Fantasy football Week 4: Add and drop

Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.

Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you have questions throughout the week.

Here’s my NFL Week 4 waiver wire cheat sheet for all league sizes and formats, with players you need to add, drop and stream in your fantasy football league:

ADD

— RB Trey Benson, Cardinals (ESPN: 55%; Yahoo: 52%): With James Conner done for the season after suffering a gruesome injury on Sunday, Benson has weekly RB1 upside going forward. The 66th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft was my No. 3 running back in the class. In 84 career carries, he’s averaging five yards, including 6.0 yards per carry this season. I imagine Emari Demercado will still have a role, but Benson out-touched Demercado 13-2 against the 49ers.

— WR Jalen Tolbert, Cowboys (ESPN:

— RB Bhayshul Tuten, Jaguars (ESPN: 48%; Yahoo: 65%): In Jacksonville’s first game after trading Tank Bigsby to the Eagles, the talented rookie had 74 total yards on 10 touches and a TD against the Bengals. Tuten scored again on Sunday against the Texans. There’s flex upside even if Travis Etienne continues to play well. At worst, he’s the RB2 behind Travis Etienne, which is a fantasy-relevant role in Liam Coen’s offense. Remember Bucky Irving and Rachaad White last season?

— QB Matthew Stafford, Rams (ESPN: 37%; Yahoo: 31%): Stafford doesn’t offer anything with his legs, but the combination of his world-class arm talent and two top-tier wide receivers in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams will get you where you need to go most weeks.

— TE Harold Fannin Jr., Browns (ESPN: 39%; Yahoo: 47%): Fannin is the overall TE13 in standard formats (TE12 in PPR) through three weeks. His target share dipped the last two games, but there’s a lot of volume in this pass game most weeks, and Kevin Stefanski continues to design plays for the talented rookie. Also, Cleveland could end up trading David Njoku, who becomes a free agent after this season.

— BONUS: QB Geno Smith, Raiders (ESPN: 10%; Yahoo: 28%): Smith has finished as the QB15, QB31 and QB4 in his first three games with Las Vegas, so keep that in mind, but he has a premium matchup this week at home. The Bears are allowing the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. I understand taking a flier on Tre Tucker (ESPN: 2%; Yahoo: 5%) after his monster effort at Washington (eight receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns), but the Raiders pass game will continue to go through Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers most weeks. And if I’m taking a flier on anyone, I’m doing it with Dont’e Thornton Jr. (ESPN: 8%; Yahoo: 9%).

— BONUS: TE Hunter Henry, Patriots (ESPN: 49%; Yahoo: 61%): Henry is the overall TE2 in standard formats (TE3 in PPR) on the strength of his eight receptions (11 targets), 90 yards and two TDs against the Steelers on Sunday. He’s Drake Maye’s most reliable target.

— BONUS: RB Jeremy McNichols, Commanders (ESPN: 3%; Yahoo: 3%): McNichols finished as Week 3’s RB13 in standard formats (RB17 in PPR) on the strength of his 60-yard TD run against the Raiders. Chris Rodriguez Jr. (ESPN: 2%; Yahoo: 5%) led Washington with 11 carries, three more than rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Anyone of these three backs could take over as the lead guy in a high-powered offense with Austin Ekeler done for the season, and only Croskey-Merritt is close to universally rostered.

— BONUS: QB Jaxson Dart, Giants (ESPN: 4%; Yahoo: 5%): I told you we were still probably one more bad Russell Wilson performance from ushering in the Dart Era in New York. Head coach Brian Daboll is “evaluating everything” after Wilson’s stinker against the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

— BONUS: WR Christian Kirk, Texans (ESPN: 22%; Yahoo: 34%): Houston’s offense is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, but only Nico Collins played more snaps or saw more targets than Kirk in his Texans debut. Also, Woody Marks (ESPN: 9%; Yahoo: 9%) has increased his snap share from 11.1% in Week 1 to 47.6% against the Jaguars on Sunday. With the Texans’ offensive line operating as a turnstile, Kirk and Marks could see an increase in usage as safety valves for C.J. Stroud.

— BONUS: RB Ollie Gordon, Dolphins (ESPN: 23%; Yahoo: 20%): Miami’s offense is more dangerous when it has a thunder-back to balance out De’Von Achane’s lightning. Gordon finished with 38 yards on nine carries and a TD against the Bills in a game that was much closer than most of us expected it to be. He should have goal-line equity going forward, and RB2/flex upside if anything happens to Achane.

— BONUS: TE Cole Kmet, Bears (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 2%): Kmet is a premium streaming option if Colston Loveland can’t play this week with a hip injury. There’s already a lot of mouths to feed in this offense, but it was good to see Luther Burden III (ESPN: 9%; Yahoo: 11%) showcase his playmaking ability against the Cowboys — 108 total yards on four touches including a 65-yard TD on a flea-flicker.

— BONUS: WR Elic Ayomanor, Titans (ESPN: 21%; Yahoo: 21%): Ayomanor is the overall WR31 in standard formats (WR35 in PPR) with exactly four receptions and a TD in two straight games. Tennessee will likely be playing from behind on a weekly basis, which means the talented rookie could benefit from negative game scripts going forward, especially since Calvin Ridley has gone missing. This will also make Chig Okonkwo (ESPN: 15%; Yahoo: 31%) a solid streaming option most weeks if you’re in a bind. Okonkwo finished as Week 3’s TE8 with five receptions for 65 yards against the Colts. Also, one more week until Tyjae Spears (ESPN: 28%; Yahoo: 30%) can return.

— BONUS: RB Blake Corum, Rams (ESPN: 12%; Yahoo: 18%): Corum is a premium handcuff to Kyren Williams, but it’s been clear Sean McVay wants him more involved this season. The second-year back has seen his touches increase each game, and he’s topped 44 rushing yards the last two weeks.

— BONUS: TE Mason Taylor, Jets (ESPN: 4%; Yahoo: 6%): Taylor had four receptions on six targets for only 18 yards against the Buccaneers, but he’s playing over 70% of the snaps every week. He’ll deserve streaming consideration against the Dolphins this week, who are allowing the third-most fantasy points to tight ends this season.

— BONUS: WR Tory Horton, Seahawks (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 3%): Horton has exactly 32 yards and a TD reception in two straight games. The fifth-round pick also returned a punt 95 yards for a score in the blowout of the Saints on Sunday. He’ll have flex appeal in deeper leagues with byes beginning soon, and WR3/flex upside if he usurps Cooper Kupp in the pass game hierarchy.

— BONUS: RB Brashard Smith, Chiefs (ESPN:

— BONUS: D/ST Lions (ESPN: 56%; Yahoo: 56%): Detroit’s defense has produced 11 sacks the last two weeks, including sacking Lamar Jackson seven times on Monday night. Only the Steelers have sacked Jackson that many times in a game (in 2021). The Lions host the Browns this week, and Joe Flacco is an actual statue juxtaposed with Jackson. Cleveland’s offense has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses this season.

— BONUS: D/ST 49ers (ESPN: 33%; Yahoo: 37%): San Francisco’s defense will likely be the most dropped this week after losing Nick Bosa for the season with another ACL tear, but Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence shouldn’t be avoided, especially with Jacksonville traveling cross country. Lawrence has thrown four interceptions, is completing 55.8% of his passes and is only averaging 5.9 yards per pass attempt. The Niners’ defense is still coordinated by Robert Saleh, still has Fred Warner in the middle of it, and features a lot of young talent on the defensive line and in the secondary.

— BONUS: D/ST Chargers (ESPN: 12%; Yahoo: 49%): The Bolts’ defense has picked up where they left off last season, and will either face Russell Wilson or a rookie making his NFL debut this week.

DROP

— RB James Conner, Cardinals: Conner suffered a foot injury in Sunday’s loss at San Francisco and will require season-ending surgery.

— RB Najee Harris, Chargers: Harris suffered a non-contact Achilles injury against the Broncos and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

— WR Adam Thielen, Vikings: Thielen only has two receptions on six targets for 26 yards in three games, and now Jordan Addison is back after a three-game suspension.

— QB Mac Jones, 49ers: Jones aggravated a PCL sprain in a win over the Cardinals that he initially suffered this summer. Also, it’s looking like Brock Purdy will return from a turf toe injury this week.

— WR Josh Downs, Colts: There’s some risk here because of the talent, but with Jonathan Taylor and Daniel Jones running as effectively as they have been to start the season, and Michael Pittman Jr. and Tyler Warren ahead of Downs in the pass-game hierarchy, it’s hard to see the immediate value.