It's the start of bye weeks and that waiver wire is getting thin, so we're back to give you a couple of players to push into your starting lineup or move to your bench, along with a sleeper pick.
Now, you're not going to find "start Adrian Peterson" here. If you drafted a player in the first five rounds, chances are those are your go-to players, so we'll try to give you some less-than-obvious choices to bolster your lineup every week.
On that note, here we go for Week 4:
Start 'em
Arizona Cardinals defense vs. Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay has decided to bench fifth-year quarterback Josh Freeman in favor of rookie Mike Glennon, and while the Cardinals are allowing 297 passing yards per game – a rookie quarterback making his first start is easy pickings. The Cardinals have still forced a turnover in each game and you have to believe the likes of Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu are licking their chops in the secondary.
Ryan Broyles, Detroit Lions wide receiver vs. Chicago
Broyles played his first game of the year last week and caught three passes against a porous Washington defense, but expect his load to increase now that Lions No. 2 Nate Burleson is out with a broken arm. The Bears force a lot of turnovers, but the pass defense isn’t that solid (294 yards per game allowed) and opposing No. 2 receivers have had plenty of targets.
Sit 'em
Buffalo Bills running backs vs. Baltimore
Despite the preseason proclamations out of Buffalo that C.J. Spiller was going to get the lion’s share of the workload this season, Fred Jackson has gotten his fair share of work and has proven to be an effective fantasy play the last three weeks with 169 yards and a score to go with another 113 yards on 13 catches. But, the Ravens held Houston to under 100 yards on the ground and allowed just 65 yards rushing each of the first two weeks and Spiller did get dinged up last week. It’s best to leave these guys on your bench if you have other options.
Josh Morgan, Cleveland Browns wide receiver vs. Cincinnati
Morgan came off suspension last week and tore up the Minnesota Vikings, but don’t chase those points this week. The Bengals secondary isn’t the greatest, but the front seven will make life more difficult for Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer. The Bengals have allowed less than 245 passing yards in each of the last three weeks against Jay Cutler, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers. Morgan will not catch them by surprise.
Sleeper
Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears wide receiver vs. Detroit
Jeffery, the Bears’ No. 2 receiver, caught seven passes last week (five in the first quarter) which was more than he had in the first two weeks combined (six). As the Lions defense has faced better quarterbacks the last three weeks, the passing yards allowed has escalated. Until last week, when Washington’s Pierre Garcon caught eight passes for 73 yards, the Lions had done an OK job limiting Minnesota and Arizona’s No. 1 options (Greg Jennings and Larry Fitzgerald) allowing the other wideouts to get involved. Jeffery, at home, might be poised for a breakout.
