Week 4 Fantasy Football: 10 Things Fantasy Managers Need to Know

The 2026 fantasy football season has been one gigantic mood swing.

Star players keep getting injured and missing time: no Breece Hall this week, probably no DeVonta Smith. Other significant players return and immediately smash (hello, Brock Bowers). We have seen incredible performances from Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jahmyr Gibbs and Josh Allen — and incredibly disappointing ones from, well, every Charger and Patriot.

There is a growing belief around the NFL that September is the new preseason and October is when the real season begins. Is that wishful thinking or our new reality?

Either way, October football is here.

For some fantasy managers, that is a welcome sight. September happened; put it in the rearview mirror. Fantasy football is a weekly game. Adjust. React. Keep grinding.

Here are some things fantasy managers need to know from Week 3 — and some things we need to keep an eye on in Week 4 and beyond.

1. We Are Officially Entering Zay Flowers SZN

Flowers returned to the field in Brazil, and the Ravens defeated the Cowboys 34-31 in the most exciting game of the week. Fantasy managers entered Sunday morning unsure if Flowers would even play. Not only did he return — he thrived.

Flowers caught five passes for 84 yards on six targets and added a 20-yard rush, despite Baltimore actively managing his snaps and workload coming off a hamstring injury.

In two games, Flowers is now averaging 20.7 PPR points per game, and even that doesn't tell the full story of how dominant he has been.

Flowers exited Week 1 with six minutes remaining in the second quarter and still scored 26 PPR points. Then he returned at less than 100 percent in Week 3 and immediately produced again.

Now imagine what this looks like with a full workload.

We could be in store for an unbelievable rest of the season. Flowers feels like a legitimate top-five WR candidate the rest of the way.

Zay Flowers SZN is here

2. Things Keep Getting Worse in LA

The Chargers lost another game in disappointing fashion, this time on the road in Buffalo despite forcing five(!) Bills turnovers.

What portion of Mike McDaniel's offense will we pick on this week? How about the downfield passing game.

Last season, Justin Herbert was 10th in the NFL in deep passing yards, with 712 yards and eight TDs on throws of 20+ yards. This season? Woof.

This offense feels broken, and things probably won't get any easier this week, as the Chargers head to Seattle to face a Seahawks team coming off a disappointing loss in Washington.

Herbert and the passing game desperately need a get-right performance. Seattle is not exactly the place you want to go looking for one.

3. Cam Skattebo Usage Bump

Skattebo earned every single yard in Sunday's disgusting 12-7 win over Tennessee. New York relegated Malik Nabers into a low-ADOT, 2024 Wan'Dale Robinson throwback role and leaned into Skattebo as much as possible.

Sixty rushing yards may not sound that impressive, but it is when you add some context.

But what was most promising for fantasy managers was Skattebo's target share and receiving production.

This is RB1 usage — albeit in a limited offensive situation. The next three games set up well for even more Skattebo: Arizona, Washington and New Orleans.

His trajectory is pointed straight up.

4. Saquon Barkley's RB39 Overall Start

We are a long way from 2024.

Sean Mannion's offense was supposed to reinvigorate a tepid Philadelphia attack, and drafters made Barkley a focal point this summer. In many leagues, he went right at the 1/2 turn alongside backs like, gulp, Kenneth Walker.

Through three weeks, Barkley is about the worst possible pick you could have made in that range.

Despite averaging 5.1 YPC, Barkley has been a non-factor for fantasy managers. He is RB39 overall with only three receptions on the season and zero TDs. He has failed to crack 10 fantasy points in any game.

Barkley's regression from 2024 to 2025 was massive. So far, the 2026 version is basically saying, "Hold my drink."

The Eagles host the Rams this week. Barkley desperately needs a get-right game.

5. The Worst Offensive Line in the NFL

It is hard for an NFL offensive line to be the worst at both pass blocking AND run blocking, but the Packers have pulled off the rare double feat.

Their run blocking has been historically bad. No Green Bay RB is even worth considering in Week 4.

But the pass blocking? Equally abysmal.

Green Bay has a 16 percent Pass Block Win Rate — dead last in the NFL. For comparison, Buffalo is unsurprisingly at the very top at 62 percent.

The silver lining for fantasy managers? Green Bay's OL woes have turned the Packers into a passing offense.

Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are both top-seven among all WRs in targets. Their combined 59 targets are the most of any WR duo in the league — ahead of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens (50) and Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (48).

The offensive line has been a disaster. For Watson and Golden's fantasy value, it has been a gift.

6. Wait on QB This Year. Scratch That. Wait on QB This Year and Select Brock Purdy.

If it were not for a guy named Josh Allen, Purdy would be the top fantasy scorer at QB this season. He is playing at an absurd level.

Purdy is the longest-tenured starter Kyle Shanahan has had — and it shows. One of their superpowers right now is third-down efficiency; they are lapping the field.

Purdy carved up the Cardinals for 297 passing yards and four TDs, and he had an absurd 45-yard rushing score overturned on a (weak and questionable!) holding penalty. No big deal. He proceeded to throw a TD pass two plays later.

The 49ers are 3-0 with a big game on tap this Sunday against Denver. Purdy looks like a league winner. 

7. Michael Penix Jr. AKA the Atlanta Falcons' 2026 QB Savior & Drake London Fantasy Manager Savior

Last week, I wrote about Penix returning to the lineup and boosting London and the rest of the Falcons offense. The bar was low (Cooper Rush games PTSD), but Penix not only elevated the quality of the QB play — he led the Falcons to a huge road win in Green Bay.

As for the Penix-London splits? They are alive and well.

London had a huge game Thursday night.

This is becoming par for the course for London in games played with Penix.

London's eruption coincided with Bijan Robinson's massive 194-rushing-yard, three-TD performance. Suddenly, this looks like the Atlanta offense fantasy managers were hoping for all offseason.

The resurgent Falcons now have a ton of confidence heading into a huge NFC South road game against New Orleans on Monday Night Football.

8. The Replacements Shined

Week 3 was a perfect storm for fantasy managers searching for QB options on the Waiver Wire.

Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams were both out. Jaxson Dart managers were already scrambling with Dart done for the season. Add in the uneasiness of Justin Herbert and Drake Maye managers (more on him later), and suddenly there was a logjam of fantasy managers competing for the same few names on the Waiver Wire.

Some VERY low-ranked options were in play in many of my leagues. I am sure they were in yours as well.

A funny thing happened on the way to the great QB panic week of 2026: the Replacements shined.

Kirk Cousins moved to 3-0 as a starter this season with a road win in New Orleans and finished as the QB10 on the week.

Geno Smith was even better, finishing as the QB3 with the Jets battling it out with Detroit on the road. Jacoby Brissett and Aaron Rodgers both finished as QB1s. Deshaun Watson and Marcus Mariota both had usable top-15 finishes.

But the story of the week at the QB position was easily Case Keenum.

Keenum made his first start — and appearance — since 2023, leading Chicago to an easy win over Philadelphia. He finished as the QB5 overall on the week. He followed it up with an epic and emotional postgame interview.

Never a dull moment in this thing of ours.

As for Maye…

9. Drake Maye Is in Some Truly Awful Company

Any hope for a big win over the Jaguars was short-lived. The Patriots were stomped 35-6 — and it wasn't even that close.

The game featured another clunker from Maye, who has one TD and seven turnovers in three games. Those turnovers put him in some remarkably bad company. Who had Drake Maye and Will Levis being forever linked together in fantasy football futility on their bingo card?

This offensive environment is doing him no favors. With A.J. Brown on IR, New England's leading target earner this past week was Mack Hollins.

But we can't blame all of this on the situation. A lot of the problems start with Maye.

Is this simply a brutal three-game stretch? Or is it a signal that Maye was vastly overrated in redraft — and potentially dynasty — this past offseason?

We need answers soon.

10. Travis Kelce Renaissance

I could have written a victory lap of sorts after my "Brock Bowers could be this year's JSN" write-up last week, but I won't.

Hopefully there will be a lot of wins for RotoWire listeners, viewers and readers consuming my content this season. Instead, I want to single out a player I don't have nearly enough of in any format this year: Kelce, a legend at the tight end position.

Kelce looks completely rejuvenated this season. Kenneth Walker's incredible start has pushed this offense to heights we have not seen in years, and like so many vintage peak-Kelce seasons, he is thriving with yards after the catch.

This fast YAC start pushed Kelce to first all-time in NFL history earlier this season, passing Marshall Faulk in the process.

He is second among all TEs in receiving yards and third in PPG (16.4!) — trailing only Trey McBride and Bowers. Kelce wasted no time in Week 3, opening the game with a 48-yard reception and later adding a TD.

He turns 37 this season.

37!

The Kelce renaissance is here and the Chiefs offense once again is a force to be reckoned with. 

11. I Was Going to Write an 11th Thing Fantasy Managers Needed to Know...

But I was too busy designing elaborate cities and apartment buildings on Minecraft.

NFL fans and fantasy managers alike think we have just about everything figured out when it comes to players and coaches around the league — especially ones as famous and successful as Mike Tomlin.

Finding out THIS is his hobby? Can we even define it as a hobby when it gets this extensive? Either way, it was one of the more interesting stories of the week.

It obviously resulted in some incredible memes.

But it also resulted in some strongly opinionated reactions.

Twenty years as an NFL head coach without a losing season AND you managed to build the most insane Minecraft city we've ever seen?

Mike Tomlin, when did you find the time to sleep?

On to this week's games.