In fantasy football Week 3, three backup QBs led their teams to victory. Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Jaxson Dart were all on the sideline, only to watch their understudies prevail. Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, and Case Kennum all got the win.
None of them were on this list last week, and as great as they were, none of them are on the list this week. Here are your Week 4 fantasy football QB rankings.
MORE: Fantasy Football biggest injuries entering Week 4
Ranks 12-9
12. Kirk Cousins-Raiders: And why shouldn’t a QB of a 3-0 team be on this list? The wily veteran has played well this year, and is making his debut here. He’ll have home-field advantage this week, in Las Vegas, against the Chiefs. Both teams are undefeated and this is for sole possession of first place, atop the AFC West.
You know Patrick Mahomes is going to put up points, and Cousins will need to fill the box score to keep the Raiders in this game. The two teams have each scored 88pts this season. This game should see a ton of pts, with both teams racing up and down the field.
11. CJ Stroud-Texans: Been there, done that…the Texans are again 0-3 to start the NFL season. They have an interstate matchup, against the Dallas Cowboys. The Texans have the benefit of playing at home, while the Cowboys are coming off a tough loss against Ravens in Rio. While the Cowboys can’t afford another loss, the Texans REALLY can’t afford another loss.
The Cowboys have given up 82pts this year, and their defense should allow a ton of scoring chances for Stroud. For the Texans part, their vaunted defense has given up 25pts per game. They wake up this week and get the ball back to Stroud with a couple of turnovers and great field position.
10. Dak Prescott-Cowboys: And speaking of Prescott…whether the Cowboys win or lose, he generally puts up solid number’s week to week. The Texans defense will pose a problem, but Prescott has a ton of targets, and will find the endzone a couple of times.
While he’ll be sacked a few times and threw at least one interception, His overall numbers will be solid, having to play catchup all day.
9. Jared Goff-Lions: Through three weeks, the Lions have scored the second most pts in the NFC, and Goff has led the way. They have a road game this week, heading to Carolina.
But whether home or away, this team scores a ton of pts…they’ve scored 31pts in their two home games, and have also scored 31pts in their road game against the Bills. For their part, the Panthers have given up 83pts this season. Look for Goff to have a monster game.
Ranks 8-5
8. Trevor Lawrence-Jaguars: The Jags have a 46pt pt differential through three games. Their defense has been stout, getting the ball back to Lawrence, and he’s been filling up the scoreboard when he has the ball, scoring 82 pts on the season. They are on the road this week, heading to Cincinnati.
The Bengals offense is equally impressive, and Joe Burrow will actually put up a fight, unlike Drake Maye and the Patriots last week. This game will easily get into 50s, with both teams scoring over 27pts. Aaron Rodgers tore up the Bengals secondary last week…look for Lawrence to do the same this week.
7. Sam Darnold-Seahawks: The Seahawks hadn’t lost a game in 12 games. Their fans fully expected that streak would go to 13 wins, heading to DC to play the Commanders with Marcus Mariota at the helm. It was Darnold’s first game back after his two-week hiatus, sitting with a hip injury.
The Seahawks managed 31pts, and their defense let them down. This week, don’t expect a repeat. They are at home, facing the 0-3 Chargers, who have given up over 25pts per game. Darnold will put up over 300 YD’s and he and JSN will connect for at least two TDs.
6. Bryce Young-Panthers: Every team that faces the Lions puts up a ton of pts. Detroit’s defense has given up the most pts in the league (95). While Young and his Panthers may not win this week: Las Vegas has them as an underdog but they are going to score their share of points.
5. Tyler Shough-Saints: If it weren’t for a fourth quarter collapse last week, the Saints would have won their very exciting matchup last week against the Raiders. But win or lose, Shough puts up pts. The Saints are one of six NFC teams with over 80pts so far in this young season.
They are home this week in NOLA, against their divisional rival, Falcons. And while Atlanta put on a clinic last week against the Packers, they will fall back to earth this week. Even with Bijan Robinson, their offense can’t hang with the Saints. Shough is going to have a monster game this week, and 300 yds is a formality…350-400yds isn’t out of the question.
MORE: Fantasy Football studs & duds for Week 4 of 2026 NFL season
Ranks 4-1
4. Patrick Mahomes-Chiefs: And speaking of a monster game…the Chiefs are heading to Las Vegas to face the upstart Raiders. This is going to feel like a big brother putting his kid brother in his place. Saturday Night Live cast members used to be called “Not Ready For Prime Time”. Consider the Raiders the same this week. These are the games where Mahomes shines the brightest.
For the season he’s thrown 7 TD’s with only 2 INT’s. He has a rating of 108.9 and is averaging 270yds per game. And don’t minimize the fact that Travis Kelce is on the field with “the next” Kelce, Brock Bowers. The old vet is going to put on a show too, showing the young buck, he’s still here.
3. Joe Burrow-Bengals: Burrows is having an efficient season. His completion percentage is over 70% this year, and his rating is 106.6. He threw one TD in wk.1, two in wk.2, and three in wk.3…that must mean he’s throwing four TD’s this week against the Jaguars. Ok, maybe not four, but he’s throwing at least a couple.
With most of the defensive attention spent on Jamarr Chase, Tee Higgins is going to have a breakout game. He’s been extremely consistent this season, with14 catches and 244 receiving YD’s. But he only has one TD on the year. This week, he and Burrow will connect for over 100yds and he’ll score his second TD on the year.
2. Lamar Jackson-Ravens: This week, Jackson has a cake walk, at home against the Tennessee Titans. The Ravens are the second highest scoring team in the AFC so far, with only the Bills ahead of them. With seven seconds on the clock Jackson throw a dime down the middle of the field, and managed to call a timeout with one click left on the clock.
He took the team into FG range, and won on that last second FG. It won’t be that dramatic this week. He has his full team back, with WR Zay Flowers returning last week, from his hamstring injury. He now has another week of recovery, and should be back to full action. Last week he was on a snap count. The team is far more dynamic with Flowers on the field.
1. Josh Allen-Bills: Last week, Trevor Lawrence put up 35pts against the Patriots. This week in Buffalo, Allen will at least duplicate that against the Patsies. The Jags were a perfect five for five in the Red Zone, and while Allen can’t do better than that…he could go six for six, putting up 42pts. In a playoff game a few years ago, the Bills scored 47pts, scoring seven TD’s and not punting.
It could be that bad for New England. Allen is still steaming about losing the division to them last year. In one of the oddest stat lines this season, through three weeks, Allen has more rushing TD’s (6), than passing TD’s (5). Regardless of how he’s finding the endzone, he’s on pace to generate 62 total TD’s…but this week, he’ll use his arm more than his legs. Pencil in four total TD’s this week, throwing for three and running one in; to go along with 300-plus passing yds. His main targets will be TE Dalton Kincaid who’s going tear the Pats up, and James Cook who’ll be big catching passes out of the backfield.
— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —