Fantasy Football Landmines to Avoid for Week 4 - Bo Nix, Emeka Egbuka, Mark Andrews, more

October 3, 2026

Aidin looks at fantasy football landmines, busts, and avoids for Week 4 of 2026. Given these Week 4 fantasy situations, consider benching these players.

Week 4 is already off to a wild start; the Cleveland Browns are good again! It seems like ever since their winless 2017 season, the Browns have decided to become a serious football team once every three years. 2020, 2023, and after what we saw on Thursday Night Football, possibly 2026. Now, it's time for the main Sunday slate.

In this weekly series, I'll highlight five players who could disappoint due to several factors, such as their matchup, team situation, or whether their current run of form is unsustainable. Benching these star names will be tough, but you have to take risks to win. Last week was our best week by far, with four of our five players underperforming massively. Drake Maye, Chase Brown, Sam LaPorta, and Baker Mayfield all had poor fantasy performances, though Mayfield suffered an unfortunate injury near the end of the game. Terry McLaurin was the sole exception, helping lead the Commanders to a shocking victory with 19.7 PPR points. So far this season, nine out of our 15 "landmines" have failed to cross the 11.0 PPR-point threshold.

Without further ado, let's look at five fantasy football landmines you should bench ahead of Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season.

Bo Nix, QB, at San Francisco 49ers

"He just keeps finding ways to win." It's a sentence that sounds like huge praise to some, and a backhanded compliment to others. But it's the perfect way to describe Bo Nix, who has gone 15-2 in his last 17 regular-season games.

Bo Nix couldn't believe Jaylen Waddle caught this pass for the 2-pt conversion 😮@insidethenfl Week 3 Mic'd Up on X pic.twitter.com/FKtI3KnQVK

— NFL (@NFL) September 29, 2026

Nix's stats in this run don't jump out at you: 4,001 yards, 30 total touchdowns to 13 turnovers, 6.6 yards per attempt, and an 87.3 passer rating. But it's undeniable that he has the clutch gene and is great at digging his way out of a (sometimes self-inflicted) hole.

Nix had by far the best fantasy performance of his season last week, recording 25.1 PPR points, though his passing numbers (50% completion rate, 5.5 yards per attempt, 73.9 passer rating) left a lot to be desired.

Nix might have escaped with a dramatic late win against the Rams, who have struggled to find their footing due to injuries, but his chances of repeating that success against the most in-form team in the NFL are much lower.

Apart from their two losses to the Super Bowl LX champion Seahawks, the 49ers haven't lost a game starting from Week 11 of the 2025 season.

Their defense has allowed the third-fewest points, the sixth-fewest net passing yards (622), and just three passing touchdowns so far this season.

They also haven't lost at home outside of the NFC West since Week 3 of 2025, and haven't allowed 30+ points to an AFC opponent at home since Week 16 of 2023.

Emeka Egbuka, WR, vs. Green Bay Packers

After over half a decade of competitive football, which included a very sweet Super Bowl triumph at home, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers now find themselves in the midst of a lost season.

Bucs starting QB Jalon Daniels hits Emeka Egbuka over the middle while Baker Mayfield watches.
Bucs vs Packers Sunday.@tampafreepress @957WDAE pic.twitter.com/Audj4Sp1Er

— rock riley (@realrockriley) October 1, 2026

They face many questions surrounding their roster and coaching staff, especially head coach Todd Bowles.

Mayfield played very poorly after signing his three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Buccaneers, but perhaps an extended stay on the sidelines with his thumb injury may give him a mental reset and help him return to his previous level of play.

The Buccaneers didn't turn to a veteran to fill in for Mayfield, instead opting for former University of Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels.

Daniels went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft, but his nice showing at training camp and the preseason caused the Buccaneers to choose him as their QB2 over Jake Browning. Plenty of Bucs fans believe Daniels can provide a much-needed spark for the team.

But after seeing what happened to Max Brosmer last season (remember when NFL Network's Steve Mariucci told Kurt Warner that Brosmer would break his single-game passing record?), I'm just hoping for Daniels to have fewer than two turnovers.

Of course, starting a rookie UDFA quarterback on an already lifeless offense won't be good news for the team's weapons, especially Emeka Egbuka, who has struggled mightily during the Buccaneers' 12-game slump.

I hope I'm wrong, but I'll be stunned if Daniels and Egbuka have a good game against Green Bay.

Javonte Williams, RB, at Houston Texans

Javonte Williams proved all his doubters wrong with an outstanding 2025 season, which earned him a three-year, $24 million contract extension.

Javonte Williams with the first TD in Rio!@BALvsDAL on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PNQTgbelQn

— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Williams' quest for his first-ever Pro Bowl season got off to a shaky start, but Week 3 was his best performance of the season with 98 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Unfortunately, a failed fourth-down conversion in the second quarter might have cost his team the game, as it turned into a field-goal drive for the Ravens in a game the Cowboys eventually lost by three points.

Having played in 75.4% of his team's offensive snaps so far this season (per PFR), Williams is looking to bounce back as soon as possible to justify his contract and snap count.

However, the Texans are going to be a tough test. They might be 0-3, and their passing defense looks off the mark compared to last year, but they're still a great rushing defense that is committed to stopping the run.

They rank fifth in fewest rushing yards allowed, having successfully stopped the likes of James Cook III, Brown, and Jonathan Taylor. It'll surely be an uphill battle for Williams, and the Cowboys will likely find more success by relying on Dak Prescott and their passing attack.

DJ Moore, WR, vs. New England Patriots

DJ Moore's Bills debut was perfect, as he caught a touchdown and had 100 receiving yards in a close win. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury in his second game but decided to play through it in Week 3.

That is likely to remain the case heading into Week 4, but he'll face a much tougher passing defense this time. The Patriots' defense was finally "solved" by Trevor Lawrence's Jaguars, but they're still a formidable unit that has allowed the second-fewest net passing yards this season.

Apart from Jaxon Smith-Njigba, no wide receiver has had a 100-yard performance against the Patriots' defense since Egbuka in Week 10 of the 2025 season.

Unlike Lawrence's Jags, the Patriots are more than familiar with Josh Allen's Bills, and the half-injured Moore will have his work cut out for him.

Mark Andrews, TE, vs. Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are going through yet another difficult season. 2026 is surely going to get even more difficult for them when they visit franchise legend Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens.

Henry, who told ESPN's Jamison Hensley this week that the Titans "shipped him out", has the perfect opportunity to have an outstanding revenge game against his former team.

Tennessee's defense has allowed the second-most rushing attempts (86) and the eighth-most rushing yards (323) so far this season. Lamar Jackson will likely lean on Henry and his own scrambling ability to put their opponents to the sword, which will hurt Mark Andrews the most.

The Titans have allowed the second-fewest PPR points per game and by far the fewest receiving yards (48) to tight ends so far this season.

You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.

Week 4 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players -- Bo Nix, Emeka Egbuka, Javonte Williams, DJ Moore, and Mark Andrews. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 4.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.

Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare, with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.

Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.

Popular Week 4 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 4 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.

Popular Week 4 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 4 for Bo Nix, Emeka Egbuka, Javonte Williams, DJ Moore, and Mark Andrews: