Welcome to the 2023 Fantasy Football Week 4 Recap. We’ve now hit the one-month mark of the season and it’s time to start taking the trends we’ve seen so far this season a bit more seriously.
There is still plenty of time for players to shake off a slow start, but if a guy has failed to carve out a prominent role in his team’s offense to this point it may be time to start looking at replacement options in redraft leagues.
In dynasty leagues, if you find yourself sitting at 0-4 or 1-3 and aren’t in the top half of the league in fantasy points it is time to start getting aggressive in making trades to build for the future before other teams are willing to admit they aren’t a true contender.
With all that said, let’s get to the 2023 Fantasy Football Week 4 Recap.
2023 Fantasy Football Week 4 Recap
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Lions 34 - Packers 20
We'll start our 2023 Fantasy Football Week 4 Recap on Thursday night. David Montgomery (32-121-3, 2-20) showed he was completely past the leg injury that kept him out of last week's contest. He racked up 34 total touches en route to 141 total yards and 3 TDs. Jahmyr Gibbs (8-40, 4-11) could still very well have a big second-half breakout. Yet it’s clear Dan Campbell prefers to pound the rock with Montgomery.
In a game where Christian Watson (2-25-1) and Aaron Jones (5-18, 1-(-4)) were on a pitch count, Romeo Doubs (9-95) was the focal point of the Packers passing attack. He hauled in nine of his 13 targets for 95 yards. Jordan Love's (23/36-246-1-2, 2(-2)-1) scorching start came to an end, but he salvaged his fantasy day with a rushing touchdown.
Jaguars 23 - Falcons 7
Our 2023 Fantasy Football Week 4 Recap features a Sunday morning London game with the "host" Jacksonville Jaguars.
After a forgettable week one, Christian Kirk (8-84) has reestablished himself as Trevor Lawrence’s (23/30-207-1, 8-42) top option in the passing game and is a must-start WR3/Flex moving forward. Evan Engram (7-59) is one of the most consistent TE options in the game right now, breaking off his fourth consecutive game with five or more catches.
Through 24% of the season, Christian Kirk is leading the Jaguars in targets, receptions, and receiving yards. He’s also the highest-graded WR on the team, led in YPRR before today, and Trevor’s passer rating when targeting him was 110.6 (probably ?). pic.twitter.com/Q69nfNfFVG
— Christian Williams (@CWilliamsNFL) October 1, 2023
After sitting out of week one’s matchup against Carolina, Jonnu Smith (6-95) has been a prominent part of the offense, drawing two more targets (20-18) than Kyle Pitts (2-21) in that 3-game stretch. To make things worse for Kyle Pitts's owners, Smith has also been far more productive with those targets, racking up 179 receiving yards compared to Pitts’s 77.
Bills 48 - Dolphins 20
Gabe Davis (3-61-1) found his way into the end zone for the third straight week but the Bills offense ran through Stefon Diggs (6-120-3) and his three touchdown performance. Josh Allen (21/25-320-4, 4-17-1) shredded the Dolphins' defense with five total touchdowns. Buffalo is looking like the Super Bowl contender we thought they would be after a week one loss against the Jets.
De’Von Achane (8-101-2, 3-19) looks like he should take over this backfield sooner than later. Achane only had one more touch than Raheem Mostert (7-9, 3-36), but was far more productive. Most importantly he took care of the ball. Mostert fumbled the ball twice today and will have to cut that out if he wants to keep this timeshare close to 50-50 moving forward.
Broncos 31 - Bears 28
Javonte Williams (2-0) left the game early with a hip injury and it was Jaleel McLaughlin (7-72, 3-32-1) who stepped in and led the way in the Broncos backfield. Cortland Sutton (3-27-1) had his lowest receiving total of the season but found the end zone for the third time in four weeks to save his fantasy day.
Broncos rookie Jaleel McLaughlin opens the scoring vs the Bears.
pic.twitter.com/RRhXnaXVLA— Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) October 1, 2023
GMs that roster Justin Fields (28/35-335-4-1, 4-25) can breathe a little easier after today's performance where he shredded the Broncos secondary to the tune of 4 touchdowns. DJ Moore (8-131-1) looked like the high-end WR1 he was brought in to be today, scoring a TD for the second straight week and reeling off his highest yardage total of the season.
Ravens 28 - Browns 3
Lamar Jackson (15/19-186–2, 9-27-2) rallied off 4 total touchdowns as the Ravens cruised to an easy W. Jackson leaned heavily on Mark Andrews (5-80-2), connecting with his favorite target in the end zone twice while Andrews had a season-high 80 yards.
Lamar Jackson got needle threader on Hall of Fame because omg
— RAMEY (@HoodieRamey) October 1, 2023
The entire Browns offense struggled to get anything going with Deshaun Watson under center. Jerome Ford (9-26, 5-19) salvaged his day in PPR leagues with five catches but was otherwise ineffective. He was only able to manage 3.2 yards per touch and was kept out of the end zone after a multi-score effort last week.
Vikings 21 - Panthers 13
Alexander Mattison (17-95, 1-3) rushed for 90+ yards for the second straight week as the Vikings took down the Panthers and finally got to put a 1 in the win column. Justin Jefferson (6-85-2) overcame Kirk Cousins (12/19-139-2-2) down week and shows why he was the 1.01 in 1QB redraft and dynasty leagues this past offseason.
The Panthers skid to open the season continued on Sunday while Bryce Young (25/32-204-0) and the offense failed to score a TD. Adam Thielen (7-76) had another solid day and looks like a strong flex play no matter who is under center. Chuba Hubbard (14-41, 2-12) outperformed starter Miles Sanders (13-19, 3-13) as his early season struggles continue.
Titans 27 - Bengals 3
Derrick Henry’s (22-122-1, 1-11) dominant day on the ground was boosted up even more when he added a two-yard TD pass on a trick play to put an exclamation point on a huge bounce-back performance. DeAndre Hopkins (4-63) almost had a huge day, getting open behind the secondary on a trick play but was overthrown by Ryan Tannehill (18/25-240-1-1, 6-11).
CLASSIC DERRICK HENRY ? pic.twitter.com/4qB0wXC1sT
— PFF (@PFF) October 1, 2023
The Bengals' nightmarish start to the season continued as Tee Higgins (2-19) left the game with a fractured rib and is expected to miss some time. Ja’Marr Chase (7-73) and Joe Mixon (14-67, 1-9) had decent fantasy days but until Joe Burrow (20/30-165-0) starts to look more like his normal self the ceiling for the entire offense remains capped.
Rams 29 - Colts 23
The Puka Nacua (9-163-1) show continues to rage on as the rookie continues to break records through his first four games. His emergence as a legitimate fantasy weapon should continue even if he loses a few targets per week when Cooper Kupp returns. Congrats If you drafted this potential league winner late or got him for free off waivers.
Anthony Richardson (11/25-200-2, 10-56-1) completed less than 50% of his passes but led a furious comeback highlighted by 3 total touchdowns that ultimately came up just short in the Colts' OT loss. This Colts offense has had flashes where they’ve looked really good. And the potential return of Jonathan Taylor should provide another boost in the coming weeks.
Buccaneers 26 - Saints 9
Baker Mayfield (25/32-246-3-1, 8-31) had his best fantasy performance of the season as the Buccaneers moved to 3-1 and into first place in the NFC South. Chris Godwin (8-114) still hasn’t found the end zone but stepped up and had his best performance of the season after Mike Evans (3-40) left the game early with an injury and prevented me from being silly strung on Twitter.
Chris Godwin over ✅ https://t.co/QeReG6Ing7
— JJ Schultz (@dynoNFL) October 1, 2023
Alvin Kamara (11-51, 13-33) looked good in his return from suspension and boosted his fantasy numbers with 13 catches. Chris Olave (1-4) was only able to haul in one of his six targets but will bounce back as Derek Carr’s (23/37-127-0) throwing shoulder presumably continues to get healthier.
Eagles 34 - Commanders 31
AJ Brown (9-175-2) scored twice and routinely found open spaces downfield for Jalen Hurts (25/37-319-2, 9-34) to exploit as the Eagles snuck out an OT victory against the Commanders. D’Andre Swift (14-56-1, 4-23) looks like he has taken the starting job and should have a career season running behind this Eagles offensive line.
Sam Howell (29/41-290-1, 6-40) had a strong performance against a quality defense. That performance was highlighted by a game-tying TD drive that sent the game to overtime. Antonio Gibson (6-19, 1-7) continued to get outplayed by Brian Robinson Jr. (14-45-1), and looks like he may be one of my worst calls of the offseason.
Texans 30 - Steelers 6
Nico Collins (7-168-2) rebounded hugely from a down game in Week 3, hauling in seven of his nine targets and finding the end zone twice. C.J. Stroud’s (16/30-306-2, 4-16) scorching start to his rookie season continues today as it looks like the Texans have finally found their franchise QB.
CJ STROUD IS HIM ?️ pic.twitter.com/RSyOpj0KJL
— PFF (@PFF) October 1, 2023
Kenny Pickett (15/23-114-0-1) left the game early with a knee injury and is likely going to miss an extended period of time. Najee Harris (14-71, 1-32) had his best game of the season and is likely going to be a huge focal point of the offense as Mitch Trubisky (3/5-18-0) takes over for a few weeks.
Chargers 24 - Raiders 17
Joshua Palmer (3-77) led the team in yards and targets but it was Keenan Allen (3-32-1) who hauled in Justin Herbert’s (13/24-167-1-1, 12-27-2) only touchdown pass of the day. Herbert had an off day through the air but added two rushing TDs to prop up his fantasy numbers.
Aidan O’Connell (24/39-238-0-1, 3-3-1) played decent in his first career start but had a crucial mistake on an interception near the goal line to end the game. Josh Jacobs (17-58-1, 8-81) had a strong day as a pass catcher, racking up 81 receiving yards to lead the team. Davante Adams (8-75) left the game briefly with an injury. However, he returned and looked like his normal self.
Cowboys 38 - Patriots 3
Dak Prescott (28/34-261-1) was surgical as the Cowboys shook off an ugly Week 3 loss in their 38-3 dismantling of the Patriots. CeeDee Lamb (4-36-1, 1-12) caught a TD pass but it was TE Jake Ferguson (7-77) who led the team in targets, catches, and yards. He has seven targets in 3 of 4 games this year and is in the weekly low-end TE1 conversation.
Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb for the perfect fade TDpic.twitter.com/KtC6dEcLUd
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) October 1, 2023
Mac Jones (12/21-150-0-2) was benched in the 3rd quarter but his starting job appears secure for now. Rhamondre Stevenson’s (14-30, 2-10) sluggish start didn’t get any better today against a tough Dallas D, as he’s now averaging just 2.7 yards per carry on the season.
49ers 35 - Cardinals 16
Christian McCaffrey (20-106-3, 7-71-1) had four TDs while Brandon Aiyuk (6-148) caught all six of his targets for 148 yards in the 49ers' divisional win against the Cardinals. Brock Purdy (20/21-283-1) continues to do a decent job of taking care of the ball and feeding the team's explosive playmakers.
The surprisingly competitive Cardinals had this as a one-score game in the third quarter before the 49ers pulled away for good. James Conner (11/52, 1-4) had his worst game of the season but he won’t face the 49ers run defense every week so better days should be ahead. Rookie Michael Wilson (7-76-2) was a frequent target and brought in his first two career TDs.
Chiefs 23 - Jets 20
Isiah Pacheco’s (20-115-1, 3-43) strong day offset an uncharacteristic performance from Patrick Mahomes (18/30-203-1-2, 7-51) as the Chiefs won a game that was much closer than many expected. Travis Kelce (6-60) was heavily targeted and appears to be fully over the early season injury that knocked him out of Week 1.
Isiah Pacheco is that kid at the sleepover whose parents don’t let have soda.
— Jeff Bell (@4WhomJBellTolls) October 2, 2023
“Zach Wilson (28/39-245-2) went toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes” was not a sentence I thought I would ever write, but that’s exactly what happened on Sunday night. Dalvin Cook (5-16, 1-2) definitely looks like he has lost a step, averaging a career-low 2.5 yards per carry through four games. Breece Hall (6-56, 3-13) will easily take this starting job back as soon as he shows he can handle a full workload.
Monday Night Football Prediction
Seahawks 27 - Giants 14
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