DraftKings Week 4 Lineup Recommendations

By Ben Rolfe

Can you believe nearly a quarter of the season has gone already! The good news is that with each passing game we can develop a better feel for the league. Which players have which roles and who is primed to break out in a big way at any moment? Those are the key questions as always for our DraftKings DFS lineups. With the over going 10-6 last week, we have a high scoring week projected, with nine games on the featured slate having a projected total over 45. Those numbers suggest we could be in for a wild week around the league.

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In this article, you will find my Week 4 picks on DraftKings, which are based on matchups, situation, weather and betting lines. The focus of this piece will be looking at upside, and is, therefore, more suited for use in GPP formats. However, the names below can also double up as options in cash games, alongside some safer bets.

Quarterback

Russell Wilson, SEA vs. @ ARI | $6,100

One of the most exciting quarterbacks in the league when he gets rolling facing the second-worst defense in the league when it comes to allowing quarterback points? Yes, I will take that matchup thank you very much. There is always the risk that conservative Seattle make an appearance in this game, which would limit the upside of Wilson. However, Arizona have demonstrated the last three weeks how dangerous they can be late in games and Seattle will want to take no chances.

Arizona have actually proven pretty solid against running backs, so Seattle may need to turn to Wilson to put this game away. The potential for a blow out in this one does worry me about his ceiling, but then again, the Seattle defense is not really good enough to allow them to blow anyone out right now.

DraftKings Week 14

Case Keenum, WAS @ NYG | $4,900

Obviously, this all depends on his health, but if he is on the field this is a bargain price. New York are allowing an average of 29.4 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, and that is not likely to change this week. At times this year Keenum and this Washington offense have done some really nice things, and the horror show of last week should not put you off rolling the dice on Washington’s veteran quarterback.

Running Back

Austin Ekeler, LAC @ MIA | $8,000

Melvin Gordon is back, but is expected to serve a limited role this week as Los Angeles ease him back in. Meanwhile Ekeler gets a juicy matchup against Miami to make his case for being the 2020 starting running back. Miami allow more fantasy points per game to the running back position than any other team this season. In fact, they rank badly against both first and second options, so there should be plenty of fantasy points to go around in that Los Angeles backfield.

Josh Jacobs, OAK @ IND | $5,100

I am gambling here on a matchup which has not been good for the Indianapolis defense, as well as on Jacobs seeing a more consistent workload. Indianapolis are one of the worst in the league when it comes to allowing points to opposing running backs this season. Jacobs only saw 12 total touches last week, but that game was out of hand quickly and Oakland were playing damage control. I expect this one to be a little tighter and for Jacobs to get north of that 15-touch mark for the first time since Week 1.

Ronald Jones, TB @ LAR | $4,400

Do you believe in fairy tales? Ronald Jones back in the Coliseum where he played his college ball tearing apart the Los Angeles defense? Ok so maybe I went a little far, but the coming home story is a nice one that not many NFL players get in their careers. When Jones has been trusted with the carries, he has been impressive, averaging 5.3 yards per carry and returning double-digit fantasy points when he has seen over 10 touches. The only thing he has not done is find the end zone this season, and what better place to do it than in your old college stadium? There is a risk he gets locked out of this game if Tampa Bay decide to ride the hot hand with Peyton Barber. However, Barber is averaging just 3.7 yards per rush this season, so hopefully that will not be an issue.

Wide Receiver

Keenan Allen, LAC @ MIA | $7,600

Could Keenan Allen be the most under rated receiver in the NFL right now? He certainly thinks so and he may have a case. However, when it comes to DFS he is most certainly not under rated. However, even as the third most expensive receiver on the slate he can still offer a potentially solid ROI. With the Los Angeles offense banged up he is potentially the only real receiving threat in town. This season he is averaging 14 targets per game and has three touchdowns to go with over 350 receiving yards. With some tough matchups elsewhere on the slate this is a no brainer if you are looking to spend big at receiver.

Mecole Hardman, KC @ DET | $5,100

I have been super impressed with Hardman in these last two games. 11 targets, six receptions, 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He is certainly very big play dependant, but with Kansas City playing indoors on turf those big plays could be plentiful. If Hardman put up 100 receiving yards and multiple touchdowns in this one would you be surprised? I most certainly would not be against a defense likely to have one of their better defenders limited in Darius Slay.

Curtis Samuel, CAR @ HOU | $4,600

Houston’s defensive back situation is nothing to be scared of this season and Samuel might be just the person to exploit it. With 20 targets in his last two games, Samuel is clearly a big part of the plan for this Panthers offense. With Houston having a decent pass rush, Carolina’s short passing game should be in play, and Samuel can exploit their secondary using this tactic. Samuel has averaged 15.3 points on DraftKings the last two weeks, and even found the end zone last week. If he does that again this week, he is instantly a value at this price.

Tight end

Darren Waller, OAK @ IND | $5,200

I am staying with my reliable tight end pick in Waller this week. Last week Waller was targeted a mammoth 14 times for 134 yards. While I expect that to be less this week, he still is in a nice position to succeed. The two things Indianapolis have struggled with this season on defense have been running backs and tight ends. In fact, they rank top-five among the worst defenses against tight ends when it comes to fantasy points allowed, having let Austin Hooper find the end zone twice last week. Hopefully, this can be the week Waller breaks his end zone duck.

Lance Kendricks, LAC @ MIA | $2,600

I am going to get a little funky here. Los Angeles are super banged up offensively and they just need bodies. We have seen Kendricks be a competent tight end at times in his career, and with Virgil Green on the injury report this could be Kendricks’ job against the Dolphins. You should be able to pay up for Waller, with plenty of other cheap options on the slate, but if you cannot then Kendricks offers you a budget GPP play with upside.

Defense/Special Teams

Titans @ ATL | $2,600

Speaking of upside, have you seen Atlanta play this year? They just cannot stop shooting themselves in the foot. Matt Ryan has turned the ball over six times through the air alone, and they have plenty of fumbles to go with it as well. The Tennessee defense has petered out since that incredible Week 1 showing, but the Falcons have a bad offensive line, and Tennessee demonstrated that they can turn offensive mistakes into fantasy points once already this season.

Disclaimer: I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is brolfe1507) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

Ben Rolfe

Head of NFL Content

BEN IS THE HEAD OF NFL CONTENT FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN ALSO FIND HIS WORK AT; FFSTATISTICS, PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK & ROTOBALLER. FOLLOW BEN @BENROLFE15 ON TWITTER.

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