NFL Week 4 2017: Staff predictions and picks

There’s a new picks leader in the FanSided office, as Patrick Schmidt has given everyone a run for their money.

It appeared as though the picks standings were settling, but last week threw everyone for a loop. Well, almost everyone as Mark Carman woke up long enough to crawl out of the basement. In his place is so-called NFL “expert” Matt Verderame who isn’t writing the post this week because his head is hung with that much shame.

College Football expert Patrick Schmidt is showing that he can hit with the big leaguers, leading the pack with the best record. Self-proclaimed “fuddy duddy” Joel Wagler is quietly settled in second-place and could very well take over the lead this week with a solid outing.

Here’s how things stack up as we head into a critical Week 4:

Records

Patrick Schmidt: 33-14
Joel Wagler: 32-15
Cody Williams: 31-16
Jack Jorgensen: 31-16
Jake Walerius: 30-17
Phil Watson: 30-17
Kayla Knierim: 30-17
Michael Collins: 29-18
Mike Dyce: 28-19
Josh Hill: 27-20
Patrick Allen: 27-20
Mark Carman: 25-22
Matt Verderame: 24-23

It seems that last week scarred mostly everyone, as there aren’t as many picks across the board as there was in Week 3. There are still instances where the lemmings are following one another, including a near-clean sweep for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mark Carman was the only one who broke rank, but he was probably confused by technology and picked the wrong team. Let that sink in for a moment. Josh Hill picked the Rams to beat the Cowboys, probably because he’s so dedicated to a troll of his co-workers that he’ll go to that great of a length. Patrick Schmidt kept it straight (and boring), but then again he’s the picks leader so maybe everyone else should follow his lead.

Next: Rams and Jaguars are legit NFL Playoff teams

Check back next week to see how right or wrong our FanSided group of experts were.