Sunday’s Best NFL DFS Core Plays: GPP Building Blocks – Week 4

Welcome to my NFL Daily Fantasy Sports guide for this Sunday’s games! In this article, I’ll walk you through my strategic approach for selecting top players and crafting optimal lineups to give you a winning edge in NFL DFS for 2024. I’ve thoroughly analyzed each game and position to highlight the best plays and explain the reasoning behind my selections.

*I’ll be updating this article on Sunday morning if there are any changes. Be sure to check back for the most current and accurate DFS plays.

Sunday Morning Update:

• Brian Robinson is firmly in play at RB2
• Brock Bowers: Get some
• Tre Tucker is a very good value WR, DJ Turner should play the WR3
• Tommy Tremble is in the player pool at TE
• Jakobi Meyers should also be in your player pool
• Johnny WIlson and Paris Campbell are now value receivers with AJ Brown being ruled out, I like them less than the LV recievers
• Zack Moss is added to the RB pool
• Brenton Strange is in the TE player pool

Quarterback Rankings

I touch on the matchups for these QBs in the receiver section so typing them again here would just be redundant. I have opted to just do rankings. 

• Kyler Murray
• Andy Dalton
• Joe Burrow
• Jayden Daniels 
• Justin Fields

Running Back 

Aaron Jones

He has been fantastic this season and now gets a good matchup against his former team, the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are ranked 20^th in DVOA against the rush while allowing 25.3 DraftKings points per game to the running back.  

Jones averages 5.4 YPC, which is the third-best rate for starting running backs, only behind J.K. Dobbins and Saquon Barkley. He will get his 15-20 carries while being relied on in the passing game. He has seen 6 targets per game in the past two games, which is the second most on the Vikings in that period only behind Justin Jefferson. The Packers have allowed the 6th most yards to pass-catching backs through three games. 

Jones is a guy who shows up in big spots, and returning home to Lambeau Field certainly is for him. He is scoring and is underpriced at only $6,400. 

Jordan Mason

He didn’t get there last week against the Rams, as it was the Jauan Jennings game. He did however still have a decent showing (19 carries for 17 yards with a 4.1 YPC). With George Kittle back, and Deebo Samuel questionable, the Patriots are going to have to show more respect to the passing game than the Rams chose to do in Week 3. Mason still leads the league in rushing attempts (67) with a disrespectful salary on DraftKings ($6,700). 

Saquan Barkley 

DeVonta Smith has been ruled out and A.J. Brown is questionable. Even if Brown plays, Barkley will be in the exact same situation he was last week. He will be the focal point on the offense, behind a phenomenal offensive line on a team down one of their top receiving targets. 

Others to consider:

• Brian Robinson
• Najee Harris
• Rachaad White: He would be boosted significantly if Bucky Irving is ruled out

Wide Receiver 

Marvin Harrison Jr. 

This is an elite spot for Harrison Jr. First he gets to take on the Washington Commanders who have the worst pass defense in the league. They allowed the most fantasy points to receivers (54.1) and the most fantasy points to quarterbacks (25.4). They are ranked 30^th against WR1, 24^th against WR2, and 31st against WR3, via DVOA. The trio of Michael Davis, Mike Sainristil, and Benjamin St-Juste have been getting torched all season, and that won’t change this Sunday. Also, take into account that Trey McBride is out for Kyler Murray and you can be certain that even more targets should funnel toward Harrison Jr. Playing the top receiver against the Commanders hasn’t failed yet this season and there is no reason to think that it will in Week 4. 

Harrion Jr.’s direct pivots would be Greg Dortch, Michael Wilson, and Elijah Higgins. I plan on having some of both receivers and the TE in my MME lineups, especially if I fade Harrison Jr. 

Diontae Johnson

It is going to be tough to ignore his 14 targets for 122 yards under Carolina’s new QB Andy Dalton took over. Compound that with Adam Thielen has landed on IR, Johnson’s targets seem even more likely. The Panthers are incapable of establishing the run (despite last week) so the Red Rifle will be slinging it, whether they are winning or trailing. This Panther’s team takes on a Bengals defensive unit that was not able to stop the Washington Commanders on a single drive last week. Every time the Commanders were on offense, they scored. That is just incredible. Sometimes you see teams step up after such a poor start to the season, and getting thumped on national TV. I do expect the Bengals to do just that as they know losing to the Panthers on Sunday could quite literally end their season. That being said, the prices on the Panthers offense, and expected target share for the receivers keeps them in GPP consideration. 

Note: Last week the WR chalk busted. The direct pivots off of Johnson are Xaiver Leggette, Jonathan Mingo, and Tommy Tremble if you want to mix them in GPPs when fading the chalk. 

Stefon Diggs

Tank Dell has been ruled out and Nico Collins is dealing with a hamstring injury (that I am not particularly worried about as he doesn’t have an injury designation for Sunday). The Jaguars are bottom 8 in fantasy points allowed and bottom 3 in defensive DVOA to receivers. They are ranked 17^th against WR1 (Nico Collins) and dead last against WR2 (Stefon Diggs). Maybe Diggs has some extra steam after Josh Allen made a dig at Diggs in the media this week, expressing he was happy they no longer have guys on the team that “care about stats”. 

Allen Lazard

Pat Surtain is going to shadow Garrett Wilson, which will force the ball to Aaron Rodger’s other pass catchers. Allen Lazard has been the WR2 so far, however, Mike Williams’ playing time has been creeping up. I am happy to land on the production we have seen from Lazard so far, but Williams is a sneaky pivot. 

Tee Higgins

The Bengals have started the season 0-3 and have to win this game. The Carolina are a bit reenergized after winning last week but that doesn’t change the personnel on their defense. They are still ranked 18^th in pass defense via DVOA, while being ranked 27^th against the run. 

Ja’Marr Chase should see shadow coverage from Jaycee Horn, but that doesn’t concern me too much as Chase is largely unguardable. Horn has kept the WR1 overall quiet this season, however. The Panthers are ranked 7^th overall against WR1 thanks to him. Tee Higgin’s will primarily will see a mix of Troy Hill (18%) and Mike Jackson. He will have the WR2 role for Joe Burrow. The Panthers have been far worse against the WR2, ranking 28^th overall against them in the NFL. Andrei Iosivas is putting up big numbers after busting in Week 1 as obvious chalk. We can consider him the WR3 for Cinci. Carolina is ranked 16^th against the WR3.

Best Pivot: Andrei Iosiavas

Eagles

DaVonte Smith is out. Britain Covey is out. 

We are going to have to circle back to this as A.J. Brown is currently questionable. If he is active, by all means, run to Brown as the alpha in the receiving game for Jalen Hurts. If he is out then we might be forced to take shots on guys like Jahan Dotson and Johnny Wilson. The easiest pivot is of course Saquan Barkley, who would get huge volume, and Dallas Goedert. 

Others to consider/mix in MME

• Chris Godwin
• Rashee Rice
• Rasheed Shaheed
• Xaivor Worthy
• Andrei Iosiavas

Tight End 

Elijah Higgins

Trey McBridge is out with a concussion thrusting Elijah Higgins into the starting role for Kyler Murray. Higgins has 5 targets over the first three games, playing the backup TE role. He has caught 100% of his targets, which is nice to see. He lines up against the Commanders, who have overall not given up much production to the position but that is only because you can murder them with the long ball. At a price of only $3,100 you don’t even need Higgins to get a touchdown, you just need 3 or 4 catches and whatever yardage comes with it. If he scores that is just icing on the cake. You also need an expensive TE to go nuclear, which isn’t a huge ask considering how inconsistent the position is. 

Travis Kelce

So what is going on with Travis Kelce? Is he washed? Is he out of game shape from riding around on Taylor Swift’s private jet all off-season? Have the Chiefs not needed to rely on him with Mahomes having reliable receiving options? I do not know which one(s) of these are true but I do not believe we have seen the last of Travis Kelce breaking slates. The Chiefs, with a downgraded running game, take on one of Kelce’s most productive career matchups this week, the Los Angeles Chargers. Over his career, he has 100 receptions, 1,223 receiving yards, and 8 touchdowns against them. He is coming in at under 3% owned as of Saturday night. Imagine knowing you were getting Kelce at $5,800 and that ownership in years past. You almost have to take a shot on it just to confirm if he is dead or not. 

Others to consider: 

• Dallas Goedert 
• George Kittle
• Brock Bowers
• Cole Kmet
• Tommy Tremble

Again, I will update this article if anything changes. Be sure to come back and check for the most up-to-date plays. I can already tell you I will be adding another running back in the morning.