2024 Week 4 Kings and Peasants

 Kings and peasants

The UK based LOC Fantasy Show is here to help you win your Week 4 matchups! If you haven’t watched or listened to our flagship Week 4 Preview show yet, go check it out on YouTube or on your podcast app. We do things a little different here in the UK, so instead of starts and sits, we naturally have Kings and Peasants. If you want to see who our Kings and Peasants of Week 4 are, look no further!

Each week, myself and Chris compete to see who’s King and Peasant team wins (using our league of records scoring). We add up our King scores, and subtract our Peasants scores. Chris started out 2-0, but I picked up my first win last week.

What we’re trying to do here is not just pick who we think the highest scoring players will be and who the lowest scoring players will be. For the Kings we’re trying to identify who is outside the highest ranked players on the week, or who has been in a poor run of form, that we think will perform well and have a good score. Conversely, for the Peasants we’re trying to identify someone either highly ranked or reasonably highly ranked that we think will bust on the week. 

Chris: 2-1

Naith: 1-2

QB Kings

Naith’s king: Sam Darnold MIN (@ GB)

Entering the season, an improved Sam Darnold was a possibility. I don’t think anyone was really predicting him to be as good as he has been though. He’s played so well that even his odds in the MVP race aren’t too bad. I’m convinced that he’s at worse a streamer, but one or two more good games and he might just be a fully fledged QB1. The matchup on the road against the Packers isn’t the best (their defence has performed quite well in the last couple games, albeit with QBs that aren’t playing well at the moment), but I’ve seen nothing to suggest that Darnold with O’Connell whispering in his ear can’t perform in this one.

Chris’s king: Kyler Murray ARI (vs WAS) AND Justin Fields PIT (@ IND)

Chris does not pass the mirror test with his pick of Kyler Murray (as you are obviously starting him if you have him), and I told him as much on the podcast. So, we have agreed this week Chris can have two QB kings and their score will be averaged. So I’ll discuss Justin Fields more here. And to be fair to Chris, this is a bolder pick - but one I fully endorse. He’s been steady so far, notching his first 20 point game last week. The Steelers offence has been very conservative - but with such a good defence you can forgive them for that. If you’ve ever watched Justin Fields before as well, it also makes sense. BUT he has done remarkably well so far conducting Arthur Smith’s offence (and I’m not surprised we’re seeing more out of Smith now that he can just focus on coordinating vs being a head coach too). This matchup is among the easiest Fields has faced so far, and I wonder if we start to see the training wheels come off a bit more and he takes a couple steps forward. If the Colts do well, they have to put points on the board, if they’re comfortably in the lead he can play a bit more loose. 

QB Peasants

Naith’s peasant: Jared Goff DET (vs SEA)

Home vs road Goff has historically been a thing. And Goff has been a good streamer in his time with the Lions. But that hasn’t been the case thus far in 2024. a plum matchup against the Cardinals (albeit on the road) should have been a smash spot for Goff last week, but he didn’t take advantage. Even though he’s returning to the safety of home, I don’t see much upside for him against this stout Seahawks pass defence, so I’d consider other options if you were thinking of streaming him. 

Chris’s peasant: Anthony Richardson IND (vs PIT)

Chris is going both sides of this game with his QB picks. I understand why he has chosen Richardson. It’s a bold choice, because the player such as he is can blow up at any time, regardless of opponent. But this is a formidable Steelers defence he’s facing, and he has had a rough start. Some of his tape last week against the Bears was head scratching. We also need to remember that he is more akin to a rookie, as he missed much of his rookie season through injury and is very much still developing. Rookie QBs are by their nature inconsistent. He has the vibes of early Josh Allen too. So for all those reasons, if you have a decent option other than Richardson you should deploy it this week. 

RB Kings

Naith’s king: Brian Robinson WAS (@ ARI)

I love me some Brob man. Wolverine. I had him in my league of record in his rookie season and he was great. Look, he’s not particularly efficient, but he’s a tough runner, and they rely on him in the ground game. Arizona isn’t the most formidable of defensive matchups, and with Ekeler out in this one due to a concussion that solidifies his workload. Roll Brob out there with confidence. 

Chris’s king: Aaron Jones MIN (@ GB)

Can you say REVENGE GAME?! We love a revenge game at the LOC Fantasy Show. That added motivation will only bolster Jones to have a better game and justify Chris picking him as his king. This Vikings team has been great so far. This will be the toughest test they face, and the Packers D have been pretty good the last two times out (albeit against not the best opposition), but Jones involvement should lead him to a good performance here.

RB Peasants

Naith’s peasant: Rhamondre Stevenson NE (@ SF)

I’m a Pats fan that’s realistic. I picked Rhamondre as my peasant in Week 1 and I was (gladly) burned. Well, I’m going to back to the well, because in Week 3 the Pats were exactly what I (and many others) thought they’d be this season. Their o-line got exploited, jacoby couldn’t do anything in the pass game, and they were in a hole early so had to abandon the run. Mondre isn’t going to leave games (outside of injury) with only 6 touches again, but if the Patriots face a deficit his involvement will be limited. Going cross country to a niners team who will very much be looking to wash the taste of an ugly loss out of their mouth does not profile as a game the Patriots will be competitive in, and thus not be able to lean on Stevenson. I would get away from him this week if you can, he’s a weak volume based flex play for me. 

Chris’s peasant: Rhamondre Stevenson NE (@ SF)

WR Kings

Naith’s king: George Pickens PIT (@ IND)

Relative to the draft capital and rankings this is a bit of a stretch perhaps given the criteria of a “King”, but he hasn’t lit the world on fire so far. He’s been ok. Which was my fear for him coming into the season with a Steelers offence that didn’t profile to be great, whilst also prioritising the run. Well, the Steelers haven’t been great on offence but they have been competent enough. They have been conservative, but all of this is better than the outlook we had coming into the season. Fields has done what has been asked of him, now I wonder in a game with a fairly good matchup and either a defence that should allow the Steelers to play comfortably OR an opposing offence that will pressure them to put points on the board, if we can see the Steelers offence open up a little and Fields try and take a couple steps forward. Cue George Pickens, alpha receiver, ready to be the prime beneficiary. I think he has a big week this week, so lock him in. 

Chris’s king: Brandon Aiyuk SF (vs NE)

This one does pass the mirror test. Albeit ranked highly and of high draft capital, it’s been a slow start by Aiyuk. We have warned this was likely to be the case due to his lengthy holdout, as this typically causes players to have a slow start. The target volume was there last week, but the attention Aiyuk got from the Rams D allowed Jennings to have his blow up. At home against the Patriots is a good spot for Aiyuk to have his turn. Kittle should be back, Samuel might be too, but that’ll just help pull attention away from Aiyuk and allow him to feast on the Patriots secondary. 

WR Peasants 

Naith’s peasant: Garrett Wilson NYJ (vs DEN)

This one is simple. Wilson has been good-not-great so far for what has been a serviceable Jets offence. I like his prospects for the season (and he has had some tough matchups so fair to be fair), but going up against Surtain is not the one. Surtain has been banishing receivers to the shadow realm so far this season, I don’t see why the same won’t happen to Wilson. Bench him if you can. 

Chris’s peasant: Courtland Sutton DEN (@ NYJ)

Chris is really abusing the mirror this week. You probably weren’t starting Courtland Sutton anyway, but Chris has directed that you absolutely shouldn’t. I don’t disagree - he and the Broncos haven’t been great. They were much better against the Bucs last week, but how much was that about the Broncos, and how much was about how injury depleted that Bucs defence was? Independent of that, he’s also facing off against a stout Jets secondary. He’s an easy fade this week. 

TE Kings

Naith’s king: Dallas Goedert PHI (@ TB)

Sometimes fantasy is a simple game. Actually, perhaps more than sometimes. But, anyway. Where was I? Oh yeah. Goedert predictably thrived last week with the absence of Brown, however I don’t think we could have been expecting the two big plays and yardage explosion that he had. Smith going down during the game helped with that also. Given the defensive game plan wouldn’t have been to focus on Goedert, the Eagles wisely leaned on him. Fast forward to this week, it looks like Brown and Smith are likely to miss the game. This effectively would make Goedert the top option in the offence, which instinctively I don’t actually love, as the Bucs will probably make more of an effort to key in on him and take him away. It doesn’t help that this is also a poor matchup for Goedert in the first place. So, why have I chosen him as my King? Well, because usage in fantasy is “king”. He is going to get targets. How much he does with them is another matter. But it’s pretty dire out there in the wastelands of the tight end landscape, so I’ll take the guy that should be heavily involved in the game plan as a volume based play. 

Chris’s king: Mike Gesicki CIN (@ CAR)

Gesicki has been a shining beacon of light in what has otherwise been a dreary tight end abyss. Higgins return has crowded the receiving room somewhat, but we’re seeing a more pass heavy Bengals team this year (largely due to losing Mixon and a poor defence), so there’s plenty enough to go around. This weeks matchup is good for Gesicki too, as the Bengals should be able to put points on the board (and the resurgent Panthers may even make it a boat race).

TE Peasants

Naith’s peasant: Travis Kelce KC (@ LAC)

I can’t believe I’m calling Travis Kelce is a peasant. Such is life in 2024. But this is 2024, and Kelce is nearly 35 years old. Much like QB, when a tight end reaches the age drop off it’s not a steady descent, it’s a fall off a cliff (see late period Peyton Manning). Now I don’t think Kelce is washed, but I do think he is understandably winding down his NFL career. This coincides with a time where the Chiefs offence is seemingly quite diverse and really being lead now by Rashee Rice (when it comes to the skill positions anyway). I don’t think the Chiefs will really need to get out of second gear against the Chargers this week, so this makes me feel like Kelce will have another poor day. Darwin James being suspended is being a plus for him, but I’m sort of at the point that I need to see a good game from Kelce before I’d be willing to play him (same goes for Mark Andrews). 

Chris’s peasant: Dalton Kincaid BUF (@ BAL)

Kincaid has had a rather slow start to the season, though he did have a better week last week getting involved in the scoring party on the Jaguars. Chris’ opinion is that might be short lived however, as going to Baltimore is a much stiffer test. With a Josh Allen who is loving being able to spread the ball around, it’s quite possible he does just that. You might not have a better option than Kincaid, but if you do you should probably look to it

K Kings

Naith’s king: Greg Zuerlein NYJ (vs DEN)

So I mentioned Wilson is a peasant this week, but Zuerlein is a king for me here. I think the Denver defence is pretty good, but the Jets should fairly easily beat them. Based on that, I think Zuerlein will have a good few opportunities for some field goals. 

Chris’s king: Greg Zuerlein NYJ (vs DEN)

K Peasants

Naith’s peasant: Cameron Dicker LAC (vs KC)

I’m not sure how competitive the Chargers are going to be this week against the Chiefs, down potentially a couple defenders, O-lineman, and at best having a hobbled Herbert. Kicking field goals against the Chiefs is also not going to cut it if you want any hope of beating them. I would look somewhere else for a kicker this week. 

Chris’s peasant: Ka’imi Fairbairn HOU (vs JAC)

Chris’ logic is simple here. The Jags suck, the Texans are going to want to get things back on track after a fairly decisive loss to the Vikings last week, so they’re going to do so by foregoing field goals and scoring a bunch of TDs (leaving g Fairbairn with the mere scraps). He could very well be right, especially with confirmation that Nico is good to go. 

DEF Kings

Naith’s king: Kansas City Chiefs (@ LAC)

You can probably just read the peasant blurb for why I think the Chiefs D will be the king of the week, but long story short good defence facing undermanned offence in what should not be a competitive game. Fire them up 

Chris’s king: Kansas City Chiefs (@ LAC)

DEF Peasants

Naith’s peasant: Baltimore Ravens (vs. BUF)

The Ravens defence was one of the more lauded units coming into the season this year, but from a fantasy (and real life) perspective they’ve under performed. Maybe they get up for a big game against the Bills, but I wouldn’t count on it. The Bills offence can beat you in a variety of different ways, and so far this season we’ve seen a version of Josh Allen that actually takes care of the ball. You’ll need another defence this week if you were planning on starting the Ravens. 

Chris’s peasant: Miami Dolphins (vs TEN)

You might raise an eyebrow as to why the Dolphins are Chris’ peasant defence of the week, when they are being quite widely touted as one of the better streamers of the week. They are certainly an option - but they come with a hefty amount of risk. This offence has been terrible, and they are likely onto their third QB in as many weeks. That’s going to put this defence in bad situations. Moreover, the Dolphins haven’t been overly great on defence so far either. They did improve as the game went on against the Seahawks last week, but only after they’d let them build a nice lead. The Titans and Will Levis have been bleeding fantasy points to opposing defences so far, and they’re likely to give some points over in this one too, but it could be far less than you’re expecting (especially if the Titans can deploy a more conservative offence to limit Levis’ mistakes). 

Kings and Peasants team summaries 

Naith

QB: Sam Darnold K, Jared Goff P

RB: Brian Robinson K, Rhamondre Stevenson P

WR: George Pickens K, Garrett Wilson P

TE: Dallas Goedert K, Travis Kelce P

K: Greg zuerlein K, Cameron Dicker P

D: Kansas City Chiefs K, Baltimore Ravens P

Chris

QB: Kyler Murray & Justin Fields K, Anthony Richardson P

RB: Aaron Jones K, Rhamondre Stevenson P

WR: Brandon Aiyuk K, Courtland Sutton P

TE: Mike Gesicki K, Dalton Kincaid P

K: Greg Zuerlein K, Ka’imi Fairbairn P

D: Kansas City Chiefs K, Miami Dolphins P