The fantasy football season is reaching its quarter pole, and it also marks the start of the bye weeks. Thankfully there are only two teams on bye this week, but they have notable quarterback names in Aaron Rodgers and Carson Wentz. If you own one of those two, you’re likely in a crunch this week.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 4: Quarterbacks
We take a look at this week’s top starting options at quarterback, along with a few you should avoid.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Even if you don’t have a bye week concern, there are still a lot of mid-level quarterbacks fantasy owners will have to decide on when picking their lineups in Week 4. We’ll try to help you out -- here are three top recommended starting options at quarterback, along with three you should stay away from.
Start
Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions (@ Chicago Bears)
The QB3 in Yahoo! fantasy points through three games, Stafford is close to an every-week starter at this point. He’s on pace for one of his best seasons in years with 985 passing yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Keep rolling out Stafford against Chicago’s listless defense.
Kirk Cousins, Washington (vs. Cleveland Browns)
Although Cousins is once again struggling with turnovers, he’s quietly fourth in the league with 989 passing yards and the Browns are giving up 294.3 passing yards per game. In a game that could end up being a shootout, we like Cousins’ chances of returning QB1 value this week.
Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals (vs. Los Angeles Rams)
Palmer had a poor performance last week, but he gets a good bounce-back opportunity at home against a Rams defense that let Jameis Winston throw for 405 yards and three touchdowns in Week 3. There are reasons to be concerned about Palmer’s season outlook if he continues to struggle, but for now keep him in your starting lineups. Arizona has too many weapons to be stuck in a rut for long.
Sit
Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills (@ New England Patriots)
The Bills barely throw the ball, are facing a strong Patriots defense on the road, and Taylor won’t have Sammy Watkins, who was placed on injured reserve this week. Taylor is a drop candidate in 12-team leagues and really can’t be trusted outside of DFS tournaments. He’s too volatile to trust from week to week and now his weapons are depleted.
Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans (@ Houston Texans)
The Titans’ offense is a mess and Mariota hasn’t lived up to the promise of his rookie year, throwing four interceptions and losing two fumbles while averaging only 6.8 yards per attempt. The Texans’ defense should still be a good unit even without J.J. Watt, so Mariota belongs on fantasy benches until he starts turning a corner.
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (vs. Carolina Panthers)
Ryan has been a pleasant surprise after last season’s turnover-filled nightmare, racking up 970 yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception. He’s been a fantasy bargain for owners who took him in the late rounds of their draft. That said, the Panthers’ defense has done a good job holding opposing quarterbacks in check and Julio Jones is still hobbled. It wouldn’t be surprising if Atlanta goes with a run-heavy game plan again. This has the signs of a letdown game for Ryan, so fantasy owners may want to look for a higher-upside streaming option.
