Fantasy football flex rankings for Week 4
Eric Karabell
ESPN PLUS
I can hear and see the complaints before they come: "Where is Adrian Peterson?" and "You forgot Devin Funchess!"
Well, no, actually I did not. The bye weeks are here. The Carolina and Washington clubs get this weekend off, which did not affect the Week 4 edition of the flex rankings greatly, but prepare yourselves because bye weeks become a problem later. Wait until Week 9 when six teams are off!
One need not prepare for that now, but get the Week 4 players who are not playing out of lineups immediately. Then go and flex!
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1. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints: Making a great case for No. 1. His 37 rushing attempts are outside the top 20. His 30 receptions are third. Just wait until he scores more touchdowns.
2. Todd Gurley II, RB, Los Angeles Rams: His worst game featured 23.7 PPR points. The Vikings' defense looked scarier before playing the Bills.<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;">
3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys: On pace for nearly 1,500 rushing yards. The passing game is broken, not the running game.
4. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants: Might return to 14 receptions for this week's game with the Saints. How can the Giants keep up?
5. Melvin Gordon, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Sure looks like he will be returning to double-digit touchdowns, perhaps by Thanksgiving.
6. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: His younger teammate has more receptions and yards, but consistency still matters too. This is a Pittsburgh home game too.
7. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints: Last season was great, but Thomas is on a record pace and already has matched his 100-yard outings from last season.
8. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants: Well, it has not been a problem throwing on the Saints so far. Opposing wide receivers are scoring 63.3 PPR points against them. Second place are the Chargers at 48.9 points. Wow.
9. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Trade him to me if you are in one of my many leagues and think he is underachieving.
10. David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Um, ditto actually.
11. Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: Only one catch for five yards after three games. Starting to get worried. Last season Hunt caught 53 passes -- more than three per game.
12. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans: Even winless teams can feed their top wide receiver. This should get better.
13. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
14. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: When the quarterback throws for 400 yards literally every game, someone has to catch the passes.
15. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
16. Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears
17. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: One would presume he is able to play this weekend, but frustration among his investors is reasonable. Just do not panic when he is healthy.
18. James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Yeah, perhaps he really will keep this starting role for all 16 games. Amazing turn of events.
19. A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
20. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers: Nope, I am not so concerned about Aaron Rodgers.
21. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings
22. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings: Still limited in practice with the hamstring injury and could miss Thursday's game. The team did not thrive in the running game in Week 3.
23. Carlos Hyde, RB, Cleveland Browns: The Browns simply are not throwing to the running backs, so Hyde has a greater share of touches than expected.
24. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
25. T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck throws nothing deep, like literally nothing. Hilton is doing fine, but defenses can let him run by them with little cause for alarm.
26. Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
27. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots: Can you imagine him playing for any other franchise? Me either. His stats will be there.
28. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
29. Brandin Cooks, WR, Los Angeles Rams
30. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
31. Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Keep him benched if you must, but there was nothing wrong with his Week 3 performance. Joe Mixoncould return for Week 5, though.
32. Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans: Otherwise meaningless touchdowns in the final seconds of a loss matter too. This week is a nice matchup for a relatively safe RB2.
33. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos
34. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos: Fine with me if you switch the order of the Denver receivers. Similar touches here, but Sanders is the one with the long rushing touchdown he is unlikely to reproduce.
35. Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions
36. Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins: One more game like Week 3 in which he barely touches the football and yes, we run away. What was that?
37. Alex Collins, RB, Baltimore Ravens
38. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
39. Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears: One would think Mitchell Trubisky tears up the Tampa defense, aiding Robinson.
40. Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions
41. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks: From 13 rushing attempts the first two games to 32 of them in Week 3. Sure seems like the Seahawks are making things up as they go along. Watch him get 10 touches this week.
42. Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: As of Wednesday morning, there were positive reports on the injured knee. Could be more of a timeshare even if he suits up.
43. Will Fuller V, WR, Houston Texans
44. Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams
45. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals: I think those cutting this proven veteran, who was a top-five PPR receiver last season, are making a large mistake.
46. LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills: I think the same thing here, as he was the No. 7 running back. Older players can still produce, even with rookie quarterbacks.
47. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Oakland Raiders
48. Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans: The Eagles are tough on opposing running backs.
49. Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders
50. Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Rookie receivers are generally inconsistent, but this one looks like he is a legit contributor.
51. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
52. Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks: Seahawks not sharing much info about whether Doug Baldwin is playing anytime soon. Lockett has scored touchdowns in all three games.
53. Marvin Jones Jr., WR, Detroit Lions: Slow start for him, and Golladay is getting far more love from Matthew Stafford.
54. Nelson Agholor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: Alshon Jeffery probably sits another week or more, but Ertz remains the prime Carson Wentz target.
55. Kenny Stills, WR, Miami Dolphins
56. Isaiah Crowell, RB, New York Jets
57. Phillip Lindsay, RB, Denver Broncos: Some believe his ejection from the Week 3 game will hurt his standing on the depth chart. I clearly do not believe that.
58. James White, RB, New England Patriots: Should retain relevance all season long, really.
59. John Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens: Steelers sure do not look like they can stop the pass this season.
60. Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers
61. Sammy Watkins, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
62. Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Move him way up if Freeman sits out again. Really, just put him in Freeman's spot.
63. Matt Breida, RB, San Francisco 49ers: Still piling on the rushing yards, and the loss of Jimmy Garoppolo might not hurt his production much. The receivers are a different story.
64. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
65. Chris Hogan, WR, New England Patriots
66. Michael Crabtree, WR, Baltimore Ravens: Double-digit PPR points in all three weeks, but not awesome games, either.
67. Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos: Have to keep him rostered in case things start going his way.
68. Jay Ajayi, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: Obvious statistical upside when he plays. Will he play?
69. Sony Michel, RB, New England Patriots: We might never feel confident in his role.
70. Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: Not a ton of targets, but he makes big plays when he gets opportunity.
71. Josh Gordon, WR, New England Patriots: Honestly, we are all just guessing. Do not give up on him, though, because you know that annoying guy touting his unbeaten record will scoop up Gordon and enjoy big stats in December.
72. Bilal Powell, RB, New York Jets
73. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions: Finally, a Lion rushes for 100 yards. Had not happened since the Billy Sims era. OK, it was a bit more recent than that. Johnson needed touches.
74. Peyton Barber, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Plenty of volume, but not much happening. Have to think rookie Ronald Jones gets a chance at some point.
75. Javorius Allen, RB, Baltimore Ravens: More than simply a fellow for third downs at this point.
76. Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
77. Quincy Enunwa, WR, New York Jets
78. Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots
79. Alfred Morris, RB, San Francisco 49ers
80. DeSean Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I think his disappointing Week 3 performance will end up repeated half a dozen times this season.
81. Geronimo Allison, WR, Green Bay Packers
82. Jamaal Williams, RB, Green Bay Packers
83. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers: I think he is better than the player one spot ahead of him, but until the Packers believe it, neither holds much value.
84. Corey Clement, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: I am not sure he warrants a major move into near-RB2 territory even if Ajayi sits. That is the whole point here: The Eagles share the running back load!
85. Corey Davis, WR, Tennessee Titans
86. Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Buffalo Bills: Nobody on the Bills has more than six catches after three games. I think Josh Allen is capable of making Benjamin better.
87. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
88. Jimmy Graham, TE, Green Bay Packers
89. Kyle Rudolph, TE, Minnesota Vikings
90. Rashaad Penny, RB, Seattle Seahawks
91. Latavius Murray, RB, Minnesota Vikings: Quite a Week 3 stinker, though game flow played a role. Move Murray up if Cook sits, but not to RB2 territory.
92. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
93. Chris Ivory, RB, Buffalo Bills: Capable of 50 yards rushing at any time.
94. T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Rumor has it Fournette will suit up this week.
95. Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers
96. Pierre Garcon, WR, San Francisco 49ers
97. Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets: Missing in action. One of these weeks he goes off for like 150 yards and two scores.
98. Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Cleveland Browns: I give up.
99. Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears: Jordan Howard has more catches and targets. This could change, but for now, Cohen holds little value.
100. Jordy Nelson, WR, Oakland Raiders: I would tell you to sell high, but honestly, who is buying?
Others: Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions; LeGarrette Blount, RB, Detroit Lions; Jared Cook, TE, Oakland Raiders; Trey Burton, TE, Chicago Bears; Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants; Keelan Cole, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars; Antonio Callaway, WR, Cleveland Browns; Ryan Grant, WR, Indianapolis Colts; Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts; Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals; Ty Montgomery, RB, Green Bay Packers; Jordan Wilkins, RB, Indianapolis Colts; Darren Sproles, RB, Philadelphia Eagles</offer>
Eric Karabell
ESPN PLUS
I can hear and see the complaints before they come: "Where is Adrian Peterson?" and "You forgot Devin Funchess!"
Well, no, actually I did not. The bye weeks are here. The Carolina and Washington clubs get this weekend off, which did not affect the Week 4 edition of the flex rankings greatly, but prepare yourselves because bye weeks become a problem later. Wait until Week 9 when six teams are off!
One need not prepare for that now, but get the Week 4 players who are not playing out of lineups immediately. Then go and flex!
<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer><offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer><offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer>
1. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints: Making a great case for No. 1. His 37 rushing attempts are outside the top 20. His 30 receptions are third. Just wait until he scores more touchdowns.
2. Todd Gurley II, RB, Los Angeles Rams: His worst game featured 23.7 PPR points. The Vikings' defense looked scarier before playing the Bills.<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;">
3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys: On pace for nearly 1,500 rushing yards. The passing game is broken, not the running game.
4. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants: Might return to 14 receptions for this week's game with the Saints. How can the Giants keep up?
5. Melvin Gordon, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Sure looks like he will be returning to double-digit touchdowns, perhaps by Thanksgiving.
6. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: His younger teammate has more receptions and yards, but consistency still matters too. This is a Pittsburgh home game too.
7. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints: Last season was great, but Thomas is on a record pace and already has matched his 100-yard outings from last season.
8. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants: Well, it has not been a problem throwing on the Saints so far. Opposing wide receivers are scoring 63.3 PPR points against them. Second place are the Chargers at 48.9 points. Wow.
9. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Trade him to me if you are in one of my many leagues and think he is underachieving.
10. David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Um, ditto actually.
11. Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: Only one catch for five yards after three games. Starting to get worried. Last season Hunt caught 53 passes -- more than three per game.
12. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans: Even winless teams can feed their top wide receiver. This should get better.
13. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
14. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: When the quarterback throws for 400 yards literally every game, someone has to catch the passes.
15. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
16. Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears
17. Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: One would presume he is able to play this weekend, but frustration among his investors is reasonable. Just do not panic when he is healthy.
18. James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Yeah, perhaps he really will keep this starting role for all 16 games. Amazing turn of events.
19. A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
20. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers: Nope, I am not so concerned about Aaron Rodgers.
21. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings
22. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings: Still limited in practice with the hamstring injury and could miss Thursday's game. The team did not thrive in the running game in Week 3.
23. Carlos Hyde, RB, Cleveland Browns: The Browns simply are not throwing to the running backs, so Hyde has a greater share of touches than expected.
24. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
25. T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck throws nothing deep, like literally nothing. Hilton is doing fine, but defenses can let him run by them with little cause for alarm.
26. Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
27. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots: Can you imagine him playing for any other franchise? Me either. His stats will be there.
28. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
29. Brandin Cooks, WR, Los Angeles Rams
30. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
31. Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Keep him benched if you must, but there was nothing wrong with his Week 3 performance. Joe Mixoncould return for Week 5, though.
32. Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans: Otherwise meaningless touchdowns in the final seconds of a loss matter too. This week is a nice matchup for a relatively safe RB2.
33. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos
34. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos: Fine with me if you switch the order of the Denver receivers. Similar touches here, but Sanders is the one with the long rushing touchdown he is unlikely to reproduce.
35. Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions
36. Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins: One more game like Week 3 in which he barely touches the football and yes, we run away. What was that?
37. Alex Collins, RB, Baltimore Ravens
38. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
39. Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears: One would think Mitchell Trubisky tears up the Tampa defense, aiding Robinson.
40. Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions
41. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks: From 13 rushing attempts the first two games to 32 of them in Week 3. Sure seems like the Seahawks are making things up as they go along. Watch him get 10 touches this week.
42. Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: As of Wednesday morning, there were positive reports on the injured knee. Could be more of a timeshare even if he suits up.
43. Will Fuller V, WR, Houston Texans
44. Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams
45. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals: I think those cutting this proven veteran, who was a top-five PPR receiver last season, are making a large mistake.
46. LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills: I think the same thing here, as he was the No. 7 running back. Older players can still produce, even with rookie quarterbacks.
47. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Oakland Raiders
48. Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans: The Eagles are tough on opposing running backs.
49. Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders
50. Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons: Rookie receivers are generally inconsistent, but this one looks like he is a legit contributor.
51. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
52. Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks: Seahawks not sharing much info about whether Doug Baldwin is playing anytime soon. Lockett has scored touchdowns in all three games.
53. Marvin Jones Jr., WR, Detroit Lions: Slow start for him, and Golladay is getting far more love from Matthew Stafford.
54. Nelson Agholor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: Alshon Jeffery probably sits another week or more, but Ertz remains the prime Carson Wentz target.
55. Kenny Stills, WR, Miami Dolphins
56. Isaiah Crowell, RB, New York Jets
57. Phillip Lindsay, RB, Denver Broncos: Some believe his ejection from the Week 3 game will hurt his standing on the depth chart. I clearly do not believe that.
58. James White, RB, New England Patriots: Should retain relevance all season long, really.
59. John Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens: Steelers sure do not look like they can stop the pass this season.
60. Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers
61. Sammy Watkins, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
62. Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Move him way up if Freeman sits out again. Really, just put him in Freeman's spot.
63. Matt Breida, RB, San Francisco 49ers: Still piling on the rushing yards, and the loss of Jimmy Garoppolo might not hurt his production much. The receivers are a different story.
64. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
65. Chris Hogan, WR, New England Patriots
66. Michael Crabtree, WR, Baltimore Ravens: Double-digit PPR points in all three weeks, but not awesome games, either.
67. Royce Freeman, RB, Denver Broncos: Have to keep him rostered in case things start going his way.
68. Jay Ajayi, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: Obvious statistical upside when he plays. Will he play?
69. Sony Michel, RB, New England Patriots: We might never feel confident in his role.
70. Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: Not a ton of targets, but he makes big plays when he gets opportunity.
71. Josh Gordon, WR, New England Patriots: Honestly, we are all just guessing. Do not give up on him, though, because you know that annoying guy touting his unbeaten record will scoop up Gordon and enjoy big stats in December.
72. Bilal Powell, RB, New York Jets
73. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions: Finally, a Lion rushes for 100 yards. Had not happened since the Billy Sims era. OK, it was a bit more recent than that. Johnson needed touches.
74. Peyton Barber, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Plenty of volume, but not much happening. Have to think rookie Ronald Jones gets a chance at some point.
75. Javorius Allen, RB, Baltimore Ravens: More than simply a fellow for third downs at this point.
76. Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
77. Quincy Enunwa, WR, New York Jets
78. Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots
79. Alfred Morris, RB, San Francisco 49ers
80. DeSean Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I think his disappointing Week 3 performance will end up repeated half a dozen times this season.
81. Geronimo Allison, WR, Green Bay Packers
82. Jamaal Williams, RB, Green Bay Packers
83. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers: I think he is better than the player one spot ahead of him, but until the Packers believe it, neither holds much value.
84. Corey Clement, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: I am not sure he warrants a major move into near-RB2 territory even if Ajayi sits. That is the whole point here: The Eagles share the running back load!
85. Corey Davis, WR, Tennessee Titans
86. Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Buffalo Bills: Nobody on the Bills has more than six catches after three games. I think Josh Allen is capable of making Benjamin better.
87. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
88. Jimmy Graham, TE, Green Bay Packers
89. Kyle Rudolph, TE, Minnesota Vikings
90. Rashaad Penny, RB, Seattle Seahawks
91. Latavius Murray, RB, Minnesota Vikings: Quite a Week 3 stinker, though game flow played a role. Move Murray up if Cook sits, but not to RB2 territory.
92. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
93. Chris Ivory, RB, Buffalo Bills: Capable of 50 yards rushing at any time.
94. T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Rumor has it Fournette will suit up this week.
95. Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers
96. Pierre Garcon, WR, San Francisco 49ers
97. Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets: Missing in action. One of these weeks he goes off for like 150 yards and two scores.
98. Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Cleveland Browns: I give up.
99. Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears: Jordan Howard has more catches and targets. This could change, but for now, Cohen holds little value.
100. Jordy Nelson, WR, Oakland Raiders: I would tell you to sell high, but honestly, who is buying?
Others: Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions; LeGarrette Blount, RB, Detroit Lions; Jared Cook, TE, Oakland Raiders; Trey Burton, TE, Chicago Bears; Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants; Keelan Cole, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars; Antonio Callaway, WR, Cleveland Browns; Ryan Grant, WR, Indianapolis Colts; Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts; Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals; Ty Montgomery, RB, Green Bay Packers; Jordan Wilkins, RB, Indianapolis Colts; Darren Sproles, RB, Philadelphia Eagles</offer>
