Fantasy football is fun. Or so I've heard, anyway.
Know what's not fun. What's about as enjoyable as watching The Room on a loop for three straight days with your eyes taped open? Being one lousy month into the season and having a team that is already teetering on the brink of becoming the Miami Dolphins.
There are a number of reasons why so many fantasy squads are reeling after four games. There have been a legitimately historic number of injuries to starting quarterbacks. Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles was the latest running back to join the list of the walking wounded last week. The list of injured wide receivers is as long and depressing as the aforementioned movie.
It hasn't just been injuries, either. New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye hasn't been hurt—he has just been mostly terrible. Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton is mired in a three-headed committee. Search parties are combing the Georgia woods looking for Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr.
For some, the season has just been an assortment of anguish and agony. Well and truly awful.
OK, maybe not that bad. But bad nonetheless.
For those fantasy managers, the margin for error has all but evaporated. They can't afford to make poor lineup decisions. And with injuries all over the place, many are being forced to choose from options who aren't exactly no-brainers.
If the season is to be saved, there are Close Calls to be made—and we're here to help in that regard.
Every week, we're going to look at some of the closest calls. Make the case for both players. And then offer up this analyst's take on which player is the correct play.
For the sake of this exercise, we'll only consider quarterbacks and tight ends outside the top 10, running backs outside the top 20, and wide receivers outside the top 30 in Footballguys' Weekly Rankings. If you are trying to decide between Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals and Brock Bowers of the Las Vegas Raiders at tight end, then you suck, and I hate you.
I don't really hate you. But you do suck.
Week 4 Close Calls
Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas (QB17) vs. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh (QB18)
The Case for Cousins: After throwing for a season-high 365 yards last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, Cousins has quietly posted top-10 fantasy numbers among quarterbacks to this point in the season. Jamey Eisenberg of CBS Sports expects his early surge to continue this week against the New England Patriots.
"(Cousins) has scored at least 19.8 Fantasy points in all four games, including three in a row with at least 26.2 points," he said. "Trevor Lawrence and Josh Allen have each scored at least 20.5 Fantasy points against New England in the past two games, and Cousins is worth using as a low-end starter in deeper leagues."
The Case for Rodgers: Over the past two weeks, Rodgers has been a top-five fantasy quarterback, averaging 295 passing yards and three scores a game over that span. As Ray Kuhn wrote for Fantrax, there's a good chance that Rodgers will make it three good games in a row this week when the Steelers host the Indianapolis Colts.
"Reunited with Mike McCarthy, Rodgers has seemingly found his groove over the past two weeks," he said. "In each of those games, he has three touchdown passes while throwing for 292 and 299 yards, respectively. In Week 5, Rodgers has one of the better matchups against an Indianapolis Colts team that struggles against opposing quarterbacks. That means we should see another big day from the veteran quarterback."
The Verdict: Rodgers. Both of these veteran quarterbacks have turned back the clock over the first month of the 2026 season. But Rodgers wins the matchup contest among the pair in Week 5—the Colts are dead last in the AFC in total defense, 29th in the league in pass defense, and have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
TreVeyon Henderson, New England (RB29) vs. Will Shipley, Philadelphia (RB31)
The Case for Henderson: It has been a quiet start to the season for Henderson—he's averaging just 3.7 yards per carry and had 22 carries for 65 yards over the past two games. The entire New England ground game has struggled in 2026, though, and Elie Deglaoui of Chowder and Champions believes that the key to unlocking the Patriots' run game is getting Henderson more involved.
"Henderson hasn't lit the world on fire, but he has the talent and potential to become a legitimate weapon in New England's offense," Deglaoui wrote. "The Patriots need to find more ways to incorporate him into the offense and allow him to work on his flaws. At this point, they need to do whatever they can to add a spark to their offense (particularly the backfield), and Henderson might be the answer."
The Case for Shipley: With Saquon Barkley (hamstring) looking unlikely to play against the Jaguars in London and Tank Bigsby on injured reserve, it will fall to Shipley to serve as the Eagles' lead back against Jacksonville. With all the issues Philly has defensively, Anthony Miller of Inside the Iggles expects Shipley to be a focal point offensively in Week 5.
"With the current issues on the offensive line, the Eagles can use Shipley in different ways," he said. "While it might make some Eagles fans sick to hear, Shipley catching screens out of the backfield could be a good start to help the running game. The most important thing for this offense is to make sure Jalen Hurts gets the ball out of his hands quickly. That will likely mean Hurts finds Shipley more often out of the backfield for short passes to help the offensive line out."
The Verdict: Henderson. If Rhamondre Stevenson (knee) can't go Sunday against the Raiders, this becomes a landslide—Henderson went on a tear last year when Stevenson was on the shelf. But even sharing touches, he's a better fantasy bet than a third-string running back taking on a Jaguars run defense that has allowed less than 75 yards per game on the ground this season.
