Fantasy Football: 4 Sleepers for 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 field.

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: Week 4

Justin Fields, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

FanDuel Salary: $6,800

Justin Fields and the 3-0 Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the bigger surprises this season, and they have a chance to keep it rolling as -122 moneyline favorites against the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday.

Fields is the fifth-lowest salaried starting QB for Week 4's main slate, but his rushing upside and sneaky-good work in the passing game make him an intriguing sleeper play, especially against Indy's sour defense.

Fields ranks sixth in the league with a 73.3% completion percentage and owns PFF's fifth-best passing grade heading into Week 4. He's also been the league's fourth-best downfield passer (per PFF), which could come in handy against a 25th-ranked Colts pass defense, one that allowed Caleb Williams to explode for 363 passing yards and two touchdowns in Week 3.

The Steelers' QB tallied 19.4 FanDuel points last Sunday despite gaining an uncharacteristic six yards on the ground. He did run for one touchdown after posting 12 total rushing touchdowns across his last two seasons.

We know he's capable of going haywire on the ground after seeing him rush for 70-plus yards in 10 out of 28 games in his last two seasons with the Bears. His upside on the ground and his ability to potentially torch -- by Fields' standards -- Indy's pass defense this weekend is what makes him our fifth-best point-per-dollar value on Week 4's main slate.

Jahan Dotson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

FanDuel Salary: $5,800

So, Jahan Dotson kinda stinks. He's posted an ugly 0.17 yards per route run (YPRR) and has handled a measly 3.8% air yards share with the Philadelphia Eagles this season. He's caught just three of his five targets for 14 yards. You are well within your right to dodge the former first-round pick -- even at this $5,800 salary -- and skip ahead to our next sleeper pick.

But the Eagles are super banged up this week. A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion) have both not practiced as of Wednesday. Britain Covey, who saw six targets in Week 2 in Brown's absence, has been placed on the injured reserve. Tackle Lane Johnson (concussion) is also at risk of missing this Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There are a few ways we could approach the Eagles given these injuries. Perhaps we'd want to fade this offense as a whole, as it's not exactly encouraging to be without your top two wideouts and Johnson. We could look for Saquon Barkley and Dallas Goedert to eat up any and all volume this week, too. But Philly could be without three players who have combined for 47.8% of targets this season, and there are very few receiving options (Parris Campbell and Johnny Wilson) past Dotson.

For as bad as he's been so far in Philly, Dotson logged 11 touchdowns and 1,041 yards through 29 games with the Washington Commanders, so he hasn't been a total non-factor in his short NFL career. The Bucs' D could also be banged up this week with Antoine Winfield Jr. and Calijah Kancey on the injury report as DNPs through Wednesday.

Dotson is a stretch, but I'm fine mentioning him as someone whose role could call for a look.

Tutu Atwell, WR, Los Angeles Rams

FanDuel Salary: $5,800

Following injuries to Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, it seemed it was time for Demarcus Robinson to break out.

Back in Week 1, when Nacua and Kupp were still around, Robinson was allotted four targets for 42 yards while Tutu Atwell was held out. But Atwell has since seen nine targets for 141 yards across his last two games. He earned a 20.0% target share and an 86.2% route participation rate in Week 3.

This injury-aided usage is nothing new for Atwell. Last year, he saw 35 targets for 270 yards in the Los Angeles Rams' first four games of the season sans Kupp. He logged a minimum of eight targets in each game in this stretch and averaged 67.5 receiving yards per contest.

Atwell is averaging a monstrous -- albeit unsustainable -- 3.31 YPRR this season. Back in 2022, he averaged 1.72 YPRR. He's made good on his opportunities and should see volume so long as Nacua and Kupp are both out. It doesn't hurt that he's tied to Matthew Stafford.

Forgive my wishful thinking, but Atwell is someone who could legitimately be in for 70-plus yards this weekend, and a potentially banged-up Chicago Bears defense could pose less of a threat than we would normally expect.

Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders

FanDuel Salary: $5,100

It always bears repeating that the tight end position has been a total wasteland this season. George Kittle (hamstring) and Trey McBride (concussion) are both on the injury report this week, Travis Kelce's usage has been appallingly bad, and Dallas Goedert's $7,500 salary might be too high to justify.

Considering these circumstances, we may need to fade the top four tight ends (by salary) on Week 4's main slate. Where can we find value at the tight end position? Zach Ertz could be our answer.

I, too, wasn't expecting to be talking about Ertz in 2024, but he's had a pretty consistent role with the Washington Commanders. He's caught 12 of his 13 targets for a total of 128 yards through three games. He's seen a 17.3% target share, 24.4% air yards share, and 93.4% route participation rate.

Ertz will have a homecoming of sorts this weekend as the Commanders visit the Arizona Cardinals. Zona's defensive line ranks 26th (per PFF), and they struggle with the seventh-worst schedule-adjusted pass defense. Austin Ekeler (concussion) has been ruled out for this game. Ekeler has handled six red zone carries this season in addition to nine total targets.

When Washington isn't running the ball in the red zone, they could look for Ertz to score his first tuddy of the season. Our projections forecast Ertz to score 0.28 touchdowns this weekend, which is the fourth-most among TEs behind Kelce, Kyle Pitts, and Dalton Kincaid.

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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.