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BY SPM Scott
We're getting to the point of the 2023 National Football Season that we can really start to zero in on the players who are on their way to extremely productive seasons based on their weekly volume of touches and performance, the players who are not being used in the roles we expected, the surprise fast-starters who might be able to maintain their pace and the potential frauds whose numbers may have been skewed by a couple of big plays or one outlier strong performance.
We also have enough data to really start analyzing which players have the best matchups this week and combine that with usage data and potential game scripts to really narrow our choices down for both full-season and weekly DFS fantasy lineups.
Remember that when we make suggestions here and choose our weekly DFS lineups, there are a few key considerations.
Players with greater point-per-dollar potential will always be ranked higher on our lists. Value equals victory, and while you never almost never can go wrong by playing the highest of the high-end players such as Christian McCaffrey or Justin Jefferson as part of your weekly lineup core, being able to figure out who the lower-priced top-tier players worth selecting are can prove to be the difference between finishing in or out of the money.
If you can get similar production for $1,000 less at the top end, the money saved there can be spent on a lower-end player with a higher floor than one of the super-value players who might be more of a dart throw with a high upside. It's also important to differentiate ourselves from the masses, so if everyone is going to be on CMC or JJ, selecting a different top-level player also can make or break you. But sometimes one of those players might be priced too high even for the masses, so if you can grab a couple of them when others are passing while finding the super-bargain guys who will far outperform their salaries, then you really might be onto something.
That's why we provide may different options, but always keep in mind that we rank the players according to a combination of their value and their projected performance. CMC may be the top-ranked running back based on points projections in a given week, but if Tony Pollard can get you almost as many points for $1,300 less, he likely will be our top Stud Core RB.
Some weeks the player with the highest salary and projection will be so far superior to the next-best player that he sill may be ranked as out top play. That's when our value and super-value recommendations become extremely important to the success of our lineups.
Any player who shows up in one of our lists is one who we will consider for any lineup we submit, and the different options we provide should allow you to mix and match and finish in the money if you play several lineups. More than 50% of our NFL FanDuel DFS lineups have finished in the money thus far.
Remember that Stud Core or Value Core players are the ones we feel strongly about and are guys we can play in any or even every one of our lineups. We fill in the rest of the positions based on who we can fit under the salary cap.
Here are our rankings for Week 4:
Stud Core Quarterbacks
Justin Herbert $8,600
Josh Allen $9,000
Tua Tagovailoa - $8,000
Jalen Hurts - $8,800
Value Core Quarterbacks
Russell Wilson $7,200
Joe Burrow $7,200
Anthony Richardson $7,600
Value Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford $6,600
Brock Purdy $7,100
Justin Fields $7,200
Stud Core Running Back
Christian McCaffrey - $9,700
Josh Jacobs - $8,200
Value Core Running Backs
Javonte Williams - $5,800
Alexander Mattison - $7,200
James Cook - $6,800
Kyren Williams - $7,600
Value Volume Running Backs
James Conner - $6,300
Dameon Pierce - $6,300
Najee Harris - $6,300
Josh Kelley - $6,000
Miles Sanders - $6,600
Zack Moss - $7,300
Value Flex Running Backs
Alvin Kamara - $6,500
De'Von Achane - $6,400
Gus Edwards - $5,900
Roschon Johnson - $5,300
Latavius Murray - $5,000
Super-Value Running Back
Antonio Gibson - $4,900
Tyjae Spears - $4,800
These two are game-script dependent. If you think the Commanders or Titans will play from behind most of the the game, these guys might be worth taking a shot on so you can stack the top of your lineup.
Stud Core Wide Receivers
Ja'Marr Chase - $8,200
Davante Adams - $8,100
Stefon Diggs - $8,700
Keenan Allen - $9,500
Justin Jefferson - $9,400
Tyreek Hill - $9,600
Value Core Wide Recivers
A.J. Brown - $7,700
Chris Olave - $7,900
Tee Higgins - $7,300
Puka Nacua - $7,500
Value Volume Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman - $7,200
CeeDee Lamb - $7,500
DeVonta Smith - $7,800
Adam Thielen - $6,800
Brandon Aiyuk - $7,600
George Pickens - $7,100
Jakobi Meyers - $6,900
Value Flex Wide Receivers
Tutu Atwell - $6,300
Courtland Sutton - $7,100
Nico Collins - $6,400
Jerry Jeudy - $6,600
Josh Palmer - $6,100
Gabe Davis - $6,500
Tank Dell - $6,200
DJ Moore - $6,100
Super-Value Wide Receivers
Michael Thomas - $5,900
KJ Osborn - $5,700
Tyler Boyd - $5,600
Quentin Johnson - $5,200
Marvin Mims - $5,400
Calvin Austin - $5,000
Chase Claypool - $5,300
Stud Core Tight Ends
TJ Hockenson - $7,200
Mark Andrews - $6,700
George Kittle - $6,300
Value Tight Ends
Logan Thomas - $5,000
Gerald Everett - $5,000
Dalton Kincaid - $4,800
Jake Ferguson - $5,100
Cole Kmet - $4,900