The Sporting News fantasy team is back with our fantasy football sleepers for Week 4. Last week we gave names like Zach Charbonnet, Diontae Johnson, and Caleb Williams, all of whom went on to finish the week inside the top-10 at their position.
Week 4 presents a new set of circumstances, so it's time to reevaluate each player's outlook to find a group of fringe starters who you should consider getting into your lineup. Successfully identifying strong matchups and making lineup decisions based on these findings can be the difference between winning and losing your matchup in any given week.
If you don't have time to dive into the outlook for each game, don't worry, we've got you covered. We've taken a deep dive into each matchup of the Week 4 slate to pinpoint which situations and matchups we should attack in fantasy football. Three of our fantasy analysts have identified a player at each position who is in a position to thrive this week.
WEEK 4 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy QB Sleepers Week 4
Michael O'Hara: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions - Jared Goff is consistently on the cusp of being a weekly fantasy starter. The ability to start Goff is largely driven by the Lions' matchup each week. Detroit gets the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4, a game that should produce plenty of points, both on the scoreboard and in fantasy. Vegas currently sets the total for this game at a healthy 47.5 points, indicating that this could easily turn into a track meet. Geno Smith is executing Ryan Grubb's offense to a tee, and Detroit is always capable of scoring 30-plus points. Don't be shocked if this is a back-and-forth game with several big plays from Goff, Smith, and their talented receivers.
Ed Williams: Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers - Most fantasy managers were just hoping Justin Fields would get a chance at some point this season to show that he's a better option at QB than Russell Wilson. That chance came much sooner than anticipated as Fields has started the first three games of the season as Wilson deals with a calf injury. Fields went up against three good-to-very-good defenses in the Falcons, Broncos, and Chargers and looked better than he has at any other point in his career. While he hasn't been lighting up the box scores yet, he hasn't had to. With such a strong defense behind him, he's not having to play the Superman role he was often trying to fill in Chicago. Now, the Steelers get the Colts who just allowed rookie Caleb Williams to fill up the box score. At 3-0, this is likely now Fields' job to lose, and I don't think that's happening, especially not against the Colts.
Vinnie Iyer: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears - The real Williams started to stand up and get into a groove in Indianapolis, and he will come up to feast on the Rams' defense that has been destroyed downfield by the Lions, Cardinals, and 49ers in successive weeks. Williams is feeling it with his guys D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet, and the Rams don't have good coverage answers for any of them on a long road trip to Chicago. Williams stays hot with multiple scores again with chunk yardage.
Fantasy RB Sleepers Week 4
O'Hara: Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers - Don't look now, but the Andy Dalton-led Panthers are actually a legitimate NFL offense. Dalton was able to lead sustained drives throughout the game, which allowed weapons throughout the offense to get touches. Chuba Hubbard was one of those beneficiaries. He saw 26 opportunities in Week 3 which lifted him to 22.9 PPR points. Hubbard now gets a Cincinnati defense that ranks 26th in rushing yards allowed per game, 21st in stuff rate, and has given up four rushing TDs through three games. The Bengals' defense is vulnerable, and Hubbard has a chance for another big day in an Andy Dalton revenge game.
Williams: Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns - Once you get past the first 20 or so running backs, it gets very dicey, very quickly. Heading into the season, the outlook for Jerome Ford was that he's not very good, but he'll get a lot of volume while Nick Chubb is out - similar to the other two Sleepers here in Chuba Hubbard and Zack Moss. Ford didn't put up great numbers against the Giants last week, but they were playing from behind for most of the game. This week they get a Raiders team that was just embarrassed by the Panthers. This game should be pretty competitive, which should bode well for a heavy dose of Ford. Look for him to compile his way to FLEX value in Week 4.
Iyer: Zack Moss, Cincinnati Bengals - The Bengals desperately need a road win at the Panthers in Week 4 after their 0-3 start, and even with a sizzling Joe Burrow coming off a big Commanders game, the key will be helping the reeling defense vs. red-hot redheaded old friend Andy Dalton. Chase Brown got a lot of early run in Week 3 before Moss gathered the late TD. Moss can explode for a big day on Carolina's run defense.
WEEK 4 WAIVER WIRE ADVICE
Full Waiver List | Top Players to Target | How to spend FAAB
Fantasy WR Sleepers Week 4
O'Hara: Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears - Rome Odunze made the most of Keenan Allen's absence in Week 3, cracking 20 fantasy points for the first time in what should be an illustrious NFL career. Odunze is in a position to follow this up with another strong performance. For starters, Allen may be sidelined again in Week 4. Even if he's able to suit up, limited effectiveness and utilization are likely. More importantly, the Bears have a juicy matchup against the Rams. The Rams' defense has allowed the 3rd-most fantasy points to WRs this season and has been torched for 120-plus yards by an individual receiver in every game this year. Odunze is a very strong Flex option if Allen is unable to play
Williams: Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati Bengals - Tee Higgins finally made his season debut for the Bengals Monday night against the Commanders, so many fantasy managers were wondering what that would mean for Andrei Iosivas. Well, despite Higgins' return, Iosivas was still tied for the team lead in targets with 7. He converted those targets into five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. With Ja'Marr Chase also rounding into form, it's going to be very difficult for opposing defenses to roll too much coverage to any one receiver, so Iosivas should continue to see opportunities and should still be in FLEX consideration or potentially WR3 consideration once byes start hitting next week.
Iyer: Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals - He started to rev up playing off Marvin Harrison Jr. for Kyler Murray in Week 3 vs. the Lions, catching 8-of-9 targets for 64 yards and having a 30-yard catch called back for a penalty. Wilson may need to see an expanded target role vs. the leaky Commanders secondary in a high-scoring affair with Trey McBride battling a concussion.
Fantasy TE Sleepers Week 4
O'Hara: Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears - Cole Kmet spent the first two weeks of the year in a "tight end by committee" situation with Gerald Everett which led to 3.1 combined PPR points for Kmet. He was able to break free of this committee in Week 3, playing more than 80 percent of the snaps and drawing 11 targets. He will climb back into the consistent TE1 ranks with another week of strong usage and production.
Williams: Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers - It's hard to depend on many non-RBs in an Arthur Smith offense, but Freiermuth has seen at least four targets in every game so far, including five in Week 1. In fact, he's successfully hauled in every target except for one. Facing the softest defense they've seen so far this season in the Colts, and with how banged up the tight end position is right now, Freiermuth should be startable this week.
Iyer: Tyler Conklin, New York Jets - Conklin will look to build on catching 5-of-6 targets for 93 yards from Aaron Rodgers against the Patriots, while facing the Broncos' suspect tight end coverage in Week 4. Pat Freiermuth and Cade Otton had decent success, and Conklin can put together another solid outing with more trust from Rodgers.
Fantasy Defense Sleepers Week 4
O'Hara: Miami Dolphins - Will Levis has become the quarterback to pick on for those who are streaming defenses. Levis leads the NFL with eight turnovers and has failed the "eye test" miserably. Until something changes, targeting the Titans will be a very easy option. The Dolphins have the opportunity to put up some points against Levis this week.
Williams: Minnesota Vikings - There won't be very many times we'll feel comfortable rolling out a defense that's facing a Jordan Love-led Packers team, but something special seems to be brewing this season for the Vikings on both sides of the ball. While Brian Flores has been a controversial coach at times, there's no doubt he's one of the best defensive minds in the league, and it's showing with the product Minnesota is putting out on the field. This will be Love's first game back from an MCL sprain suffered in the season-opener, so there's a chance he'll be rusty and may not have 100% of his mobility. The Vikings also get the Jets in Week 5, which isn't an offense to shy away from if you're streaming defenses.
Iyer: Philadelphia Eagles - Vic Fangio's defense is starting to come together, and the Eagles will have a chance to get after it against Baker Mayfield on the road after cooling off and fooling Derek Carr in New Orleans in Week 3. The Eagles struggle with the run, but the Bucs don't run well, allowing the Eagles to set up more quickly to settling into their pass rush and pressure to create some takeaways.
