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Fantasy Football: 'Ashton Jeanty will finally pay off his draft capital' — Tale of the Take, Week 4

Week Four is here and fantasy football managers need answers fast. Last week I nailed Jonathan Taylor as the RB1 overall and smashed with Caleb Williams being fantasy gold vs Dallas. Cam Skattebo and Quinshon Judkins got it going earlier than expected but the lean was right.

What I got wrong: The Eagles' take was aging like fine wine in the first half and then spoiled like old milk in the second, and Troy Franklin was a swing and a miss. That is how this goes.

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We line up a few more bold calls for Week 4 here. These are the ones you need for this week.

Matthew Golden is finally fully unleashed

The tale of the take: The Packers need a get-right game and they’ve got the perfect spot to find it. Coming off a tough loss against Cleveland, Green Bay goes on the road to face a Dallas defense that has been shredded through the air all season. Caleb Williams lit them up for nearly 300 passing yards last week with Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, DJ Moore and Cole Kmet all scoring. The week before, Russell Wilson and the Giants piled up over 450 yards through the air.

This isn’t just a leaky secondary — it’s been the worst pass defense in football through three weeks.

Matthew Golden is the rookie wide receiver who can take advantage of it. Green Bay used him more in Week 3 — 42 snaps, 26 routes, four targets and a team-leading 52 receiving yards. He averaged 8.0 air yards per target, operated as the downfield weapon and it was the clearest sign yet that he’s climbing into a bigger role. Go back a week earlier and he nearly connected on a 90-plus-yard touchdown. The flashes are there. The confidence is growing.

Dallas is banged up in the secondary and Trevon Diggs has been a liability. He’s allowing 17.4 yards per target this year, the second-worst rate in the league, and has given up five catches for 139 yards and three scores on just eight targets. He hasn’t forced a single tight-window throw. Quarterbacks are completing everything, wideouts are separating and Dallas is sitting at 288 passing yards allowed per game.

I know it’s been a slow burn early this season if you drafted the rookie Golden, but the flashes are there, the talent is evident and the matchup is juicy and prime. Green Bay’s passing attack needs to keep the pedal down — especially with how strong the Lions and Bears have looked inside the division. They can’t afford to sputter here. They need to put their foot on the gas and let Golden break out against Dallas.

Matthew Golden has his coming-out party in Week 4 against the Cowboys, locking in a top-24 fantasy finish.

Ashton Jeanty delivers the 1st-round-level performance we've been waiting for

The tale of the take: If you drafted Ashton Jeanty, you spent real draft capital. First round, maybe early second, and the expectation was elite production from the jump. So far, it hasn’t felt like that. No 100-yard blowups, no monster fantasy weeks. But don’t mistake the lack of box score fireworks for a lack of talent. The flashes are there on tape — the burst, the balance, the ability to force missed tackles. This is a workhorse back who just needs the right game script and blocking in front of him.

And make no mistake, this is Jeanty's backfield. Through three weeks, the only other Raider with double-digit carries is Zamir White with 10 for 25 yards. Everything else on the ground runs through Jeanty. He’s handled the volume, he’s on the field and it’s only a matter of time before the usage meets the kind of fantasy production we paid for.

This matchup against Chicago is exactly what we want. The Bears are one of the worst run defenses in football right now — sixth-most rushing yards allowed per game, second-highest yards per carry given up and top-10 in explosive runs allowed. They’re also the only defense in the league allowing over two yards before contact per attempt. That means lanes are there, space is there and Jeanty has the juice to exploit it. Chicago ranks bottom six in stuff rate and, when you combine that with a low pressure rate (25%, fourth lowest in the league), this is a defense that simply isn’t winning at the line of scrimmage.

I know it’s been frustrating early, but this is the kind of setup you wait for with rookies. The talent is real, the workload is his and the Bears defense is ripe to be gashed.

Ashton Jeanty will finally pay off his draft capital with a top-10 RB finish in Week 4 against Chicago.

Tyquan Thornton keeps the big scores coming

The tale of the take: Kansas City is a 2.5-point home dog against Baltimore in one of the highest-total games on the slate at 48.5. Points are coming, and this feels like another spot where Tyquan Thornton can deliver. His involvement has grown every single week — four targets in Week 1, five in Week 2 and then nine last week against the Giants, where he turned them into 5-71-1. That usage spike matters.

The Chiefs needed a downfield threat once Xavier Worthy went down in Week 1. It threw the entire offense off rhythm. Since stepping in, Thornton has filled that role with his vertical speed and ability to stretch defenses. Thornton nearly pulled off a circus touchdown catch last week before cashing in on the very next play with an acrobatic grab to set up a touchdown. Even with Xavier Worthy expected to return, he’ll be playing through a torn labrum and Kansas City isn’t about to expose him to a full workload. Thornton is the healthy field-stretcher who’s already a part of this offense.

And let’s just be honest: Hollywood Brown’s takeover hopes have flatlined. After an absurd 16-target, 99-yard opener, his usage has dipped to five and six targets, respectively, in back-to-back weeks. Meanwhile, Thornton’s targets are climbing, his role is growing and he’s the one getting schemed for big plays. Right now, he looks more dangerous than Hollywood and he’s trending as the receiver to actually trust in this offense behind Travis Kelce and alongside a healthy Xavier Worthy, at least until Rashee Rice returns.

Baltimore has allowed 266 passing yards per game, second-most in the league behind only Dallas. It's been vulnerable everywhere — through the air, against the run and especially when quarterbacks extend plays. That fits perfectly with Mahomes, who leads the NFL in scramble dropbacks and creates those broken-play deep shots that Thornton can thrive on.

This isn’t about a season-long takeover, but in a year of injuries and attrition, you can play Thornton right now. The matchup is right, and he’s earned another week in fantasy lineups.

Tyquan Thornton will find the end zone again in Week 4 against Baltimore.

Will the real Chargers WR1, please stand up?

The tale of the take: The Chargers are rolling at 3-0 and head into New York as six-point road favorites against a Giants team turning the page to rookie QB Jaxson Dart and rookie RB Cam Skattebo. The Giants are 0-3, their defense has been shredded and the matchup screams "get-right" for the pieces in this Chargers passing attack that haven’t yet popped.

Through three weeks, McConkey has been the third option behind Quentin Johnston’s long-awaited Year 3 breakout and Keenan Allen’s fountain-of-youth resurgence. But the usage is there. He has 21 targets (just three fewer than Johnston), 15 receptions (second on the team) and his slot role gives him a prime path to production in this matchup.

The Giants are giving up the fifth-most passing yards per game (252) and haven’t been able to create pressure to slow down opposing quarterbacks. On top of that, cornerback Andru Phillips has been a major liability — allowing 182 receiving yards out of the slot, more than double any other defender in coverage this season. Keenan Allen owns the highest slot target rate in the NFL (32.6%), but McConkey also spends plenty of time inside, and the Giants don’t have the depth to handle multiple slot threats.

Justin Herbert is playing at a high level, the Chargers’ passing attack is humming and this is the perfect spot to unlock their young wideout. Ladd McConkey will post his best fantasy day of the season in Week 4 against the Giants.

Dublin dominance incoming for Jordan Mason, Jaylen Warren

The tale of the take: The NFL takes us overseas to Dublin this Sunday, and if there’s one thing we know about these international games, it’s that they can get weird. But there’s no mystery about who the RB stars are in this matchup: Jordan Mason for Minnesota and Jaylen Warren for Pittsburgh.

Mason finally got his shot as the Vikings’ lead back last week with Aaron Jones Sr. sidelined, and he delivered in a big way. Sixteen carries, 116 yards and two touchdowns — all in a game that wasn’t even competitive against Cincinnati. He’s running with power, forcing missed tackles and giving this offense stability. The runway is clear for Mason to handle another heavy workload.

On the other side, Warren got that vote of confidence from the coaching staff when Kaleb Johnson was a healthy scratch, and he responded with a true workhorse line: 18 carries on the ground, six targets through the air that totalled five receptions for 34 yards. He’s not just a satellite back anymore — Warren is one of only two running backs in the league (along with Bijan Robinson) to lead his team in both rushing and receiving yards.

The matchup sets up perfectly. The Steelers’ defense hasn’t been the same against the run, giving up the seventh-most rushing yards per game (139.3), while Minnesota isn’t far behind, ranking 11th (130.0). Both defenses also rank top six in explosive runs allowed (10+ yard gains), meaning there’s real home-run potential for both backs. And with neither team eager to put the game squarely on Carson Wentz’s arm or Aaron Rodgers' behind Pittsburgh’s shaky offensive line, it’s a safe bet that the ground game will be leaned on early and often.

Jordan Mason and Jaylen Warren will both smash in Dublin, each outproducing their current RB19 and RB17 fantasy ranks with top-15 performances in Week 4.

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