2021 Fantasy Football Week 4 Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Running Backs

The 2021 NFL season has been hectic for running backs. However, there's great matchups within the chaos. Here are your Week 4 starts and sits at RB.

Heading into Week 4 of the 2021 NFL season, the running position has once again been one of the hardest to predict the top performers at. Mid-to-late round picks like Cordarrelle Patterson and Kareem Hunt have vaulted into the top 10 scoring backs on the year, seemingly out of nowhere, while several studs taken near the top have had rough starts, including Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jonathan Taylor.

*Additionally, here are ClutchPoints’ start ’em sit ’em recommendations at wide receiver, quarterback, and tight end*

That being said, there are now plenty of opportunities to explore solid matchup-based starting decisions now that we have a few weeks of film and statistics to go off of. Capitalizing on these is essential for fantasy success, so here are your start and sit running backs for Week 4 of the NFL season.

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Fantasy Football Week 4 Running Backs Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em

Start ‘Em

Chase Edmonds – Arizona Cardinals (at Rams)

While Edmonds has paled in ground production compared to fellow backfield mate James Conner, he's been able to amass 17 targets across 3 games, and has scored no less than 12.5 fantasy points (PPR) in each game thus far. Against a difficult Rams secondary and fearsome pass-rush, Kyler Murray will look to his dual-threat weapon out of the backfield early and often, leading to great production through the air for Edmonds.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire – Kansas City Chiefs (at Eagles)

“CEH” squares off against a Philadelphia Eagles defensive line that's daunting on paper, but was cut through by Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard like butter on Monday Night for 155 yards, with each back averaging at least 5.5 yards per carry. Now, the Chiefs O-line is not up to Dallas' caliber, but Edwards-Helaire was still able to find plenty of holes against another difficult front 7 in the Chargers. As the undisputed workhorse in KC, CEH will put up his second big game in a row.

Cordarrelle Patterson – Atlanta Falcons (vs Football Team)

Patterson has quietly been a top-10 fantasy running back this season, largely because he doesn't even really play running back. He hasn't received more than 7 carries in any game, but has racked up 140 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air the last two weeks. There's no reason to believe he won't remain an integral part of the Atlanta offense, and he'll be much-needed on Sunday against the fierce WFT front 7. Matt Ryan can't get the ball down the field like he once could, which will lead to plenty of checkdowns for Patterson.

Sit ‘Em

Miles Sanders – Philadelphia Eagles (vs Chiefs)

Sanders had a difficult game in Week 3 due to a negative game script against the Dallas Cowboys, and things don't look much better in Week 4 against the dynamic Chiefs offense. After inexplicably receiving only 2 carries last week, it's hard to trust Sanders when he's not given a decent matchup. He's a capable pass-catching back, but not to the extent that he can be trusted in a game where the Eagles could easily fall well behind early and be forced to air the ball out down the field. Sanders is startable, but look for a better option if possible.

Josh Jacobs – Las Vegas Raiders (at Chargers)

Jacobs has missed the last two weeks due to injury, but looks on track to make a return in Week 4. He'll be met by a Chargers defense that allowed 100 yards to Clyde Edwards-Helaire last week, but still remains talented. The bigger concern, however, is the Chargers offense. A dynamic squad led by Justin Herbert could easily run up the score and force the Raiders to play catchup, which would mean more passing situations, which would mean snaps for Kenyan Drake, not the ground-centric Jacobs. Combine that with the possibility that Jacobs' snaps could be limited in his return from injury, and this could easily become a dud game for the Las Vegas lead back.

Leonard Fournette – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at Patriots)

Fournette has had an uninspiring start to 2021, even in some games with decent running back scripts, like the Bucs' Week 1 win against the Cowboys and their Week 2 blowout of the Falcons. Tampa Bay simply doesn't rely on the running game to get their offense going, and that might figure to be the case once again against the New England Patriots. While the Buccaneers could get out to a big lead, keep in mind that Tom Brady is playing his former team and coach, and would love to put up some huge numbers against them. That should mean a bucketload of passing attempts deep down the field, and less love for Fournette (who, albeit, has amassed a decent target share in each game so far). Still, though, Fournette has yet to eclipse 12 points in any game, and there's little upside to be had this week.