6 Guys Should Ride The Pine
You can't hold allegiances in seasonal Fantasy football. While you're not going to bench your top overall picks regardless of the matchup, anyone else on the roster should be fair game.
Here are the mid-tier options that might be on your Fantasy team who should ride the bench in Week 4.
QB Derek Carr, LVR
Baltimore's strength used to be against the run, and they're now solid against all attacks, but is especially strong against the pass with the leadership of Eric Weddle at free safety. That spells trouble for Carr and company on the road considering how 65% of their scrimmage yards have come through the air (867) thus far. If Latavius Murray and the other backs are unable to keep Baltimore's linebackers honest, we could see very few throwing lanes available for Carr as he tries to force the ball into Cooper and Crabtree. He flopped in a similar situation in Week 3 and might wind up in another low-scoring affair to regress after his red-hot Weeks 1 and 2.
RB Theo Riddick, ---
It's tough to sit a guy with his potential now that Ameer Abdullah (foot) is done for the year, but Riddick is not your typical workhorse back. He managed a pitiful 9 yards on ten carries last Sunday before ceding all ground work to Dwayne Washington, which is a trend that should continue into Week 4. Riddick saved his day with seven catches for 39 yards against the Packers, but most of that came during garbage time, and the Lions are not likely to be playing catch-up against a weak Bears team. If you play in a PPR league, Riddick has to be in your lineup, but otherwise, you can consider some alternatives
RB Spencer Ware, ---
It might go without saying if Jamaal Charles is fully cleared for action this week, but Ware's stranglehold on lead back duties for the Chiefs is coming to an end. He fumbled at the goal line in one of the few mistakes made by Kansas City last week and managed just 3.8 YPC on 20 totes. Now he'll face a Steelers run defense that was wounded in a surprising blowout at Philly last Sunday but is not without pride or talent and is still giving up the fourth-fewest RuYPG (75.3) in the NFL through 3 weeks. Ware probably doesn't belong in your lineups if you have any better options this week.
WR Tajae Sharpe, ATL
It's not going to take much discipline to sit Sharpe after he turned in yet another goose egg along with his quarterback in a prime draw against the Raiders last Sunday. With Delanie Walker (hamstring) inactive, Sharpe was still unable to make the most of his seven targets, as he failed to secure four of his first five looks and only cracked ten yards receiving on the Titans penultimate drive of the game. Now that struggling passing attack will face a Texans team that's allowed the fewest passing YPG (151.3) in the NFL and looked damn near impenetrable until the genius of Bill Belichick exposed them on a short week, so you shouldn't want to start Sharpe anywhere in Week 4.
WR Golden Tate, ---
If you drafted Golden Tate in the middle rounds of your draft, hoping that he'd break out in the wake of Calvin Johnson's retirement, it might be hard to let go. He's become completely irrelevant while Marvin Jones Jr. is routinely blowing up as the vertical threat in the Lions pass-happy offense. Tate is playing 'Z' receiver, which has resulted in a measly average of 7.23 yards per catch on 13 receptions through three games. That's simply not a high-volume position because of how Matthew Stafford loves to push the ball down the field, and the Lions have so many other options with Jones, Anquan Boldin, Eric Ebron and Theo Riddick making plays right now.
TE Jason Witten, ---
Simply put, Witten is a better real football player than a Fantasy asset. Unless you play in a PPR league, the touchdown-adverse TE is not a great option on a weekly basis, and his matchup in Week 4 is worse than it may seem on the surface. While the 49ers coughed up a big line to Jimmy Graham in Week 3 and were lit up by Greg Olsen in Week 2, this is still a capable corps of linebackers led by all-pro Navorro Bowman. They should be able to lock onto Dak Prescott's safety valve and possibly make it tough on the rookie for the first time in his short career. In any case, it will be hard for Witten to provide great returns in standard formats and he remains more of a possession receiver at this point in his career.
Remember to read all our columns for this week and use our Who To Start Rankings
