Four weeks in, my fantasy team looks different

By Michael ChenPublished 2026-10-05

Snapshot: Sunday, October 4, 2026.

I started 2–0, lost Week 3, then had my biggest score so far in Week 4. The changes weren’t just trades. Injuries, start/sit decisions and the players at the end of my bench kept changing the lineup too.

Week 1: starting with the draft

My starters were Goff; Brown and Hampton; Higgins, Flowers and Jameson Williams; Goedert; Pollard and Odunze in flex; McPherson; and the Chargers defense.

I picked the Chargers for the Arizona matchup. I saw Arizona as a weak offense and planned to stream defenses rather than keep one all season. McPherson was the best kicker available in my view.

The bench changed almost immediately. I added Perine, replaced him with Pacheco, and briefly held Conner and Kaleb Johnson before dropping them. Those moves didn’t contribute starting points that week.

Flowers scored 26 and Goedert had 23.7. I won 146.24–139.46, with every counted starter coming from the draft.

Week 2: covering Flowers and choosing Lloyd

Roster changes: Wicks and Mitchell came in, along with San Francisco’s defense and eventually McLaughlin at kicker. Bateman, Noel and Pineiro were short holds along the way. I also dropped Pacheco.

Flowers was out with his hamstring injury. Mitchell’s existing targets attracted me, and I thought Wicks could become a solid producer. Mitchell went straight into my lineup; Wicks stayed on the bench.

I started Lloyd over Pollard because I liked Lloyd’s matchup more. I thought Pollard had a bad matchup and expected Lloyd to do better. Both were already on my roster. Odunze moved from flex to a receiver spot while Mitchell and Lloyd filled the flexes.

Goff scored 37.78, Mitchell added 12.3, and McLaughlin and San Francisco combined for 25. I won another close one, 140.88–135.68. Wicks’ 12.4 stayed on the bench.

Week 3: buying Bowers and rebuilding depth

Roster changes: Higgins, Jameson and Wicks went out in the Bowers trade. Washington, Ferguson, Marks and Isaiah Williams came in. Braelon Allen, Freiermuth, Hurst and Sadiq were shorter holds during the reshuffling. Pineiro returned at kicker, and Cincinnati replaced San Francisco’s defense.

I thought Bowers was a good player to buy while he was returning from injury. The other roster needed receivers, Goedert was hurt too, and I trusted myself to rebuild the depth through waivers.

Mitchell’s finger injury pushed me toward Isaiah Williams, whom I started with Mitchell unavailable. I used Ferguson in flex because Puka was out and Ferguson had played well the previous week. Pollard returned to the lineup too.

I left Odunze out because I wasn’t confident in the quarterback play, and the league’s autosub situation involving Flowers factored into that decision. Flowers returned to my starting lineup alongside Concepcion and Isaiah.

On the bench, Washington was a handcuff behind Jeanty. I thought Jeanty had a heavy workload and was concerned about a nagging injury. With Marks, I liked the receiving work and his share alongside Montgomery. I saw flex and bye-week use, plus upside if his role grew.

I also moved on from some earlier bets. I wasn’t willing to wait through Brooks’ injury. Lloyd wasn’t earning the larger role I wanted, and I didn’t like the continuing committee. Coleman’s committee situation and move to IR made him another drop.

Bowers scored 27.6, but I lost 111.36–124.74. Marks’ 9.1, Washington’s 11.4 and Odunze’s 7.4 were bench points, so they didn’t count.

Monday evening, after their Week 3 games, I traded Hampton plus $50 FAAB for Hall and Tate. Hampton’s locked score stayed with me; Hall and Tate’s earlier points didn’t transfer.

Week 4: the new lineup produces

Roster changes: Miller replaced Ferguson, and I dropped Isaiah Williams and added Keenan Allen. Buffalo replaced Cincinnati, Shrader replaced Pineiro, and McGowan was a short bench hold before I replaced him with Hockenson.

I liked Allen’s target volume, although he ended up out for Week 4. Miller appealed to me because Etienne’s hamstring injury created an opening, and I had concerns about Kamara’s age and efficiency. Miller remained on my bench.

For the lineup, Pollard moved to RB alongside Brown. Tate joined Flowers and Concepcion at receiver, and Odunze returned in flex.

Hockenson took the other flex spot. Jefferson was out, and I thought an established veteran on the same team could benefit. That gave me Hockenson in flex with Bowers still at tight end.

Hockenson scored 24.9, Flowers had 25.8, Tate added 21.5 in his first start for me, and Bowers scored 20.6. By Sunday night, every starter in my matchup had finished, with the score at 195.18–145.96. That puts me at 3–1 subject to stat corrections.

Hall’s contribution is still pending, and Miller’s Monday game hadn’t happened yet in this snapshot. But the roster I had been rebuilding had already produced my biggest score so far.