Special Note: In case you missed it, you will want to read my First Fantasy Thoughts for the week, as I discuss 8 players to either HOLD, BENCH, DROP, or TRADE. These are popular underperforming players. Check it out before you make any free agent moves this week!

It's week #4, and most fantasy owners should have a good grasp on whether they have a big winner on their hands, or if they need to make major changes in their roster to remain competitive. To that end, I will focus on specific player situation and scenarios this week to help owners struggling get a boost for their fantasy playoff hopes. Of course, there are always good free agents and player trades to consider during this first month of the season, and I most definitely will not ignore that fact. Let's get right into the Market...

Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love faced his stiffest test as the new starter for the Packers on Sunday. Love completed 22 of 44 passes for 259 yards, one score and a pick in a comeback 18-17 win over the Saints. He also rushed nine times for 39 yards and a score. Love brought Green Bay back from a 17-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter, making big plays with both his arm and legs. His first score came on a one-yard run, after which Love passed for a successful two-point play. On his next series, Love had a 24-yard scramble before connecting with WR Romeo Doubs for an eight-yard touchdown with just under three minutes remaining in the game. Although he's completed only 53% of his passes on the season, Love is making the big plays when it counts and get he win in his home opener. This week, the Packers could get both RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) and WR Christian Watson (hamstring) back Thursday night's big game at home against the Detroit Lions. If you have an under-performing quarterback like QB Justin Fields or QB Trevor Lawrence, I wouldn't hesitate to start Love over them this week!

It has been far from a good start for Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson in 2023, but he played better on Sunday. Watson completed 27 of 33 passes for 289 yards and two scores in Sunday's 27-3 win over the Titans. He also added 16 yards rushing in the game. Watson had been shaky in his first two games of the season, struggling with both accuracy and turnovers. Things went differently on Sunday, as he mostly avoided those problems and highlighted his performance with TD passes of 19 and 43 yards. The Titans have struggled against the pass this season, so Watson took advantage of the positive matchup. He should have solid confidence heading into a big game against the Baltimore Ravens this week. While I'm not saying he is a must start this week, Watson is trending in a better direction, so his fantasy owners should feel better about starting him this week if they want to stick with him!

Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud continues to set himself apart from all other rookie QBs in 2023. In a game not many thought the Texans would compete in, let alone win, Stroud completed 20-of-30 passes for 280 yards and two scores as the Texans took down the Jacksonville Jaguars 37-17 on Sunday. Stroud played through a shoulder injury, but made smart decisions and throws most of the game. He threw TD passes to rookie WR Tank Dell and TE Brevin Jordan, ending the day with a 118.8 QB rating. Bottom Line: The Texans are no longer pushovers, and Stroud is the biggest reason why. Even with RB Dameon Pierce struggling, Stroud is keeping the team in games and got he win over the Jaguars. This week, the Texans host the Steelers, another team with a young QB. Stroud is currently QB11 on the season with back-to-back 23+ point games! In other words, you could do a lot worse than to start Stroud this week against the Steelers!

San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy topped 300 passing yards for the first time in his career last Thursday in a game against the Giants. Purdy completed 25 of 37 passes for 310 yards and two scores. He topped 21 fantasy points for the second time in three games, while failing to throw for any picks this season to date. This week, the 49ers play host to the surprising Arizona Cardinals, and there is a god chance that WR Brandon Aiyuk (shoulder) returns to action. It also doesn't hurt that Purdy has CMC, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle as primary weapons too. Bottom Line: Purdy is currently QB13 for the season, just 6 points out of the top 8 QBs! That means he's worthy of fantasy consideration to start this week as well as pretty much any other week moving forward!

Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is not making the big plays needed for the team to hit on all their cylinders offensively. On Sunday, Prescott completed 25 of 40 passes for 249 yards, one score, and one pick, while adding 24 rushing yards in a shocking 28-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. While Prescott didn't play poorly, Dallas offense continues to struggle to score TDs in the red zone. It also didn't help that the Dallas defense could not stop the Cardinals after looking like THE top units in the league in the first two games of the season. Through the first three games, Prescott is only QB25 with just 647 passing yards, three scores, and one pick. Making matters tougher is the fact that the Cowboys host the stubborn New England Patriots this week. Let's just say that this is not the week to start Prescott. If you own any of the other QBs I've already mentioned in this section, you should start one of them!

It appears that I, along with many others, discounted the Red Rifle on Sunday and it came back to haunt me by benching WR Adam Thielen everywhere I owned him. Let me explain. Backup Carolina Panthers QB Andy Dalton stepped in for the injured QB Bryce Young (ankle) and completed a whopping 34 of 58 passes for 361 yards and two scores in Sunday's 37-27 loss to the Seahawks. Dalton got his first start of the season and was so good that he produced more passing yards in one game than the rookie had in his two starts combined. Dalton leaned heavily on the veteran wideouts Carolina brought in this offseason, tossing a 47-yard score to WR D.J. Chark in the second quarter before finding WR Adam Thielen for a 15-yard score inside the final two minutes of the game. Those two players accounted for nearly two-thirds (64%) of Dalton's yards. Young will get his starting job back when healthy, but that may not happen this week. Guess what? The Panthers host the winless Minnesota Vikings and their terrible secondary this week! And that means if you are hurting at QB, then you could do a lot worse than to pick up and start Dalton if Young sits again! As for Thielen and Chark, do yourself a favor and auto-start Thielen, while considering Chark for a start. Did you know that Thielen is currently WR9 in PPR leagues? Amazing!

Let's take a look at some of the other more notable QB performances from last week... Broncos QB Russell Wilson threw for one score at Miami on Sunday. New England Patriots QB Mac Jones threw for one score on the road on Sunday against the Jets. New Orleans Saints QB Jameis Winston will start this week for the injured QB Derek Carr (shoulder). Arizona Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs threw for one score on Sunday at home against the Cowboys. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett threw for two scores on the road against the Raiders on Sunday night. Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield threw for one score on Monday night at home against the Eagles. Finally, Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw for one score on the road against the Bengals on Monday night.

Miami Dolphins rookie RB De'Von Achane definitely more than turned a corner to the start of his NFL career on Sunday. Achane was off to a slow start after dealing with injury in training camp and falling behind RB Salvon Ahmed on the depth chart. He only played offensive snaps last week after Ahmed (groin) went down due to injury. While RB Raheem Mostert played every offensive snap on the Dolphins' first drive Sunday, Achane started mixing in significantly on the second drive. The two were used interchangeably throughout the game. Surprisingly, Mostert was used more in passing situations, while Achane played more in short-yardage situations. For the game, Achane was electric, running 18 times for 203 yards and two scores, while catching another 4 passes for 20 yards and two more scores! Although RB Jeff Wilson Jr. should be returning from injured reserve soon and Mostert isn't going away after his performance, it's safe to say Achane will maintain a significant role moving forward after his shocking performance. In the most obvious statement of the week... If Achane is still on your league waiver wire, pick him up NOW!

Not surprisingly, Philadelphia Eagles RB D'Andre Swift got the start for the team on Monday night ahead of RB Kenneth Gainwell, who returned after missing Week #2 due to injury. The Eagles played the hot hand and rotated the backs each quarter. Gainwell (14-43, 1-5) played fairly well, but Swift (16-130, 1-8) was impressive whenever he touched the football. RB Boston Scott would typically be the third running back, but he was inactive after suffering a concussion last week. Meanwhile, RB Rashaad Penny was active as the third running back Monday, but didn't play an offensive snap. Moving forward, you can expect a similar scenario as long as Swift plays well. That makes him a solid RB2 with RB1 upside depending on the opponent. As for Gainwell, he's more of a risky flex option for owners in need. He didn't quite get "Wally Pipped", but it is a situation close to that. Hey! At least Gainwell isn't out of the loop like Penny!

A quick note... The Kansas City Chiefs are still running sort of a RBBC, but on Sunday, RB Isiah Pacheco saw most of the playing time while QB Patrick Mahomes was still playing, seeing 32 of a possible 55 offensive snaps. The main reason RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire saw similar numbers was because the Chiefs got off to such a big lead, the team pulled Mahomes and most of the starters before the game was close to being over. That resulted in a score for CEH and more playing time. Pacheco was also on the injury report earlier in the week, so the team wanted to be careful with him. Bottom Line: Pacheco remains the starter and will be spelled by CEH here and there, but there's really nothing more to it.

The Cleveland Browns said that RB Jerome Ford would be their new featured back, and that was certainly the case on Sunday. Ford played the majority of snaps on early and third downs while also seeing the one goal line opportunity. He wasn't very effective running against a strong Titans run defense, but that was to be expected. Ford totaled only 51 yards of offense, but did manage to score twice. You can likely expect better performances moving forward against weaker run defenses. RB Kareem Hunt, who was signed earlier in the week, was the primary backup, but was on a snap count for this game. Meanwhile, RB Pierre Strong was also involved, but five of his eight snaps occurred within the last five minutes while Cleveland had a 24-point lead. There is a good likelihood that Hunt cuts more into Ford's playing time, but Ford should still be a solid RB3 at the very least for fantasy. As for Hunt, he is a risky flex option right now, but that could change depending upon his and Ford's performance moving forward, so don't cut him just yet.

The Indianapolis Colts have made RB Zack Moss a true workhorse back. On Sunday, he played more than 60 offensive snaps for the second straight week. RB Deon Jackson was the primary backup for Indianapolis in week #1, but he was ineffective and was cut last week for RB Trey Sermon. Sermon played ahead of RB Jake Funk as the primary backup running back. Moss has historically been an early-down running back, so it wasn't surprising to see Sermon taking half of the snaps on third down, but when the Colts got in the red zone, it was Moss who was on the field and caught a short TD pass. Bottom Line: This is Moss' team now and they will live and die with him as the lead back, that is, until (if) RB Jonathan Taylor (ankle - PUP) returns to the team and actually plays. That is still most certainly a big question mark that needs to be decided, as the Colts could very well trade Taylor before the trade deadline!

There is no doubting that the Green Bay Packers really miss injured RB Aaron Jones (hamstring). With Jones out again on Sunday, RB A.J. Dillon ran 11 times for only 33 yards against the Saints. Dillon didn't see a target in the passing game. The Saints throttled the Packers offense for three quarters of the game, so RB Patrick Taylor played a larger role this week because the Packers needed to pass the ball frequently throughout the second half. In addition, Taylor saw goal line snaps, but they all came on the same drive where Green Bay stayed in their passing scheme in order to conserve the clock. Dillon likely would have been the goal line back if they simply wanted to run it in for a score and not worry about the clock. Bottom Line: Jones is close to returning, and could play as soon as this Thursday night against the Lions. If you own both Jones and Dillon like I do in one league, then hold both and start whomever starts the game, but hopefully that will be Jones. If you don't own Jones, but own Dillon, it's back to the bench he goes if Jones plays!

The Pittsburgh Steelers backfield continues to evolve and it has finally reached a 50/50 split between RB Najee Harris and RB Jaylen Warren, who both had played 25 offensive snaps with five minutes left in the game on Sunday night against the Raiders. Warren has been inching closer to the 50/50 split since the start of the season. This is the highest percentage Warren has played in a win for Pittsburgh. In Sunday's win, Warren averaged more yards per carry than Harris. Generally, Harris has been getting stuffed in the backfield more often, but has also made more big plays in the run game. Warren has been the much bigger factor in the passing game. He caught three passes for 23 yards Sunday night. Overall, this is the third straight week Warren has outscored Harris in PPR scoring formats. Bottom Line: Neither player is a must start for fantasy moving forward, but at least the needle is moving in the right direction for Warren. That said, both are fairly risky RB3/flex options for fantasy due to the split, but both can be effective when the team plays weaker opponents. Still, this is the primary reason why I stayed away from both in drafts this summer. Unless one gets injured, the ceiling for both is much lower than most starters at RB in the league!

Let's take a look at some of the other more notable RB performances from last week... New York Giants RB Matt Breida scored on 7 touches with 3 catches last Thursday at San Francisco. RB Gary Brightwell had 6 touches in that game. San Francisco 49ers RB Elijah Mitchell saw 14 touches in that game. Buffalo Bills RB Latavius Murray both scored on limited touches last Sunday against the Commanders. New Orleans Saints RB Kendre Miller saw 10 touches on Sunday against the Packers. Houston Texans RB Devin Singletary saw 11 touches on Sunday against the Jaguars. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Tank Bigsby scored on 2 touches on Sunday against the Texans. Tennessee Titans rookie RB Tajae Spears saw 8 touches on Sunday against the Browns. Baltimore Ravens RB Melvin Gordon saw 12 touches on Sunday against the Colts. Dallas Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle scored on 7 touches on Sunday against the Cardinals.

NFL.com reports Los Angeles Chargers WR Mike Williams (knee) has torn his ACL and is lost for the season, an MRI confirmed.

New York Giant WR Wan'Dale Robinson made his season debut last Thursday in San Francisco. The team brought him back on a very limited basis, coming off a torn ACL injury suffered mid-season in 2022. He's currently a backup to WR Parris Campbell and was only on the field for a few plays that Campbell took off. Robinson ran only four routes over the first three quarters of the game, but was targeted on all four. He caught a pass on each one of them, gaining 21 yards. Later, he started to receive more playing time in the fourth quarter while the Giants were playing from behind. Once the team deems him healthy, Robinson should see more playing time. That said, Robinson is a slot receiver, so if he's to make a real impact, he will have to take that job away from Campbell, something that could be tough to do. Let's face it. These are the 2023 Giants, not a team with a whole bunch of fantasy production at wideout to start with, so that makes Robinson very limited in fantasy terms. In other words, I just don't think he's worthy of a fantasy free-agent pickup right now.

San Francisco 49ers late draft pick WR Ronnie Bell caught his first score of the 2023 season and his NFL career last Thursday at home against the Giants. Anyone watching the highlights of the game would have thought Bell had completely taken over for injured WR Brandon Aiyuk (shoulder), but that was far from the case. It was really the veteran WR Ray-Ray McCloud who primarily took over for Aiyuk in this game. McCloud got the start and was almost always on the field in 11 personnel. McCloud and Bell rotated in and out in other personnel groupings, which were typically run plays. The 49ers also ran more plays out of 22 personnel than the first two weeks of the season combined, since that personnel grouping no longer meant taking one of their top weapons off the field. For the game, McCloud played 38 snaps and ran 21 routes, while Bell played 31 snaps and ran just 11 routes. Aiyuk could be ready to play this week with extended rest, but if he does miss another game, fantasy owners need to think twice about picking up Bell just because of his score. It makes him a really risky play for fantasy due to limited snaps and routes.

Dallas Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks (knee) missed week #2's game due to a knee injury, but he returned to his normal workload on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. That said, he only caught two short passes for 17 yards, while WR Michael Gallup caught 6 of 7 targets for a team high 92 yards. Cooks actually tied for the team lead in targets (7) with Gallup and WR CeeDee Lamb, who caught 4 of his 7 targets for 53 yards. What is going on there? Good question. Lamb is the clear WR1, but Cooks and Gallup drew the same number of targets, and Gallup was much more productive. Who is the WR2? That is not clear, so if you own Cooks, I'd sit him for now, as QB Dak Prescott doesn't really care who he targets, just as long a they are open and they produce. That is not to say that Cooks won't make an impact in future weeks, I just want to see him do it before I trust him, since he's gotten off to a slow start. Let's just say Cooks is on a "prove it" deal for me and fantasy.

Last week, I discussed the emergence of Houston Texans rookie WR Tank Dell. Well, things are only looking better for the young rookie these days. Dell lead the team in targets for a second straight week. He also played the clear majority of the available snaps in most situations for the second straight week. The main reason he played a lower percentage of snaps on Sunday compared to last week is that the Texans had a large lead and ran seven plays out of 22 personnel. WR John Metchie was the wide receiver in that personnel grouping, and the Texans ran the ball every time. Metchie and WR Nico Collins typically split snaps in two receiver sets while WR Robert Woods stayed on the field so again, the reason Woods played more than the other receivers had more to do with his run blocking. That said, when Dell was on the field, his play was electric. He led the team with 7 targets, catching 5 of them for 145 yards, including a sweet 68-yard TD catch and run. The only concern is if the Houston Texans begin to open big leads every week, but that is highly unlikely with this young team. Bottom Line: Dell is a top waiver wire target this week, just as he was last week!

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to rotate their wideouts during games, but with WR Richie James (knee) on IR and WR Kadarius Toney (toe) nursing a toe injury and barely playing, that gave more opportunity to rookie WR Rashee Rice. Rice became the clear fourth wide receiver on the depth chart. He ran 16 of a possible 36 routes while QB Patrick Mahomes was still playing. He was targeted on 25% of those routes, four times in total. He tied with WR Skyy Moore for the second-most targets with Mahomes still in the game, behind only TE Travis Kelce. The Chiefs didn't pass much when QB Blaine Gabbert took over in garbage time, but Rice was Gabbert's favorite target. Bottom Line: Rice will probably see his playing time drop once Toney is healthy again, but the Chiefs' wide receiver rotation is worth keeping your eyes on, as one never knows if Mahomes will start to favor one of the wideouts over the others.

The Baltimore Ravens actually used two wide receivers to replace injury WR Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) on Sunday. Both WR Rashod Bateman and WR Nelson Agholor played more snaps this week. Beckham didn't practice all week due to an ankle injury, and was ruled out on Friday. WR Devin Duvernay was also on the injury report due to a shoulder injury, which could have contributed to his relatively low snap total. Aghlor played more than Bateman in 11 personnel, while Bateman played more than Agholor in most other personnel groupings. Why am I mentioning this? It's unfortunate, but it appears that the Ravens don't trust Bateman to step into a starting role with the team, even just for one game. In the game, Bateman caught just one pass for 6 yards on 3 targets, while Agholor caught all 4 targets for 39 yards. Bottom Line: Bateman owners should consider cutting bait on him this week to pick up a wideout like Texans WR Tank Dell. It just doesn't look good for Bateman's fantasy future in the coming weeks if he can't be trusted to start when a starter goes down.

The following wideouts caught at least two passes or scored this past weekend and deserve fantasy consideration: Carolina Panthers WR Adam Thielen (11-145-1), Carolina Panthers WR D.J. Chark (4-86-1), New York Giants WR Parris Campbell (6-24), Washington Commanders WR Curtis Samuel (2-54), Denver Broncos WR Marvin Mims (3-73), Minnesota Vikings WR Jordan Addison (6-52), Minnesota Vikings WR K.J. Osborn (1-36-1), New England Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne (4-46), Green Bay Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks (4-45), Green Bay Packers WR Jayden Reed (3-63), Jacksonville Jaguars WR Jamal Agnew (4-49), Cleveland Browns WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (3-49), Detroit Lions WR Kalif Raymond (4-55), Indianapolis Colts WR Josh Downs (8-57), Arizona Cardinals WR Michael Wilson (2-86), Arizona Cardinals WR Rondale Moore (3-54-1, 4-8), Pittsburgh Steelers WR Calvin Austin III (2-72-1), Philadelphia Eagles WR Olamide Zaccheaus (2-58-1), and Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd (5-39).

It appears that the Arizona Cardinals may be starting to phase TE Zach Ertz out of their offense. Ertz dominated TE snaps in week #1, but played less in week #2. He still saw enough targets that week to be productive for fantasy, but Sunday was a different matter. His decrease this week came from 12 personnel, where he took the field on only six of a possible 14 plays after playing the majority of snaps in those situations over the last two weeks. Granted, the Cardinals didn't throw the ball much against the Cowboys since the running game was working so well, but Ertz was only targeted twice during the entire contest. He caught both passes for 6 yards, including a shovel pass at the goal that nearly went for a score. TE Trey McBride has averaged 1.78 yards per route run this season compared to only 1.17 by Ertz, so it wouldn't be a surprise if this trend of usage continues. At the start of the season, I had a feeling that Ertz might eventually be traded, as the team looks to tank and go for a complete overhaul next off-season. The trend might just be the start of the end of Ertz as a Cardinal.

Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts was a click for me last week, but all he did was continue to disappoint fantasy owners. Sunday's game seemed to be the perfect situation for Pitts to succeed, but he still produced less than 50 receiving yards. For the day, he ran a route on 42 of 47 pass plays which is excellent and was targeted on more than 21% of the pass plays. That said, he only caught five of nine targets for 41 yards. What's the issue? Well, his average depth of target is too high, so he's not getting short passes and making the most after the catch. Those passes on Sunday went to TE Jonnu Smith. Pitts' 12.0 average depth of target is a full yard higher than any other tight end this season. That said, Pitts is still among the top-10 fantasy tight ends in receiving yards, so he's still a fantasy starter going forward, but he probably won't reach his full potential with QB Desmond Ridder leading the team.

There is a new name to keep an eye on at tight end and his name is Miami Dolphins TE Julian Hill. He is an undrafted rookie from Campbell University, and appears to be the Dolphins' new pass-catching tight end moving forward. Hill had been inactive the first two weeks of the season due to an ankle injury. On Sunday, Hill played 30 of a possible 32 snaps in 11 personnel, and every snap in two tight end sets and slightly over half of the offensive snaps in 21 personnel. Bottom Line: Hill surpassed TE Durham Smythe, who played 100% of the available snaps in Week #1 and 97% of the snaps in Week #2. Now, Hill didn't catch his only target (in the red zone), but Smythe had been targeted 10 times over the first two weeks and only caught one pass on Sunday. I'm not saying you should drop your starting TE to grab Hill off your waiver wire, but just be aware there is a new option to catch passes from Tua in Miami!

Before you consider picking up Washington Commanders TE Cole Turner to start if TE Logan Thomas (concussion) misses another game, please continue reading. Turner split snaps with TE John Bates on Sunday. Turner played a bit more in passing situations, while Bates played more on running plays. For the game, Turner led the Commanders in targets (7), while catching four passes for 35 yards. That said, Bates did catch both of his targets for 12 yards, so Turner wasn't the only tight end targeted in the game. Bottom Line: Thomas could easily return to action as soon as this week, making any move for Turner or Bates moot. But, even if he doesn't, both young tight ends should probably remain on your waiver wire, since Turner is far from a sure thing to see another 7 targets this week.

The following tight ends caught at least two passes this past weekend or scored and deserve fantasy consideration: Los Angeles Chargers TE Donald Parham (2-4-2), New England Patriots TE Pharaoh Brown (2-71-1), New York Jets TE Tyler Conklin (3-26), Green Bay Packers TE Luke Musgrave (6-49), Houston Texans TE Brevin Jordan (2-13-1), Dallas Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson (5-48), and Seattle Seahawks TE Noah Fant (4-41).

The following is the third in-season free agent player rankings list for the 2023 NFL season. If you're looking for a free agent off your leagues' waiver wire to fill a need (maybe depth), these are the players to consider...

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