In need of a fantasy football win? We aren’t too far from the midway point of our regular season, and you can’t afford to fall too far behind. I’m here to help you break those WR start/sit ties and have your team pointing in the right direction when Week 4 is all said and done.
Which Wide Receivers Should Fantasy Managers Start in Week 4?
All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills (at BAL)
The conversation as to who the WR1 in Buffalo is might be over after three weeks. Khalil Shakir was the most efficient receiver in football last season, and for an encore, he’s caught his first 14 targets this season, producing 79.3% over expectation in the process.
Josh Allen's third TD of the half goes to Khalil Shakir!
📺: #JAXvsBUF on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/WBKrIKEikV— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2024
Through three weeks, no other Bills receiver has more than six receptions. Could that flip on a week-to-week basis?
It’s possible; we are fresh off of watching Josh Allen dice up the Jaguars with a variety of receivers benefiting. However, Shakir appears to be the weekly percentage play and is now in the WR3 conversation for me.
How about this? I’m actually more comfortable with Shakir when his team is fully healthy than the man he replaced as the lead target earner, Stefon Diggs.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks (at DET)
Hand up.
I was happy to label Jaxon Smith-Njigba as a bulletproof Year 2 breakout after he lit up the Patriots for 12 catches and 117 yards in Week 2…I was wrong.
Sure, this could be an “I lost the battle but ended up winning the war” situation, but even in that situation, I was too early in assuming that the former Buckeye was ready for lineup-lock status.
Strong receivers have bad games; it happens all the time. But it rarely comes with a sub-9% target share, something JSN has done in two of three games this season.
This projects as a favorable scoring environment, but due to his quarterback’s limitations, Smith-Njigba isn’t any different than other secondary options (the non-Nico Collins Texans and Rashid Shaheed types) or WR1s on underwhelming passing games (George Pickens and Terry McLaurin, to name a few).
Which Wide Receivers Should Fantasy Managers Sit in Week 4?
Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins (vs. TEN)
Jaylen Waddle has been efficient this season (13 catches on 14 targets), and while that’s a plus for his floor, it’s come at the cost of his ceiling.
- Week 1: 14.4 aDOT
- Weeks 2-3: 4.3 aDOT
In my opinion, there’s no denying Waddle’s talent, but I’m not sure he can overcome the limitations of Miami’s offense in his current role. I’m open to the idea of being wrong, but he’s my WR37 this week, ranking next to other receivers with trigger pullers who I don’t trust (Michael Pittman Jr., Courtland Sutton, and both Titans receivers).
Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers (vs. MIN)
Romeo Doubs entered this season as the favorite for consistent, dangerous looks, be they deep down the field or in the end zone. Well, through three weeks, Christian Watson leads this team in both average depth of target (16.0) and end-zone looks (three).
I’m not suggesting that Watson is a great play or ready to cash in on the upside we saw during his rookie campaign. I’m more suggesting that we don’t know what the receiver hierarchy looks like, and we should be patient in jumping the gun.
I’m hopeful that we get clarity on where Jordan Love wants to go with the ball over the next month, but until then, it’s little more than a guessing game — and you can do better when filling out your lineup.
You want to remain invested in Green Bay’s offense however you can. Dontayvion Wicks is still viable as well, though he’s the only member of this quartet that has produced under expectations up to this point). That remains true — you’ll just want to operate with caution before locking anyone not named “Jayden Reed” into your lineup with confidence.