Fantasy Football 2024: Week 4 Rankings For Every Position

Week 4 Quarterback Rankings

Quick Takeaways

• The quarterback position is plenty deep this season, but not in an encouraging way. In a four-point per passing touchdown format, the gap between QB13 (Aaron Rodgers) and QB24 (Jared Goff) is 10.6 points, according to FantasyData.
• This is all to say that you shouldn’t be too frustrated with any one individual. League-wide passing is still dramatically down, and it might take a while until we see some teams rebound. For now, just going based on the strength of a particular quarterback’s matchup and trusting the players we’ve seen succeed already is about as safe of practice as can be in general terms.
• A helpful tweet from Derek Thompson of The Athletic should help to put some of this into perspective. Even with the understanding that these numbers don't include the pair of Week 3 Monday night contests, it's pretty dreary out there for NFL passing attacks:

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• Jayden Daniels is off to an electric start to his NFL career. Through three games, he ranks first among quarterbacks in completion percentage (80.3) and second in rushing yards (171), per FantasyData. The former Heisman winner also ranks second in fantasy points per game (23.2) despite having only thrown for his first NFL touchdown on Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.
• We have yet to see vintage Patrick Mahomes in 2024. For as disappointing as he and the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense is relative to the high standard they’ve set, Mahomes still ranks sixth in first downs per pass attempts (38.0 percent) and ninth in EPA per dropback (0.09) this season. Just keep trusting the process with Mahomes.

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• Week 3’s upset loss to the Denver Broncos and the single-digit fantasy performance from Baker Mayfield didn’t help anyone, but it’s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive line that deserves more of the blame. Among quarterbacks with at least 15 pass attempts in 2024, the former number-one overall pick ranks third in blitz rate per dropback (42.3 percent), according to TruMedia. Mayfield still belongs in the fantasy discussion, but the risk associated with starting him is a little more apparent than it was to open the season.
• Simply put, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense just isn’t working. Trevor Lawrence ranks sixth-worst among quarterbacks in EPA per dropback (-0.18), per TruMedia. The last time he recorded a game with more than 250 passing yards and zero interceptions was in Week 13 of last season. Until something dramatic changes, Lawrence belongs on your waiver wire in 1-QB leagues.

Week 4 Running Back Rankings

Quick Takeaways

• Christian McCaffrey is heading to Germany to meet with a specialist regarding his Achilles injury. The superstar is technically eligible to return as soon as Week 6, but that’s not likely, given this update. Backup Jordan Mason will hold onto this job for a while, and here’s to hoping you didn’t trade him away, thinking this would be a quick fill-in situation.
• The archetype of the workhorse running back is having a significant resurgence so far in 2024. According to FantasyData, 20 players are seeing at least a two-thirds share of their team’s backfield touches — up from just 12 in 2021 and 2022 and a total of 15 in 2023.
• Before you get all confused, the reason Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet are ranked how they are is because, as of this writing, it’s unclear as to whether or not the former will be healthy enough to suit up in Week 4 vs. the Detroit Lions. Either player is a solid RB2 candidate on a starter’s workload, although the Lions have allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards (240) of any NFL team in 2024.

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• Only time will tell if this upstart Carolina Panthers offense with Andy Dalton can maintain its production. That said, Chuba Hubbard is the one member of this team that deserves a highlight. He’s now seen at least five targets in back-to-back contests and is averaging a robust 5.7 yards per carry since Week 2, per FantasyData. Continue to feel good about Hubbard moving forward… or at least until rookie Jonathon Brooks returns from rehabbing his ACL injury.
• The most unheralded workhorse back in 2024 thus far is easily Devin Singletary of the New York Giants. Per FantasyData, he ranks fifth among running backs in opportunity share (78.0 percent) and has received no fewer than 14 touches in every contest so far. For as awesome as rookie wideout Malik Nabers has been, we need to start putting some respect on Singletary's name.

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• No one in the NFL is accomplishing less than D’Andre Swift in the Chicago Bears offense. Through three games, the veteran has produced 68 rushing yards and one first down gained on 37 carries. Frankly, having Swift ranked as RB48 is probably too generous. Savvy managers should check their waiver wire for second-year backup Roschon Johnson, who recorded 63 scrimmage yards on 12 touches in Week 3. Johnson might end up the lead runner sooner rather than later.
• This is more of an update for folks who missed my last waiver wire article about Bucky Irving. Coach Todd Bowles said on Monday that Irving has “earned more snaps going forward,” thus creating a further diminished role for lead back Rachaad White. The two can likely coexist and thrive, but ranking the incumbent veteran as anything more than an RB2 feels foolish now that we know the team has intentions to make this a committee.

Week 4 Wide Receiver Rankings

Quick Takeaways

• Honestly, there isn’t a lot of movement in the wide receiver department. As the NFL continues to see a downturn in passing success, fantasy managers should count on the players who’ve overcome that to date and continue producing points.

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• Xavier Worthy has seen just one more target (11) than A.J. Brown (10) in 2024. This is an issue, especially when you remember that Brown hasn’t played since Week 1 due to a hamstring injury. To the explosive rookie's credit, he has received at least one carry and recorded two catches in every game this season, but it doesn’t seem that fantasy managers can rely on Worthy. Everything I said up top about Mahomes is still valid, but Worthy’s role in this offense is simply too small to matter. If you start him, you're relying exclusively on one big play.
• At some point, we’ve got to talk about Michael Pittman Jr. Despite occupying a whopping 29.4 percent target share in the Colts’ offense, he’s only averaging 3.6 catches and 22 receiving yards per game. There’s not a lot of mystery as to why this is happening, as QB Anthony Richardson has been bad lately, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. I’m a large proponent of the “volume outweighs concern” method most of the time; unfortunately, Pittman Jr.’s case is not one of those.

Week 4 Tight End Rankings

Quick Takeaways

• Here’s how bad the tight end position is for fantasy right now: Isaiah Likely has caught just three passes for 30 receiving yards since Week 2 and still ranks as the TE5 overall in point-per-reception (PPR), scoring with 32.1 points.
• Take that information, then factor in that several stars at the position (George Kittle and Evan Engram) have already missed time, and we get a cocktail of confusion and a lack of information on which to base anything.
• I won’t lie to you or operate under any false pretense that I know what to do with tight ends in fantasy right now. Just keep hoping some consistency will unfold eventually, and go with your gut.