Wide receiver non-PPR rankings for Week 4 fantasy football

Friday update: Remember to take all your Steelers-Titans receivers and move them to the bench, as their game has been moved to Week 7. That means say goodbye to Diontae Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Corey Davis and the great Adam Humphries. The good news is that A.J. Brown looks like he will be ready to go next week and Johnson will be another week removed from his concussion before needing to play again.

DeAndre Hopkins has yet to practice this week and we haven’t heard any reports on how close he is to playing with his ankle injury. If he can’t go, Larry Fitzgerald, Andy Isabella, and Christian Kirk would be the biggest beneficiaries. I moved Fitzgerald to the bottom of the rankings for now and moved the others up. If he does end up playing, I’ll move him back up, but not to the No. 1 spot again.

Chris Godwin is out and Scotty Miller was able to get some work in on Friday. Miller’s status is still up in the air, giving Mike Evans and Justin Watson the lead in receiver work at the moment. Rob Gronkowski and O.J. Howard could both get heavily involved as well.

Michael Thomas has gotten in limited practices this week, but he’s not a lock to play against Detroit according to Ian Rapoport. Alvin Kamara gets the biggest boost with Thomas out.

Terry McLaurin is questionable with a thigh injury. He could play, but does have a tough matchup against the Ravens at less than 100 percent.

Will Fuller is expected to play against Minnesota, but he doesn’t appear to be 100 percent and an in-game hamstring issue is not out of the question. His upside is great in this matchup though, so I’d likely take the risk.

Mike Williams looks like he will miss this week for the Chargers. Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry and Austin Ekeler should see plenty of work.

D.J. Chark has been taken off the injury report and is good to go against the Bengals.

Julio Jones is trending in the right direction to play against the Packers on Monday night. At this moment, it appears safe to get him into your lineup again.

Allen Lazard had core muscle surgery and is out for a few weeks while Davante Adams appears to be trending in the right direction, but we need more information on his status for MNF. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is the main beneficiary of Lazard’s absence.

Henry Ruggs is trending in the wrong direction with his hamstring injury and Bryan Edwards is out this week. Expect plenty of Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow against the Bills.

DeSean Jackson didn’t practice this week, but could still play with his hamstring injury. If he does, a reoccurrence seems like a real possibility. Greg Ward, Zach Ertz and Miles Sanders should lead the team in targets against the 49ers.

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Week 4 injury report

Teams returned to practice on Wednesday, and we have an idea of some of the players to keep an eye on as the final injury reports arrive later this week. Below are the wide receivers who showed up in some capacity.

Full participants: Curtis Samuel (elbow), Chris Moore (finger), Jarvis Landry (hip), Tyreek Hill (heel)
Limited participants: Christian Kirk (groin), D.J. Chark (chest, back), Julian Edelman (knee), Michael Thomas (ankle), Alshon Jeffery (foot)
Did not practice: DeAndre Hopkins (ankle), Dontrelle Inman (wrist), Steven Sims (toe), John Brown (calf), Bryan Edwards (foot, ankle), Henry Ruggs (knee, hamstring), Michael Pittman (calf), Mike Williams (hamstring), Chris Godwin (hamstring), Scott Miller (hip, groin), Josh Reynolds (illness), J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (calf), DeSean Jackson (hamstring)

Titans-Steelers postponed

The NFL announced that Titans-Steelers will not take place in Week 4 as another Titans player and non-player tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. The game will be played later in the season on an unspecified date. For wide receivers, this means players that will not be available include Corey Davis, Adam Humphries, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and James Washington.

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A big chunk of the elite fantasy wide receivers were sidelined last week, but that helped push others to the forefront. The highest scoring fantasy receiver ended up being Tyler Lockett, who is finally getting more recognition now that Seattle is unleashing Russell Wilson on the league. Rookie Justin Jefferson had a third game breakout of epic proportions as he went for 175 yards and a score. Keenan Allen reminded everyone that all he needs are targets and he’ll make something special happen.

Covid-19 News

We’re still getting information on the Tennessee Titans Covid-19 breakout, but at the moment it looks like the NFL is going to do all they can to get both the Titans-Steelers and Vikings-Texans to play this week. If they do, the Titans and to some extent, the Vikings, won’t have been able to practice as much as their opponent’s have. But, we are still waiting for definitive news on the status of these matchups, which means there is also a chance they move the games to a later date.

Injury News

Chris Godwin is likely out this week and then possibly the following week for a Thursday night game with a hamstring injury. Scotty Miller should see an uptick in targets.

Michael Pittman will probably be out until Week 8. Zach Pascal will be the No. 2 receiver moving forward. Maybe Nyheim Hines will get back on track as well.

Julio Jones didn’t play last week with a hamstring injury but apparently was close. If he can’t go again, Russell Gage would get an uptick in work, but he’ll also need to be cleared of a concussion.

Diontae Johnson is in the concussion protocol. If he can’t get cleared before the game with the Titans, Chase Claypool, James Washington and Eric Ebron would likely see the biggest bumps in work.

Jamison Crowder could return from his hamstring injury Thursday night, but he could be a game-time decision.

Michael Thomas wasn’t put on I.R., so they at least hoped he could play in Week 4. We’ll see if he gets any practices in as they prepare for Detroit.

Davante Adams never practiced last week, so we’ll need to see him get on the practice field this week for him to have a chance to play. He would get a smash matchup against the Falcons if he can get healthy.

Streaming WRs

Justin Jefferson, Vikings

Yes, he just went off for 175 yards and a touchdown, so you’re likely to play him against a weak Houston pass defense. But I’m here to boost your confidence in making that move. The kid is for real and now that he’s shown that he can do it in a game, he should continue to get his shots.

Scotty Miller, Buccaneers

Miller has big play ability in a big play offense and it looks like they are starting to get on the same page with Tom Brady. Chris Godwin is most-likely out this week, and Miller will be set up for a good workload.

Preston Williams, Dolphins

The Seahawks have allowed an amazing 25 receptions per game to wide receivers this year. I expect Seattle to get a lead in this game and for Ryan Fitzpatrick to let the ball fly.