Fantasy Football Week 4 matchups to exploit: Tee Higgins set to shine

Sal Vetri

Pickens has been the Steelers' clear top receiver this season, leading the team with a 24% target share through three games. He’s earned more than twice as many targets as any other Pittsburgh receiver. Pickens currently ranks second in team air yard share according to Player Profiler, which is important for fantasy. This downfield usage often leads to big plays.

In Week 4, Pickens will face the Colts. Indy allowed three different Bears pass-catchers to top 75 receiving yards last week. The Colts rank among the 10 worst teams in EPA per pass allowed according to NFL Pro. This is a strong spot for Pickens to produce, especially if we get more passing volume out of Justin Fields with both Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris banged up in the backfield.

Odunze is coming off a big performance of 112 yards and one touchdown against the Colts. He finished as a top 10 fantasy receiver on the week, while earning a team-high 11 targets. But it gets better because Odunze saw 49% of the Bears' air yards in this game and this translated to six targets of 20+ yards.

This week Odunze faces the Rams, the best matchup any WR could have this season. L.A. has allowed nine passing yards per play this season, according to NFL Pro. That’s 17% higher than any other team in the league. They’ve allowed three receivers to total over 130 yards, including Jauan Jennings' 175-yard, three-touchdown performance last week. Start Odunze with confidence.

Dell finally came through with a solid performance in Week 3. He produced 62 receiving yards on five catches and was a usable FLEX piece for you against the Vikings. Dell has now ran a route on 81% of the Texans' passing plays and earned 18% of the targets this season.

The past two games have been difficult matchups. Dell has faced the Bears and Vikings who both have top-four defenses according to NFL Pro. But this week the matchup gets much better. Dell will face the Jaguars who PFF has as the 24th-ranked secondary. Last week, Jacksonville allowed 307 total yards and four touchdowns to Josh Allen and the Bills in just three quarters of play. Start Dell in Week 4.

Ford regained the Browns backfield in Week 3. He played 63% of the snaps and handled 83% of the backfield carries. Ford also handled over 75% of the passing-down snaps and this led to an important four targets, which he turned into three catches for 33 yards.

Ford now enters Week 4 with a juicy matchup. He’ll take on the Raiders who allow a league-high 5.4 rushing yards per play. One concern is the Browns head into this game with multiple injuries to their O-line. Cleveland will be without Pro Bowl guard Wyatt Teller due to a knee injury and tackle Jack Conklin continues to battle a hamstring injury. Despite these offensive line injuries, the matchup is too good to ignore. You can FLEX Ford in your lineup this week.

Conner had his first bad game of the season in Week 3. He produced just 25 total yards on 10 touches against the Lions. But this was a difficult matchup. Detroit allows the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game. Across three games, no running back has topped 50 rushing yards against them and only one has gone for more than 22 yards.

But Week 4 is the perfect spot for Conner to bounce back. He takes on the Commanders who allow the fourth-most rushing yards per play this season. Washington allowed the Bengals backfield to combine for 166 yards and one touchdown in Week 3. Expect Conner to get back to being a top 12 back this week. Start him against the Commanders.

Higgins returned in Week 3 from a hamstring injury. There were some concerns that he’d be limited coming back from this injury, but he wasn’t. Higgins played 90% of the snaps according to PFF and ran a route on 95% of the Bengals' passing plays. This led to a six-target performance for 39 scoreless yards. The performance wasn’t great, but the usage was the encouraging part because Ja’Marr Chase won’t hog all the production every week as he did in Week 3 (118 yards and two touchdowns).

This week Higgins will take on the Panthers. Carolina allows the eighth-most passing yards per play this season, according to NFL Pro. The Bengals defense has been bad; this will force plenty of pass-heavy game scripts for them this season. Expect that to be the case in Week 4 as the Panthers offense looked improved under new starting QB Andy Dalton last week. Start Higgins this week in what could be a high-scoring game.

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