Fantasy Report: Start Malik Washington, Sit Makai Lemon in Week 4

With DeVonta Smith and Caleb Douglas ruled out, a fantasy analysis weighs Miami's Malik Washington against Philadelphia's Makai Lemon for Week 4 lineups.

Wide receivers Makai Lemon of the Philadelphia Eagles and Malik Washington of the Miami Dolphins are in line for heavier workloads in Week 4, because each team will be without its top wideout. Eagles WR1 DeVonta Smith and Dolphins WR1 Caleb Douglas are both listed as out. A fantasy analysis distributed by Yahoo Sports and originally published on SI's On SI site compared the two pass catchers and recommended starting Washington while benching Lemon.

Lemon, a rookie, has not yet broken through in Philadelphia. His season totals stand at seven receptions for 38 yards. The most encouraging signs came in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears, when he took part in a season-best 70 percent of the offensive snaps and set a personal high with 29 receiving yards.

The Week 4 draw is unforgiving. Through three weeks of the 2026 season, the Los Angeles Rams have given up 171.3 passing yards per game, the fourth-lowest average in the NFL, and no wide receiver they have faced has topped 50 receiving yards in a game.

The report points to another Eagle, Dontayvion Wicks, as the receiver on the roster more apt to deliver a breakout. Wicks generated substantial buzz in training camp and has mostly justified it, surpassing 70 receiving yards in each of his first two regular-season appearances and finding the end zone in his first game. ESPN leagues show Wicks on 52.3 percent of rosters, nearly even with Lemon at 52.0 percent.

Washington's argument centers on the role he inherited in Week 3, when Douglas sat out against the Kansas City Chiefs. He led Miami with 10 targets, converting them into five catches for 56 yards.

Miami remains short-handed beyond Douglas for the trip to Minnesota, with star running back De'Von Achane also unavailable. The analysis casts Washington as the player best placed to pick up the offensive slack against the Vikings.

Minnesota has been far more generous through the air, permitting 231.0 passing yards per game, the 12th-highest figure in the league, and it has already surrendered a monster receiving day. Green Bay's Christian Watson burned the Vikings for six receptions, 147 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1, ranking as the WR2 in PPR scoring that week. The past two games tell a different story: the best PPR output by an opposing receiver since Week 1 was 11.2 points from Tampa Bay's Emeka Egbuka in Week 3.

The bottom line from the report is to bench Lemon and start Washington. Given how little Lemon has produced, the analysis views a notable fantasy performance as too much to assume even with Smith sidelined, especially against Los Angeles. Washington's 10-target workload without Douglas in Week 3 suggests a comparable share is coming, giving him a safer floor against a Minnesota secondary that has been leakier than the Rams' by a wide margin.

Philadelphia welcomes the Rams on Sunday, October 4 at 1:00 PM EDT at Lincoln Financial Field, airing on FOX. Miami travels to U.S. Bank Stadium to face the Vikings at 4:05 PM EDT, also on FOX.