5 Daily Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit in Week 4

Throughout the week, we've all got tasks we need to complete. And it can be a bit stressful to run down the checklist.

Take out the garbage. Pay the electric bill. Ruminate over that dumb thing you said at dinner three weeks ago that nobody else remembers. Maybe fold the clothes that have been sitting in the laundry basket for the past decade and a half.

That last one can likely wait another week or two. But overall, there's a lot on our plates, and most of it just jacks up the anxiety levels a notch or two.

Daily fantasy football can be similar because most of us have money on the line each Sunday. And we deal with far too many obnoxious email gif threads at work to just let that hard-earned money slip away.

But at the end of the day, fantasy football is also supposed to be fun. And sometimes, it's okay to unwind from the week and just embrace the entertainment side of the game.

There are certain players who are just thrilling to watch on the football field. That fun gets a little bit of a boost when there's a couple bucks on the line to go with it. So why wouldn't we want to plug those fun players into our lineup and just enjoy ourselves on a Sunday afternoon?

This isn't to say that we should just go with our favorite players no matter what. We should still use advanced analytics like numberFire's Net Expected Points (NEP) to make sure it's an objectively good play. NEP shows us the expected points added -- or subtracted -- on each play to illustrate which teams and players operate in the most efficient manner. A three-yard completion on 3rd and 2 is wildly different than a three-yard completion on 3rd and 4, and NEP can help quantify those differences.

If a player is someone we enjoy watching, and they're in a decent matchup, it's okay to have some fun with it and just plug them in, even if they're going to be popular that week. Sure, game theory may tell us to pivot elsewhere, but there's value in enjoying yourself, as well.

You can bet your bottom that Week 4 has some fun plays on it, and it's possible they'll wind up being popular as a result. But let's just enjoy the ride. Here are some matchups we can try to exploit in Week 4 and have fun doing it.