Fantasy Football 2018: Start or sit for Week 4

Start

Sterling Shepard vs. New Orleans – The Giants will be without tight end Evan Engram for a good stretch of time, as Engram sprained his MCL and his considered week-to-week. Engram commanded a lot of attention in the passing game, and his absence should free up more room/targets for Sterling Shepard.

Shepard has seen multiple games with seven-plus balls thrown his way, and will look to continue that trend against a New Orleans Saints secondary that just lost nickel corner Patrick Robinson on top of surrendering 345 yards per game through the air. The Saints just can’t find a solution for their defensive backfield woes, and with Odell Beckham commanding serious attention from Marshon Lattimore, this matchup leaves a nice clean plate for Shepard to eat off of in Week 4.

Tyler Boyd at Atlanta – Tyler Boyd has exploded on the scene playing Robin to A.J. Green’s Batman, with Boyd hitting 21+ fantasy points in the last two contests. Green is currently nursing a groin injury, and if Green has any issues with it on Sunday, the flood gates for Boyd couldn’t open quick enough.

The Falcons currently have both starting safety spots open due to injury, an important position when talking about limiting guys like Boyd, who will need attention over the top on deep balls thrown to him. Boyd, the current leader in receiving yards for the Bengals, will get the opportunity to again eat big in what looks to be another productive day against a prone and banged-up Falcons secondary, with or without Green on the opposite side of the field.

Sit

Amari Cooper vs. Cleveland – The Amari Cooper rollercoaster is a fantasy football staple, as the Raiders wide receiver likes to sprinkle in a huge performance through a season of disappointing starts. Those big games, similar to what owners experienced in Week 2 when Cooper exploded for a 10-catch, 116-yard performance, are seemingly just enough to keep himself in the starting line-up. After a poor Week 3, Cooper finds himself back to earth and hopefully on your benches.

Removing the outlier of a big game, Cooper has just three receptions for 26 yards on the year. Despite the career high in touchdowns in 2017 (7), Cooper played in just one game where he caught over five passes, only going over 100 yards on another occasion as well. He just hasn’t shown he’s worthy of fantasy relevancy, so don’t expect much against a talented Browns secondary. Volume is great when players capitalize on it, but Cooper simply fails to do so.

Robert Woods vs. Minnesota – Woods was able to cash in for a huge performance last week in the battle of Los Angeles, having himself a nice 10/104/2 stat-line, good for his best fantasy day since Week 10 of 2017. Woods has emerged as a solid deep threat for the Rams, despite Brandin Cooks being the No. 1 receiver.

Los Angeles has found a great way to carve their top three guys in the passing game a niche. Cooks can do everything, Woods can stretch defenses and Cooper Kupp works great in the slot. The problem is, along with feeding Todd Gurley, quarterback Jared Goff can only spread the ball around so much, dimming the likelihood of another repeat performance by Woods. Factor that in with a short week against what is still a top defensive unit in Minnesota, and Woods is a borderline sit player this week.