
Bold Fantasy Football Week 4 Predictions
We’re almost a full month into the 2026 NFL season and fantasy football rosters are starting to take shape. Below, our Yahoo analysts share their only bold fantasy football prediction in Week 4.
Bhayshul Tuten rushes for over 100 yards against Bengals
While the Bengals’ run defense started the season hot, in Week 3 the Steelers showed that you can still open up this defense on the ground if you push to the outside. Run away from Dexter Lawrence. The Jaguars will be very happy to oblige; their running game is built around the outside zone. So far, Bhayshul Tuten isn’t getting enough attention for his solid play in this offense. Tuten ranks sixth in yards per outside zone rushing among backs with 50-plus carries, according to Fantasy Points Data. Jacksonville ranks second in rapid success rate of zone concepts. Tuten didn’t make any big plays, but he kept the offense on schedule and limited mistakes. When coaches talk about him, you can tell they are happy with his work and want to give him more. I think he’ll have a few long runs on the road on Sunday and play his first big game of the year. This will be the last time I buy it. —Matt Harmon
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Jameson Williams finally breaks through on SNF
This was bad for Jameson Williams early on, but it shouldn’t be bad for WR78. A costly drop on a deep ball, a drop on another catch and inside the five on a different reception as he failed to score in double figures this year. The good news, the Lions passing offense is still top three in fantasy points and Williams’ role hasn’t drastically changed. Sam LaPorta’s presence makes things more difficult, especially in the red zone, but Williams can still have boom weeks when things bounce back.
The Panthers’ injuries may contribute to its chances for a booming week on Sunday Night Football, with top two corners, Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, sidelined after a strong start to the season. Along with that, Carolina’s love of a single safety defense can benefit Williams’ chances on crossing routes and explosive opportunities in general. If you have two flexes or are in a 3-WR league, Williams may be a good upside bet compared to similar boom-bust options at the latter spot. — Joel Smyth
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Jeremiah Love finishes among top five fantasy RBs
When Love injured his ankle before the season, we knew it could impact his performance and usage in the first few weeks. After playing just 42% of the Cardinals’ snaps in the first two games, Love finally took over the backfield in Week 3 with a 64% snap share, 26 touches, 109 yards from scrimmage and a receiving touchdown against the 49ers.
Now he gets an even better matchup with a Giants defense that has allowed the 10th most fantasy points to running backs this season, including Javonte Williams (72 yards, two touchdowns), Kyren Williams (97 yards, one touchdown), Blake Corum (92 yards) and Tony Pollard (96 yards). Arizona is also favored on the road in this game, although that may not matter since Love’s pass-catching role is growing after a season high in targets and route sharing last week. It’s also worth remembering that history has been extremely kind to backs who have earned the top 12 in the draft, with all eight running backs taken in this range over the last 13 years finishing RB14 or better in their first campaigns. Fantasy managers who have been patient with Love are about to be rewarded. —Justin Boone
Michael Wilson gives us consecutive weeks of WR1
You know, after what I’ll call “the Tetairoa McMillan debacle,” I considered changing the stats to highlight Marvin Harrison Jr. for this weekend. But I couldn’t do it. Mainly because the data leads me to his teammate. Michael Wilson has played in front of the former first-round pick in every game this season. And with airyard shares of 30%, 42%, and 52%, Wilson was the one to challenge Trey McBride for opportunities. Additionally, Wilson’s volume is not as dependent on downstream targets. Last season, nearly a fifth of his looks were on throws of 20 air yards or more. This season, Wilson’s target rate behind the line of scrimmage has tripled, with more work in the short-to-intermediate area of the field. Through three games, the worst result for a WR1 against the Giants was WR20 (CeeDee Lamb – 15.4 PPR points). And their injury situation has only gotten worse. I’ll echo Boone’s sentiment that the Cardinals scored points on Sunday. But if they make it through the air, Wilson will give us another top-12 performance. —Chris Allen
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Matthew Golden runs for 100 yards and a touchdown
I come back to Matthew Golden after delivering 100 yards and a touchdown against Atlanta. He drew 12 targets in this game, with 199 air yards accounting for 52.5% of Green Bay’s total. Even with this production, there were opportunities for a bigger evening. Jordan Love kept looking for him on the court, and they couldn’t connect with all of them.
Golden has 30 targets in three games. With Jayden Reed out, I expect him and Christian Watson to continue to handle a lot of this passing attack. Watson’s involvement doesn’t make me afraid of Golden when there are so many opportunities available.
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The Packers are averaging just 48.7 rushing yards per game, and Tampa Bay has allowed just 76 rushing yards per game. This gives Green Bay another reason to lean on Love. The offensive line needs to hold on long enough for those deeper routes to develop, but I’m backing Golden to follow up last week’s performance with 100 more receiving yards and a touchdown. -Ray Garvin
Darren Waller scores twice against Lions
Age is just a number for Carolina’s tight end. Waller is already earning a decent target share and sees a ton of opportunities in the red zone. And this week’s matchup is a dream, because Detroit has a ravaged secondary and an offense that can force a high-scoring game. There are a lot of iconic players we can’t wait to start in this game, but keep the lights on for Waller as well. —Scott Pianoowski
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Jordan Addison finishes in top 15 WR again
Addison recorded a season-high 10.9 half expected PPR points last week without Jefferson, leading to several big plays and a WR10 finish on eight targets. Addison has two seasonal top-30 finishes on his resume, with Jefferson available, so it’s important not to sell his cap short in ideal scenarios, even if there are sometimes poor reps against press coverage.
This is one of those ideal scenarios.
The Vikings have a team total of 24.5 points at home against the Dolphins. The Dolphins might have the worst secondary of the decade, while also being the youngest defense of the year. Addison should get chances to play deep here. Its role is that of a boom and bust, but there are many other reasons to believe in a “boom” here. — Hayden winks
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