Week 4 Fantasy Football Sneaky Starts

Week 3 was a rough one for the Sneaky Starts Squad, as we only went 1 for 3 on our calls.

More Week 4 Fantasy Football Fun!: | Sneaky Starts | Fantasy Football Waiver Wire | Weekly Sleepers & Streamers | Starts & Sits | Skrip’s Week Winners | NFL DFS | NFL Player Props | IDP Analysis | Bold Predictions | Survivor Picks | NFL Injury Report | Dynasty Trade Targets | Weekly Rankings | Dynasty Risers and Fallers

We can exclude Jauan Jennings since he didn’t play. The team definitely could have used him, though, and when he’s back out there, he should still be a quality play.

Najee Harris will count as a loss, but only because he tore his Achilles tendon in the first half. The process was sound as he was looking great pre-injury, and he was already eating more into Omarion Hampton’s usage. It’s a tough break for the vet, but Hampton will be a major piece moving forward with Harris out for the year.

Romeo Doubs was a bust, just like the rest of the Packers. Green Bay is going to spread the ball around moving forward, and it will be risky to trust any of their pass catchers on a given week outside of Tucker Kraft at tight end. Just because it’s risky doesn’t mean it can’t be worth it, though… stay tuned.

That leaves Brenton Strange as our lone bright spot last week. He led the Jaguars in receptions and came in second on targets (behind Parker Washington?!?), resulting in 6 catches for 61 yards. He’s looked good, and his usage seems sticky. He’ll probably be a Top-12 tight end by the end of the season, but I don’t see him cracking the Top-5.

Sneaky Start Season Tally: 6-5

Now, let’s see if we can sneak ourselves back into the win column for Week 4.

Check out all of our Week 4 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings

Week 4 Sneaky Starts

Stefon Diggs, New England WR vs. Carolina Panthers

Diggs has gotten off to a slow start this year, as was expected given he’s still working back to full health after last season’s torn ACL. So far, he’s failed to crack 56% of offensive snaps, and it’s a little concerning that the team has not been steadily increasing that number. Considering he was a candidate to start the season on the PUP, though, we should look at that with optimism.

Diggs was brought in to lead the Patriots’ receiver room, and the team knew what they were getting into with his recovery timeline when they signed him. While he hasn’t played a ton yet, when he does get out there, he is typically quarterback Drake Maye’s first read.

He gets an extra soft secondary in the Panthers in Week 4 and gets to take them on at home. I think this week will mark his real ramp-up into full-time status. I don’t anticipate him going up to more than about 70% of snaps, but even that amount of usage should result in a pretty decent fantasy play in your flex. This won’t be his best game of the season, but I expect it to be the start of something good.

Matthew Golden, Green Bay WR @ Dallas Cowboys

Like I said earlier, sometimes you just have to be willing to take risks if you want to win big, and risk is the name of the game when it comes to Sneaky Starts.

Golden got more looks in Week 3, than he did in Weeks 1 & 2 combined. The team got him involved often, and he got 3 of his 4 catches right in the beginning of the game. He also got three rush attempts, showing how the coaches are looking for ways to get the rookie more involved.

Once the team moved away from Golden, things started to go off the rails against the Browns, and I expect them to take notice of that. Green Bay will be without Jayden Reed for the foreseeable future, and I expect Golden to be used more and more to fill in his shoes. Romeo Doubs is what he is and doesn’t provide much big-play upside. Golden is also a far more polished receiver than dudes like Dontayvion Wicks or Savion Williams, who will both see touches but in much more gadgety ways.

The Packers are going to want to see what Golden can do as more of a focal point sooner than later. Against a really bad Cowboys secondary, Week 4 could be Golden’s coming out party.

Nick Chubb, Houston RB vs. Tennessee Titans

The Fantasy Football world moves fast. Just two years removed from Nick Chubb being one of the best all-around running backs in the league, he now finds himself in a Sneaky Starts article.

While Chubb still isn’t back to what he once was (and likely never will be), he’s still going to have some relevant games this season. While Woody Marks is getting more and more buzz behind him, Chubb has still been handling the lion’s share of the carries for the Texans, and has looked decent enough that he’s not at risk of being phased out. He’s currently getting 4.1 yards per carry, which is exactly what Joe Mixon accomplished last year (and hasn’t topped since 2018). Chubb also has 5 receptions on the year, which puts him about on pace with his career average.

One of the biggest questions is whether Chubb still has some spark or if the rushing numbers are more to blame on the offensive line. Marks is putting up a similar 4.6 yards per carry over the last two games, but that’s only on 9 total touches, so do with that what you will.

Personally, I think Chubb showed good burst on his 25-yard touchdown in Week 2, and could still have more left in the tank than what we’ve seen so far. The Titans are a nice matchup in a must-win game for the Texans. I foresee him getting more work than he has all season and putting up decent enough numbers to be in your flex.

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay TE vs. Philadelphia Eagles

This pick is not just Sneaky, it’ll take nerves of steel. Otton is coming off a full-on zero targets for zero receptions and zero yards game. So why would I consider playing him? Because Otton’s role has always been, he’s there when they need him.

Last season, Otton had 7 games with at least 7 targets, 3 of which went into the double digits. His big games all occurred right after the Chris Godwin injury when the offense had to reset itself. The next few games of this season could play out similarly, as the Bucs are now going to be without Mike Evans for a while.

Otton is on the field for 90% of snaps, meaning he will be out there when Baker needs a reliable safety valve. Obviously, after the first three weeks, the fear is that he’s been deleted from the new offense in Tampa. I don’t think that’s exactly the case though; he just hasn’t been needed with the emergence of Emeka Egbuka. Now that the receiver room is banged up, Otton should become much more necessary.

The matchup with the Eagles is better than you would think for tight ends, and Otton is available in almost every league. If you’re really desperate at the position, he’s worth more of a dart throw than most other options out there.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 4 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!