Surprise Fantasy Football Breakouts and Booms of Week 4: Kyle Monangai, Carnell Tate, Dohnte Meyers, Kimani Vidal, Brenton Strange, More

October 5, 2026

Fantasy football outlooks for Kyle Monangai, Carnell Tate, Dohnte Meyers, Kimani Vidal, Brenton Strange, and Jameis Winston in Week 5. Potential waiver wire risers and top performers after Week 4.

After a week of research on the projected top studs in fantasy football, a wide receiver or tight end buried on the depth chart might lead the team in receiving. It's the frustrating reality of what we do here.

Now, the question in all formats -- redraft, dynasty, guillotine, and more -- is whether that output is legitimate. Does the underlying usage support it? Was it more of a fluke? Will it return to normal when another player is back from injury?

Here are five unexpected fantasy breakouts from Week 4 in the NFL. Let's play fact or fiction with these surprising names on the weekly leaderboard.

Jameis Winston, QB, New York Giants

Even on a rainy day at MetLife Stadium, Jameis Winston finally cleared the clouds over the Giants' offense. New York, at one point, had gone nine-plus offensive quarters with Winston under center without a touchdown.

But, a strong Arizona Cardinals run defense held the G-Men to just 87 rushing yards, and that means we got a vintage Jameis performance in every sense. The gunslinger went 18-for-29 with 250 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, but he also tossed 2 ugly interceptions.

That totaled 20.0 fantasy points in traditional scoring formats. Winston's style is well-known at this point, but I think he re-established the spot you want to use him as a streamer against squishy defenses that funnel teams toward the pass.

New York has three upcoming games against teams that sort of fit that bill: the Commanders, Saints, and Texans. Two of those three teams are top-eight squads in fantasy points per game (FPPG) allowed to quarterbacks, too.

I think Winston is a quality (but risky) start in superflex leagues and might rise to consideration in one-quarterback leagues if the team's trust in his arm grows.

Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears

Before the season, we expected an ambiguous split in an elite Bears rushing offense between D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. Swift had logged at 68% of the snaps in the last two weeks entering Sunday and had seemed to separate as the lead back.

Apparently, that status wasn't permanent. Swift fumbled in the third quarter of the team's Week 4 contest against the Jets, and Ben Johnson put him entirely on ice, enabling Monangai to total 30 (!) carries for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. That equaled 31.0 fantasy points.

Not many are running it better than Kyle Monangai today 😤

NYJvsCHI on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/aOzQXt1CM5

— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026

It's not like Swift was ineffective, taking 17 touches for 76 scrimmage yards, but it does add a layer of intrigue heading into a Week 5 against a struggling Packers defense that ranks 20th in expected points added (EPA) per rush allowed.

In general, Monangai has just been so efficient that you can justify starting him over many options outside the top 15 in rankings. He's sixth among RBs with at least 50 carries in yards after contact per attempt (3.75), according to Pro Football Focus.

Of note, it seems Monangai picked up a thumb injury late in Sunday's win, so we'll have to monitor his status all week before making a final decision in lineups about both him and Swift.

Kimani Vidal, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Kimani Vidal tumbled into this state I call "running back limbo", where we know, with the right opportunity, he can still produce and be a decent running back. Vidal posted double-digit fantasy points five times when Omarion Hampton was injured last year.

But, it sort of felt like that was going to be the case until Hampton and Keaton Mitchell, an oft-injured speed back who fit the De'Von Achane role well in Mike McDaniel's offense, may have suffered an injury.

Week 4 said, "forget that." Snap rates couldn't have been much more even between Hampton (35%), Mitchell (37%), and Vidal (35%) on Sunday, and the strangest part was that all managed to post at least 11.0 fantasy points in PPR formats against a tough Seattle defense.

I think the biggest takeaway here is that this backfield is unstable and unusable in fantasy now. Vidal and Hampton scored touchdowns to "rescue" their day, but Mitchell got a goal-line carry last week. There's not really a rhyme or rhythm to who gets which opportunities yet.

However, in deeper leagues, Vidal just got a little more interesting for a bench spot when we learned that if an injury did occur, he'd definitely be part of the remaining committee with better consolidation.

Carnell Tate, WR, Tennessee Titans

I don't know if Carnell Tate producing like a WR1 is a total shocker, but the timing was certainly unexpected. Tate is the WR11 in Week 4 before Monday Night Football after 9 grabs for 145 yards against the Ravens.

The breakout was very real. He had 12 targets, and no one else on the team had more than 5 (Wan'Dale Robinson). In Week 3, Robinson (11) slightly edged out Tate (9).

You could argue that, facing a 24-7 deficit at halftime, most of the production was accumulated in "garbage time", but the 0-4 Titans have trailed for nearly two straight games, and they're 27th in rushing yards per game, so aerial volume will be present.

Tennessee's three upcoming games are hosting Houston, visiting Indianapolis, and hosting Cleveland. Those are three teams that are stronger on an EPA per-play basis against the rush than the pass, and the Titans are likely an underdog in all three games.

At the moment, I think you can start Tate with moderate confidence in half-PPR or PPR leagues, but he's yet to score his first career touchdown as the overall scoring equity on this offense still isn't great.

Dohnte Meyers, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Today was a pivotal swing game in the Bengals' season. They had a chance to go to 3-1 and, potentially, secure a key tiebreaker against the Jaguars at home. Instead, they're 2-2 with a wide receiving corps in disarray.

Ja'Marr Chase left Sunday's game with a concussion and is -- at best -- a question mark for Week 5. Tee Higgins left Sunday's potential comeback early with an adductor issue. The unlikely hero? Dohnte Meyers, who secured 7 receptions for 82 yards.

Diving catch from former CFL player Dohnte Meyers

JAXvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/logcauBkv6

— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026

The undrafted rookie out of Delta State drew 9 targets, which slotted ahead of Mitchell Tinsley (7) and Mike Gesicki (5) in terms of players we know will be in the lineup next week. Chase Brown also saw 11 looks out of the backfield as a receiver.

I wouldn't go crazy spending FAAB at either Meyers or Tinsley, considering Chase and/or Higgins will continue to dominate opportunities when they return. Meyers is most interesting as a waiver claim in deeper dynasty formats, should either of the star wideouts suffer a more serious injury.

Cincinnati visits Miami, which ranks 32nd in EPA per pass attempt allowed, in Week 5. We'll definitely be able to stream him if Chase and Higgins are both sidelined.

Brenton Strange, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars

Outside of Brenton Strange dynasty managers, I'm not sure how many readers are excited about this one.

A messy, crowded Jaguars pass-catching group got even weirder in Week 4. Trevor Lawrence only attempted 23 passes, but 8 of them went toward Brenton Strange, who totaled 7 catches for 95 yards and 16.5 fantasy points.

No other Jaguar saw more than 4 targets, and Brian Thomas Jr. -- of course -- caught the team's lone receiving touchdown.

If I'm playing "fact or fiction" on these unexpected breakouts, this is the easiest "fiction" ruling on this board. It's possible we just saw Strange's best game of the season when Parker Washington entered Week 4 with a 30.3% target share.

In TEP leagues, he's likely already rostered and is now significantly more startable in good environments like today's. In most other formats, I'll want to see more before comfortably putting him into my lineup. He hadn't topped 3 catches or 35 yards in three prior games and still has just 2 total redzone targets on the season.

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