Fantasy GameDay Week 4: Ballers Captains, the Stars Lineup and the Three Minimum-Salary Traps

Published October 3, 2026 by Statz NFL.

Every Week 4 contest on Fantasy GameDay from their salary file: the captains for London, Lions-Panthers and Falcons-Saints, the Stars and Classic lineups for the Sunday slate, the cheap seats the projection rates, and the injured players the file still prices.

The week's contests, and three names to strike from the file

Fantasy GameDay's Week 4 file covers the fifteen games left after Thursday. The standalone games are Colts at Commanders in London at 2:30pm UK, Lions at Panthers on Sunday night and Falcons at Saints on Monday night, each a Ballers contest if listed as one: five players for £25,000, a non-quarterback captain at 1.5 times, four superflex seats. The Sunday slate is the Stars (£45,000, captain plus a full lineup) and the Classic (no captain, two flexes). Full PPR, four-point passing touchdowns.

The file prices every player on the roster, including some who will not play, and the projection does not know that. Three are at or near the minimum and would top any value table: De'Von Achane at £2,200 is on injured reserve; Jayden Daniels at £5,800 is out; Baker Mayfield, Jaxson Dart, Caleb Williams, Rachaad White, A.J. Brown and Mason Taylor are out too. Every lineup below has them removed. The projection used is the Statz rest-of-season rate; the weekly matchup number is on the optimiser page for members.

Ballers, London: Colts at Commanders

Jonathan Taylor is the captain at £7,600, 22 points a game on the season rate and 33 with the multiplier, against a Washington run defence ranked third, which is the one reason to hesitate and not enough of one in a pool with no other 20-point player. With Daniels out, Daniel Jones at £5,000 is the quarterback at 14 points, and Marcus Mariota at £5,200 has no season-rate projection yet. The optimiser's five is Taylor as captain, Jones, Tyler Warren (£4,000, 11.2), Terry McLaurin (£4,200, 10.8, questionable with a hamstring) and Josh Downs (£4,000, 11.7) for £24,800 and 80.8 projected. If McLaurin sits, Stefon Diggs at £4,000 is the straight swap.

The cheap seats are Keenan Allen at £3,200 (9.8 a game, 3.06 per £1,000, questionable with a groin) and Jacory Croskey-Merritt at £3,600, the lead back with White out. Inactives for a 2:30pm UK kick-off land around 1pm.

Jonathan Taylor, captain — RB, IND · £7,600 · 22.1 a game — at £7,600 — 33 with the multiplier. The only elite player in the pool. Game preview
London lineup — CPT Taylor · Jones · Warren · McLaurin · Downs — at £24,800 — Diggs for McLaurin if the hamstring rules him out. Game preview

Ballers, Sunday night: Lions at Panthers

Jahmyr Gibbs is the captain and the easiest call of the week: £8,800, 27.9 points a game on the season rate, 42 as captain, against a Carolina run defence allowing 193 yards a game, last in the league. The optimiser spends every pound: Gibbs as captain, Amon-Ra St. Brown (£7,800, 21.3), Sam LaPorta (£3,800, 11.9), Isaac TeSlaa (£2,400, 6.7) and Tommy Tremble at £2,200, for £25,000 and 86.7 projected. No quarterback, because Jared Goff at £7,200 and Bryce Young at £6,800 are both outscored per pound by the Lions' receivers.

If you want a Panther, Jalen Coker at £4,600 (12.7) is questionable with a quad and Chuba Hubbard at £6,000 (15.5) runs into the one unit Detroit have that is not last. The cheap seats are LaPorta at 3.14 per £1,000 and TeSlaa, the model's longshot scorer in the game.

Jahmyr Gibbs, captain — RB, DET · £8,800 · 27.9 a game — at £8,800 — 42 with the multiplier against the league's worst run defence. Game preview
Sunday night lineup — CPT Gibbs · St. Brown · LaPorta · TeSlaa · Tremble — at £25,000 — Four Lions and a minimum-salary tight end. The pool has one great team in it. Game preview

Ballers, Monday night: Falcons at Saints

Bijan Robinson at £8,200 is the captain, 24.5 a game and 37 with the multiplier, into a Saints run defence allowing 129 yards a game; the model fades his touchdown price but not his volume. Tyler Shough at £7,400 (18.8) is the quarterback if you want one; the optimiser does not, and takes Bijan as captain with Drake London (£6,200, 16.0), Juwan Johnson (£4,200, 9.4), Devaughn Vele (£3,600, 9.0) and Brian Robinson Jr. at £2,400 for £24,600 and 77.3 projected.

Chris Olave at £7,600 (15.2) is the expensive seat the optimiser leaves out, and the model's weekly number has him at 19, so a second entry with Olave in for London is defensible. Michael Penix Jr. at £5,000 projects 9.3 and is the fade; the model has him under his passing line at five stars.

Bijan Robinson, captain — RB, ATL · £8,200 · 24.5 a game — at £8,200 — 37 with the multiplier. Atlanta's whole offence, in a pool with no other back worth the seat. Game preview
Monday night lineup — CPT Bijan · London · Juwan Johnson · Vele · Brian Robinson Jr. — at £24,600 — Olave for London is the second-entry swap. Game preview

Sunday: the Stars and Classic lineups

With Achane struck from the file, the optimiser's Stars lineup spends the full £45,000 for 169.6 projected: James Cook as captain (£7,200, 25.1 a game, 37.7 with the multiplier), Malik Willis at quarterback (£4,600, 16.2), Bucky Irving (£5,400, 19.8, questionable with a glute) and Kenneth Walker III (£8,000, 25.0) at running back, Tee Higgins (£6,400, 18.4) and Kalif Raymond (£2,800, 14.5) at receiver, Bhayshul Tuten at flex (£5,000, 18.4) and Trey McBride at tight end (£5,600, 19.5). The Classic is the same eight without the captain for 157.1.

The shape is three cheap seats paying for three elite backs and the top tight end: Willis at £4,600, Raymond at £2,800 and Tuten at £5,000 are 3.5 to 5.2 points per £1,000, and they fund Cook, Walker and McBride. If Irving is ruled out on Saturday, Chase Brown at £5,800 (20.7) is the replacement and the lineup still fits. The value under £3,000 on the slate: Raymond (5.18 per £1,000, the best on the site for a second week), T.J. Hockenson at £2,400, Xavier Worthy at £3,000, Cade Otton at £2,800 and Brian Thomas Jr. at £2,800.

James Cook III, captain — RB, BUF · £7,200 · 25.1 a game — at £7,200 — 37.7 with the multiplier, and a 60% scorer. Josh Allen is questionable; Cook's workload rises if Allen is limited. Game preview
Stars lineup — CPT Cook · Willis · Irving · Walker · Higgins · Raymond · FLEX Tuten · McBride — at £45,000 — Chase Brown for Irving if the glute rules him out. Game preview
Classic lineup — Willis · Cook · Walker · Higgins · Raymond · FLEX Irving · FLEX Tuten · McBride — at £45,000 — The same eight, no captain. Game preview
Kalif Raymond — WR, CHI · £2,800 · 14.5 a game — at £2,800 — 5.18 per £1,000. In every Sunday lineup for the second week running. Game preview

The verdict

Taylor, Gibbs and Bijan are the three Ballers captains and none of them is close. On Sunday, captain Cook and let Willis, Raymond and Tuten pay for the stars. Strike Achane, Daniels and the other outs from the file before you look at any value column, and check Irving, Allen, McLaurin and Keenan Allen on Saturday. Inactives drop 90 minutes before each kick-off.

Put it to work

Fantasy GameDay Optimiser Every contest's board: their salaries against the weekly projection, and the cap-legal lineup.
Injuries Eight players in this week's file are out; four captains' teammates are questionable.
How to play Fantasy GameDay Ballers, Stars and Classic explained, with the promo code.