We’re only a quarter of the way through the 2026 NFL season, but there’s already one player who is starting to shine among his peers.
As we unveil our All-Star Team for Week 4, a star running back has made his way onto our weekly list for the third time this season. Can you take a guess at who it is? We’ll give you a hint: He was a prized offseason acquisition.
And as we have a potential mainstay on our weekly All-Star Team, we welcomed back a star quarterback who made the list on a pair of occasions last season. We also had a lot of huge performances at wide receiver this weekend, making it one of the tougher calls we’ve had to make so far this season.
Here are my Week 4 All-Stars.
Drake Maye had one touchdown against six interceptions in the first three weeks, but bounced back nicely in the New England Patriots’ crucial win over the Buffalo Bills. He threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner with less than two minutes left. Don’t discount his eight carries for 54 yards either. Three of the Patriots’ next four are against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jets and Dolphins, so New England has a chance to get themselves back into the thick of things.
Maye was an easy pick for the quarterback spot this week. The top four in passing yards all lost and had two touchdown passes or fewer. Some weeks, a performance like Maye’s is barely top five, but it’s the winner in Week 4.
Much tougher call here! Kenneth Walker was an easy pick for the lead running back spot, continuing his dominant start with 177 yards and two touchdowns as the Kansas City Chiefs held off the Las Vegas Raiders. He had two big runs in the fourth quarter, going for a 76-yard gain to help give the Chiefs the lead before rushing for a 22-yard touchdown that served as the game-deciding score. This marks the third time that Walker has made our weekly list.
Indianapolis Colts star Jonathan Taylor (95 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and Dallas Cowboys standout Javonte Williams (62 rushing yards, three touchdowns) had good weeks, but this came down to Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai (146 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and Los Angeles Rams running back Williams for the second spot. Williams rushed for 80 yards and two scores and caught another 10 passes for 67 yards, helping the Rams pick up a much-needed victory against the Eagles.
A day like Monangai’s is what allows a team to win with three different QBs in four weeks, but we’ll give the nod to Williams, whose two late touchdowns capped the Rams’ comeback win against the Eagles to get them to 2-2 after a rough start.
There were some monster games at wide receiver on Sunday. CeeDee Lamb was a no-brainer after 17 catches for 189 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ win over the Houston Texans. There have only been three performances in NFL history with more catches and more yards, doing so on “just” 21 targets. Lamb is on pace for 2,115 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches this season.
And just as we’re sweating who the second pick is here (Romeo Doubs’ two touchdowns for the Patriots? Tyquan Thornton’s for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ win over the Raiders?), Tetairoa McMillan blew them all out of the water with his performance on Sunday night. McMillan logged the second-most receiving yards in Carolina Panthers history, getting 192 on 14 catches and two scores in a win over the Detroit Lions.
We heard a lot from Raiders fans unhappy that Brock Bowers didn’t get this nod last week, and we’re snubbing him again. His 86 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs were compelling, but T.J. Hockenson slid at the 1-yard line, giving up a touchdown to help the Minnesota Vikings finish out a close win over the Miami Dolphins. Hockenson still had 13 catches for 119 yards, matching the second-most catches by a tight end in the last five years. This wasn’t the record-setting scoring week for tight ends that Week 3 was, but Hockenson was the best of the bunch.
OL: San Francisco 49ers
Some like the Denver Broncos’ front as the best offensive line in the league, but the 49ers’ line outplayed them as San Francisco improved to 4-0. The 49ers allowed zero sacks against the Broncos, giving them four straight games of zero sacks allowed to start the season. They did in 30 dropbacks for Brock Purdy, and a run game that got 140 yards on 35 carries.
The starting five (l-r) of Trent Williams, Connor Colby, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni and Colton McKivitz has a future Hall of Famer, yes, but Colby is a 2025 seventh-rounder and Brendel is making $4 million a year, so it’s a blue-collar line getting it done. Puni, a 2024 third-rounder, is going to get paid well very soon, and McKivitz just got his extension last year.
All the talk for the Rams has been Aaron Donald and the absence of Myles Garrett, but Young stepped up big with 2.5 sacks in their comeback win over the Eagles. Two of his sacks came in the final minutes to thwart a final Eagles rally.
Turner returned to form with two sacks in the Vikings’ defense-driven win over the Dolphins. His 5.5 sacks are a half shy of Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau for the NFL lead. Minnesota has leaned heavily on its defense in its 4-0 start, and Turner is leading that charge.
Dallas Turner logged two sacks in the Vikings’ win over the Dolphins, moving a half-sack shy of the league lead. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
I thought strongly about Seattle’s Ernest Jones, who had 12 tackles, a sack and an interception in the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
However, Reese was all over the Giants’ win, with an interception, a deflection on another interception, nine tackles and three passes defended. He’s a linebacker with edge-rusher explosiveness and with Brian Burns sidelined, Reese becomes an even more important part of New York’s defensive front, already establishing himself as a physical tackler in his first month in the league.
There were some crazy tackle totals this week as well, with Dolphins rookie Jacob Rodriguez getting 18 tackles in a loss.
It was tempting to give it to safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for ending the New York Jets’ interception drought that went back to 2024, but they lost. It was also not nearly as significant as Deonte Banks’ 98-yard interception return on the game’s final play as the Arizona Cardinals threatened to score the game-winning touchdown in the New York Giants’ win. Banks is a former first-rounder who hadn’t had an interception since his rookie year in 2023, but his play is a big reason why the Giants are 3-1 and alone atop the NFC East standings.
Dave Toub is a special-teams legend, and he got as much as possible out of punter Matt Araiza in a close win over the Raiders. Araiza converted a fourth-and-9 fake punt with a 12-yard run, but he also averaged a net 46.8 yards on the day, with all five of his punts inside the 20.
The chef’s kiss was a clutch punt, up three and with 1:26 left, and he came through with a 52-yarder that was downed at the 1-yard line. It took the Raiders eight snaps in a hurry-up to get out past their 20, where they’d have started with a touchback.
