Fantasy Football Week 4: Biggest Sleepers at Every Position
Last week, Miami Dolphins rookie running back De'Von Achane scored a whopping 51.3 points in point-per-reception fantasy football leagues. It's best to add a young tailback before he breaks out with a big performance, so that's one of our focuses for Week 4.
Aside from our hunt for the next breakout running back, we must help managers who lost Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams (torn ACL) for the season. Quarterback Justin Herbert leads the league in completion rate (74.4 percent), and he's third in passing yards (939). Two particular playmakers figure to emerge in Williams' absence, both of whom should be rostered in all fantasy leagues.
Our quarterback sleepers are on opposite ends of an NFL career spectrum—a rookie and a 15-year veteran who's won a Super Bowl. This week, they have something in common: top-five matchups.
Buckle up for another round of deep sleepers at every position. All selections are available in more than 50 percent of PPR leagues based on FantasyPros' consensus roster percentages.
QB Matthew Stafford at Indianapolis Colts (42 Percent Rostered)
Fantasy managers in your league will likely overlook Matthew Stafford if he's on the waiver wire, but he should be on your priority list this week.
Stafford will play at least one more game without star wide receiver Cooper Kupp (hamstring), who's on short-term injured reserve. But in Week 4, he gets a favorable matchup with an Indianapolis Colts defense that's allowed the fourth-most points to quarterbacks.
In Kupp's absence, Stafford has developed a rapport with young wideouts Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell. Both ranked within the top 15 leaguewide in receiving yards through Week 3.
Fantasy managers may be worried about Stafford's tendency to throw interceptions—he has four through three weeks—but Indianapolis has registered only one interception this season. In fact, no one on the Colts defense has more than one pass breakup.
This season, Stafford has thrown for at least 269 yards in all three games. With that volume, he only needs a few touchdowns against the Colts' shaky pass defense to deliver a decent fantasy return for managers with a void or unreliable starter at quarterback.
QB Bryce Young vs. Minnesota Vikings (11 Percent Rostered)
Fantasy managers must keep an eye on the Carolina Panthers' injury report leading into Sunday's game before they lock Bryce Young into a starting spot. If he plays, though, he could put together the best performance of his young career against the Minnesota Vikings.
Young (ankle) went through a full practice Wednesday, and head coach Frank Reich told reporters that he's on track to start Sunday.
Fantasy managers may have more confidence in Andy Dalton to post gaudy numbers against the Vikings' 25th-ranked pass defense after he threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks last week. However, Young began his career with tough matchups against the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, who rank fourth and eighth, respectively, in passing yards allowed.
Assuming Young plays this week, he'll face a defense that's allowed 7.1 net yards gained per pass attempt (tied for fifth-most) and seven touchdowns (tied for third-most). Minnesota has also generated the sixth-lowest pressure rate (16.8 percent), which means Young should have plenty of time in the pocket and may not have to move around too much on his ankle.
Young is in a good spot to play up to the expectations of a No. 1 overall pick as he faces a defense that allows the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. The rookie signal-caller also has a wideout in Adam Thielen who may have some extra motivation to rack up yards and reach paydirt against his former team.
RB Roschon Johnson vs. Denver Broncos (44 Percent Rostered)
Most fantasy managers will avoid the Chicago Bears' 27th-ranked scoring offense, which is a logical approach. But we can't pass up this matchup for their running backs.
Rookie third-rounder Roschon Johnson should've already been on your waiver-wire radar. Over the last two weeks, Johnson has served as the backup behind Khalil Herbert, while the Bears have listed D'Onta Foreman as a healthy scratch.
Johnson has played a higher percentage of the Bears' offensive snaps each. He's also hauled in 10 out of 11 targets for 56 yards, which should draw attention from managers in PPR leagues.
Johnson's receiving yards total isn't robust, but he has only two fewer touches than Herbert. Both Herbert and Johnson should be able to take advantage of a Denver Broncos defense that's allowed the most fantasy points to running backs this season.
Don't expect Herbert and Johnson to run up their fantasy scores on Denver's defense like Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane did last week. But the Bears should test the Broncos' defensive front with their two tailbacks.
RB Tyjae Spears vs. Cincinnati Bengals (20 Percent Rostered)
Don't wait until Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears breaks out to scoop him off the waiver wire. If you already missed out on De'Von Achane, avoid the same mistake with Spears, who has a good chance to break out sooner than later.
Last week, Titans star running back Derrick Henry popped up on the injury report with a toe issue and had a rest day. He's also averaging a career-low 3.2 yards per carry. Though he has a smaller sample size with only 15 rushing attempts, Spears is averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Already dealing with a toe injury and inefficient with his carries, Henry could see a reduction in his workload. The Titans likely planned to curtail his touch volume when they selected Spears in the third round of this year's draft. Now, they have a reason to do it for the sake of sparking the run game.
Spears has already played a higher percentage of snaps than Henry in two of the Titans' three games thus far. If he's on the field for more than 50 percent of the snaps this week, he could have his most productive outing. The Cincinnati Bengals are allowing the third-most rushing yards per game and the fifth-most yards per carry (5.1).
If the Titans don't fall behind by three scores like they did against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3, Spears could get a fair number of touches on the ground Sunday. He's lso been targeted 10 times in the short passing game.
WR Joshua Palmer vs. Las Vegas Raiders (45 Percent Rostered)
The Los Angeles Chargers' aerial attack took a hit with the loss of wideout Mike Williams (torn ACL), but they have depth at the position with rookie first-rounder Quentin Johnston and third-year pro Joshua Palmer.
Palmer looks like the better short-term bet over Johnston because of his established rapport with quarterback Justin Herbert.
Last year, Williams and fellow wideout Keenan Allen battled injuries. Meanwhile, Palmer posted solid receiving numbers, catching 72 passes for 769 yards and three touchdowns. He finished second on the team in both receptions and receiving yards.
With Williams on injured reserve, Palmer should see an immediate spike in targets. Last week, he hauled in four out of seven targets for 66 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Johnston only saw three targets.
In Week 4, Palmer gets a decent matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders, who allow the 12th-most fantasy points to wide receivers.
As a presumed starter with a quarterback who leads the league in completion rate, Palmer should have plenty of opportunities to rack up fantasy points against the Raiders on Sunday.
WR Darius Slayton vs. Seattle Seahawks (2 percent rostered)
The New York Giants may finally have a matchup on Monday night that allows them to open up the passing game. They'll face the Seattle Seahawks, who have allowed at least 316 net yards through the air in every game this season.
Through three weeks, the Seahawks have surrendered the second-most passing yards leaguewide and the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers.
Although Giants quarterback Daniel Jones hasn't thrown a touchdown in two out of three games, he's poised to have his best performance of the young season against the Seahawks' porous pass defense. That bodes well for Darius Slayton, who leads Big Blue's wideouts in both targets (17) and receiving yards (109).
While tight end Darren Waller will likely draw most of Jones' attention on passing downs, Slayton's familiarity with Jones could pay dividends in this matchup. Jones and Slayton are in their fifth year together since the Giants drafted them in 2019.
Rookie wideout Jalin Hyatt isn't a reliable playmaker yet, so look for Slayton to serve as the big-play threat against the Seahawks. He averaged a career-high 15.7 yards per reception last season and could shake loose for a long scoring strike.
TE Chigoziem Okonkwo vs. Cincinnati Bengals (35 Percent Rostered)
Last season, Chigoziem Okonkwo emerged as a viable pass-catching threat in the Tennessee Titans offense with 32 receptions for 450 yards and three touchdowns. However, he hasn't been able to build on a solid rookie campaign yet.
Through three weeks, the Titans have the league's 30th-ranked passing attack, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill has thrown only one touchdown pass.
However, Tannehill should have success when he targets Okonkwo against the Cincinnati Bengals, who are tied for fifth in fantasy points allowed to tight ends this season.
In two out of three of their games, the Bengals allowed a tight end to score a touchdown (Harrison Bryant and Mark Andrews). Last Monday, Tyler Higbee hauled in all five of his targets for 71 yards against Cincinnati. Bryant, Andrews and Higbee all finished ninth or better among tight ends in PPR scoring in the week they faced the Bengals.
Even if Okonkwo doesn't reach paydirt, he can rack up enough receptions and yards to register a double-digit point total.
TE Gerald Everett vs. Las Vegas Raiders (33 Percent Rostered)
While Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston battle to replace Mike Williams, they aren't the only Los Angeles Chargers pass-catchers who figure to see more work. Tight end Gerald Everett could get more involved in the passing game as well.
Palmer wasn't the only player who made the most out of more targets while Keenan Allen and Williams battled injuries last season. Everett logged career highs in receptions (58) and receiving yards (555), too.
Johnston will eventually make this weekly list of sleepers. But for now, managers should focus on Everett if they can't get Palmer.
Last week against the Minnesota Vikings, Everett hauled in all six of his targets for 30 yards. Averaging 10.3 yards per reception for his career, he isn't a big-play pass-catcher, but he has a plus matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, who allow the seventh-most fantasy points to tight ends.
In terms of fantasy relevance, fellow Chargers tight end Donald Parham Jr. is a touchdown-dependent flier with six catches for 33 yards and three scores in three games. Everett has a much higher floor with his involvement in the passing game outside the red zone.
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Fantasy points scored against statistics are provided by FantasyPros.
Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.