Week 4 Fantasy Football Start/Sit Candidates: Quarterbacks
Wondering who to start and sit at quarterback this week? Below are two top-notch start and two sit options at the quarterback position for Week 4 of the 2022 NFL season.
Week 3 Review – Half-PPR scoring
Starts
- QB Russell Wilson (Denver Broncos) vs. San Francisco 49ers – 9.06 (QB29)
- QB Joe Flacco (New York Jets) vs. Cincinnati Bengals – 5.40 (QB32)
Sits
- QB Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 17.10 (QB13)
- QB Tom Brady (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) vs. Green Bay Packers – 14.74 (QB19)
Quarterback – Starts
Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks) @ Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions defense has produced a fantasy football QB1 each week this year, with Jalen Hurts, Carson Wentz, and Kirk Cousins all finishing inside the position’s top-12. All three quarterbacks threw for over 240 yards and fellow pocket passers, Wentz and Cousins, have combined for five passing touchdowns and just one interception.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has been very efficient, leading the league in completion rate, 77.5%, and completion percentage over expectation, 11.8%, per 4for4's NFL Player Stats Explorer. Smith finished top-three in both categories last week, despite dropping back to pass a season-high 46 times. That number is likely to drop closer to his Weeks 1 and 2 average of 31.5, as head coach Pete Carroll expressed frustration with Seattle’s loss despite hitting his purported magic number. But even on reduced volume, Smith should play well against Detroit’s butter-finger secondary, whose 0.03 interceptions per drive rate is tied for the league’s fourth-lowest average.
Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings) @ New Orleans Saints
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has finished as the QB12, QB25, and QB10 in Weeks 1-3. Week 4 should bring another top-12 finish as the New Orleans Saints are 30th in quarterback pressure rate, 12.5%, and 27th in turnovers generated per drive, 0.08, per 4for4's NFL Team Stats Explorer.
New Orleans traded away disgruntled slot cornerback/safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson this offseason and has struggled to form a functioning secondary with Paulson Adebo (ankle) also missing significant time. As a result of the personnel deficiencies, slot cornerback Bradley Roby has been tasked with guarding the perimeter opposite Marshon Lattimore and backup defensive back Justin Evans has been forced into the starting lineup as the team’s primary slot cornerback. Adebo returned last week but played sparingly, which does not offer hope that he will be able to play a full complement of snaps this Sunday in London.
Jacoby Brissett (Cleveland Browns) @ Atlanta Falcons
The strengths of the Atlanta Falcons defense are their perimeter cornerbacks A.J. Terrell and Casey Hayward, do-it-all defensive lineman Grady Jarrett, and their blitz-capable linebacking corps. Old-school head coach Dean Pees dialed up the blitz early in the year but has since scaled back, perhaps due to their lacking slot coverage.
| Atlanta Falcons Blitz Rate | Rush 3 | Rush 4 | Rush 5 | Rush 6+ | LB/DB Sack Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 5.4% | 59.5% | 27.0% | 8.1% | 75.0% |
| Week 2 | 8.1% | 81.1% | 10.8% | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| Week 3 | 6.5% | 67.4% | 21.7% | 4.3% | 50.0% |
Atlanta has also chosen to operate with the league’s sixth-highest box defender rate, 6.68, which means they are now dropping overmatched linebackers into coverage instead of blitzing. On the year, linebackers and defensive backs have accounted for 71.4% of Atlanta’s total sacks. So instead of putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks by sending extra defenders after him, Atlanta is creating a cozy pocket from which quarterbacks can work, as well as offering the offense soft coverage by keeping three linebackers on the field for nearly two-thirds of the time.
It took a week for the Cleveland Browns’ passing game to find its groove, but fill-in quarterback Jacoby Brissett has averaged 21.5 completions, 224.5 yards, 1.5 passing touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions over the last two weeks, good for QB13 numbers. During that time span, No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper has also produced a pair of impressive showings, catching nine-of-10 targets for 101 yards and one touchdown in Week 2 and seven-of-11 targets for 101 yards and one touchdown again in Week 3. Cooper’s two-game effort equated to the sixth highest half-PPR point total, 40.2.
The Cleveland duo, quarterback Brissett and part-time slot receiver Cooper, should have another fine outing in Week 3.
*4for4's full QB rankings can be found here.
Quarterback – Sits
Carson Wentz (Washington Commanders) @ Dallas Cowboys
Carson Wentz pummeled the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions in Weeks 1 and 2 before doing a headless chicken dance into the arms of the Philadelphia Eagles’ eager pass rushers nine times in Week 3. Philadelphia’s nine-sack Week 3 total is a higher sum than what 23 NFL teams have totaled all year. Wentz’s ghost-seeing issues have been a problem in the past and Philadelphia’s sixth-ranked 26.4% quarterback pressure rate was just too much for him. Unfortunately for Wentz, Washington is headed to Texas to play the Dallas Cowboys this week and Dallas’ 26.6% quarterback pressure rate sits one spot ahead of Philadelphia. Expect another panicked performance by the journeyman quarterback.
