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Sneaky Week 4 Fantasy Football Starts: Daniel Jones, Miles Sanders, More
The bye weeks begin in Week 4 as the Jets and 49ers are off. For some players, it means getting more creative and digging into the bench deeper. Here are some sneaky starts.
Quarterbacks
Jacoby Brissett, Indianapolis Colts
Brissett has played well and provided a high floor each week. He's coming off his best game of the season, passing for 310 yards with two touchdowns against the Falcons. Brissett could be without T.Y. Hilton, who is dealing with a quad injury, but a favorable home matchup against the Raiders is a good spot. He has passed for 646 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception and can always add some yards on the ground.
After an impressive preseason, Jones produced in his first NFL start leading the Giants to a comeback victory on the road. While Jones wasn't flawless, losing two fumbles, he completed 23 of 36 passes for 336 yards with two touchdowns and rushed four times for 28 yards and two more touchdowns. Jones will struggle at some point, but it's unlikely to be this week against the Redskins, who have allowed each quarterback they have played to pass for three touchdowns. Dak Prescott rushed for 69 yards on five carries against the Redskins in Week 2.
Kyle Allen, Carolina Panthers
Allen will start for a while as Cam Newton recovers from a Lisfranc injury. The rookie passed for 261 yards with four touchdowns last week against the Cardinals as he took advantage of one of the best matchups. He gets another one against the Texans, who have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. One week after Newton showed awful accuracy against the Buccaneers, missing wide-open receivers, Allen showed good accuracy, getting the ball in the hands of his playmakers.
Running Backs
Justin Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers
The stats don't tell the complete story for Jackson. While he's playing behind Austin Ekeler, Jackson has performed well when he gets the touches. Jackson has had touchdown runs of 60 and six yards called back due to penalties over the last two games. He has 18 carries for 142 yards (7.9 yards per rush) and six receptions for 13 yards. There's a good chance Jackson reaches double-digit touches this week against the Dolphins, who allow the most fantasy points to running backs and 179 rushing yards per game. The Chargers are 15.5-point favorites and the Dolphins have been outscored 133-16. Both Cowboys running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard rushed for more than 100 yards on the Dolphins last week.
Rashaad Penny, Seattle Seahawks
Make sure Penny is active since he missed last week with a hamstring injury. Coach Pete Carroll expects Penny to practice this week. Starting running back Chris Carson has struggled to hold onto the football, losing three fumbles on the season. Carson, who played 44% of the snaps last week, played less after a fumble led to a Saints defensive touchdown. In Week 2, Penny had 10 carries for 62 yards with a touchdown. Even if Carson starts this week, the Seahawks are facing the Cardinals, who play up-tempo which usually results in more plays for the opponents, and Penny will be on the field more. The Cardinals have allowed 143.7 rushing yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry.
Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles
There's some risk with Sanders since he still splits with Jordan Howard and Darren Sproles, and Sanders fumbled twice in five plays last week, losing one. It was also a problem in college. The Eagles didn't bench him. Sanders had one of his best games last week, rushing for 53 yards on 13 carries and catching two passes for 73 yards. The Packers have struggled to defend running backs catching passes, allowing 26 receptions for 189 yards and 131 rushing yards per game.
Darrel Williams, Kansas City Chiefs
Damien Williams didn't practice Wednesday due to a knee injury that ruled him out in Week 3. If Damien sits again, then Darrel can be considered as a start. Darrel had nine carries for 62 yards and caught all five targets for 47 yards last week. LeSean McCoy will lead the backfield, but Darrel will get some touches against the Lions if Damien is out.
Wide Receivers
Paul Richardson, Washington Redskins
This might seem like chasing stats after Richardson had his best game of the season Monday night against the Bears with eight receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown, but it's not. This is about the matchup. Richardson is playing a lot of the snaps, has scored in two straight games and gets the Giants, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers. They have allowed three 100-yard games and six touchdowns to receivers.
Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers
Williams hasn't lived up to lofty expectations based on his draft day cost, although a knee injury in Week 1 likely played a part. He has eight receptions for 157 yards in three games and hasn't scored a touchdown after racking up 10 last season. If there's any week to find the end zone, this is it against the Dolphins, who have allowed seven touchdowns to wide receivers.
Will Fuller, Houston Texans
When Fuller is healthy, he tends to have big games when Deshaun Watson is at quarterback. Fuller has yet to score a touchdown and has been held to 51 yards or fewer in two of three games. He has 14 targets the last two games and can take advantage of the matchup against the Panthers and find the end zone.
Devin Smith, Dallas Cowboys
Smith played 91.7% of the snaps last week, most of any Cowboys wide receiver. Many people will see the down performance with two receptions for 39 yards against the Dolphins and move on. Dak Prescott only needed to complete 19 passes as the Cowboys relied more on the run. Smith has excellent speed and one play can produce a big game as he showed in Week 2 with three receptions for 74 yards with a touchdown.
Tight Ends
Will Dissly, Seattle Seahawks
When something is exploited constantly, keep going there until it stops. The Cardinals defense is getting shredded by tight ends. In Week 1, T.J. Hockenson had six receptions for 131 yards with a touchdown on nine targets. Mark Andrews caught eight of his nine targets with a touchdown and Hayden Hurst caught a touchdown in Week 2. Last week, Greg Olsen caught six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Dissly has become involved in the Seahawks' offense with 11 receptions for 112 yards with three touchdowns over the last two games. In his career, Dissly has five touchdowns in seven games.
Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts
It hurts that Doyle also has to deal with Eric Ebron, but the signs were promising last week. Doyle caught all four of his targets for 46 yards and played 69.4% of the snaps, while Ebron played 46.1%. Doyle has been playing more than Ebron and they do run some two tight-end sets. The Colts have a great matchup against the Raiders at home and they have struggled against tight ends, even though Travis Kelce is the only top tight end they have faced. T.Y. Hilton is battling a quad injury and if he misses the game, it's a bigger boost for Doyle.
