Fantasy News & Analysis

Best Week 4 Fantasy football QB/TE/DEF streamers

Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) prepares to pass in the first quarter against the New York Jets at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

With Week 4 of the 2021 NFL season just around the corner, it’s time to address the best fantasy football streamers at the quarterback, tight end and defense/special teams positions.

This week’s slate of games presents some intense mismatches between the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars and features a high-upside yet hardly rostered quarterback who could finish the week inside the top five at his position.

Let’s dive into the best streaming options at each position ahead of Week 4.


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Quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater, Denver Broncos | 28% rostered

Bridgewater is only featuring in 28% of fantasy football rosters, which is surprising given his current QB14 ranking so far. While he’s been known to play a boring, checkdown-like game, Bridgewater is actually averaging a strong 9.5-yard average depth of target (aDOT) through three contests. This coming week, his Broncos get a subpar pass defense in the Baltimore Ravens that has been beaten for the second-most passing yards (995) this season.

Sam Darnold, Carolina Panthers | 22% rostered

Like Teddy Two Gloves, Darnold is putting together a revelation season as a current QB1 and the 11th-highest-scoring quarterback in the league. The Dallas Cowboys are next up on the schedule for Darnold, and this matchup presents a good opportunity to build on his performances. Their secondary has allowed an explosive pass play on 17.9% of coverage snaps, the eighth-highest rate this season. Expect to see a lot of D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson working the deep parts of the field.

Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team | 6% rostered

Heinicke is coming off consecutive 20-plus-point performances as a starter and needs to be on rosters at this point. Sure, the real-life implications aren’t pretty when a quarterback turns it over three times in two games, but Heinicke has some rushing upside (21 yards and a touchdown in Week 3) and is not afraid to air it out and give his receivers an opportunity to make plays.

Week 4 is an absolute smash spot for Heinicke, who will take on the Atlanta Falcons in the Mercedes Benz Stadium. Atlanta has allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season. Heinicke has legitimate QB1 upside and is arguably the best fantasy streamer of the week.

Tight End

Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills | 10% rostered

The tight end position is largely in shambles, but there may be some underrated streaming options in Week 4. Knox is the first candidate who may fit the bill, as he is the clear No. 1 tight end in his offense and registered a strong enough snap share (77.9%) and target share (11.6%) in Week 3. He’s not utilized to a massive degree, but he has touchdown upside in an offense that scores often, as evidenced by his two touchdowns through three contests.

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers | 8% rostered

Freiermuth continues to factor into the Steelers’ game plan and looks to be a legitimate target for Ben Roethlisberger in the red zone and near the goal line. Over the past two games, Freiermuth has registered only six fewer snaps than Eric Ebron but has more than double the targets (nine to four) and ranks third on the team in red-zone targets with three.

PFF’s Fantasy Football Rankings include ranks from our experts, projections and our Strength of Schedule metric.

Freiermuth’s is largely touchdown-dependent, so his floor is relatively low. However, this week the Steelers play the Green Bay Packers, who have allowed the most receiving touchdowns to the position (three) this season.

Other Articles you might like:

Fantasy Football Week 3 Recap: Immediate takeaways & analysis for every game via Nathan Jahnke

NFL Week 4 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: All league sizes & scoring types via Andrew Erickson

Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings | 4% rostered

There’s really no debating Conklin’s status as the Vikings’ top tight end — his 151 snaps through three contests are the proof. His 14.5% target share is a much stronger mark than anybody would have expected, and he scored 20 fantasy points in PPR formats in Week 3, making him the highest-scoring tight end this week.

Defense/Special Teams

Indianapolis Colts D/ST | 41% rostered

We like to cherry-pick bad offenses when it comes to defensive streamers, and of course, the Colts have a strong matchup against the Miami Dolphins and backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett in Week 4. Oddly enough, Brissett fought valiantly in an overtime loss this past game but still allowed the Las Vegas Raiders to register two sacks and 18 total pressures in that contest. The winless Colts have to be desperate for a win, and this is their opportunity to ramp up defensively to collect one.

Tennessee Titans D/ST | 14% rostered

The Titans defense is second-to-last in terms of fantasy points scored on the season, but they get the benefit of lining up against the New York Jets and rookie quarterback Zach Wilson in Week 4. If there’s ever a week for the Titans to do anything defensively, it’s now, against the quarterback tied for the league-lead with seven interceptions.

Related: Assessing the New York Jets and QB Zach Wilson's worst-case start to the 2021 season via Seth Galina

Cincinnati Bengals D/ST | 3% rostered

The Bengals have the 12th-easiest matchup of the week, according to PFF’s strength of schedule metric. That is backed up by way of what the Jacksonville Jaguars have put on the field — a disgusting offense that has allowed the fifth-most pressures this season with a quarterback tied with fellow rookie Wilson in the interception lead (seven). Ride the Bengals heavily in this contest; there’s a good chance they’re a top-five scoring defense and have elite-level upside in this game.

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