It is a pivotal Week 4 matchup for the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers, as they both sit at 1-2. For the Cardinals, they need to be no worse than 3-3 when DeAndre Hopkins returns from suspension in Week 7.
Buy Cardinals TicketsAs for the Panthers, they need to pick up a win to get back to .500 themselves. It wasn’t pretty, but they were able to beat the Saints last week at home. They do have some question marks with Christian McCaffrey questionable to play, but signs are pointing to him being able to play.
Below, we go over the players you need to make sure to start on your fantasy team for this week.
As always, we’ll avoid the obvious picks for this one. Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey and Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray are players you wouldn’t ever bench.
These are the other players to consider.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Latest show:
Previous shows:
and
WR Greg Dortch
Dortch is somehow available in most leagues, despite his remarkable consistency in recent weeks.
In the past three games (full PPR), Dortch has accumulated 13.3, 15.5 and 17 points. He’s received a ton of targets in the absence of Rondale Moore, who figures to return this week.
While the return of Moore and eventually Hopkins drastically decrease Dortch’s stock, it’s unclear how much Moore will be playing, as he makes his regular-season debut off a hamstring injury.
Until proven otherwise, keep streaming Dortch at your flex position for consistent points.
Arizona defense
This is a bit of a bold take, but hear me out.
If you are in need of a defense this week, perhaps the Cardinals’ defense can come to your aid.
Despite the team’s struggles, the defense for Arizona has been very solid since the second half of Week 2. They held Davante Adams to 12 yards and then Cooper Kupp to 44 receiving yards.
Had the offense not stalled in the red zone so much, the Cardinals are likely Week 3 winners.
Baker Mayfield and the Panthers offense have been dreadful through three weeks. Mayfield is posting the lowest QBR of qualifying starters, and outside of a nice comeback effort against the Browns in Week 1, there isn’t much optimism for that group.
Look for the Cardinals’ defense to get their first interception of the season and shut the Panthers down.
WR Hollywood Brown
Marquise Brown has yet to receive attention from the national media, despite his fast start to his Cardinals career.
Last week, Brown posted 14 receptions for 140 yards, some of which came against All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Brown has 24 receptions through three games, which is a solid 8 points per week based solely on the reception count. He’s clearly getting the bulk of the targets in the Cardinals offense and that doesn’t figure to change until DeAndre Hopkins returns.
Brown will look to build off an impressive last six quarters and take advantage of a young Carolina secondary. He and Murray have yet to connect on a deep ball, so it’s bound to happen sooner rather than later.
