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Fantasy Football Week 4: Shough, Lawrence, Stafford Highlight Top Quarterback Picks

Jamey Eisenberg's Week 4 fantasy football picks feature Tyler Shough maintaining his strong start against the Falcons, alongside Trevor Lawrence and Matthew Stafford, as key quarterback recommendations.

CBS Sports·Sep 30, 2026·via CBS Sports

Fantasy Football Week 4: Shough, Lawrence, Stafford Highlight Top Quarterback Picks

Tyler Shough is my Start of the Week, and I'm excited to see him Monday night against the Falcons. He has been one of the season's best surprise stories, and he could finish as a top-10 Fantasy quarterback in 2026.

Other surprise quarterback performances this season include Bryce Young, Kirk Cousins, and Deshaun Watson. Conversely, Drake Maye and Justin Herbert have significantly let us down, and we've had major injuries to Jaxson Dart (knee), Caleb Williams (hamstring), and Jayden Daniels (elbow).

As we head into Week 4, you no longer have to start Maye or Herbert. It's easy to pivot to Shough or Young, and I also like Marcus Mariota and Jacoby Brissett this week.

Geno Smith, Kyler Murray, Sam Darnold, and Cousins are also options for Week 4. Those quarterbacks are either playing better than Maye or Herbert, or they have better matchups -- or both.

I'm hopeful things will improve for Maye and Herbert as the season progresses, but it's difficult to remain optimistic. For Maye, you can point to A.J. Brown (ankle) coming back, and maybe that just makes everything work in New England. There's nothing on the horizon for Herbert, and you just have to hope that his talent -- and the talent around him -- starts playing better.

You can read below how I feel about Maye and Herbert for Week 4, but you see where this is headed when it comes to starts and sits. Unfortunately, we may just be sitting Maye and Herbert for the rest of the season in most leagues.

QBs to Start Projections powered by Sportsline

Trevor Lawrence

JAC Jacksonville

• #16

Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

@ CIN CIN -2.5 O/U 51.5

OPP VS QB

14th

PROJ PTS

23.3

QB RNK

7th

YTD Stats

PAYDS

616

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

I didn't expect Lawrence to have a huge game in Week 3 against New England, and he proved me wrong with 25.8 Fantasy points. He's now reached that total in two of three games this season, and we'll hopefully get a shootout between him and Joe Burrow in Week 4. This game has the highest projected total of the week at 51.5 points, and Cincinnati has allowed 645 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the past two games against C.J. Stroud and Aaron Rodgers. Lawrence has top-five upside in this matchup on the road.

Bryce Young

CAR Carolina

• #9

Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

vs DET DET -3.5 O/U 50.5

OPP VS QB

32nd

PROJ PTS

21.5

QB RNK

12th

YTD Stats

PAYDS

939

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

27.7

Young had his first bad game of the season in Week 3 at Cleveland with 15.6 Fantasy points, which snapped his two-game streak of scoring at least 30.1 Fantasy points. He still managed 291 passing yards against the Browns, and he should bounce back against the Lions at home. Detroit is No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and Tyler Shough, Josh Allen and Geno Smith have all scored at least 29.2 Fantasy points against the Lions this year. We'll see if Jalen Coker (quadriceps) can play in Week 4, but even if Coker is out, I still like Young as a top-10 Fantasy quarterback in this matchup.

Bryce Young

CAR Carolina

• #9

Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

vs DET DET -3.5 O/U 50.5

OPP VS QB

32nd

PROJ PTS

21.5

QB RNK

12th

YTD Stats

PAYDS

939

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

27.7

Jared Goff

DET Detroit

• #16

Age: 31 • Experience: 11 year

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

@ CAR DET -3.5 O/U 50.5

OPP VS QB

20th

PROJ PTS

QB RNK

9th

YTD Stats

PAYDS

802

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

27.1

Two quarterbacks this season have scored at least 24.3 Fantasy points against the Panthers with Caleb Williams in Week 1 and Deshaun Watson in Week 2. The only one who failed to have a positive game against Carolina was the Atlanta duo of Cooper Rush and Jack Strand in Week 2. Goff has scored at least 20.4 Fantasy points in each game this season, and he had 37.8 Fantasy points in his lone outdoor game in Week 2 at Buffalo. Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn (quadriceps) is out for this game, and Goff should have another quality performance in Week 4 on the road.

Matthew Stafford

LAR L.A. Rams

• #9

Age: 38 • Experience: 18 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

@ PHI LAR -3 O/U 43

OPP VS QB

25th

PROJ PTS

17.2

QB RNK

10th

YTD Stats

PAYDS

872

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

21.4

Stafford is hot heading into Week 4 at Philadelphia, and he should have another quality outing against the Eagles. I like him as a top-10 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues. He has scored at least 24.9 Fantasy points in each of his past two games against the Giants and Broncos, and he has combined for 717 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions over that span. The Eagles have allowed all three quarterbacks this season to score at least 20 Fantasy points against Jayden Daniels, Cam Ward and Case Keenum. Daniels and Keenum each had two passing touchdowns (Ward ran for two touchdowns), and Stafford should have multiple passing scores as well, especially if Puka Nacua (hip) is able to play. Sleepers (Start/Sit) Projections powered by Sportsline

Jordan Love

GB Green Bay

• #10

Age: 27 • Experience: 7 yrs.

I have no faith in Green Bay's run game right now, and Love has scored at least 22.5 Fantasy points in two of three games heading into Week 4 at Tampa Bay. He has attempted at least 42 passes in both of his quality Fantasy outings, and he should be above 30 pass attempts once again. He now has 28 games in his career with at least 30 pass attempts, and he scored at least 20.4 Fantasy points in 18 of those contests. Love should be considered a low-end No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues against the Buccaneers.

Marcus Mariota

WAS Washington

• #8

Age: 32 • Experience: 12 yrs.

It doesn't appear like Jayden Daniels (elbow) will start in Week 4 against the Colts in London, and this is a great matchup to trust Mariota. He just scored 26.4 Fantasy points in Week 3 against Seattle, and he has now scored at least 20 Fantasy points in five of his past nine starts for the Commanders going back to last season. Indianapolis has allowed two of three quarterbacks this season to score at least 26.9 Fantasy points, and Mariota should be considered a low-end No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues.

Jacoby Brissett

ARI Arizona

• #7

Age: 33 • Experience: 11 year

Brissett is coming off his best game of the season in Week 3 at San Francisco with 29.6 Fantasy points, and I like him as a low-end starter in all leagues in Week 4 at the Giants. Brian Burns (knee) is out for the season, and the Giants should have trouble putting pressure on Brissett. Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford each scored at least 18.4 Fantasy points against the Giants, and Brissett should be in that range in Week 4. He has scored at least 18.5 Fantasy points in 13 of his past 15 games going back to last season. QBs to Sit Projections powered by Sportsline

Drake Maye

NE New England

• #10

Age: 24 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

@ BUF BUF -6.5 O/U 48.5

OPP VS QB

27th

PROJ PTS

18.4

QB RNK

24th

YTD Stats

PAYDS

585

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

7.8

We're likely not going to recommend starting Maye until A.J. Brown (ankle) is back, and that won't happen in Week 4 at Buffalo. Even though the Bills have allowed two of three quarterbacks this season (C.J. Stroud and Jared Goff) to score at least 20.5 Fantasy points, they just kept another struggling quarterback, Justin Herbert, in check with 14.7 Fantasy points in Week 3. Maye's best game this season was 11.8 Fantasy points in Week 1 at Seattle, and he only averaged 16.3 Fantasy points in two games against Buffalo in 2025.

Bo Nix

DEN Denver

• #10

Age: 26 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

@ SF SF -2.5 O/U 47.5

OPP VS QB

8th

PROJ PTS

17.2

QB RNK

20th

YTD Stats

PAYDS

605

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

17.2

Nix had his best Fantasy outing of the season in Week 3 against the Rams with 28.1 Fantasy points. He only passed for 186 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but he added a rushing touchdown and two successful two-point conversions. Prior to Week 3, Nix scored a combined 23.5 Fantasy points against Kansas City and Jacksonville, and he has scored fewer than 20 Fantasy points in six of his past nine road games going back to last year. San Francisco just allowed Jacoby Brissett to score 29.6 Fantasy points in Week 3 in the first game without Nick Bosa (calf), so keep that in mind. But the 49ers also held Matthew Stafford and Malik Willis to a combined 19.9 Fantasy points in the first two games of the season. I would only start Nix in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues.

Justin Herbert

LAC L.A. Chargers

• #10

Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

@ SEA SEA -7 O/U 42.5

OPP VS QB

7th

PROJ PTS

15.2

QB RNK

YTD Stats

PAYDS

627

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

13.2

Herbert opened the season with three favorable matchups on paper against Arizona, Las Vegas and Buffalo, and he scored 15.3 Fantasy points or less in each outing. It would be ironic for him to have a big game at Seattle, which is No. 7 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks and one of the best defenses in the NFL. I'm not expecting that to happen given how poorly the Chargers have looked on offense this season, and Herbert has three touchdowns and four interceptions in three games while averaging just 229 passing yards per game. He is only worth starting in Superflex and two-quarterback leagues. Bust Alert (Start/Sit) Projections powered by Sportsline

Jalen Hurts

PHI Philadelphia

• #1

Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

MATCHUP

vs LAR LAR -3 O/U 43

OPP VS QB

17th

PROJ PTS

18.4

QB RNK

11th

YTD Stats

PAYDS

620

RUYDS

TD

INT

FPTS/G

21.1

I'm likely starting Hurts in the leagues where I have him rostered, and he's ranked No. 12 as of Wednesday morning. But I'm not excited about Hurts facing the Rams in Week 4. Hurts struggled in Week 2 at Tennessee with 20.2 Fantasy points, and he had two interceptions in that game. And then he scored just 12.6 Fantasy points in Week 3 at Chicago. Now, the Rams have allowed two of three quarterbacks this season to score at least 27.1 Fantasy points with Brock Purdy in Week 1 and Bo Nix in Week 3, and the Rams only shut down the Giants in Week 2 when Jaxson Dart (knee) was injured. I still expect this defense to make things difficult for Hurts, and I wouldn't be surprised if he scores fewer than 20 Fantasy points for the second week in a row.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/fantasy-football-start-em-sit-em-start-sits-week-4/)._