Fantasy football advice, Week 4: who to start/sit for Oakland Raiders vs. Baltimore Ravens

Start ‘em

After starting off the season against the Saints and Falcons’ burnable defenses, the Raiders offense ran into tougher matchups against the Titans, and now they face the Ravens. Baltimore’s defense, while being a far cry from its elite past lives, is much improved from 2015’s debacle, most notably with Eric Weddle patrolling the center of the field. It has held Josh McCown, Tyrod Taylor and Blake Bortles to conservative outputs, but Derek Carr remains a fringe QB1 with his weapons. Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree can also be started as a WR1 and flex option, respectively.

Start ‘em?

Latavius Murray remains a committee leader instead of a feature back, and had a tough time against Jurrell Casey and the Titans’ front line in Week 3. The Ravens are holding ball carriers to under four yards per carry, and if the Raiders defense continues to be porous, game script could go against a run-heavy game plan. Murray remains a fringe RB2 for Week 4.

Sit ‘em

Clive Walford, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington do not warrant starting consideration on the road in a tough matchup.

Start ‘em

Joe Flacco torched the Raiders for 384 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2015’s 37-33 loss, and will once again have a juicy matchup at hand. The Raiders allowed Matt Ryan and Drew Brees to combine for 819 yards and seven touchdowns to begin the season, further making Flacco a solid QB1 for Week 4. Dennis Pitta can also safely be penned in as a TE1, and Mike Wallace deserves flex consideration.

Start ‘em?

Steve Smith has been heavily targeted in the passing game, but continues to not do too much with those targets. Smith’s ceiling can be considered higher than usual, but remains a WR3 with a decent floor until he proves otherwise.

Sit ‘em

The backfield tandem of Justin Forsett and Terrance West continues to struggle, and both should only be started in desperate situations.