There are some highly favorable fantasy football matchups in Week 4.
Last weekend, Sidney Rice of the Seattle Seahawks had a monster game for his fantasy owners, thanks to the fact that he was playing against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jake Locker also had a big game for the Tennessee Titans, taking advantage of the porous secondary of the San Diego Chargers.
Neither player is normally considered to be a must-start fantasy player, but owners with the foresight to start them reaped the benefits of playing the matchup game to perfection.
With that in mind, here's a look at the top players at every position in Week 4.
|1||Peyton Manning||Denver Broncos||Philadelphia Eagles||30|
|2||Tony Romo||Dallas Cowboys||San Diego Chargers||28|
|3||Drew Brees||New Orleans Saints||Miami Dolphins||25|
|4||Andrew Luck||Indianapolis Colts||Jacksonville Jaguars||24|
|5||Matt Ryan||Atlanta Falcons||New England Patriots||24|
|6||Tom Brady||New England Patriots||Atlanta Falcons||23|
|7||Michael Vick||Philadelphia Eagles||Denver Broncos||22|
|8||Matthew Stafford||Detroit Lions||Chicago Bears||21|
|9||Robert Griffin III||Washington Redskins||Oakland Raiders||19|
|10||Colin Kaepernick||San Francisco 49ers||St. Louis Rams||Scored 13 pts.|
Peyton Manning vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Peyton Manning is playing perhaps the best football of his Hall of Fame career.
Through three games, he's passed for 1,143 yards with 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Eagles haven't shown the ability to shut down opponents' passing games this year, either, allowing 323 yards per game.
Manning will absolutely shred Philly's porous secondary and will be one of the top fantasy quarterbacks once again in Week 4.
Tony Romo at San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers feature the NFL's worst pass defense, allowing 341 yards per game. Jake Locker passed for 299 yards and a touchdown last weekend, and he's nowhere near Tony Romo's level as an NFL quarterback.
Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and Miles Austin will have their way with the hapless secondary of the Chargers, and Romo will have a monster game on the road.
|1||Jamaal Charles||Kansas City Chiefs||New York Giants||22|
|2||LeSean McCoy||Philadelphia Eagles||Denver Broncos||21|
|3||Matt Forte||Chicago Bears||Detroit Lions||20|
|4||Adrian Peterson||Minnesota Vikings||Pittsburgh Steelers||20|
|5||Frank Gore||San Francisco 49ers||St. Louis Rams||Scored 19 points|
|6||Reggie Bush||Detroit Lions||Chicago Bears||17|
|7||Trent Richardson||Indianapolis Colts||Jacksonville Jaguars||16|
|7||Doug Martin||Tampa Bay Buccaneers||Arizona Cardinals||16|
|9||DeMarco Murray||Dallas Cowboys||San Diego Chargers||15|
|10||Marshawn Lynch||Seattle Seahawks||Houston Texans||14|
Jamaal Charles vs. New York Giants
Eli Manning has thrown eight interceptions this year, and Giants running backs have been atrocious. As a result, New York's defense has been on the field way too long this year, and opposing teams have been able to pound the rock effectively against the tired Giants defenders.
Kansas City's defense is going to own New York's offense on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Consequently Jamaal Charles will have a monster game both running and catching the ball, as Alex Smith plays his efficient, turnover-free brand of football for the Chiefs.
LeSean McCoy at Denver Broncos
McCoy leads all NFL rushers, having totaled 395 yards in three games—98 yards more than Doug Martin, who is in second place with 297 yards.
The Broncos have been dominant against the run this year, allowing just 130 yards in three games and just 2.3 yards per carry.
But the teams Denver has faced haven't had the offensive firepower to keep up with Peyton Manning's torrid offense, and they didn't feature a dynamic rushing attack like the one Chip Kelly runs with the Eagles.
|1||Jimmy Graham||New Orleans Saints||Miami Dolphins||18|
|2||Jordan Cameron||Cleveland Browns||Cincinnati Bengals||15|
|3||Julius Thomas||Denver Broncos||Philadelphia Eagles||15|
|4||Antonio Gates||San Diego Chargers||Dallas Cowboys||13|
|5||Tony Gonzalez||Atlanta Falcons||New England Patriots||12|
|6||Jason Witten||Dallas Cowboys||San Diego Chargers||11|
|7||Vernon Davis||San Francisco 49ers||St. Louis Rams||Scored 7 points|
|8||Coby Fleener||Indianapolis Colts||Jacksonville Jaguars||9|
|9||Martellus Bennett||Chicago Bears||Detroit Lions||9|
|10||Brandon Meyers||New York Giants||Kansas City Chiefs||7|
Jimmy Graham vs. Miami Dolphins
Drew Brees loves throwing passes to his big tight end, as Graham has become one of the most reliable receiving tight ends in the NFL. He's also the top scoring tight end this season, per ESPN.com's standard scoring.
Miami's defense isn't horrible, but it has been open to some lapses in coverage this year and ranks No. 20 against the pass. Rest assured, Brees will find Graham early and often in this contest by taking advantage of those lapses.
Jordan Cameron vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland's offense in turmoil right now, but quarterback Brian Hoyer opened up some eyes with an impressive game against the Minnesota Vikings. He hooked up with Jordan Cameron for three touchdowns in that game.
Cameron has proven to be the Browns' top offensive weapon, catching 20 passes and four touchdowns to open up the season. The Bengals feature a dynamic front seven, but the linebackers aren't fast enough to keep up with the speedy Cameron.
|1||Wes Welker||Denver Broncos||Philadelphia Eagles||27|
|2||Dez Bryant||Dallas Cowboys||San Diego Chargers||26|
|3||A.J. Green||Cincinnati Bengals||Cleveland Browns||25|
|4||Calvin Johnson||Detroit Lions||Chicago Bears||22|
|5||Demaryius Thomas||Denver Broncos||Philadelphia Eagles||19|
|6||Brandon Marshall||Chicago Bears||Detroit Lions||18|
|7||Julio Jones||Atlanta Falcons||New England Patriots||17|
|8||DeSean Jackson||Philadelphia Eagles||Denver Broncos||16|
|9||Reggie Wayne||Indianapolis Colts||Jacksonville Jaguars||16|
|10||Victor Cruz||New York Giants||Kansas City Chiefs||15|
Wes Welker vs. Philadelphia Eagles
As was mentioned earlier when discussing Manning, the Eagles haven't been able to stop teams from making big plays in the passing game.
Welker's shiftiness and intelligence is a perfect complement to Manning's ability to manipulate opposing defenses, and the two of them will have a monster game against Philly in front of the home crowd.
Dez Bryant at San Diego Chargers
Tony Romo's favorite downfield target is Bryant, who will find himself open often this weekend against the Chargers.
San Diego—as was mentioned earlier—has been atrocious against the pass this year, allowing 341 yards per game. Starting cornerbacks Marcus Gilchrist and Shareece Wright will be easy prey for Bryant, who has become one of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL.
|1||Cincinnati Bengals||Cleveland Browns||16|
|2||Seattle Seahawks||Houston Texans||15|
|3||Kansas City Chiefs||New York Giants||14|
|4||Chicago Bears||Detroit Lions||13|
|5||San Francisco 49ers||St. Louis Rams||Scored 15 pts.|
|6||Baltimore Ravens||Buffalo Bills||12|
|7||New York Jets||Tennessee Titans||12|
|8||Dallas Cowboys||San Diego Chargers||11|
|9||Houston Texans||Seattle Seahawks||11|
Seattle Seahawks at Houston Texans
Is Seattle's defense the best in the NFL?
Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas comprise the league's best secondary, and the Seahawks have a front seven that can shut down the run.
Houston will struggle to score points against this defense, which will likely force a couple of turnovers and sack Matt Schaub multiple times.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Giants
Eli Manning plays behind one of the NFL's worst offensive lines. Through three games, New York has allowed 11 sacks and many more pressures, which have led to an NFL-worst eight interceptions.
Meanwhile, Kansas City features the top pass-rushing defense in the league, having racked up 15 sacks. Outside linebackers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, along with defensive tackle Dontari Poe, will have a field day against the Giants.
|1||Stephen Gostkowski||New England Patriots||Atlanta Falcons||15|
|2||Justin Tucker||Baltimore Ravens||Cleveland Browns||14|
|3||Matt Prater||Denver Broncos||Philadelphia Eagles||14|
|4||Garrett Hartley||New Orleans Saints||Miami Dolphins||13|
|5||Dan Bailey||Dallas Cowboys||San Diego Chargers||13|
|6||Steven Hauschka||Seattle Seahawks||Houston Texans||12|
|7||Matt Bryant||Atlanta Falcons||New England Patriots||12|
|8||Caleb Sturgis||Miami Dolphins||New Orleans Saints||11|
|9||Robbie Gould||Chicago Bears||Detroit Lions||11|
|10||Adam Vinatieri||Indianapolis Colts||Jacksonville Jaguars||9|
Stephen Gostkowski at Atlanta Falcons
Tom Brady and his young corps of receivers are still working out some kinks, but he runs an offense that moves the ball in between the 20s with regularity.
Gostkowski has attempted three field goals in each of his first three games, converting eight of his nine attempts. He'll have more prime opportunities to score this Sunday when the New England Patriots take on the Falcons.
Justin Tucker at Buffalo Bills
Joe Flacco is struggling to make big plays in the passing game without Anquan Boldin and tight end Dennis Pitta this year. But Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce are both capable of moving the ball on the ground and through the air.
Baltimore's offense will move the ball against Buffalo, but scoring in the red zone will continue to be a problem without Flacco's top passing weapons. This opens the door for Tucker to score three points with his leg.
*Stats courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
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