NFL Daily Fantasy Football Recommendations for Week 4 – Running Backs

*Mike Barner — @rotomikebarner*

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The Panthers and Redskins will be the first two teams with bye weeks this season, meaning Christian McCaffrey, Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson all won’t be available for your DFS entry in Week 4. However, there are still some great matchups to exploit, so let’s dig into the position to see where you can gain an edge. Don’t forget to sign up for our Newsletter and try our Playerlab tool, where you can filter the stats that matter the most and help build a winning entry on FanDuel and DraftKings.

CASH CONTEST OPTIONS

Alvin Kamara vs. New York Giants
Stadium – MetLife Stadium
FanDuel = $9,100
DraftKings = $9,600

Kamara is certainly not your traditional running back. He’s averaged 3.8 yards-per-carry through the first three weeks, totaling 141 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. His big impact comes in the passing attack as he already has 30 receptions on 38 targets for 289 yards and a touchdown. Not only has he received the most targets of any running back in football, but he has the fourth-most targets overall behind only Adam Thielen (44), Antonio Brown (42) and his teammate Michael Thomas (40).

This will be the last game of Mark Ingram’s suspension to start the season, so there is no question that Kamara will receive a heavy workload once again. With the number of passes he gets thrown his way, he has an extremely high floor. This is also a good matchup against a Giants defense that has allowed 165 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns to running backs through the first three weeks. Kamara won’t come cheap, but he should be worth it.

Ezekiel Elliott vs. Detroit Lions
Stadium – AT&T Stadium
FanDuel = $8,200
DraftKings = $7,700

The Cowboys are severely lacking talent at wide receiver, squarely putting the offense on the shoulders of Elliott. Their offensive line isn’t as formidable as it has been in recent seasons, but Elliott is still averaging 5.7 yards-per-carry and has two rushing touchdowns this season. He hasn’t been able to rack up many receiving yards, but he has already received 18 targets after getting 38 targets over 10 games in 2017.

Although his touchdown upside is limited based on the Cowboys’ offensive struggles, this is a great matchup for Elliott. The Lions have been awful against the run, allowing a league-high 5.4 yards-per-carry. The Lions also have a high-powered offense, so the Cowboys would be wise to lean heavily on Elliott in attempt to eat up the clock and keep the ball out of Matthew Stafford’s hands.

Giovani Bernard vs. Atlanta Falcons
Stadium – Mercedes-Benz Stadium
FanDuel = $6,400
DraftKings = $6,300

Bernard filled the role of lead running back for the Bengals in Week 3 with Joe Mixon sidelined due to a knee injury. He came through with a well-rounded performance, rushing 12 times for 61 yards and a touchdown while catching five of nine targets for 25 yards. Wide receiver Tyler Boyd was the only other Bengal to receive a carry in this game and Bernard’s nine targets also lead the team.

Mixon is expected to be out again for Week 4, leaving Bernard with a great opportunity to provide value. The Falcons defense has been decimated by injuries and has already lost linebacker Deion Jones and safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen. Over the last two weeks, they have allowed 29 receptions and 226 receiving yards to opposing running backs. Bernard isn’t overly expensive, either, making him a great player to build your lineup around.

GPP TOURNAMENT OPTIONS

Lamar Miller vs. Indianapolis Colts
Stadium – Lucas Oil Stadium
FanDuel = $6,500
DraftKings = $5,000

Miller found tough sledding against the Giants in Week 3, rushing 10 times for only 10 yards. He was still able to salvage his afternoon, though, by hauling in five of six targets for 41 yards and a touchdown. He was running well heading into that game, averaging 4.9 yards-per-carry against the Patriots and Titans over his first two contests. The Giants do have a great run-stuffer Damon Harrison in the middle of their defensive line, so it wasn’t exactly a great matchup for Miller on Sunday.

Things swing back in Miller’s favor this week against a Colts run defense that allowed 142 rushing yards last week to the combination of Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, and Josh Adams. They struggled against Mixon in Week 1, allowing him to rush for 95 yards on only 17 carries. Miller doesn’t have much competition for carries behind him, so he could be worth the risk at this reasonable price on both sites.

Chris Carson vs. Arizona Cardinals
Stadium – State Farm Stadium
FanDuel = $6,400
DraftKings = $4,600

The Seahawks have had a murky running back situation to start the year. Carson only totaled 13 carries over the first two games, but he averaged 5.8 yards-per-carry. They handed the reins over to him last week against the Cowboys and he cashed in with 102 yards and a touchdown on 32 attempts. Rashaad Penny, his main competition for carries, had only three attempts for five yards.

It can be tough to gauge head coach Pete Carroll, but Carson figures to be the lead back for Week 4 based on his performance Sunday. It also shouldn’t go unnoticed that they had success running the ball last week in what was the first game of the season for offensive guard D.J. Fluker, who is very good in the running game. The Cardinals have allowed 131.3 rushing yards per game and five rushing touchdowns so far this season, making Carson an intriguing option to consider.

Marshawn Lynch vs. Cleveland Browns
Stadium – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
FanDuel = $6,400
DraftKings = $4,800

Lynch hasn’t had any eye-opening performances yet this season, averaging 56.7 rushing yards per contest. He hasn’t provided much value in the passing game, either, catching six of seven targets for 33 yards. The one positive to latch on to is that he has scored a touchdown in each contest.  He already has 10 rushing attempts inside the red zone, which is good for fourth in the league behind Todd Gurley, Alvin Kamara and Adrian Peterson.

The Browns do have an improving defense and have allowed just 3.7 yards-per-carry this season, but they have given up four scores on the ground. Although Derek Carr has already thrown five interceptions, he has been able to move the ball up and down the field by averaging 312 passing yards per game. He only has two touchdown passes, though, as the Raiders have shown they prefer to turn to Lynch when they have the ball in close. Lynch might be hard pressed to rush for 100 yards in this game, but he has a good chance of reaching the end zone.

Aaron Jones vs. Buffalo Bills
Stadium – Lambeau Field
FanDuel = $5,500
DraftKings = $4,100

Jones made his season debut Week 3 after missing the first two games due to a suspension. The Packers didn’t have many rushing attempts since they got down big and had to play catch up, but Jones did lead the team in rushing attempts (six) and rushing yards (42). He showed promise in limited action last year, as well, averaging 5.5 yards-per-carry on 81 attempts. If you are looking for a downside with Jones, though, it’s that he’s clearly a secondary option catching passes out of the backfield behind Ty Montgomery.

The Bills came out of nowhere to put a hurting on the Vikings last week, but don’t expect similar results on the road at Lambeau Field. If the Packers race out to an early lead, they could be run-heavy down the stretch. The Bills have also allowed four rushing touchdowns this year, continuing a trend from last season where they couldn’t keep opposing running backs out of the end zone. Jones might see more carries in this contest, making him someone to at least consider at this cheap price in tournament play.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Isaiah Crowell vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Stadium – TIAA Bank Field
FanDuel = $6,400
DraftKings = $3,700

Crowell got a bit of revenge against his former team in the Browns with two rushing touchdowns Thursday. He already has four touchdowns for the season after scoring just twice all of last season. The problem is he only averaged 2.5 yards-per-carry the last two weeks and gets a tough matchup against the vaunted Jaguars defense Sunday. I think his 102-yard performance in Week 1 is more of an outlier than anything else, so I’d stay away from using Crowell in this contest.

Peyton Barber vs. Chicago Bears
Stadium – Soldier Field
FanDuel = $6,000
DraftKings = $3,800

Barber has seen his carries decrease in each of the first three games, bottoming out at eight carries for 33 yards on Monday night. The Bucs gave him 16 carries in Week 2, but he came away with only 22 yards. Their offense is clearly built around their talented wide receiver trio of Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson and Chris Godwin, who have all been extremely productive with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm. Don’t expect them to rely too much on their rushing attack Sunday against a Bears team that has allowed an average of 3.4 yards-per-carry and has yet to allow a rushing touchdown.