Week 4 Power Rankings — The Worst League

Oct 2

Oct 2 Week 4 Power Rankings

The easy weeks are over—now the grind begins.

Four weeks in means we’re a little over a quarter of the way through the fantasy regular season, and now the bye weeks begin. Injuries are already piling up—CeeDee Lamb, Malik Nabers, Bucky Irving, Tyreek Hill, Lamar Jackson, Terry McLaurin, James Conner, Joe Burrow (and the whole Bengals offense by extension). With bye weeks starting in Week 5, depth is about to be tested like never before.

Geoff stands alone at 4-0, and history says undefeated teams at this stage make the playoffs 86% of the time. Everyone else sits between 3-1 and 1-3, so technically it’s still anyone’s game. But the TW% tells a different story, showing real separation between the league’s top and bottom tiers.

Like the pumpkins piling up in my living room, I finally carved out some time to get these Rankings out early—just in time for Thursday Night Football. So as you watch the 49ers take on the Rams, scroll through and see how your squad stacks up. Is it a perfectly carved jack-o’-lantern…or, like mine, just a heap of pumpkin guts?

The Power Rankings

We’re four weeks in, and after taking a couple weeks off from deep-dive analysis, now’s the perfect time to survey the competitive landscape and get a real lay of the land.

The Top Tier (Samantha, Geoff, Greco)

Three teams have separated themselves early: Samantha, Geoff, and Greco.

Samantha has been the most consistent. She’s the only team owner to finish in the top half of scoring every week, and she’s already claimed two weekly prizes. It’s early, but it really seems like she nailed her draft—Jonathan Taylor (RB3) at pick 20 looks like a steal, but the real strength is her WR trio of Justin Jefferson, Garrett Wilson, and Emeka Egbuka. They’re all top-15, combining for 52.1 ppg. In a year where so many elite WRs have underwhelmed (Chase, Brown, BTJ etc.), she’s killin’ it. Lamar Jackson’s health is a concern, but she’s got an early lead in the standings and can stream QBs until he returns.
Geoff, our reigning champ, is the league’s only undefeated team and current scoring leader at 135.2 ppg. He’s balanced across every position—QB, RB, WR, and TE are all above league average, the only team owner who can say that. CMC (RB1) looks like his old self again, and while losing James Conner hurts, Geoff’s already patched the hole with smart waiver adds (Quentin Johnston and more recently Woody Marks). With Rashee Rice waiting in the wings, a repeat title feels well within reach.
Greco leaned heavy on RBs early, and it’s paying off—her 46.8 ppg at the position is near the top of the league. But her real diamond in the rough was Rome Odunze, who despite being selected in the seventh round is currently WR3 behind only Puka Nacua and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Depth will be tested with injuries to Bucky Irving and possibly Chuba Hubbard, but this roster is playoff-caliber.

The Middle Pack (Jess, Erik, Alex, Gray, Chelsie, Kelly)

Six teams bunched together—separated by just four true wins and hovering around .500.

Jess has the league’s best RB room (47.9 ppg) thanks to Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and mid-round steals Javonte Williams and Quinshon Judkins. Stacked. The numbers don’t agree just yet, but you could make an argument she belongs in the top tier. Or will soon. And that’s despite the Tyreek Hill season-ending (career-ending?) injury.
Erik has the league’s top WR room (49.8 ppg), though it’s really just the Puka Nacua Show. Drafted dead last in the first round (idiots, all of you!), Puka currently leads all fantasy scorers—including Josh Allen. If Romeo Doubs (29.8 this week off waivers) can provide steady WR2 support, Erik’s 1-3 record could swing in a hurry with more boom weeks ahead.
Alex has been living in the Twilight Zone: two early wins while scoring under 112, followed by back-to-back 130+ point losses—both against the weekly prize winner. Brutal luck. The good news? Omarion Hampton is heating up, and George Pickens is thriving in CeeDee Lamb’s absence. This team is trending up.
Gray is 1-3 but dangerous. Truly, a tale of two Browns. Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR2) has been a fantasy hero, but A.J. Brown (WR46) looks like Charles Darnay on his way to the guillotine. (Don’t get that one? Read a book. A.J. Brown does.) With Courtland Sutton (WR12) steady and RBs Kenneth Walker and J.K. Dobbins providing a solid—if unspectacular—foundation, all Gray needs is A.J.’s return to form (or a Sydney Carton willing to step in) for the best of weeks instead of the worst of weeks.
Chelsie leads the league in TE scoring (16.3 ppg), thanks in part to last week’s bold two-TE lineup of Tucker Kraft and Hunter Henry. That strategy has only worked seven times in league history—and she made it eight. Outside of her Week 2 prize she’s struggled, nearly dropping another close one this week (more on that below). With CeeDee Lamb sidelined, she may have to keep zagging. George Kittle could return soon…but sadly, there’s still no option to start three TEs.
Kelly peaked Week 1 but has slid since, finishing in the bottom-half of the league in scoring three weeks running. Deebo Samuel and Keenan Allen (eighth- and 10th-round steals) are carrying her, but Tee Higgins, DJ Moore, and Marvin Harrison Jr. have all disappointed. A lucky win over Gray keeps her at .500, but the record feels a little shinier than the reality.

The Bottom Three (Josh, Brandon, Beth Ann)

Welcome to the basement—smells like desperation.

Josh hasn’t cracked 115 points all season and has finished in the top half of the league in scoring just once, yet he’s 2-2 thanks to some good luck. The root problem? Ja’Marr Chase, his No. 1 overall pick, has been hampered by Joe Burrow’s injury. Josh’s RBs (Kyren Williams, Breece Hall) are serviceable but still below league average as a duo. The James Conner injury looked like it might help, until Trey Benson got hurt too. And now…two TEs in the starting lineup? Desperate times. At this point, it’s Josh Allen or bust.
Brandon’s nosedive over the last two weeks has been dramatic—fourth in the Week 2 Power Rankings to 2-20 in true wins over the last two weeks, averaging under 100 ppg. His rookie-heavy draft has mostly flopped, and losing Malik Nabers for the season (torn ACL) was soul-crushing. Add in Chase Brown getting dragged down by Burrow’s injury, and you’re looking at two of the most significant fantasy injuries of the year landing on the same roster. I’ll keep swinging, but let’s be honest—I’m just grateful we don’t have a Poop Bowl punishment.
Finally, Beth Ann just suffered the smallest loss in league history: 0.02 points. That’s less than a yard—basically seven inches of football. As the Dolphins killed clock Monday night, she led by 0.28 points. Two De’Von Achane runs later of just three yards, and Chelsie had the slimmest win possible. We’re calling 0.02 points “the fantasy penny.” If there’s hope in the basement, it’s here: Xavier Worthy is back! And now she’s projected for the highest score in Week 5, which means it’s still way too early to count out Beth Ann.

As the leaves turn and the bye weeks pile up, this is where fantasy seasons are made or broken. Some of you are building contenders; some of you are trotting out hollow-eyed, crooked gourds. Either way, the next few weeks will separate the playoff teams from the porch décor.