Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Week 4 Predictions

Start: RB Gio Bernard at Falcons

Sit: RB Corey Clement at Titans

The Falcons defense received more bad news as Atlanta has lost another member of the secondary with Ricardo Allen's torn Achilles. The Falcons cannot catch a break as their offense is clicking, but the defense has holes all over thanks to attrition. Gio Bernard is primed to have a great fantasy day against a banged-up Falcons defense.

As NFL Network's Kay Adams pointed out, pass-catching running backs have eaten the Falcons alive the past two weeks. Christian Mccaffrey had 14 receptions for the Panthers in Week 2, while Alvin Kamara had 15 receptions in last week's shootout. Bernard may not be able to duplicate the same production, but the Bengals running back is most effective in the passing game.

You will want to check Joe Mixon's status as Sunday approaches, but Mixon seems like a long-shot to play in Week 4 as of now. Even if Mixon plays, the Bengals are still likely to utilize Bernard in the passing game. The Bengals have been adamant about their belief in Bernard.

“He’s a warrior,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor told Cincinnati.com. “Gio was underrated as a runner. For whatever reason people talk about all of the things he can do, because he can do so many things, but if you go back and watch his inside runs from last year -- now some of it was when we spread people out -- but he was pretty effective inside runner.”

With Mixon out in Week 3, Bernard received the majority of the carries finishing with 12 rushes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Bernard also had five receptions for 25 yards. Look for an even better outing in Week 4 with a plus matchup in Atlanta.

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The Eagles Running Game Is a Mess Without Jay Ajayi

There are a lot of people that picked up Clement after Jay Ajayi suffered an injury. It seemed like a smart move, but the Eagles ended up splitting carries between Clement and Wendell Smallwood. Doug Pederson indicated Ajayi is scheduled to be back on the practice field this week, which means there is a good chance he'll be playing this weekend. Even if Ajayi sat out another week, none of the Eagles other backs are worth starting with the uncertainty of carries.

Clement rushed for 56 yards and averaged just 3.5 yards per carry. After the game, Pederson explained why he started Smallwood.

"Darren Sproles and Jay Ajayi weren't playing," Pederson told Philly.com. "No, Wendell has always impressed me. He's worked extremely hard. He's really improved his craft and put himself in a position to help us. … Got to have guys like that. Might be role players, but you know what, their role is pretty big in games like this, when your top two guys are down."

If you have Ajayi and he is active, you're putting him in your lineup. All the other Eagles running backs are heavy fades this week.

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