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Dan's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 4 of 2025. He looks at potential warning signals from Jerry Jeudy, Travis Hunter, Trey Benson, Zach Ertz.
Hello, RotoBallers, and welcome to the Week 4 edition of my fantasy football Warning Signals column. Each week, I lean into the pessimism I’m feeling about the coming slate of games and give you a handful of players to consider benching and the reasons I’m out on them.
In Week 4, I’m staying away from Jerry Jeudy due in part to his discouraging usage. Also in the wide receiver department, I’m finding fault with Travis Hunter, whose pro career isn’t off to the start we were all hoping to see. James Conner’s devastating injury last weekend opened the door for Trey Benson to become Arizona’s new RB1, but I’m skeptical about his prospects on a short week. And lastly, I’m avoiding Zach Ertz, assuming the Commanders will be without Jayden Daniels (knee) for another week.
As always, the shade thrown in these articles isn’t necessarily indicative of my rest-of-season outlook for the players in question. As I prepare my own rosters for the week ahead, I can’t help but notice warning signals that make me shy away from them for a given week. Read on for what scared me off Hunter, Jeudy, Benson, and Ertz for Week 4 of the fantasy football season.
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Jerry Jeudy, WR, Cleveland Browns
The good news regarding Jerry Jeudy is that he leads the Browns in target share. The bad news is that his target share is 15.6%, making it the lowest team-leading share in the league. It is hard to get behind a team’s supposed WR1 when fewer than one in six passes are headed his way.
Through three games, Jeudy has seen 21 targets but has only 10 catches for 134 yards to show for it. Discouraging, given that Cleveland leads the league in pass rate and ranks third in pace of play. The lack of production could stem from Jeudy’s inability to get open. Per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Jeudy’s average cushion at the line of scrimmage of 4.9 yards is the eighteenth smallest among measured players. Furthermore, he is averaging two yards of separation when targeted, the thirteenth shortest distance.
In locker room interviews, both Jeudy and quarterback Joe Flacco echoed each other's statements to the media. Both indicated they want more out of the offense, both seemed to agree that patience will pay off, but neither was willing or able to expand on how change would come about. Jeudy projects as a borderline WR3/4 in Week 4, but I’m leaving him on the bench until Cleveland’s passing attack starts to show better results.
Browns QB Joe Flacco said he and WR Jerry Jeudy have to stay patient. pic.twitter.com/fjut5dCeTZ
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) September 24, 2025
Travis Hunter, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Hunter’s selection in the 2025 NFL Draft was a point of great excitement, not just for Jaguars fans but for football fans everywhere. For the first time in years, a legitimate two-way player was going to take the field, and his outstanding college resume offered optimism that he would succeed on both sides of the ball.
Jacksonville pulled back on employing Hunter both ways right out of the gate. In Week 1, he was involved in just six defensive plays. Fantasy football managers who rolled the dice on the rookie were encouraged by his 64% snap share on offense, translating to six receptions on eight targets (even if they amounted to just 33 yards), though.
However, in each of the two games since, he was far more involved on defense (62% and 68% of plays), while seeing gradually less time as a receiver (59% snap share in Week 2, followed by 53% in Week 3). His production has diminished in line with his presence on the field. In Week 2, he turned six targets into three receptions for 22 yards, and last week he saw just two targets, securing one catch for 21 yards.
Even though Dyami Brown (shoulder) could potentially be out for Week 4, Jaguars head coach Liam Cohen shut down the possibility of changing Hunter’s role on offense.
Liam Coen was asked if injuries at WR will mean a role change for Travis Hunter on offense
the answer is no
and that he will "probably" only play "F" and CB as a rookie, and not grow into the "Z or X or 12" this year.
That means Parker Washington will take Dyami Brown's snaps pic.twitter.com/v9bH8hApsi
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) September 24, 2025
It’s just as well, at least for this week. Hunter and the Jaguars will be up against a determined 49ers defense. San Francisco’s secondary was torched by Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Week 1 to the tune of 124 yards, but the unit held Chris Olave (54 yards) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (44 yards) in check in their games since. Hunter does not draw the same attention in his own offense (14.2% target share) and shouldn’t be expected to contribute much to fantasy teams in Week 4.
Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Conner (foot) suffered a brutal injury early in the third quarter of the Cardinals’ Week 3 matchup against the 49ers. Conner was carted off the field, and a day later, it was determined he would need season-ending surgery. Second-year back Benson took over the backfield for the rest of the game and now sits atop the depth chart.
So, wheels up for Benson in Week 4? Not quite. Benson will likely be splitting duties with Emari Demercado. Down the stretch against San Francisco, Benson was the lead, getting 21 snaps to Demercado’s seven, but the latter back had clear ownership of third-down situations.
Such a division shouldn’t preclude Benson’s rest-of-season outlook. After all, Conner finished as the overall RB11 in 2024 while ceding third-down work to Demercado. However, Benson doesn’t have an inviting matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle is allowing the fifth-lowest yards per carry (3.16) through Week 3 and has yet to allow a touchdown to a running back.
Benson’s game logs as a complementary piece to Conner are encouraging. It should be noted that they are bolstered heavily by two big runs. Subtract his 52-yard dash in Week 1 from that day, and he suddenly has seven carries for 17 yards. Similarly, last week, a 29-yard run was the difference between his final tally of 10 carries for 42 yards and the nine carries for 13 yards that might have been. Benson has an impressive 14.3% explosive run rate in his limited role so far, but I can’t help doubting we see that success against Seattle's adept run defense.
The Seahawks started 3-0 last year, but their run defense was showing cracks that would soon bust open.⁰
Through three games this year, they've allowed the seventh-fewest rush yards (90/game) and the third-lowest YPC average (3.2).⁰
Here was Leonard Williams' view of that: pic.twitter.com/MZHP74PyTz— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) September 23, 2025
Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders
Ertz started the season with a touchdown in both Week 1 and Week 2, and he finished those weeks as the TE13 and TE2, respectively. The scores seemed to affirm the rapport built with Daniels over 2024 that resulted in his most productive season since 2019. Unfortunately, a knee injury prevented Daniels from playing in Week 3. Ertz’s production suffered as a result, and he turned in a three-catch, 38-yard day.
With Marcus Mariota filling in, Washington’s passing attack regressed. It wasn’t so much that Mariota performed poorly as it was the offense inverting its plan and favoring the run. Mariota put up only 21 pass attempts, spread nearly evenly across seven different receivers. With the run-heavy approach, Ertz’s snap share plummeted to 27% to make way for the Commanders’ blocking tight ends.
Daniels was a limited participant in practice to open the week on Wednesday, but his return depends on the approval of team doctors. If Mariota is under center again on Sunday, I’m out on Ertz. Even if Daniels is added back, I would exercise caution. The Atlanta Falcons haven’t faced any serious threats at tight end so far, but they have held the position to just six catches and 48 yards.
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