Sunday Night Football of Week 4 features a great NFC matchup as the Packers and Cowboys clash in Dallas. Not only is it a Micah Parsons revenge game, but both teams are looking to bounce back from bad losses last week. The 1-2 Cowboys lost to the Bears, while the 2-1 Packers slipped up against the Browns. Their matchup on Sunday night is also the focus of some big DFS showdown contests, including the NFL $1.11M Sunday Night Showdown [$250K to 1st] (GB @ DAL). As you build your lineups for Sunday Night Football, my favorite Captain’s Pick plays are Matthew Golden ($10,500 as Captain’s Pick) and Jake Ferguson ($12,600 as Captain’s Pick).
Here’s a deeper look at why I like these Captain’s Picks and how I’m going about building a lineup from top to bottom:
Matthew Golden as a Captain’s Pick
Everyone is waiting for the Matthew Golden breakout game, including Matthew Golden.
All the signs point to it being this week against the Cowboys, who have been extremely generous to opposing wide receivers this season. They have allowed more fantasy points to opposing receivers than any other team in the NFL so far this year. Opposing receivers have three touchdowns in each of the last two weeks, with the Giants’ receivers racking up 370 yards and the Bears’ receivers totaling 208 receiving yards against them last week.
Golden is coming off the best game of his career, totaling four catches for 52 yards last week while stepping into more work after the injury to Jayden Reed (collarbone/foot). The rookie first-round pick wasn’t involved in the first two weeks with just two catches for 16 yards on four targets.
If there was ever a spot for him to go off, though, this is an ideal time in what should be a spotlight game. He brings elite upside at his salary and leaves plenty of salary for FLEX spots.
Jake Ferguson as a Captain’s Pick
On the other side of this matchup, Ferguson is a lower-risk play who also brings very high upside since he’s getting so many targets in the Cowboys’ offense. Even before the injury to CeeDee Lamb (ankle), Ferguson was already one of the most targeted tight ends in the NFL, and he could get even more work this week against Green Bay.
Ferguson had five catches for 23 yards in Week 1 against the Eagles and followed that up with nine catches for 78 yards in Week 2. Last week against the Bears, he was even busier, hauling in 13 of 14 targets for 21.1 fantasy points and 82 yards.
Ferguson has been the highest-scoring tight end in the NFL to this point in PPR leagues, and he is a very affordable and very strong option to build around as a Captain’s Pick play.
The Packers have given up the seventh-most fantasy points in the NFL to opposing tight ends, who have produced 4.7 catches on 5.7 targets per game for 40 yards per game, so Ferguson should be a good high-floor target to build around.
Lineup Advice
Both players in this post are relatively affordable, and stacking them with their respective quarterbacks is a great way to go. You can then include either or both running backs since both Josh Jacobs ($10,800) and Javonte Williams ($9,000) have been very good this year.
Williams is especially affordable but does have a tough matchup against the Packers’ strong rush defense. Romeo Doubs ($6,400) and Tucker Kraft ($8,600) have been productive for Green Bay as well and are in good matchups against Dallas’s struggling defense.
Speaking of the defense, the Packers DST ($5,400) is a great play since Parsons will be looking to make plays against his former team. They had 10 fantasy points in their Week 1 win over the Lions and eight points last week against the Browns. They have good playmakers and can be very productive if they dominate against the Cowboys, who will be figuring out their offense without Lamb.
Value plays
As value plays, both kickers deserve a look, especially Brandon Aubrey ($5,600), who is averaging 13.7 fantasy points per game and is counted on to make long kicks each week.
With Lamb out, KaVontae Turpin ($4,400) could be more involved as a gadget player while Jalen Tolbert ($3,800) could also get more looks after getting six targets last week against the Bears.
Miles Sanders ($3,000) is involved enough to be a bargain option and has multiple carries each week with over 8.0 fantasy points in each of his last two contests.
If you need a punt play from the Packers, tight end John FitzPatrick ($1,200) did have two catches and a touchdown last week against the Browns and works into the rotation on goal-line formations.
