll face the Bengals defense that allowed 100 yards and one touchdown to Terry McLaurin last week. Legette is a FLEX option this week.

The buy-low of the week is … Tee Higgins

Higgins returned from a hamstring injury in Week 3. There were some worries around if he’d been limited in his first game back from injury, but Higgins immediately played 90% of the snaps and ran a route on 95% of Burrow’s dropbacks.

This was solid usage for his first game back, but it led to just three catches for 39 yards on six targets. Ja’Marr Chase stole the show with 118 yards and two touchdowns. This big game from Chase has created a buy-low window on Higgins.

Higgins spent most of 2023 battling injuries. His WR40 finish last season isn’t a fair representation of his talent and skill set. According to RotoViz, Higgins averages over 14 points per game in his career with Joe Burrow. Try to trade someone like Xavier Worthy or Devin Singletary for Higgins.