Welcome to The Fantasy Football Universe Week 4 Fantasy Football IDP Matchup Guide. This column will not tell you specifically who you should start or sit with, rather it will show you which players have the best and worst matchups from there. This isn’t meant to convince you to sit your studs in favor of streaming options it’s intended to help you determine which lower-ranked players could be streaming options best on a favorable matchup and which studs could be in for a down week based on a bad matchup.
*The information average of the team logo indicates the team and their matchup. I chose to list it by team instead of by players due to the wide variety of options at each position. Instead of “Sauce Gardner” it will simply say “Jets DB”. It’s up to you to decide which player from that position you like best. The other reason for this is due to the nature of the position. Some defenders will shadow a specific player while others will stay on their side of the field. This can be unpredictable and is open to interpretation and personal preference. The number next to that position group indicates their opponent’s matchup against that position. 1 indicates the best fantasy matchup for that position, while 32 indicates the worst.
The information under the team logo shows their opponent and the deviation from the average points allowed to that position.
Defensive Lineman Matchups
Start of the Week: Zach Sieler of the Miami Dolphins is my defensive lineman start of the week. He faces the Tennessee Titans who rank as the best matchup for opposing linemen. The Titans are allowing 59.0% more fantasy production than the league average. Sieler had his best outing of the season last week with three tackles, one interception, and one sack and is in a prime spot to put up another monster fantasy performance.
Sit of the Week: Nnamdi Madubuike of the Baltimore Ravens is my defensive lineman sit of the week. He faces the Buffalo Bills who rank as the worst matchup for opposing linemen. The Bills limit opposing linebackers to 51.4% less production than the league average. Madubuike had modest fantasy production over the first two weeks of the season but put up a goose egg last week against Dallas. This is his second terrible matchup in a row and could easily lead to his second consecutive week with little production for your fantasy squad.
Linebacker Matchups
Start of the Week: Robert Spillane of the Las Vegas Raiders is my linebacker start of the week. He faces the Cleveland Browns who rank as the best matchup for opposing linebackers. The Browns are allowing 48.6% more fantasy production than the league average. Spillane has ten or more tackles in all three games this season and last week brought that season-high to 11 tackles while adding in one sack for good measure. He also has one interception on the year which makes him one of the more well-rounded IDP players in the league and makes him a must-start against a Cleveland offense that looks abysmal.
Sit of the Week: Pete Werner of the New Orleans Saints is my linebacker sit of the week. He faces the Atlanta Falcons who rank as the worst matchup for opposing linebackers. The Falcons limit opposing linebackers to 40.5% less production than the league average. Werner had an eight-tackle game in Week 2, book-ended by two dud weeks for fantasy. Werner has week-winning potential every week, but in this matchup, he is an easy player to leave on your bench as he is unlikely to post a useful stat line.
Defensive Back Matchups
Start of the Week: Antoine Winfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is my defensive back start of the week. He faces the Philadelphia Eagles who rank as the best matchup for opposing defensive backs. The Eagles are allowing 34.2% more fantasy production than the league average. Winfield posted seven tackles in Week 1 but has missed Tampa Bay’s last two games with a foot injury. He isn’t a lock to suit up in Week 4, but if he does he is a must-start in a prime matchup that should allow him to finish as a top-5 defensive back on the week.
Sit of the Week: Jaylen Watson of the Kansas City Chiefs is my defensive back sit of the week. He faces the Los Angeles Chargers who rank as the worst matchup for opposing defensive backs. The Chargers limit opposing linebackers to 39.4% less production than the league average. Watson has seen his fantasy production fall dramatically in each of his three games this season. The same can be said of his snap share which saw a season-high of 77% in Week 1 and a season-low of 54% last week. A defensive back whose playing time is slowly dwindling in a matchup with the Chargers is a situation I would like to avoid at all costs. Leave Watson on your bench this week.
If you enjoyed this week’s Fantasy Football IDP Matchup Guide, check out our weekly Sit & Start column to see all the players we are targeting and fading this week, and head over to The FFU YouTube Channel to see our daily videos.
