Upgrades For Week 4 Quarterback Rankings: Tyler Shough, Kyler Murray Highlight Freedman's Favorites

Let's get into the Week 4 QB edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of …

Favorable betting factors and situational spots
Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)

For process notes regarding this series, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my Week 4 favorites and fades.

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Week 4 Quarterback Rankings

Rank	Player
1	Josh Allen
2	Lamar Jackson
3	Patrick Mahomes
4	Trevor Lawrence
5	Jalen Hurts
6	Jared Goff
7	Joe Burrow
8	Brock Purdy
9	Tyler Shough
10	Dak Prescott
11	Bryce Young
12	Kyler Murray
13	Matthew Stafford
14	Jordan Love
15	Drake Maye
16	Bo Nix
17	C.J. Stroud
18	Geno Smith
19	Daniel Jones
20	Marcus Mariota

Week 4 Matchup Upgrades: Kyler Murray vs. Dolphins & Daniel Jones vs. Commanders

There are a few "flow chart" defenses so bad that they provide automatic upgrades to whatever QBs they face. If a guy is playing one of them, I aggressively move him up my ranks. If not, I carry on.

Based on the numbers I see in our Fantasy Life DvP (Defense vs. Position) Matrix as well as RBs Don't Matter and FTN, the Dolphins and Commanders are two of the biggest flow chart defenses for QBs.

Dolphins: No. 32 in defensive dropback EPA (.0464) and pass DVOA (61.0%)
Commanders: No. 1 in largest fantasy boost allowed to QBs (+10.3)

Bang a gong.

Kyler Murray (Vikings) vs. Dolphins: Murray hasn't gotten off to an auspicious start this season. In Week 1, he exited after just 11 plays with a concussion. In Week 2, he sat on the sideline. In Week 3, he had only a modest performance (11.4 fantasy points, 168 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT, 51.7% completion rate, 4.9 AY/A with 2-17-0 rushing). But in all fairness, he was on the road playing against a Buccaneers defense that's historically tough. This week, he's indoors in Minnesota, where the Vikings had the No. 5 home-field advantage last year (+9.51, per NFElo). Additionally, the Vikings have a fully maximized home edge against the Dolphins, who are out of division/conference, on turf (vs. grass) and indoors (vs. outdoors). Finally, for his career, Murray has been strong against non-divisional opponents (36-22 ATS, 21.0% ROI, per Action Network). I wish No. 1 WR Justin Jefferson (ankle) weren't dealing with an injury … but it's the Dolphins. This could be the best game Murray has all year.

Daniel Jones (Colts) vs. Commanders (in London): I haven't been especially impressed with what I've seen from Jones this year (611 yards passing, 3 TDs, 3 INTs). He has done almost nothing with legs (7-19-0 rushing, perhaps because of last year's season-ending Achilles injury), and his passing efficiency (5.5 AY/A) has steeply regressed from his career-best peak of 2025 (8.1) to his modest mark of 2023-24 (5.2). This is who Jones is. Even so … he's probably good enough to exploit a soft matchup, and that's what he has against the Commanders, who are without EDGE Deatrich Wise (quadriceps, PUP), DT Jer'Zhan Newton (pectoral, IR), and CB Trey Amos (ankle, IR), and could additionally be without LBs Frankie Luvu (groin) and Leo Chenal (neck) and S/CB Nick Cross (illness).

Week 4 Scoring Upgrades: Lamar Jackson vs. Titans & Jared Goff at Panthers

Sometimes upgrades are as simple as: "This team is going to score a lot of points, so I need to bump up the QB."

This week, the Ravens are tied for No. 1 in implied team total (27.5 points); the Lions, No. 3 (27.0).

Upgrades warranted.

Lamar Jackson (Ravens) vs. Titans: In two games this year with No.1 WR Zay Flowers (minus Week 2), the Ravens have scored 41 and 34 points, and Jackson has scored 25.0 and 20.4 fantasy points. I don't see why we shouldn't get more of the same this week against the Titans, who yield an amplified home-field advantage to the Ravens because they're out of division and on grass (vs. turf). Not everything is perfect: LT Ronnie Stanley (toe) is injured, and the Ravens could be weary from the road (4,808 travel miles this week, 10,653 over the past month). Plus, the Titans are No. 1 in fewest fantasy points allowed to QBs (9.5). At the same time, that's what you get when you play Geno Smith (9.3) and Jameis Winston (6.1) in Weeks 1 and 3. Given that the Titans are also No. 27 in defensive pass DVOA (27.6%), I'm not about to trick myself into thinking this is actually a bad matchup. The Ravens have a slate-best -11.5 spread, and they're at home against the 0-3 Titans: For the season, I have a bet that the Ravens will miss the playoffs, but I can't imagine Jackson not going off against the Titans this week.

Jared Goff (Lions) at Panthers: Goff has been the best version of himself this season (802 yards passing, 8 TDs, 0 INTs, 8.8 AY/A with 9-15-0 rushing), and now he faces the Panthers, who are No. 2 in largest fantasy boost allowed to QBs (+7.8). Technically speaking, I don't even know what "druthers" are, but if I had them, I'd prefer to go with Goff only when he's indoors, but it's impossible to be too down on Goff given that the Panthers could be without three back-seven starters in LB Devin Lloyd (calf), CB Mike Jackson (groin) and SS Nick Scott. Goff tends to dominate in Weeks 1-4 (24-14-1 ATS, 21.8%).

Week 4 Indoors Upgrades: Tyler Shough vs. Falcons & C.J. Stroud vs. Cowboys

In general, I want to be heavy on QBs playing indoors, where they don't need to worry about wind, temperature or precipitation. Here are two such QBs who stand out.

Tyler Shough (Saints) vs. Falcons: One of my 2026 fantasy favorites, Shough balled out last year after the Week 11 bye as a second-round rookie (256.9 yards passing, 25.0 yards rushing per game), and he has looked even better to open the season (917 yards passing, 8 TDs, 3 INTs, 7.1 AY/A with 14-67-1 rushing). Especially encouraging has been Shough's role as a runner (No. 5 with a 9% designed rush share, No. 1 with a 67% goal-line rush share, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report). The Saints will miss LT Kelvin Banks (ankle, IR) … but I'm not too worried given that the Falcons are without EDGEs Jalon Walker (knee, IR) and James Pearce (suspension) on the DL as well as No. 1 CB A.J. Terrell (groin, IR) in the secondary. Playing his second home game in a row indoors and ranking as the No. 3 QB in fantasy (24.1 points per game), Shough should continue to foughck.

C.J. Stroud (Texans) vs. Cowboys: I can't guarantee that No. 1 WR Nico Collins (hamstring) will return for this game. And I can't guarantee that Stroud will ever regain his 2023 OROY form (8.7 AY/A vs. 7.0 since then). But I do know that Stroud is indoors and playing his third home game in four weeks. I know the Cowboys have traveled extensively to start the year (13,025 miles, more than any other team except the Australia-laden 49ers and Rams). I know the Cowboys are extremely injured in the back seven: LB DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring), CB Decobie Durant (hamstring), SS Jalen Thompson (hamstring), FS Malik Hooker (forearm) and No. 3 S P.J. Locke (foot, IR) could all be out. And I can guarantee you that the Cowboys suck: They rank No. 32 in defensive dropback SR (58.9%). That's good enough for me.

Week 4 Defensive Injury Upgrades: Bryce Young vs. Lions & Jacoby Brissett at Giants

Here are a couple QBs who get upgrades because of defensive injuries.

Bryce Young (Panthers) vs. Lions: Last week Young had his worst performance of the season (14.6 points, 291 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT, 54.2% completion rate, 5.5 AY/A), which honestly is a vast improvement on the bad performances he used to have. I still think much of what we've seen out of Young this year is circumstantial … but he has gotten progressively better throughout his career, and to this point he has played like one of the league's best QBs (No. 4 with 23.7 fantasy points per game, 939 yards passing, 7 TDs, 2 INTs, 8.2 AY/A with 3-16-1 rushing). Even though I believe those numbers are inflated, and I wish WR Jalen Coker (quadriceps) weren't dealing with an injury, I now feel comfortable enough to expect Young to exploit a good matchup … and this one is great: The Lions are No. 1 in most fantasy points allowed to QBs (33.5), and they're missing SS Brian Branch (Achilles, PUP), FS Kerby Joseph (knee, PUP), No. 3 S Avonte Maddox (foot, IR), and No. 4 S Thomas Harper (ankle, IR). I'm fine with starting Young in Guillotine Leagues^TM this week.

Jacoby Brissett (Cardinals) at Giants: Brissett hasn't been prolific this season, but he has been functionally productive (16.5 fantasy points per game, 652 yards passing, 4 TDs, 1 INT with 11-25-1 rushing), and last week on the road against a challenging 49ers defense he was legitimately good (25.6 points, 280 yards passing, 2 TDs, 0 INTs with 4-4-1 rushing). The Giants defense is injured: EDGE Brian Burns (knee) exited last week with injury, CB Deonte Banks (calf) and SS Tyler Nubin (calf) missed last week, and CB Paulson Adebo (knee, IR) is out. And Brissett has done well in the past against Giants HC John Harbaugh (3-0 ATS, 92.9% ROI). That sample is small … but (to borrow from Robb Stark) three victories are better than three defeats.

Notes

Week 4 Favorites & Fades: Here's the full series.

Introduction
QB Favorites
QB Fades
RB Favorites
RB Fades
WR Favorites
WR Fades
TE Favorites
TE Fades

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Monday and Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings schedule.