Week 4 is here (we’re already almost a quarter of the way through the season, crazy), and I’m back to walk you through one of the biggest games you can play on Underdog Fantasy, the Battle Royale. The Battle Royale is a 6-person, 6-round fantasy draft. There are no bench spots, and you must start 1 QB, 1 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, and 1 Flex spot.
Your goal is to pick the best combination of six high-scoring players, with the weekly grand prize available of $50,000 to the ultimate drafter. If you’ve never played on Underdog before, try it out! Click this link and sign up for Underdog Fantasy. Play $5, get $100 in bonus funds to use on other games and drafts. If you want to join in the fun, read on to see my favorite plays to target in Week 4.
Be Aggressive This Week
This week in Battle Royales, running back is king in the early rounds. Seven of the top 12 players are running backs, including the first four by ADP. All seven running backs are good plays in my opinion, as each has a realistic path to being the player (or players) you need to win the big bucks this week.
However, to me, the interesting plays in the first two rounds are the quarterbacks and lone tight ends. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson have game-breaking fantasy potential any given week, and both game environments this week have interesting potential to be high-scoring affairs for the Ravens and Bills. If you are drafting any sort of volume of teams, I think you should definitely devote a portion of them to going elite quarterback.
You can also experiment with elite tight ends this week, as Brock Bowers is the only elite in this grouping of games. Bowers has been dealing with injury early in the year for sure, but Michael Mayer will most likely miss the game with a concussion, and Bowers still offers the level of upside that very few other players (let alone tight ends) offer.
Go Against the Grain
To me, an opportunity presents itself in Rounds 3 and 4 here in Week 4 on Underdog. According to ADP, there are now seven of the 12 players who are wide receivers in these rounds. And to be honest, I’m not a fan of most of them from a cost perspective. Nico Collins and Malik Nabers still have game-breaking ability, though both are in pretty putrid offenses so far this season. Outside of them, we are leaning heavily on players that have benefited from some touchdown luck so far in the early season, but haven’t necessarily earned the kind of target shares and workloads that provide the floor and ceiling combo we’re looking for.
However, there are still three more excellent running back plays in these rounds (Hampton, Bucky, and Kyren), as well as Jalen Hurts at quarterback, and Tyler Warren at tight end. While the ADP seems to push players to take wide receivers here, my personal approach will be to largely ignore these receivers still and focus on the high-end players available at the other three positions. It will be relatively unique compared to the field, and I don’t feel it will weaken me all that much at wide receiver.
Pick Your Spots
Who you like in Rounds 5 and 6 will largely depend on who you drafted up to this point, but there are some enticing options seemingly at every position. There are numerous quarterbacks in good game environments on paper, as well as a swath of tight ends with solid target shares the last few weeks.
While there are a couple of intriguing running backs down here, to me, there are far more interesting receivers to choose from, and they are my main targets in these last few rounds. There are several high-target, high-level players available (Drake London, Brian Thomas Jr., Chris Olave), along with a good mix of red zone targets and big play merchants to supplement your lineup the way you want to build it.
Who to Target
So who should you take? I’ll tell you who my targets are at each position, keeping in mind the idea of balancing good projectable volume with understanding how the field may build their lineups.
Quarterbacks – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Lamar Jackson | Jalen Hurts | Baker Mayfield
Running Backs – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Christian McCaffrey | Bucky Irving | Ashton Jeanty
Wide Receivers – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Puka Nacua | Malik Nabers | Jameson Williams
Tight Ends – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Brock Bowers | Tyler Warren | Cade Otton
Flex – Expensive | Mid-Range | Free
Davante Adams | Drake London | TreVeyon Henderson
