Hello and welcome back, Nerds! The Dynasty Nerds writers are here to provide you with weekly starts and sits. I will be doing the wide receiver starts and sits for the 2022 season! As a group, we will make our recommendations based on weekly consensus PPR rankings from FantasyPros. Here is our squad and the position groups they will be covering to help you each week. Follow us, DM us, tweet us, we look forward to hearing from you!
QB: Jason Snyder (@Spydes78) – Changing the Call
RB: Jake Oliver (@DarthDbacks) – The Cutback
WR: Tristan Cook (@THEtristancook) – Slant Pattern
TE: Ethan Wyatt (@ethanAwyatt) – 12 Formation
FLEX: Evan Brown (@FFEVanlution) – Flex on ‘Em
IDP: Jon Glosser (@Glosser13) – IDP Start/Sit
One thing to keep in mind when making your start/sit decisions, it will ALWAYS depend on who your other options are. The players listed below are WRs that I expect to finish above/below their respective rankings. But, it doesn’t mean you need to take them out of (or put them into) your lineup unless your alternatives are worth it.
NOTE: Rankings are based on a 12-team PPR league. So, saying WR2 means top 24, or TE1 means top 12, etc., and are pulled from Fantasy Pros consensus expert rankings.
RECAP
Last week was a good week for my picks. I had three hits with Tyler Lockett as a ‘start’ and Allen Robinson and Rashod Bateman as ‘sits’, My worst call of the week was Adam Thielen as a ‘sit’. He finished as WR 16. I expected Jefferson to have a big day, but Thielen outperformed him. My final call of Week 3 was Garrett Wilson as a ‘start,’ but he, unfortunately, was injured during the game. He had been looking quite promising to that point. Let’s get to the calls for Week 4!
START
DeVonta Smith VS JAX – WR 30
Week 3 Stats | WR 1 | FPts: 30.9 | Tgts: 12 | Rec: 8 | Yds: 169 | TDs: 1
The first player on my ‘start’ list is DeVonta Smith. Despite being the top-scoring fantasy receiver of the week, Smith comes into Week 4 ranked as a mid-tier WR3. We have seen this Eagles offense look dominant through the first three weeks of the 2022 season. They trail only the Buffalo Bills in yards passing. Smith comes off as impressive of a game as anyone could have and now has the below-average Jaguars secondary.
Smith has been dealing with a back injury, but I am not sure I can explain the WR30 ranking for this week. The only reason I wouldn’t be playing Smith is if he’s out for the game. If you have him, make sure he’s in your starting lineup.
Jerry Jeudy @ LV – WR 36
Week 3 Stats | WR 91 | FPts: 3.7 | Tgts: 6 | Rec: 2 | Yds: 17 | TDs: 0
My next ‘start’ of Week 4 is Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy. He’s not coming off a big game. In fact, Jeudy was WR91 last week. This Broncos offense has looked awful through two weeks, but I’m optimistic that they will figure it out sooner than later.
This week Jeudy will be going up against the Raiders defense which allows the third most passing yards per game in the AFC. Is there some risk to starting Jeudy? Yes. But I think this is the week Denver figures it out. I think he’ll finish above his WR36 ranking.
DJ Moore VS ARI – WR 31
Week 3 Stats | WR 100 | FPts: 2.5 | Tgts: 6 | Rec: 1 | Yds: 2 | TDs: 0
DJ Moore is my third ‘start’ for Week 4. I know this one will be a hard sell, but I think there’s reason for hope. Moore is leading the team in targets, with 22. I know his 50% catch rate isn’t good, but it’s good to see that Baker is looking his way. He will need to be more efficient with his targets to reliably produce for your fantasy team, but I think this week will be the start. Why, you might ask? Well, because he’s playing against the Cardinals, who have been one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL this year. I haven’t always been a big proponent of DJ Moore, but I believe better days are coming.
Chris Olave VS MIN – WR 32
Week 3 Stats | WR 8 | FPts: 23.7 | Tgts: 13 | Rec: 9 | Yds: 147 | TDs: 0
My final start of Week 4 is Saints receiver Chris Olave. He had a monster game last week against the Panthers, and I think he will repeat it this week. Or at least have another good fantasy game. Michael Thomas is out for Week 4, and Jarvis Landry is questionable with an ankle injury. Look for Olave to add to his team-leading target and reception totals.
This game is in London and is the super early 9:30 am ET kickoff, so if you don’t want to wake up early to check on the status of Thomas, I get that. Olave has received 13 targets in each of the last two games, so he should be heavily involved regardless of who else plays.
SIT
Gabe Davis @ BAL – WR 21
Week 3 Stats | WR 71 | FPts: 6.7 | Tgts: 6 | Rec: 3 | Yds: 37 | TDs: 0
I only have two ‘sits’ for Week 4, the first of which is Gabe Davis. I’ve made my arguments about the risks of starting Gabe Davis before. They are all still valid. His ranking and value have been propped up by an unobtainable touchdown rate. The Bills have a good enough offense to sustain Davis as a viable WR2 each week, but he’s not there yet.
We saw it last week. Davis only caught 3 passes for 37 yards receiving and was held out of the end zone. Without the scores, Davis is barely usable. He’s always a threat to score, sure, but I don’t want to rely on that, and I certainly don’t think I would rank him at WR21, given his TD dependency. I’m looking elsewhere.
Rashod Bateman VS BUF – WR 25
Week 3 Stats | WR 73 | FPts: 5.9 | Tgts: 4 | Rec: 2 | Yds: 59 | TDs: 0
Rashod Bateman is my other ‘sit’ for Week 4. He is a holdover from last week’s article, where he was also a ‘sit’. My arguments against Bateman were essentially the same as those against Gabe Davis. But, they are even stronger against Bateman.
Rashod Bateman is facing the second-best pass defense in the NFL this week, whereas Gabe Davis is facing the team allowing the most yards through the air. The Ravens have been a good passing team, but we saw last week what can happen when Bateman doesn’t have a big play. I’m optimistic about his long-term value, but I’m not playing Bateman or Davis this week if I have better options.
That’s it for Week 4. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@THEtristancook) if you have any specific questions about who I would start.
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There are also weekly office hours in the Facebook group and on Twitter each Sunday morning before the early games kick off. There are a handful of writers that will answer all the questions posted, so you are usually able to get a few different takes on your situation. Make sure to come back next week to see how these picks turned out. Good luck!