Fantasy Football Week 4 Top Matchups To Watch: James Cook, Keenan Allen and 5 Others

Football is about coming to work, doing your job, and winning those internal battles. I discuss this topic week in and week out. Some teams match up well in certain aspects, whereas others do not. For this reason, I did not like the Packers last week and they went on to lose. For this reason, I also liked the Dolphins and they nearly won. Ever hear of the circle of parity? Every year, you can create a circle where all 32 NFL teams connect by having beaten one opponent, who then loses to another and it comes full circle. Matchups play a huge part in that, and these are the key ones to watch this week.

James Cook vs Saints Run Stop

This blowout is a matter of time. I am extremely confident that the Bills will win by a large sum this week, leading them to be an extremely popular survivor pool pick. The Saints rank 31st in Run Block Win Rate, so expect Cook to run wild in the first half. It is quite likely that he is the RB1 this week, and we rank him as the RB3 of Week 4.

Amon-Ra St Brown vs Browns Secondary

St Brown is a high-leverage pick in our WR/CB matchups this week, and I will comfortably list him here as well. Nobody, and I mean nobody is a better red zone target than St Brown. With Denzel Ward covering Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra is going to likely have a field day in the slot against Newsome and Harden. The Lions could approach 50 Points and I am not sure anyone would be surprised to see it.

Jalen Hurts/AJ Brown/Devonta Smith vs Buccaneers Defense

Rarely do I ever love the Eagles pass game, but I think I do this week. The Buccaneers rank 30th in Pass Rush Win Rate and a less-than-impressive 20th in Passing Yards Allowed. I especially am not impressed given their opponents: Falcons, Texans, Jets. These teams rank 19th, 26th, and 31th in passing yards this season, respectively.

Tetairoa McMillan vs Christian Gonzalez

The star of this Patriots defense is Christian Gonzalez and he is making his season debut this week against the Panthers. This makes more a tough matchup for the rookie from Arizona. In 20 career games, Gonzalez has allowed just three touchdowns in coverage. McMillan is definitely a downgrade for me this week.

Keenan Allen vs Giants Secondary

Keenan Allen is one of my must-start players of the week, and he and Herbert are my stack of the week. Allen is the best red zone target this season along with Amon-Ra St Brown. As far as coverage goes, Andru Phillips is allowing an over 70% completion percentage in coverage. Paulson Adebo is also allowing a 68% completion percentage and nearly 70 yards per game. This is the duo mostly tasked with covering Allen, and I would venture to say they will fail.

Puka Nacua vs Colts Secondary

As far as you should be concerned, Nacua is matchup proof. In fact, he is among the offensive player of the year candidates. Whenever I see his name, I figure he will do well. Nacua is an auto-start with weekly massive upside. The Colts do not have what it takes and I do see this game as a potential shootout. This is more of hype-up than a start 'em, sit 'em, I'll be honest.

Lamar Jackson/Derrick Henry vs Chiefs Run-Stop

The Chiefs have been underwhelming this season, and it is amazing to say that one of these teams will be 1-3 after this week. The Chiefs rank 30th in run-stop win rate and they are allowing 114 Rushing Yards per Game. A smart game plan would be to pound the rock, and I expect Todd Monken to do just that. The Ravens are a top offense of mine this weekend.