Fantasy football preview: Week 4

Greetings, Falcoholics! The Atlanta Falcons have officially won a game. The team is now 1-2 as they play host to the Washington Football team, who is also 1-2. There’s some decent matchups in regards to fantasy football, so let’s take a look at the upcoming game.

Throughout the season, every Friday, we will be previewing the fantasy matchups and who you may want to consider starting and also benching. Additionally, if you have any fantasy questions you’d like answered, you can submit them every week.

With that, let’s get started.

Falcons vs. Football Team

If you started quarterback Matt Ryan last week against the New York Giants, you likely came away pleased. Ryan threw for 243 yards and had two touchdowns in the victory. Overall, Ryan is still a desperation play, as he’s 26th in quarterback fantasy points scored through three games. If you must start Ryan this week, however, it’s certainly a favorable matchup as Washington has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in the NFL this season. I expect the Falcons will attack Washington’s secondary early and often.

In the backfield, it may be a rougher day. Washington’s strength on defense is their defensive front, and although they’ve struggled this season, this could be a “get right” game for them. Although Davis has yet to surpass 100 scrimmage yards this season, he’s getting volume with at least 16 touches in each game, between carries and receptions. Tapping into his value is obviously Cordarrelle Patterson who has had exactly 7 carries and 7 targets in each of the last two games. To the suprise of some, Patterson has been a crucial part of this offense, and remains a low-end flex in Week 4.

Last week, my call was that wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus would have a good game with Russell Gage being inactive. Zaccheaus finished with three receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown. He remains a sneaky play this week, as Washington has allowed the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this year. My call this week is that tight end Kyle Pitts has his big breakout. Although his targets have decreased in every game this season, I predict that this will be a defining game for him. I love the matchup he has with Washington’s linebacks and secondary, and I’ll say Pitts finishes with 6 catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Outside of those mentioned above, there’s no other Falcons’ player you should be starting in fantasy this week, aside from Calvin Ridley and Younghoe Koo. Even with the offenses early struggles, Ridley remains a must start every week.

That about does it for the Week 4 fantasy football preview. Again, if you have any questions heading into next weekends game against the New York Jets, be sure to submit them on Twitter and I’ll be sure to include it in next week’s article.

As I say every year, when it comes to fantasy football – always go with your gut!