Fantasy Football: Week 4 predictions to count on

The Yahoo Fantasy crew has full confidence in these players delivering a memorable performance in your fantasy football lineups for Week 4.

Fire up Mike Evans

The Mike Evans bounceback week is here! Week 3 was rough with just two receptions on three targets for 17 yards. The result was expected — Patrick Surtain II removes fantasy upside from even the most elite receivers. Still, following a quiet Week 2 of three catches and only one big game in Week 1 versus a weak Washington defense, it’s easy to be concerned. That concern is only bolstered by the fact that Chris Godwin has been the overall WR3 in half-PPR.

This week, Evans faces an Eagles defense that has been torched through the air by Chris Olave, Drake London and Darnell Mooney, Jayden Reed and even Christian Watson. Expect Evans to capitalize in this matchup for a return to a top-12 receiver. This is his get-right game. — Tera Roberts

Are you ready for your Tee [Higgins] time?

Higgins returned in Week 3 from a hamstring injury. There were some concerns that he’d be limited coming back from this injury, but he wasn’t. Higgins played 90% of the snaps and this led to a six-target performance for 39 scoreless yards. The performance wasn’t great, but the usage was the encouraging part because Ja’Marr Chase won’t hog all the production every week like he did in Week 3 while producing 118 yards and two touchdowns.

This week Higgins will take on the Panthers. Carolina allows the eighth most passing yards per play this season according to NFL Pro. Start Higgins this week in what could be a high-scoring game. — Sal Vetri

You can’t afford to sit Tony Pollard

If you wrote off Tony Pollard last season you might not want to hear this, but he’s looking kinda frisky. He’s dominated the snaps and touches in Tennessee’s backfield, so Tyjae Spears hasn’t been much more than an annoyance.

This week, Pollard gets a Miami defense that’s allowed 4.5 YPC to opposing rushers and the second-most fantasy points to opposing backs. The Titans should be planning to minimize their own quarterback, too. Pollard is set up for a monster week. You can’t sit him. — Andy Behrens

The Justin Fields breakout is upon us

Justin Fields hasn’t exploded in fantasy yet, but he’s playing well enough to keep the starting job, and big rushing games are coming. Volume has been an issue for Fields, but Colts opponents are averaging 25.7 more plays per game this season.

Fields was a top-four fantasy QB during five weeks last season, and he only started and finished 12 games. There’s real fantasy upside here once Pittsburgh’s defense eventually allows more than 10 points in a game. Fields has averaged the most scrambles per game since 2020, and he’s historically performed much better against zone defenses, which the Colts have used at the league’s fifth-highest rate. I have Fields as a top-eight QB this week.— Dalton Del Don

Diontae Johnson builds on a monster Week 3

Diontae Johnson is back in our lives with authority, coming off a career-high 122 yards against the Raiders. Nothing about what happened last week was a fluke. The Panthers’ passing concepts are well-designed, the offensive line blocked things up well against a great Raiders defensive line and Johnson is obviously a talented receiver. Andy Dalton simply executed an offense with good bones and got the ball consistently to his best receiver who is consistently open. Johnson has a 27.7% target share on the season and now the Panthers will be without Adam Thielen.

Younger players like Jonathan Mingo or Xavier Legette will see more opportunity but this could also be a moment that just pushes more volume to the No. 1 target. Carolina will take on a Bengals defense that can’t pressure the passer and ranks 29th in dropback success rate allowed. There are many big-name receivers I’ll have ranked behind Johnson this week and perhaps going forward, as long as Dalton is under center. — Matt Harmon

Presenting, your D/ST streamer of the week

I realize the Raiders defense has not played well and it was just sliced up by Andy Dalton. It doesn’t matter. Now that Bryce Young is no longer starting, Deshaun Watson is the worst quarterback in the league. Even as Watson’s passing was a little bit better last week, that was mitigated by absorbing eight sacks. If you play in a Superflex format, it might be time to speculate-stash with Jameis Winston.

Antonio Pierce put his entire Las Vegas roster on alert after last week’s embarrassment, and I expect an emotional and focus-driven rebound. If you don’t have an automatic D/ST play, I’ll approve your one-week Raiders rental. Viva Las Vegas. — Scott Pianowski