DFS Week 4 Lineup: Best Plays, Value Picks For Daily Fantasy Football

To quote one Forrest Gump, fantasy football is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you’re going to get.

The Week 3 NFL slate proved as much, with no-names like Case Keenum, Jacoby Brissett and Marcedes Lewis coming through with huge fantasy performances, while studs such as Jay Ajayi and ~~Amari Cooper~~ ~~Michael Crabtree~~ the entire Oakland Raiders offense faltered.

But fear not, daily fantasy sports players: We have our eye on several players who could rack up the points this Sunday — and we have the research to back it up.

Here are our best plays and top value picks at every position for Week 4.

QUARTERBACK
Best play: Tom Brady, New England Patriots. Brady has been the highest-scoring QB in fantasy for two consecutive weeks, and he’ll go for three in a row Sunday at home against a Carolina Panthers defense that just allowed three touchdown passes to Drew Brees. TB12 will cost you a pretty penny, but if you want to spend big, do it here.

Value pick: Trevor Siemian, Denver Broncos. Siemian can be had on the cheap after his Week 3 clunker, and the matchup is great against the Oakland Raiders, who have allowed five TD passes and recorded zero interceptions this season. We expect at least 200 passing yards and a pair of TDs out of the Broncos QB.

RUNNING BACK
Best play: Todd Gurley II, Los Angeles Rams. Season-long fantasy owners are absolutely loving the workload for Gurley, who got a whopping 33 touches in Week 3. C.J. Anderson ran all over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2 (25 carries, 118 yards and a score), so expect the Rams to keep feeding Gurley this week.

Value pick: Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings. Cook still is relatively inexpensive despite his strong showing last Sunday. That’s good news for DFS players, as he gets a juicy home matchup versus a Detroit Lions D that surrendered over 200 total yards and a touchdown to the Atlanta Falcons’ backfield last week.

WIDE RECEIVER
Best play: Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants. The Giants wideout/wannabe canine has a dream matchup Sunday in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have allowed 670 passing yards through two games and just got lit up by Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. Expect Eli Manning to look ODB’s way early and often.

Value pick: Marqise Lee, Jacksonville Jaguars. Low cost + matchup with the New York Jets = recipe for success. Lee has seen 19 targets in two games since Allen Robinson tore his ACL, and Blake Bortles should give him plenty of targets against a porous Jets secondary that’s given up six touchdown passes already.

TIGHT END
Best play: Rob Gronkowski, Patriots. The last time Gronkowski faced the Panthers, well, this happened. Carolina has been decent defending tight ends so far this season, but Gronk is poised to set the record straight in Foxboro.

Value pick: Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders. The Denver Broncos’ defense does just about everything well — except cover tight ends. They’ve allowed 167 receiving yards and a pair of scores to opposing tight ends over the last two weeks, which bodes well for Cook, who scored Oakland’s lone touchdown in its Sunday night debacle.

DEFENSE
Best play: Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags probably are due for a letdown at some point — just not this Sunday against the woeful Jets, who have allowed seven sacks through three games. At the very least, Jacksonville should be able to pressure the quarterback and force some turnovers.

Value pick: Arizona Cardinals. Fun fact: The San Francisco 49ers haven’t scored more than 21 points against the Cardinals since 2013. Sure, the Niners exploded for 39 points last week, but they still allowed four sacks and committed two turnovers. Arizona is a safe bet at home here.