Last week’s rankings were a mixed bag of hits and misses. Some players I have been holding onto all season needed to be dropped down this week. Sorry, DeVozea Felton and Dontez Ford. But, it’s a fresh week and we have a full new set of matchups to analyze! Three weeks worth of performances also now makes fantasy points allowed a little bit more of a trustworthy tool. We can start making matchup-based calls for start and sit decisions and find those hidden gems on Fanball’s DFS tourneys a little easier.
Here’s a big breakdown of my rankings for this week with notes on all fantasy-relevant players heading into Week 4. As always, stats and points sourced thanks to Fanball and NoExtraPoints.com.
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Quarterback
There is not much to think about this week with Garrett Gilbert at the top of the QB rankings and John Wolford‘s status unknown heading into the weekend. Gilbert is your overall top scoring fantasy performer this season averaging 26.8 PPG on Fanball. Gilbert will have a tough test in Week 4, however, going up against a Karter Schult-led SLC Stallions defensive front that just about buried Wolford last week. Gilbert is also coming off a Week 3 game that saw him post a season-low 207 yards and one TD. He made up for that by chipping in a rushing TD. If there was more competition at the QB position, I might slide Gilbert down to QB2, but there just isn’t anyone else ready to threaten him at the top.
Zach Mettenberger is coming off a dominant two-quarters of play last week that saw him complete deep TD passes of both 30 and 40 yards. The sample size is incredibly small with Mettenberger in the AAF thus far, but he passed the eye test last week with flying colors as the Memphis Express outscored the Orlando Apollos 17-12 after Mettenberger took over. Mettenberger is the top QB play to watch this week along with a supporting cast that will all be auditioning for more solidified roles on a murky depth chart.
Josh Woodrum had a little rust to knock off in Week 3 after missing the previous week with a hamstring injury, but he still finished with a respectable 13.7 fantasy points last week as the QB5. The Stallions/Apollos game has some serious appeal as a potential marquee matchup in Week 4, making all players involved attractive targets in DFS this week. Woody could sneak into the top-three of my rankings this week if Wolford looks doubtful toward the end of the week.
Philip Nelson is trending in the right direction the last two weeks as he finished Week 3 with a season-high 193 yards and two TDs. His 16.4 fantasy points earned him QB3 honors last week as he connected with wideout Nelson Spruce for both of his TDs. With Mettenberger taking over at QB for Memphis, this game got a whole lot more interesting and even has some sleeper appeal for a shootout. Memphis has also allowed the second-most fantasy points to QBs so far this season.
Until Luis Perez shows that he can take the ball to the house himself instead of just shoving it in Trent Richardson’s gut at the goal-line, he is staying out of my top-five. Perez continues to look poised under pressure as one of the top QBs in the league between the 20s, but his lack of scoring opportunities thus far has him sitting in a cramped room with a severely low ceiling. Since I have finally lost hope, I’m sure Perez will go bananas this week for four TDs with two going to my other Iron boo-thang, DeVozea Felton.
It’s tough for me to gauge where I should put Logan Woodside this week. He is coming off another fairly disappointing game where he threw for 151 yards with one TD and two INTs. This brings Woodside to a 2-5 TD:INT ratio on the season. Only Matt Simms (6) has thrown more INTs this season. Woodside also gets a matchup against a Birmingham Iron defense that has completely muted the so-called QBs they have faced this season. The Iron had an absolute cupcake schedule to start the season, so I am not completely sold on them being a shutdown defense all year, but that sample is all we have to go off of so far. What’s also worrying is the continued usage of QB Marquise Williams in certain situations. Williams completed all four of his pass attempts last week for 21 yards while also adding 33 yards rushing on five carries. If Williams takes over for Woodside, he will be an absolute game-breaker with immense upside thanks to his rushing ability. Williams was notably a team captain last week alongside Woodside.
Both Matt Simms and Aaron Murray are just going to hang out at the bottom of rankings until we get official word that Simms is still the starter for Atlanta. Neither are attractive starts this week, though Simms did pile up decent yardage totals in garbage time last week.
Running Back
The top back in the AAF remains Trent Richardson regardless of his incredibly inefficient 2.5 YPA on the season. T-Rich is getting force fed near the end zone and he is making a good living off short TD plunges in fantasy.
Ja’Quan Gardner continues looking untouchable on the field as he’s run for over 100 yards in back-to-back games. Gardner is currently leading the league with 281 rushing yards and it’s not even close. The next best is Zac Stacy at only 188 yards. Despite sharing the field almost evenly with Terrell Watson, Gardner continues to be a focal point of this offense. He’ll have to come back down to earth eventually, but I wouldn’t count on it being this week against an Express defense that’s allowing the second-most fantasy points to RBs this season.
Jhurell Pressley looked to have regained control of the Arizona backfield last week after taking a back seat to Tim Cook in Week 2. It didn’t show up in the box score as Pressley only managed 34 yards on 10 carries, but he out-touched Cook 11-3 in a game where Arizona basically had to abandon the run. Cook has the looks of a severely game-flow dependent back while Pressley fills a more versatile role as the lead back. I do think Cook is more involved this week compared to last week based on a plus matchup. Pressley could also use this as a “get right” matchup against an Atlanta Legends team that has allowed the most fantasy points to RBs this season.
D’Ernest Johnson is carrying a head full of steam coming off his best outing of the season last week. Johnson did it all in Week 3 carrying the ball 13 times for 79 yards (6.1 YPA) with a rushing TD. He also caught two-of-three targets for an additional 18 yards. Johnson has earned praise from head coach Steve Spurrier, though he still is sharing this backfield primarily with De’Veon Smith. Both backs offer top-10 appeal each week but it may become a guessing game which one finds the end zone each week. Smith looked to have a solid role in the red zone at the beginning of the season.
Zac Stacy will be looking for a shot at redemption this week after putting up a dismal 2.1 YPA last week. Stacy was outplayed by breakout RB Sherman Badie last week who managed more yards than Stacy on fewer touches. I believe the two can co-exist on this offense as they offer complementing skill sets. With Memphis’ offense expected to take a big step forward this week, I like both Stacy and Badie to finish inside the top-10.
Trey Williams is getting a huge boost this week after he shined in his season debut running for 75 yards on only seven carries. Williams led all running backs last week with 10.7 YPA and likely earned a much larger role going forward. This also comes at the perfect time as Kenneth Farrow could probably use some rest to get back to full health himself. I’m taking Williams over Farrow this week, but I’m tempering expectations a little with the Iron presenting a tough matchup on paper. The continued usage of QB Marquise Williams in the running game could also eat into both RBs workload.
Outside of the top 12, you’re really looking at players who likely will need to break off a big play to make an impact worthy of finishing any higher.
Wide Receiver
With uncertainty surrounding the Hotshots QB situation early in the week, I’m giving Charles Johnson the nod as WR1 over Rashad Ross this week. Johnson is currently 10.3 fantasy points behind Ross in overall season points, but he has the ability to lead all wideouts any given week. This week also presents a great opportunity as the Apollos will face an SLC defense that has given up the second-most fantasy points to wideouts this season. Ross still remains a top play, obviously, but without Wolford under center, I’m pumping the brakes a little bit.
Jalin Marshall was quiet last week hauling in only one catch for 15 yards in a game where Garrett Gilbert threw for a season-low 207 yards. I want any part of this Orlando/SLC game I can get this week in fantasy as it has some high-scoring appeal. That, paired with SLC being a friendly matchup leads Marshall back up my ranks a bit this week.
Mekale Mckay is coming off his best game of the season last week where he caught four-of-six targets for 91 yards and a TD. This was the first TD of the season for McKay, and he will need that momentum heading into a matchup against a seemingly tough Iron defense. McKay has really been the only consistent wideout on the Commanders offense, making him an appealing play as a legitimate WR1.
Last week’s WR1, De’Mornay Pierson-El will look to carry over his stellar play into a Week 4 date against an Orlando defense who had no answer for Zach Mettenberger in the second half of last week’s game. The Apollos gave up two big TDs to Express wideouts, giving Pierson-El a great opportunity to string together solid performances.
I’d like to put Quinton Patton a touch higher, but again, Luis Perez not putting any points on the board in the passing game puts a real damper on all parties involved. Patton has maintained decent yardage totals this season as he ranks third in the league with 209 yards. He could potentially flirt with overall WR1 numbers if Perez can finally get in the end zone this week.
Nelson Spruce showed up big last week with a two-TD performance and seems to have finally emerged as the top SD Fleet wideout to own. The Spruce Goose has seen consistent target and yardage totals over the last two weeks giving him a steady floor with obvious upside as Philip Nelson’s favorite target as of late.
It feels like it’s only a matter of time before we see Seantavius Jones blow up. If the Legends can even get semi-competent QB play out of either Simms or Murray this week, Jones would have a great shot at putting up big numbers. Jones is second in the league with 23 targets but has only managed 10 receptions for 138 yards as the overall WR8 on the season. Arizona’s defense isn’t a great matchup on paper for Jones, but they did give up 90 yards and a TD to Pierson-El last week and game flow will almost certainly be on Jones’ side, as usual. This also bodes well for fellow wideout Malachi Jones who has seen a steady role and already nabbed his first TD of the season back in Week 2.
Memphis wideout Reece Horn is a player I just can’t quit lately, and I am especially bullish on him now with Christian Hackenberg out of the picture. I’m not quite sure how Horn missed out on both of Mettenberger’s big TDs last week, but prior to Week 3, Horn had been just about the only Express wideout worth knowing. With low-key, high-scoring potential in this game, Memphis/SD player stacks could be beneficial contrarian plays in DFS.
The middle of the WR rankings features a lot of guys who I see as one-hit wonder types who haven’t shown us enough consistency to warrant being ranked inside the top-10. Josh Huff is coming off a season-high eight targets last week but only managed four catches for 33 yards.
Rannell Hall made noise with a TD last week, but he is still at least the third read on this offense, giving him an inconsistent floor/ceiling. He’s also battling Chris Thompson for looks as the team’s WR3.
All San Antonio wideouts behind Mekale McKay continue to work in a fairly low-volume committee. While De’Marcus Ayers was a hot name coming into Week 3, he disappointed with only two catches for 14 yards. Greg Ward Jr. is likely the safest play of the bunch but also has shown the least amount of big-play potential as well, and Alonzo Moore has probably been the least active of the three as of late.
Devin Lucien and Gerrard Sheppard both came down with big TDs last week but also provided literally nothing before that this season, making it tough to move them any higher until we get a better read on this new-look offense.
L’Damian Washington has carved out a consistent, yet low-volume role over the last two weeks. But, what good is a second wideout on a team that isn’t throwing touchdowns? The same goes for my man, DeVozea Felton. I’m still keeping Felton relatively higher as I see him being able to get behind defenses with ease if the team ever decided to air it out a little more, but he’s nowhere near the top-10 play I was hoping for.
Dontez Ford sadly tumbles down the ranks as we come to the harsh reality that he just isn’t likely to carve out a lead role on the SD offense with the Spruce Goose doing all the damage.
Former Patriots wideout Brian Tyms will be a player I am curious to watch this week. Tyms came onto the SLC squad last minute and led all WRs and TEs in snaps and routes run according to No Extra Points’ Anders Eagleson. It will be interesting to see if the team just wanted to get Tyms up to speed quickly or if they really envision a larger workload for him going forward. Fellow WR Kenny Bell logged his first reception of the season last week which is a step in the right direction.
Tight End
The tight end rankings are a sad place to go, but if we must, let’s take a quick look.
Gavin Escobar is the overall TE1 as we head into Week 4. He has seen four catches for at least 40 yards in two-of-three games so far this season, which is a pretty miraculous feat.
SLC tight end Anthony Denham is a player I also remain high on as he has the looks of one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the league. He has also been one of the only fairly steady contributors on the Stallions offense all season. Fellow TE Nick Truesdell has also remained an active part of this two-tight end look, though he virtually disappeared last week with one catch for three yards.
Orlando Apollos tight end Scott Orndoff gets the best matchup this week against SLC who has given up the most fantasy points to tight ends this season.
Brandon Barnes is coming off a season-high four catches last week and could string together respectable performances if Mettenberger really can light it up this week.
You’re really not going to consider playing any tight end in DFS as it is not a requirement in the salary cap scoring format. If you do need to start one of these guys in season-long leagues, pray for a TD!
Check out Week 4 waiver wire suggestions for the AAF
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John Ferguson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from John, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyFerguson.