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Fantasy Football: Travis Kelce, David Montgomery and 4 more players you should consider fading in Week 4

Welcome to Week 4 of the fantasy fades and busts of the week! I am your host, Matt Okada, and will be bringing you half a dozen players to avoid each and every Thursday, throughout the fantasy season. So far this article has been a bit of a magnet for touchdowns ... but we're not making that a trend. Still seeking the perfect 6-for-6 — let's make it happen.

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As a note, just because a player earns a “fade” or “bust” designation doesn’t automatically mean they should be benched — it depends on the rest of your roster or the options on your waiver wire. But you can expect them to fall short of expectations (when I get them right).

Without further ado, here is my list for Week 4 of the 2025 season.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Rams

Matthew Stafford wouldn't normally be in the starter conversation, but he has thrown multiple touchdowns in consecutive games, had a decent Week 2 for fantasy and has had to face a difficult stretch of defenses to start the year. Plus, several QBs are struggling to start the season, or are dealing with injury, which has made Stafford a popular streamer consideration. Be careful this week. The Colts have been an excellent pass defense through three games — and are far more vulnerable to the run — allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks (13.0) and the fifth-lowest EPA per dropback (-0.19). They've also been notably stingy against play action, which Stafford and the Rams use at the second-highest rate in the NFL this year. Despite facing the fifth-highest passing rate in the league, they've allowed the seventh-fewest yards per game through the air, with five touchdowns to four interceptions.

Having Puka Nacua and Davante Adams will always make Stafford a threat for big days. But this game — in which the Rams are favored — is a much better opportunity to lean on Kyren Williams and the run game. Stafford should be fine — optimistically around 15-17 fantasy points fine — but there are better streamers available for Week 4.

What to do ❓ If you had one of the injured QBs, or were relying on a disappointing option like Trevor Lawrence or Michael Penix Jr., you can stream Stafford against the Colts. But when guys like Tyrod Taylor, Geno Smith, Sam Darnold and maybe even rookie Jaxson Dart, who debuts this week, are available and ranked in Stafford's range or higher, it might be worth going an alternate route.

David Montgomery, RB, Lions

I'm really setting myself up for trouble here. David Montgomery is coming off an absolutely massive Monday night game in which he scored 28.9 fantasy points to finish as the RB2 overall in Week 3. And now I've got him as a fade. For what it's worth, he's not a must-bench but he does draw one of the toughest matchups for the position.

The Browns have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to RBs, the third-lowest rush EPA and an insanely low 2.3 yards per carry. Chase Brown managed 12.1 fantasy points against Cleveland thanks to a touchdown, but Josh Jacobs scored just 9.9 and Derrick Henry had his 2.3-point stinker at home against this defense. And while the 10-point spread might suggest Montgomery will be racking up run-out-the-clock carries in garbage time, Henry saw just 11 carries and totaled 23 rushing yards in Baltimore's 41-17 win over the Browns in Week 2.

In each of the first two weeks, Montgomery saw exactly 11 carries and totaled fewer than 60 rushing yards (saving his Week 2 with a touchdown) — that's the kind of expectation we can set for Week 4. With a touchdown, he'll be an RB2, otherwise he'll likely end up in mid-single-digits and disappoint in your starting lineup.

What to do ❓ Montgomery is a high-end RB3 heading into an extremely difficult matchup this week, so you can definitely get him into some lineups as a flex, but I'd prefer Quinshon Judkins, on the opposite side of the same game, D'Andre Swift, Tony Pollard and potential breakout TreVeyon Henderson.

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Patriots

Last season, Rhamondre Stevenson led all non-quarterbacks with seven fumbles. It was a serious problem then ... and it's a serious problem now. The Patriots' starting RB through the first three weeks lost two fumbles last Sunday against Pittsburgh, including one at the goal line, essentially losing a close game for New England single-handedly. Rumblings out of practice since have suggested that Henderson (and Antonio Gibson) have been working ahead of Stevenson, who could be in Mike Vrabel and Co.'s doghouse for the foreseeable future.

It was only a matter of time until Henderson — the team's pick at 38th overall back in April — worked his way ahead of Stevenson on the depth chart, and ball security issues may have expedited that timeline. The Panthers' run defense is not scary, and the Patriots are significantly favored in this game (a rare event), so Stevenson has a chance to be useful even if he's not "the starter." But after earning a major fantasy boost with his 18.7-point performance in Week 2, he's all the way back down at the bottom of RB3 range following the Week 3 disaster.

What to do ❓ You'd need to be in a major pinch to start Stevenson in Week 4. Along with all the names mentioned in the Montgomery blurb above (and Montgomery himself), I'd also lean towards Nick Chubb, Isiah Pacheco and possibly even Bhayshul Tuten over the Patriots back.

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Cardinals

It's been a rough start to the season for Marvin Harrison Jr. After a very nice 15.6-point opener, Harrison has caught fewer than four passes and totaled fewer than 50 yards in each game since, avoiding the end zone entirely and logging a pair of drops — including one of the worst you or I have ever seen.

Frankly, he has seemed "off" in some regard (or several), and it's resulted in just 25.2 total fantasy points, making him the WR43 on the season. He's averaged just 1.5 yards per route run, putting him behind guys like Jaylen Waddle, Joshua Palmer and Dontayvion Wicks. The Seahawks press outside receivers at a very high rate, and have been very stingy against those receivers when targeted (lowest passer rating in the league), so Harrison will need to beat tight coverage from Seattle's strong corners to have a decent fantasy day. He totaled just seven catches and 96 receiving yards across two games against Seattle last year (without a touchdown), so the small sample size of history does not provide many glimmers of hope. Despite where you likely drafted Harrison several weeks ago, he is a borderline bench for Thursday Night Football — and we'll need to see some consistent improvement before getting back into starting lineups with confidence.

What to do ❓ Harrison is still a borderline WR2, on the merits of his role as the Cardinals' leading wideout, but a number of late-round picks or even waiver pickups are worth considering over him in Week 4. Both Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston are in the conversation, as are a returning Xavier Worthy, a highly-targeted Chris Olave even Mr. Mid Jakobi Meyers.

Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals

Tee Higgins was a major disappointment in Week 1 with Joe Burrow (4.8 fantasy points), had a bit of a bounce back in Week 2 with the mid-game Burrow-Jake-Browning switch (13.1) and then completely disappeared in Browning's first start of the season, with just one catch for 15 yards on two targets against the Vikings. He logged a pitiful 0.6 yards per route run in Week 3 and sits at just 1.1 on the entire season, while only seeing a target on 14.6% of his routes — a lower rate than any of Cincy's three tight ends, Chase Brown or even Mitchell Tinsley (admittedly on just nine routes).

On Monday night, Browning, Higgins and the Bengals draw a matchup with a Broncos defense that's allowed the fifth-lowest passer rating to outside receivers, thanks in no small part to arguably the league's best corner, Patrick Surtain II. Higgins has the talent to go off in any given week, and had strong performances with Browning back in 2023, but he simply cannot be trusted with this iteration of the Bengals offense against a very stingy pass defense.

What to do ❓ Unlike several of the names above, Higgins is completely benchable in Week 4. He barely cracks WR3 territory and should see the bench for fringe options like Michael Pittman Jr., Wan'Dale Robinson with Jaxson Dart at the helm and possibly even Romeo Doubs in an amazing matchup.

Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs

I won't sugarcoat it: when we highlighted a former top-tier veteran tight end coming off a slow start in this column last week, Mark Andrews came out of absolutely nowhere to shatter any considerations of a "bust" label ... at least for one week. But I'm not backing down, and we're going with Travis Kelce in Week 4. Unlike the "Chiefs-offense-runs-through-me" tight end of old, Kelce has seen a target on just 19.8% of his routes this year, lower than Noah Gray, Hollywood Brown and even downfield menace Tyquan Thornton. And this was with Xavier Worthy inactive.

Worthy is expected to return in Week 4, adding one more mouth to feed in a passing attack that's been middle-of-the-road so far in 2025. And while the Ravens defense hasn't been lights out against the pass, they did keep Kelce under wraps in their Week 1 meeting last year. The 35-year-old tight end has yet to hit five catches in a game this season, and has averaged just 44.7 yards per game with one touchdown (back in Week 1). He's not putting up the volume, the catch rate (58.8%) or the air yards per target (5.1) to produce consistently in fantasy, and should be benched for stronger streaming options if possible.

What to do ❓ Unfortunately, there isn't a wealth of startable options at the tight end position, so you may be stuck with Kelce this week (and beyond). However, waiver wire pickups or "drafted backups" like Jake Ferguson, Dalton Kincaid, Hunter Henry and Juwan Johnson are all better plays. And if you can trade Kelce now, primarily on "name value," to upgrade to one of the top three or four ... I'd strongly consider making that move.

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