Hello to the loyal Five Lists audience, as well as any new readers tuning in for the first time. We’re back once more to deliver your one-stop shop with all the fantasy football content you need to crush Week 4 of the NFL regular season. Whether it’s must-starts, breakouts, sleepers or stashes, it’s all here in this lovely column typically produced by our very own Dan Johnson. This ship’s captain is out of office at the moment (and will be back next week, so don’t worry), but in the meantime I’m taking the helm to guide us through the stormy seas of the fantasy landscape. To put your mind at ease — I bring the same sicko love for fantasy football and dedication to helping you win your week, just a slightly different voice. You’re in good hands!
It’s a pleasure to meet you all, but you didn’t click into this article to hear about me. You want the goods to win your fantasy matchups and I’ve got exactly what you’re looking for. See below for the top five breakout WRs for fantasy football Week 4. Maybe they aren’t weekly WR1, but they fall into the must-start category based on matchups and volume with sky-high ceilings.
Here are the other offerings from my 2025 Fantasy Football Five Lists of Five: Week 4 edition:
- Top five must-start players for Week 4 of 2025 fantasy football
- Top five breakout running backs for Week 4 of 2025 fantasy football
- Top five WR/CB matchups to target for Week 4 fantasy football
- Top five players to stash for Week 4 of 2025 fantasy football
- BONUS LIST! Dynasty Fantasy Football Stock Watch: Top risers and fallers after Week 3
Follow my handle @keagreport for all of my fantasy football content.
Top five breakout WRs for 2025 fantasy football Week 4
Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints
The Saints go marching into Buffalo this week for a date with the Bills. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Absolutely, and it’s a dish that even comes with a side of ranch (which remains the superior dip for wings, prove me wrong). However, there’s a some room for fantasy points even when, not if, the visitors get blown out.
Why’s that? We’re talking pass volume, folks. Game script for this matchup between reigning MVP Josh Allen and his contending squad against a lowly Saints unit should produce plenty of action through the air for Spencer Rattler and his weapons as they try to play catch-up. Chris Olave gets all the noise and Juwan Johnson also sees some much better numbers than projected, but Rashid Shaheed brings sneaky fantasy football upside. The speedster averages 10.9 FPPG and has seen a 17.2% target share with 20 looks coming his way through three weeks, hauling in 14 of those for 127 yards and a touchdown. He’s run the ninth-most routes of any wideout (not including Cardinals and Seahawks players, two teams which played an additional game on yesterday’s edition of Thursday Night Football), and Shaheed actually ranks 29th among wideouts in targets. That means he’s seeing more opportunities than most players on this list, so the PPR upside appears clear.
Even in a poor matchup against Bills defense with a strong secondary, I quite like Shaheed’s chances of posting a nice day in fantasy football if the Saints throw the ball 35-40 times while trailing throughout this game. We also know Shaheed can get open downfield, so he brings the potential to bring in a deep ball for a touchdown as long as Spencer Rattler can deliver it.
Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants
This slot receiver averages 14.4 FPPG through three weeks and has flirted with a WR2-caliber campaign in the past. However, you never really feel good about starting Wan’Dale Robinson most weeks, and with the Giants’ quarterback change to Jaxson Dart, many managers may stay away in Week 4. We zig when others zag, though.
Many people will point to Russell Wilson’s veteran presence and the fact he posted one of the best games of his career in a Week 2 loss, saying perhaps New York shouldn’t swap signal-callers. I disagree and think Dart brings a lot of upside to the picture, especially so for Robinson. He was a very accurate quarterback in college and faces a very tough matchup against the Chargers. Malik Nabers will see a ton of targets, but Robinson brings appeal as a safety blanket with 71% of his snaps taken in the slot along with 77% of his targets and 73% of his yards coming from there. Prior to Week 3, he’d been targeted on 54.5% of third downs, the highest target share on those plays of any player around the league. Robinson actually grades out 17th among all wideouts via PFF and has seen the 21st-most targets (22), 15th-most receptions (18), and 12th-most yards (223). Sure, a big Week 2 stat line helped with that, but he’s also 18th in yards per reception (14.9) and 25th in ADOT (12.6) as well.
With all of that said, the Chargers do rank fifth in defensive EPA/pass while allowing the 11th-fewest passing yards. It’s a difficult first test for Dart, but Robinson seems to finally be paying off his second-round draft capital as a reliable chain-mover in this offense with a 21.2% target share. With negative game script a distinct possibility for the Giants, expect plenty of passes.
Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars
Maybe the hype got a little bit out of hand during the pre-draft process for two-way superstar Travis Hunter, but rest assured the breakout performance soon cometh. The second-overall pick brings too much talent to the table to not pop at some point soon, even with a slightly limited snap share.
During his 2024 Heisman Trophy campaign, Hunter graded out in the 92nd percentile vs. man coverage, 97th percentile vs. zone, and 97th percentile vs. press per Reception Perception. He may need some time to adjust to professional competition, and with the Jaguars, he’s taken just 64%, 59% and 53% of snaps on offense over his first three NFL games. He averages just 5.9 FPPG and has just 76 yards on 10 catches so far, but did see eight and six targets across his first two contests. With Dyami Brown still dealing with a shoulder issue and the team able to prepare for a possible absence rather than adapting on the fly like when he went down in Week 3, there’s a real chance Hunter could see additional opportunities on offense this week. He’s primarily being used as a slot option and flanker, so the Jags are trying to put the ball in his hands and let him go to work after the catch rather than targeting him downfield. That role can certainly work for him since he brings elite athleticism, and as soon as Hunter gets an uptick in snaps, he should find himself on the upswing with production.
Week 4 brings a contest against another strong defense in the 49ers, so Jacksonville may struggle to move the ball some in this one. While San Francisco ranks fourth in defensive EPA/pass, game script could lead to more targets for receivers and the slump of Brian Thomas Jr. also creates chances for other players to step up. This matchup against a potential playoff team presents a great time for Hunter to see more action.
Sterling Shepard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Well, the annual Mike Evans soft-tissue injury arrived with his regularly-scheduled hamstring issue. With the star wideout likely to miss multiple weeks, the Buccaneers are left with rookie stud Emeka Egbuka and Sterling Shepard as the likely WR1 and WR2 against the Eagles in Week 4. The ghost of Chris Godwin looms as well, but his status remains quite uncertain as he continues to work back from a severe ankle injury suffered last season.
As much as I’d love to talk about Egbuka, his meteoric rise needs no introduction. Instead, we’ll focus on Shepard here as a sleeper pick. He’s quietly played at least 61% of snaps in all three games thus far and didn’t see much fantasy production on his 10 targets across his first two contests, hauling in seven catches for 73 yards. However, he brought in 4-of-5 looks for 80 yards and 12.0 PPR points in Week 3 against the Jets. A quick look at the route chart shows most of his catches around the middle of the field, especially out of the slot left slot and towards the right sideline. He’s worked a pretty even split from that slot role and out wide, so there’s positional versatility for the veteran and he actually has produced when given volume in the past with double-digit fantasy points across the first seven years of his career with the Giants.
The Eagles are a very tough foe for Mayfield and Co. with a top-10 pass defense in terms of EPA/pass, yardage, and touchdowns allowed. How Egbuka responds in a lead role remains uncertain, but he’s surely going to draw most of the attention from this secondary as Philly forces Shepard to beat them via the air. With the potential for around eight targets, there’s still breakout appeal as a fill-in lineup option despite the matchup.
KaVontae Turpin, Dallas Cowboys
Much like my compatriot wrote last week, I’m also targeting KaVontae Turpin as a breakout option once again. Cowboys superstar CeeDee Lamb rolled his ankle and will likely miss Week 4, if not more time, with a high ankle sprain. With such a talent sidelined, there are a ton of targets up for grabs here.
Turpin averages 9.6 FPPG and his stats don’t jump off the screen by any means. We’re talking four or fewer targets each week with 129 yards through the air and a singular touchdown thus far. However, he sees a 73.5 receiving grade per PFF, 18th of 75 qualifiers. A huge part of that grade stems from 16.1 yards per reception, the 13th-best mark at the position. Plus, Turpin ranks 23rd in ADOT (12.8) as well as 28th in yards after the catch per reception (4.1). While known for his special-teams prowess, he’s an explosive athlete who can create for himself with the ball in his hands. That’s a priority for this offense as Turpin takes 60% of his snaps from the slot (with 18.75 yards/catch from there!) and also has five rush attempts for 19 yards. He’s a versatile talent and the staff knows it, so it makes sense he may see an increase in usage without Lamb on the field.
Plus, a buzzsaw matchup against the Packers means the Cowboys need all hands on deck to keep this Week 4 tilt competitive. Watch for Brian Schottenheimer to dig deep in his bag of tricks and look for ways to get Turpin involved often via layup targets and rush attempts. With the fifth-highest rate of pre-snap motion (31.3%) among wideouts and third-highest rate of motion at the snap (24.1%), Dallas knows they can scheme up looks for the standout.
