Fantasy Football Week 4 RB Streamers

With more injuries piling up, the fantasy football waiver wire this week was likely riddled with the addition of multiple running backs. The prime targets of Chuba Hubbard and Zach Moss might not have fallen to you, but all is not lost. Like always, there is plenty of talent still sitting, waiting to be picked up. It can be hard to sift through the pile of garbage for the few gems, but it’s worth it.

As always, we’re here to help you sort through the noise. Here are the three players that are most likely to give you that little extra edge this week.

In order to be included in the fantasy football RB streamers article, they must be owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN leagues.

Week 4 Fantasy Football RB Streamers

Kenneth Gainwell | Philadelphia Eagles (vs KC)

Kenneth Gainwell has had just seven carries the last two weeks combined. Even with that, he is averaging 8.6 fantasy football PPR points per game over the first three weeks of the season. The Philadelphia Eagles have made it very clear that this backfield is a 1A and 1B with him and Miles Sanders. Fortunately for Gainwell, his use in the receiving game still makes him a solid option for those desperate this week at the running back position.

The Chiefs are the 29th-ranked defense against running backs, which spells nothing but success for this Eagles backfield. The one caveat is that the Chiefs will likely be running Philadelphia out of the building by the second half. That’s exactly where Gainwell’s role as a pass-catcher comes in.

Gainwell has three receptions each of the past two weeks and will likely get many more. The Eagles will be scrambling for points from the jump, which opens up his receiving game. With Sanders only getting one more touch than Gainwell against the Cowboys, expect the running backs to get more looks, but the difference between the two to stay minimal.

Peyton Barber | Las Vegas Raiders (at LAC)

Welcome back, Peyton Barber. After a measly Week 2 performance which saw him run for just 32 yards on 13 carries, Barber ran wild on Miami. Barber amassed over 140 all-purpose yards on just 23 carries and three receptions. If we know one thing about Gruden and the Raiders, it’s that they love to take as many touches away from Josh Jacobs as they can. With an extensive injury history already, the Raiders are likely to be cautious in bringing Jacobs back up to speed. If he doesn’t play, expect Barber to get the same amount of work as last week. If Jacobs does play, Barber could still play a solid role.

Las Vegas faces the Chargers and their 21st-ranked defense against fantasy football running backs in Week 4. Las Vegas will need to throw the ball to win, but we know that few like to run the ball as much as the Raiders. He is rostered in just under 16% of leagues. There is no reason for him to be rostered this low. Be the smart guy in your league this week and grab him.

Carlos Hyde | Jacksonville Jaguars (at CIN)

James Robinson might be the most disrespected player in the NFL. After running for 1,000 yards as an undrafted free agent, the Jags drafted another running back and signed Carlos Hyde. The veteran Hyde is clearly the inferior back between him and Robinson, but for fantasy, Hyde still presents sneaky value. Outside of Week 2, Hyde has nine and eight carries in the other two games this season. Hyde is seeing touches and is averaging just over five yards per carry in those two games in which he saw eight or more carries.

While the jury remained out after Week 2 as to which Hyde we’d see, we got our answer in Week 3. Hyde will be hovering around the 10 carry mark and could possibly work in some receiving work as well. While the Jaguars do play a tough Bengals defense, the Bengals are only 19th against running backs in fantasy football. In addition, like always, Jacksonville will likely be behind by a lot very early. Expect the Bengals to go into a more prevent-based defense, which will open up the running backs to receiving work.