Week 4 Fantasy Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Vikings vs Saints

Week 4 of the NFL season includes an intriguing NFC showdown when the Minnesota Vikings take a trip to battle the New Orleans Saints. FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds show the Vikings as 2.5-point favorites in what should be a close affair.

If you need some help with your fantasy lineups, here's our start 'em, sit 'em advice for this Week 4 showdown between the Vikings and Saints.

Adam Thielen Fantasy

Start Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings: Adam Thielen was a fantasy afterthought to begin the new season following a disappointing 2021 performance. Though the veteran wide receiver started slow, the veteran wideout has improved with each passing game, finishing Week 3 as the WR16 in PPR with 18.1 points. The Saints are far from an easy opponent as far as the passing game is concerned, however, Dennis Allen's secondary will likely focus on Justin Jefferson, who's been double- and triple-teamed all season. Throw in the fact that Thielen has also seen his snap count increase from 59 in each of the first two games to 70 last week, he definitely has WR3/FLEX appeal this week.

Alvin Kamara Fantasy

Start Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints: To say that Alvin Kamara has been disappointing this season would be an understatement. A first-round pick in a lot of leagues, Kamara has only tallied 14.9 PPR points in the two games that he has played, ranking him as RB54 on the year. The good news for him is that the Vikings have been a running back's dream this year. Minnesota is giving up the fifth-most fantasy points to RBs this season, which includes three grounds scores — tied for third-most league-wide. While Kamara has frustrated managers thus far, this is the perfect matchup to get him back on track into RB1/2 territory.

Irv Smith Fantasy

Sit Irv Smith, TE, Minnesota Vikings: Irv Smith has been a decent tight end streaming option this year, averaging seven targets in his last two games while entering the week as the TE16. Managers shouldn't count on a solid performance this week considering how the Saints have given up the second-fewest points to TEs so far this season. Yes, Smith is talented, but there's no sense throwing him in your lineup when New Orleans has only surrendered 63 receiving yards on nine receptions to the position. You can likely find better streaming options out there, so leave the 24-year-old on your bench this week.

Jameis Winston Fantasy

Sit Jameis Winston, QB, New Orleans Saints: Jameis Winston looked promising before his 2021 season-ending injury, however, he's looked anything but that this season. He's been the QB22 since Week 2, throwing out five interceptions with only two touchdowns. Winston is now dealing with a few injuries that caused him to miss practice. While he could be replaced by either Andy Dalton or Taysom Hill, the Saints have yet to rule him out. Assuming that he does play, Winston is in no shape to be in a starting fantasy lineup. He's looked terrible and could struggle against a Minnesota defense that already has three interceptions and seven sacks on the season. Even if you're desperate to stream a QB, odds are there's someone more reliable than Winston out there.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.