Fantasy Football Report: Week 4

By - Tim Swift

Here's what you need to know as we head into Week 4.

1. Believe it or not, it could get even better statistically for Peyton.

Photo by: Getty Images

Through the first three weeks of the 2013 season, Peyton Manning has far and away been the highest scorer in fantasy football; to the tune of 12 touchdown passes, 1,183 yards and zero picks. Coming up for the Broncos are the Eagles, Cowboys and Jaguars. Those first two pass defenses are in the bottom third of the league, and the only reason that Jacksonville's pass D is ranked tenth is because teams are running the ball on them once they get up 20. As of right now, if you have Peyton and drafted with even a little bit of common sense the rest of the way, you should be 3-0.

2. Still waiting on Adrian Peterson.

By no means do I think Peterson has had a bad season, but when a consensus No. 1 pick has "just" 298 yards rushing through the first three games of the season, you're obviously expecting more production. Quarterback Christian Ponder is encouraging more and more eight and nine-man fronts due to his erratic play, with only 2 touchdowns and 7 turnovers thus far. Also, the three-game suspension of fullback Jerome Felton hasn't helped matters. Peterson has still been a top 4 scoring back, but most fantasy owners are expecting similar games to what he was having a year ago; and not getting them.

3. Currently, it's LeSean McCoy and the field.

The position of running back has been an absolute crapshoot so far this season, but the one constant has been the play of LeSean McCoy. The fifth-year man leads the NFL in rushing by almost a full 100 yards, and is the only back in the league that has multiple 100-yard games to his credit. He has also added 118 receiving yards to boot. Several star runners are off to slow starts, making McCoy the only sure thing at the most difficult position in fantasy football.

4. Jimmy Graham is rewarding owners in a major way.

Some fantasy owners took a chance on drafting Graham earlier than expected because he was by far the No. 1 rated tight end in the league entering the season, and they are being rewarded for it big time. Graham has 358 receiving yards so far, third-best in the NFL, to go along with 4 touchdowns. Over the last two weeks, the 26-year-old has been targeted a ridiculous 31 times, clearly showing that he is Drew Brees' favorite target. At this pace, Graham is well on his way to a 100-catch, 1,500-yard, 10-TD year, which would put him top 5 in fantasy scoring for non-quarterbacks.

5. Monsters of the Midway, 2013.

Chicago's defense scored two times on Sunday, bringing their total to three through the first three weeks of the season. Defensive scores are the hardest thing to predict in fantasy football, but the Bears are back to making this a habit. Chicago leads the league with 11 forced turnovers so far this year, and when you add the dangerous Devin Hester returning kicks, their D is one of the few reliable ones in the NFL.

The Underrated 15 For Week 4:

- Quarterbacks

1. Ben Roethlisberger
2. Ryan Tannehill
3. Tony Romo

- Running Backs

1. Giovani Bernard
2. Bilal Powell
3. Jason Snelling

- Wide Receivers

1. Antonio Brown
2. Pierre Garcon
3. Nate Washington

- Tight Ends

1. Charles Clay
2. Antonio Gates
3. Scott Chandler

- Defense/Special Teams

1. Kansas City
2. Tennessee
3. Arizona

*Catch me on Fantasy Football Live every Sunday morning from 8:00 till 9:00 on Sports Radio 560 WNSR Nashville, as well as 95.9 FM, or online @ wnsr.com.