5 Fantasy Football Sleepers for NFL Week 4

The word "sleeper" gets thrown around a lot in the world of fantasy football, to the point where an actual definition may vary from person to person. In general, in my eyes, sleepers are players who may be flying relatively under the radar in a particular week.

In any case, we all need to find a sleeper from time to time. Whether you're a season-long fantasy football manager looking to roster a potential breakout player before your league-mates, someone playing NFL DFS on FanDuel who needs a spike week from a low-salaried player, or even just a manager in a pinch due to byes or injuries, we have you covered.

Here are some fantasy sleepers who could have a big week this week.

We'll reference our NFL projections. All NFL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 4

Geno Smith, QB, Raiders

FanDuel Salary: $7,200

Regardless of how the Las Vegas Raiders' offense has looked to begin the season, Geno Smith continues to produce in fantasy football. Entering Week 4, Smith is the QB12 in fantasy, and he's supplied 18-plus points in two of his first three starts with the Raiders.

After finishing Week 3 as the QB4 with 26.1 fantasy points versus the Washington Commanders, Smith gets to take on the Chicago Bears in Week 4. Across the first three weeks, Chicago's defense is 29th in defensive passing success rate (52.0%), 30th in completion percentage over expected allowed (+7.8%), and 29th in pressure rate (25.0%), per Next Gen Stats.

Along with the Bears also ranking 24th in schedule-adjusted pass defense, our Riley Thomas mentioned Smith as one of his favorite quarterbacks to stream in Week 4.

Matthew Stafford, QB, Rams

FanDuel Salary: $7,000

Matthew Stafford isn't a popular choice in fantasy football due to his lack of rushing upside, but there are reasons to like him in Week 4 versus an undefeated Indianapolis Colts squad at home. Despite the Colts ranking 10th in schedule-adjusted pass defense, they've faced three teams (Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins) that are 18th or worse in schedule-adjusted pass offense, while the Los Angeles Rams are sitting at 12th.

On top of that, Indy's defense isn't generating much pressure, residing at 27th in pressure rate (28.3%). Although it's a small sample size to begin the year, Stafford is completing only 14 of his 31 attempts under pressure for 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions (compared to him going 49-for-64 with 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions when kept clean), via PFF.

From a DFS perspective, Stafford can be an ideal quarterback to use due to the Rams consolidating 68.8% of their target share to Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, so we shouldn't have an issue figuring out who to stack him with. Plus, Sunday's Colts-Rams clash holds a narrow spread and a total that is approaching 50-plus points, and cornerback Kenny Moore is expected to miss multiple weeks for Indianapolis.

Darnell Mooney, WR, Falcons

FanDuel Salary: $5,700

There isn't much positive momentum for the Atlanta Falcons' offense after producing a goose egg against the Carolina Panthers, so it's only up from here, right? While there are warranted concerns with Michael Penix Jr. as a long-term option at quarterback, Darnell Mooney could be classified as a sleeper in Week 4 due to his usage and role.

In just his second game of the season, Mooney was a full-time player in Week 3, logging an 89.4% snap rate, 82.2% route rate, 26.8% target share, and 43.8% air yards share. Even though Mooney concluded this past week's contest with only 4 catches for 44 yards on 11 targets, he suffered from a couple of drops, and those can be can cleaned up moving forward.

Being that Mooney does most of his damage down the field, it's worth noting that the Washington Commanders (the Falcons' opponent in Week 4) are 22nd in yards per route run (1.68) and 32nd in average depth of target allowed (14.0) to WRs.

Romeo Doubs, WR, Packers

FanDuel Salary: $6,000

On Sunday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers will be looking to bounce back following a disappointing loss to the Cleveland Browns. After Jordan Love was limited to 183 passing yards in Week 3, Love and Green Bay's passing attack should have more success in Week 4 versus a Dallas Cowboys defense that is 31st in schedule-adjusted pass defense.

The Cowboys are also 26th in average depth of target (25.7) and 32nd in yards per target downfield allowed (18.6), which is why Romeo Doubs is a viable option in fantasy football this week. While rookie Matthew Golden figures to be a go-to option down the field for the Packers at some point, Doubs leads the Packers' receivers in air yards share (27.1%) and average depth of target (16.1) entering Week 4.

Doubs is also pacing Green Bay's wideouts in snap rate (77.2%) and route rate (78.7%), so we know he's the one receiver on the roster who is going to see the field plenty in a favorable matchup against Dallas.

Harold Fannin Jr., TE, Browns

FanDuel Salary: $4,800

The Cleveland Browns' offense has sputtered to begin the new campaign, but there are going to be weeks where some of their pass catchers have notable performances due to them being in negative game scripts often. With the Detroit Lions sitting at ninth in pressure rate (38.2%) and coming off an impressive outing where they sacked Lamar Jackson seven times in Week 3, I expect Joe Flacco and the Browns to lean on getting the ball out quick on Sunday.

In the scenario where Cleveland does deploy a quick passing game versus Detroit, rookie Harold Fannin Jr. could see a decent amount of volume given his 4.9-yard average depth of target through the first three weeks. Even with Fannin sharing the field with David Njoku, the Browns operate in 12 personnel at the second-highest rate (43.5%), and he's earned a modest 65.5% snap rate and 58.4% route rate so far.

While Fannin's fantasy output has declined each week since he posted 10.1 points in Week 1, the Browns should be putting the ball in the air plenty as road 'dogs in Week 4.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.