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Sneaky Week 4 Starts: Derek Carr, Karlos Williams & More

Week Four! It's almost time to finalize those lineups...

This may be your last chance to find those sneakier players for your Week 4 lineups - players who have great matchups - as you try to surprise your opponents. Hopefully they are still blindly starting their highest drafted players.

Here’s a look at five under-the-radar fantasy options, one at each position. These are my picks to be potential Sunday studs, and you should consider starting them in your lineups for Week 4 of the fantasy football season.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Sneaky Week 4 Fantasy Football Lineup Starts

QB - Derek Carr, OAK

Derek Carr comes into Week Four having put up excellent performances in back-to-back games, both coming against tough defenses. He’s racked up 665 yards, five TDs and only one INT the last two weeks against the Ravens and the Browns. He’s been so good that despite his tough Week One outing against the Bengals he ranks top eight in both traditional quarterback rating and QBR.

And who does Carr draw this week? The owners of one of the league's worst pass defenses - the Chicago Bears. The Bears have given up an eight to one TD-to-INT ratio in three games. The Bears are bottom five in the NFL, allowing opposing QBs to complete 71.4% of their passes and throw 12 passes of 20+ yards against them. Expect the Carr-to-Cooper connection to continue to thrive. 

 

RB - Karlos Williams, BUF

After May's draft, NFL pundits were sneering at the Bills for picking up Williams in the fifth round, but he’s been something of a revelation so far this season. LeSean McCoy may be the starter, but Williams has been the leading rusher on the NFL's best running attack. His numbers are impressive: 186 yards, three runs of 20 or more yards (three more than McCoy) and a touchdown in each of his first three games. And all of that production came on only 24 carries. 

With McCoy sidelined, Williams will be getting the bulk of the work against a Giants team that has come up pretty small against opposing fantasy running backs. Currently a bottom ten fantasy defense in that department, the Giants have surrendered no less 18 points per game to opposing RBs. That's the recipe for a breakout performance for Williams. 


WR - Marvin Jones, CIN

If it wasn’t for the Patriots steamrolling opposing defenses we’d be talking a lot more about how good the Bengals offense has been this season. They’ve been dynamic down the field with 16 passes of 20+ yards on the season. Only the Cardinals have more through three games. Jones is a huge part of that production, averaging nearly 18 yards reception to go with two TDs.

With the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town AJ Green will be an obvious start, but expect Jones to be productive as well. The Chiefs defense has given up the most fantasy points to wide receivers this year. On average they’ve surrendered 250 yards and 3 TDs per game to opposing wideouts. There will be plenty of fantasy points to go around to give Jones a flex start.

 

TE - Coby Fleener, IND

The Colts offense has been roundly disappointing this season, and their tight ends have been no exception. Fleener and Dwayne Allen have combined to grab just eight catches for 73 yards and a TD through three weeks. Things brightened up last week for Fleener however. He saw a season high six targets converting four of them into 51 receiving yards.

The Colts will be facing a bottom ten Jaguars pass defense. The Jags have been especially generous to tight ends allowing 13 catches, 226 yards and a TD in three games. With Allen still on the mend, Fleener is a good option as a spot start.

 

D/ST - Oakland Raiders

The Raiders twice in one article!? Yes! After struggling Weeks One and Two, the Raiders D finally found some mojo last week. They sacked department store mannequin Josh McCown five times and held the Cleveland offense to just 20 points.

The Bears defense has had its issues, but they’ve been nothing compared to the offense. Through three games they’re bottom five in yards per game, yards per play, first downs per game; just about every offensive category. They’ve also surrendered six sacks, three INTs and three TDs to opposing defenses. And now they’ll be rolling with Jimmy Clausen, who has 11 INTs and 10 fumbles in 19 career games. There will be opportunities for Khalil Mack to roam. 

 

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