Fantasy Football: Week 4 Kicker and Defense Rankings

Sept. 27 (UPI) — Our top 20 defense/special teams rankings and top 15 kicker rankings look to give an edge to your Week 4 fantasy football lineup.

Some of the defenses perceived before the season to be great on paper, have actually been quite pliable when it comes to giving up fantasy points. There are also several kickers with good matchups and showing consistent production through three weeks.

This week my top defenses include the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. My top kickers are Wil Lutz, Matt Bryant and Ryan Succop.
Here are the rest of my top 20 defense/special teams units and top 15 kickers for Week 4. You can visit other positional rankings in the links below.

TOP SHELF

The Jacksonville Jaguars travel in Week 4 for a matchup against the New York Jets. The Jets are coming off of a Week 3 win, but still lack an explosive offense. I’m looking for Jacksonville to control this game with the run early on and force some turnovers for extra fantasy points. This should be a low-scoring game. The Jaguars surrendered 37 points in Week 2, but I’m expecting to see more of the defense which allowed seven points in its Week 1 and Week 3 games.

The “Legion of Boom” hosts the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4. This should be a very good matchup if you happen to own the Seattle Seahawks’ defense. Seattle is ranked as my No. 3 defense.

Kicker Wil Lutz will be swinging his leg plenty over in London on Sunday morning against the Miami Dolphins. I don’t see the Dolphins stopping the New Orleans Saints Sunday after this unit couldn’t stop the New York Jets in Week 3. Expect several extra point attempts and a few from range from the Saints kicker.

Ryan Succop is my No. 3 kicker for Week 4. The Tennessee Titans have a matchup against the Houston Texans Sunday at NRG Stadium. I’m expecting the Titans to get it together a bit on offense in this matchup. When the unit struggles, look for Succop to connect.

SNEAKY PLAYS

The Cincinnati Bengals come in as my No. 5 defense for Week 4 because of a matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Cincinnati also gets back suspended linebacker Vontaze Burfict this week, one of their best defensive playmakers.

The Green Bay Packers – who beat the Bengals in Week 3 – are my No. 6 defense for the week with a matchup against the Chicago Bears. I’m expecting the best defensive performance of the season, as of yet, for the Packers in this matchup.

Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker comes in as my No. 5 kicker for Week 4. He has a matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh’s secondary has been playing well early on, so I expect the Ravens to aim for a ball-control type approach and grind down the clock. This conservative mindset could also lead to settling for field goals once they get into Pittsburgh territory.

Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Jason Myers faces the New York Jets Sunday. Myers could be eying a decent day as points might be hard to come by in this one.

LONGSHOTS

The Denver Broncos look to rebound from a Week 3 loss to the Buffalo Bills by hosting the Oakland Raiders Sunday. The Raiders’ Michael Crabtree is currently banged up and the Broncos own one of the best secondaries in the NFL. If the Raiders can’t get the running game going early, look out.

The Carolina Panthers offense has struggled a bit this season and it also has a banged up wide out in Kelvin Benjamin. Carolina already lost Greg Olsen for the season. Enter: the New England Patriots at Foxborough. I’m seeing a blowout in this one, with Cam Newton trying to do too much against this defense. The Patriots are my No. 12 defense for Week 4.

Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey stays at home Sunday for a game against the Los Angeles Rams. Look for the Cowboys to win another game here, which shouldn’t be close. Bailey should supply several field goal attempts and pocket some extra points.

The Kansas City Chiefs turn to Harrison Butker after placing Cairo Santos on injured reserve Tuesday. Butker will be busy in Week 4 against the Washington Redskins. He should only be started in leagues with at least 14 teams.