A Fresh Slate

Week 4 of the NFL season has ended and it’s time to move forward and focus on Week 5. Let’s not forget, Week 5 means bye weeks! Time to start a player or two who’s on your bench, or maybe you attack the waiver wire. Here’s my Start Em Sit Em’s for this week in your fantasy football league.

Start ‘Em

C.J Stroud

C.J. Stroud has been the consistent rookie quarterback this year and is certainly a contender for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Not only is he performing in the NFL, but he’s also performing well in your fantasy league. Stroud is the QB10 in most fantasy leagues and he’s done that in many ways:

• Has zero interceptions
• Has two touchdowns in the last three games
• Has averaged 20 points in the last 3 games

Stroud throws the ball a ton so his upside is there and the fact he’s not turning it over when throwing on average 38 times shows just how smart of a quarterback he is. He’ll be going against Atlanta in Week 5, a team that has given up 20 PPG in the last 3 weeks. If your team is lacking a steady QB, and Stroud is hanging out on your bench, Week 5 is the time to start C.J. Stroud.

Jordan Love

Jordan Love is having a similar season to Stroud so far; He hasn’t scored lower than 19 points yet. Most of his games haven’t involved much of Aaron Jones or Christian Watson yet either. Now that they are back, it increases the options Jordon Love has. Going against Las Vegas this week, who is the 30th-ranked defense by the way, Love can certainly take more risks that lead to more upside. And we love upside here at Belly Up Sports.

David Montgomery

As much as it hurts me to say it, I was way wrong on David Montgomery. I thought Gibbs would take over as the lead running back by now, but Montgomery is way too good in the red zone. And honestly, right now, he’s a better NFL Running Back than Gibbs too. We gotta ride the hot hand here until proven otherwise. Scoring touchdowns is the fastest way to increase your score in a Fantasy Football league, and Montgomery is tied for the 2nd most with 5 rushing touchdowns.

Breece Hall

Breece Hall still isn’t getting the volume we all wanted but this matchup against the Broncos is too tasty to not start him. A similar case for Khalil Herbert this season, he went up against the Broncos in Week 4 and absolutely demolished their “defense.” Herbert had 18 rush attempts in Week 4 compared to the 7 he was averaging before that. I expect Breece Hall to do the same, but even if he does get 10 rush attempts I’m sure he’ll hit a home run. It just makes sense to start anyone going against Denver right now.

Christian Kirk

I’m expecting the Jaguars to bring their A-game against Buffalo this week. It by no means is a nice matchup for Christian Kirk, but this is the main reason I’m telling you he needs to start. Stop basing your starting rosters solely on matchups because from what we’ve seen this year, the top dogs are getting challenged i.e. the Jets vs. Chiefs game on SNF and the Commanders vs. Eagles game in Week 4. Because of this, expect Kirk to get the same volume he’s been getting in his previous games, in which in Week 4 he had 12 targets, 8 receptions, and 84 yards.

Sit ‘Em

Anthony Richardson

Richardson is coming off a hot week against the Rams but is now faced with the Tennessee defense who just made Joe Burrow look bad. Imagine what they can do to a rookie. I wouldn’t get too high on Richardson yet, his rushing upside is great but sit him for Week 5 if you have other options. I believe the Colts will get out-coached by the Titans.

Jahmyr Gibbs

As a fellow Gibbs owner, I’ve started him every week in hopes he would finally find his groove with the Lions’ offense. Unfortunately, he continues to get red zone touches vultured from him by David Montgomery and on top of that, rushing attempts too. Although he is seeing a decent amount of targets come his way from Jared Goff, he isn’t doing much after the catch. Gibbs is a Sit ‘Em until he shows consistent improvement

Najee Harris

Potential bust of the year candidate? I think so. Harris should truly be a Drop ‘Em. He went against the Raiders and the Texans these last two weeks and still averaged eight points. Last year he at least had a decent floor of around 10 points with some high-ceiling games, this year that is not the case. You shouldn’t even be on the fence on whether to Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em with Najee, he is for sure a Sit ‘Em.

DeAndre Hopkins

If DeAndre Hopkins has been your flex play this year it’s time to throw someone else in. In order to win games consistently you need the player in your flex position to have more upside than this guy. His age is certainly showing when he plays and he has not gotten the volume we were all expecting even when Treylon Burks is out. DHop is only averaging six targets a game and hasn’t scored a touchdown yet. The reason I’m even telling you to Sit ‘Em is because his matchup looks great on paper, but don’t fall for it.

Jerry Jeudy

You probably spent some high draft capital on Jerry Jeudy but he lines up against Sauce Gardner this week and the Jets just finished bringing Mahomes down to earth in Week 4. Jeudy isn’t getting any volume this year even though Russell Wilson looks better than he did in 2022. The Jets have given up the third least amount of fantasy points this year to WRs and I can’t see Jeudy having a productive game. Start someone else over him.

Need More Start ‘Em Sit ‘Ems?

If you’re starting to panic because of your questionable roster moves, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re 1-3 or 0-4, Paul Orlando and I are here to provide weekly Start ‘Em Sit ‘Ems for you. You can check out our podcast, The Eye Test, on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok for more advice as well.

**All images from gettyimages.com**