Colts vs. Commanders Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 4

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Colts vs. Commanders Week 4 matchup in London.

Find a breakdown of every Week 4 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Trust = spike production for that player

Colts vs. Commanders Fantasy Quarterback Preview

Daniel Jones (TRUST)

Jones has started the season slowly, kicking off the year as the QB29, QB23, and QB30.

Jones has completed 66.3% of his passes (16th) for 6.2 yards per pass attempt (27th), a 3.1% touchdown rate (26th), and a 3.1% interception rate (26th).

Going back to last season, Jones has been a QB2 in six of his past seven full games played.

To give Jones some benefit of the doubt, he is returning from a major injury.

The Colts have a lot of changes at wide receiver, and Jones has faced Baltimore, Kansas City, and Houston to open the year.

This is as good a layout as he has had.

He is a solid matchup-based QB2 with more upside.

This is a good-looking week for QB streamers.

Some are more appealing than Jones, but he is in play for gamers in 1QB leagues who want to move away from Drake Maye or Justin Herbert.

2QB gamers also just lost Baker Mayfield.

Washington has been as bad a pass defense as they were a year ago.

The Commanders rank 31st in passing points allowed per attempt (0.737) and allow a league-high 24.8 passing points per game.

They have allowed a 70.3% completion rate (29th), 8.5 Y/A (27th), and a league-high 10.9% touchdown rate.

They have allowed over 20 passing points to Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, and Sam Darnold.

Washington is particularly getting killed in the play-action game.

Against play action, they have allowed a 73.3% completion rate (22 of 30 passes) for 11.5 yards per attempt (31st).

Jones is still fourth in play-action usage (34.7%) to open the season.

Marcus Mariota

Mariota came away from a tough matchup last week against Seattle with a solid fantasy outcome.

He closed the week as the QB13 (20.4 points).

Mariota only threw for 183 yards and 5.9 yards per pass attempt.

His 29.2% success rate was 29th in Week 3.

But he tossed 3 touchdowns, added 11 rushing yards, and did not turn the ball over.

Going back to last year, Mariota now has 20-point fantasy games against Seattle and Denver.

Over the past three seasons in relief of Jayden Daniels, Mariota is averaging 0.56 points per dropback.

That is QB9 over that span, and the same rate as Daniels.

This Washington offense has not been consistent yet through three weeks to provide some pause, but Mariota is also in play as a 1QB streamer, even if best used as a QB2 with upside.

After being crushed by Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes in the opening two weeks, the Colts had a better showing in Week 3, allowing 167 passing yards and 6.2 Y/A to C.J. Stroud.

Stroud was without Nico Collins, but it showed the Colts may not be a complete punching bag for streamers.

Colts vs. Commanders Fantasy Running Back Preview

Jonathan Taylor

Taylor turned 25 touches into 72 total yards in Week 3.

He found resistance in the run game, rushing 23 times for 68 yards (3.0 YPC), catching 2 passes for 4 yards.

Taylor ran into a tough Houston defense as a hall pass.

We still have the top-down sample of the offense missing Alec Pierce.

Pierce is a big part of this offense because his downfield ability opens up a lot of space, since it is predicated on the play-action pass.

Teams have to respect Pierce's ability to win downfield.

With Pierce on the field this season, Taylor has rushed 17 times for 92 yards (5.4 YPC).

With him off the field, he has rushed 49 times for 166 yards (3.4 YPC).

Taylor has been hit at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield on 55% of his runs.

That is the sixth-highest rate among running backs.

That could be happenstance as the team adjusts, and Darius Slayton might be able to at least threaten downfield when he plays.

We also could look back at these two games against Kansas City and Houston as matchup-based outcomes.

That could be the case here, too.

Despite their defensive issues against the pass, Washington has been good against the run early in the year.

Washington has allowed 3.9 yards per carry to backs (6th).

They are first in yards allowed before contact per rush (0.08) and have allowed a run of 10 or more yards on a league-low 3.9% of running back runs.

They have faced Saquon Barkley, Javonte Williams, and the Seattle backfield.

You are still smashing Taylor into lineups for his per-touch upside, touchdown equity in the offense, and workload.

Taylor has a league-high 91.5% of his backfield touches, accounting for 20-plus touches in every game.

I also expect the Colts' passing game to be better here, opening things up and creating more scoring chances than last week.

Washington RBs

Jacory Croskey-Merritt led the backfield 58.5% of the snaps on Sunday, handling 20 touches for 43 yards.

19 of those touches were runs.

Croskey-Merritt only has 3 receptions through three games.

He had a 37-yard touchdown run called back for a penalty, but running room was otherwise limited to start the season.

He has run for 3.0 YPC and has been hit at the line or in the backfield on 60% of his runs, the second-highest rate in the league.

Rachaad White had 9 touches for 41 yards and caught a 6-yard touchdown.

White dealt with a shoulder issue during the game but played through it.

The team is expected to sign Austin Ekleler, so that is something to track this week during practice.

If White misses Sunday's game, that would boost Croskey-Merritt as a volume-based RB2/RB3, adding more routes to his outlook.

If both backs remain active, Croskey-Merritt and White are touchdown-dependent RB3/FLEX options.

The Colts had a tough draw to open the year and were gashed by Derrick Henry and Kenneth Walker in the first two games this season for 5.3 YPC.

They were better in Week 3 against the anemic Houston running game, allowing 48 yards on 16 runs (3.0 YPC).

Colts vs. Commanders Fantasy Wide Receiver Preview

Terry McLaurin

After 4 catches for 64 yards in the opening two games, McLaurin caught 6 of 9 targets for 77 yards and a touchdown in a tough matchup against Seattle.

McLaurin's target share has risen from 13.8% to 26.5% to 30% through three games.

He is their only full-time pass catcher.

He has run a route on 87% of the Washington dropbacks while the next closest player (Stefon Diggs) is at 65.2%.

That gives McLaurin opportunities as a volatile WR2/WR3.

The Colts are playing a lot of man coverage to open the season, ranking third in the league (30.1%).

McLaurin has been targeted on 15.8% of his routes for 0.32 yards per route against man coverage to start the season, compared to a target share of 23.1% of his routes with 1.73 yards per route against zone coverage.

Josh Downs

Downs has had two good games in the past two weeks, with lines of 7-72-0 (9 targets) and 5-77-0 (11 targets).

With Alec Pierce off the field, Downs has 30.4% of the team targets and 2.65 yards per route run.

Coming off two games against the Chiefs and Texans, Downs gets a more favorable top-down draw here as a WR3 than the past two weeks.

The Commanders have allowed a 74.2% catch rate (30th), 9.2 yards per target (25th), and a 9.7% touchdown rate (31st) to opposing receivers.

They have allowed a league-low 4.1 yards per target to slot receivers (where Downs has played 60% of his snaps).

Out wide, Downs is averaging 0.67 yards per route run with a target on 18.5% of his routes compared to 2.47 yards per route and a target on 27.9% of his routes from the slot.

Stefon Diggs

Diggs grabbed 4 of 7 targets for 33 yards on Sunday.

He has been limited to a 65.2% route rate, but has remained a high target earner per route (29.3%).

Despite his route share capping some of his ceiling, Diggs has a few positive indicators to keep him in play as an upside WR2/WR3.

Diggs is playing 62.7% of his snaps from the slot, where the Colts have allowed receivers to catch 18 of 21 targets (85.7%) for a league-high 315 yards.

Diggs also has better early-season returns against man coverage, receiving a target on a team-high 37.5% of his routes for 2.25 yards per route run.

Keenan Allen

Allen caught 6 of 9 targets for 63 yards and a touchdown in Week 3.

In the first game without Alec Pierce available, Allen ran a route on 75.6% of the dropbacks, receiving a season-high 25.7% of the team's targets.

Allen played 53.8% of his snaps out wide and 42.3% in the slot.

With an added bump up the target tree, Allen is a matchup-based WR3/FLEX.

Laquon Treadwell

Treadwell led the Indy wideouts with 32 routes (84.2%) on Sunday, catching his lone target for 20 yards.

He is only a single-game DFS option since Darius Slayton could be active this week.

If he can hold onto the outside receiver job for another week, that is where Washington has been at its worst.

Washington has allowed a league-high 82.2% catch rate, a league-high 516 yards, and a league-high 5 touchdowns to boundary receivers.

Colts vs. Commanders Fantasy Tight End Preview

Tyler Warren (TRUST)

Warren grabbed 8 of his 9 targets for 48 yards on Sunday.

Warren has been used near the line of scrimmage so far, averaging only 1.9 air yards per target.

36.4% of his targets have been at or behind the line of scrimmage, the third-highest rate among tight ends with double-digit targets.

That said, he is playing a ton of snaps and getting regular targets.

Warren has been on the field for 87% of the dropbacks, trailing only Trey McBride.

Warren has 23.4% of the team's targets, TE4 through three weeks.

This is a great spot to get Warren more downfield looks.

Washington has been crushed by tight ends, allowing 10.1 yards per target (29th) and a league-high 25% touchdown rate to the position.

In 2025, they also allowed a league-high 10.5% touchdown rate to tight ends.

If the Colts do exploit Washington with the play action, Warren leads the team with a 38.2% target share on play action.

Washington also could be without a handful of core players in the middle of the field.

Safety Nick Cross and linebacker Frankie Luvu missed last week's game with injuries.

Washington TEs

Chig Okonkwo has missed the past two weeks with a hamstring injury.

We will follow his status heading into the London kickoff.

In his absence, Colson Yankoff, John Bates, and Ben Sinnott have combined for 4 catches and 31 yards over the past two weeks.

All of the Washington tight ends are flyers for single-game DFS.

The Colts have been vulnerable in the middle of the field if you're looking for a carrot, allowing a 74.1% completion rate (18th) and 7.6 yards per target to tight ends (18th).

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