Week 4 DFS Picks: Core Players and Best Plays

Every Sunday in the weekly fantasy chats, I get asked about my favorite plays of the week or who is in my player pool that weekend for DFS.

This article series covers exactly that.

Every week, I will go through the players I am targeting to play in DFS for all games, tournaments, and game stacks.

The idea is that this will paint a clearer picture of framing lineups.

Week 4 DFS Content:

Our core players are the players we will have the most exposure to at their positions.

They can be played in cash games and tournaments.

I will analyze the player selections and game writeups, but for a detailed breakdown of the players and games, check out the Week 4 Worksheet.

Quarterback

Kyler Murray ($6,800 DraftKings/$8,700 FanDuel)

Murray has opened the season with uneven weeks as QB15, QB1, and QB17.

His spike week came in soft conditions against the Rams.

If we are playing the matchup game this week, he gets the fantasy gift that has been the Commanders.

After allowing the most passing points per game in 2023, Washington has opened the season, allowing a league-high 22.6 passing points per game.

They have allowed Baker Mayfield (QB2), Daniel Jones (QB6), and Joe Burrow (QB7) all to have spike weeks to start the season.

Going back to last season, Washington has allowed a QB1 scoring week in 17 of 21 games.

While the passing matchup is as good as it gets, Murray’s rushing ability is a cherry on top.

He has rushed for 57, 59, and 45 yards to start the season.

Jayden Daniels ($6,500/$8,200)

I usually stagger these plays based on quarterback pricing tiers into high, mid, and lower-tier buckets, but Daniels and Kyler are neck-and-neck as the top plays.

If you need salary relief (or are playing James Conner in your cash games), Daniels may be better suited for your build.

After throwing only 12.5% of his passes 10 or more yards downfield in Week 1, that rate rose to 27.6% in Week 2 and up to 34.8% this past week.

His throws 15-plus yards downfield have gone from 8.3% to 13.8% to 17.4%.

Daniels has completed 68.4% (13-of-19) of his passes when throwing 10 or more yards downfield, second in the league.

Daniels also added 39 yards and his third rushing touchdown of the season.

He has rushed double-digit times in all three games.

Daniels has 16 designed runs (3rd among QBs) while leading the league with 17 scrambles.

Daniels already has two weeks as a top-3 scorer, and he draws another great matchup.

Arizona’s pressure rate (28.4%) is 25th in the league but drops to 29th when you remove the Rams game.

The Cardinals are 29th in passing points allowed per attempt (0.546) and are allowing 8.9 yards per pass attempt (31st).

Andy Dalton ($5,300/$7,000)

Dalton rewarded us last week as the pay-down option, and I don’t see a good reason to go away from him in this price range.

He appears undervalued on DraftKings again.

Dalton was the QB8 (24.6 points) on the week, completing 26-of-37 passes (70.3%) for 319 yards (8.6 Y/A) and three passing touchdowns.

Dalton has made two starts with Carolina, finishing as a QB1 fantasy scorer in both games.

The Bengals have opened the season 23rd in passing points per attempt (0.459).

This pass defense has struggled when they have not gotten to the quarterback.

When they have not pressured the opposing quarterback, the Bengals have allowed an 82.1% completion rate (30th) and 8.2 yards per pass attempt (25th).

Running Back