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 smash starts for fantasy football Week 4. These are must-starts 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 WR/CB matchups to target for Week 4 fantasy football
- Top five breakout running backs for Week 4 of 2025 fantasy football
- Top five breakout wide receivers for 2025 fantasy football Week 4
- 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 smash starts for Week 4 of 2025 fantasy football
Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears (@ Raiders)
Alright everyone, the moment we’ve all anxiously awaited appears to have finally arrived. At long last (and by that, I mean in his second year as an NFL starter), Bears quarterback Caleb Williams shows signs of the franchise signal-called who was promised coming out of USC in the 2024 draft class. This dude looks goooooood, plus he’s posting 23.4 FPPG.
Through his first three games this season, Williams averages 238.3 passing yards per game while completing 63.4% of his attempts, a slight uptick from his rookie season marks. While he did well protecting the football last year, the former Trojan also boasts seven touchdowns with just one interception, both some of the league’s best marks with a TD% of 7.5% and just a 1.1% INT%. The alterations in scheme with Ben Johnson’s offense, as well as an improved offensive line, seem to be working — 7.7 Y/A, 8.71 AY/A and 12.1 Y/C are all higher marks than Williams posted last season. To top the efficiency off, his athleticism also pops during film review with 97 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts, an average of 6.1 YPC. The 32.3 rushing yards per game add to Williams’ fantasy floor, and if he keeps playing like this, there’s so much to like about his profile both on the virtual gridiron and in real life.
While the Bears can’t play the Cowboys’ secondary every week and torch them for 298 yards and four scores, a matchup against the Raiders brings some similar appeal. Las Vegas ranks 24th with 237 passing yards allowed per contest and falls 27th in defensive EPA/pass at 0.20. That defense seems quite weak and the connecting between Williams and budding superstar Rome Odunze only grows with each passing game. The biggest question I have about the quarterback entering Week 4 isn’t whether he’ll play well… I just want to know what design he paints his nails with this week.
Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons (vs. Commanders)
I know I don’t have to tell anyone to start Bijan Robinson, but I do want to take the time to recognize what a monster of a running back this guy really is. Through the first three weeks, the Falcons’ star averages 19.1 PPR points per game, exactly matching last season’s mark despite the fact he’s scored just one touchdown so far (which came on a 50-odd yard catch and run on his first drive of the campaign). If this offense can get back to humming, it’s truly wheels up for Robinson.
Few players can impact the game in multiple phases in the same manner as the former first-rounder. He’s rushed 47 times for 239 yards thus far, good for a career-best 5.1 YPC. To this point, the third-year standout already boasts an NFL-best 19 forced missed tackles and six explosive runs of 10 yards or more, fourth-most of any halfback. Both stats are equally impressive, so keep in mind that A) Robinson was nearly impossible to bring down on first contact back in college and B) that many people would say he’s *not* an explosive player. Cue an incorrect buzzer sound because clearly, folks who parrot the latter are not quite right in their assessments. The real fantasy football goodies are that Robinson ranks third in pass snaps and routes run as well as fourth in targets (18) and receptions (14). His 164 receiving yards rank second at the position.
Aside from Christian McCaffrey and Jahmyr Gibbs, there may not be a better two-way back than Robinson. After an ugly 30-0 loss to the Panthers in which the stud still posted 16.1 fantasy points, this Falcons offense should bounce back nicely against an average-at-best Commanders defense. If Atlanta can take the lead early, watch for Bijan to see even more rushing work than usual.
James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills (vs. Saints)
The Bills’ top halfback may not see the same volume of work that the aforementioned Robinson does, but he still possesses a comparable ceiling in one of the NFL’s best offenses. James Cook earned every single penny of his offseason extension and once again falls in line alongside some of the NFL’s elite halfbacks in multiple stat categories as well as fantasy production with a Herculean 22.8 FPPG.
Cook has 53 carries for 284 yards and four touchdowns in just three appearances so far. Sound wild? The numbers are indeed! His rushing yardage total remains second among all backs and his touchdowns again pace the NFL just as he did in 2024. His 5.4 YPC rank ninth along with 11 forced missed tackles and seven explosive runs, the sixth-best and top marks at the position too. Cook also falls second in RYOE, a testament to his own vision and breakaway ability. For all the talk about how he’d lose touchdown upside to a bigger back, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound star actually ties for fourth in red-zone carries with 12 attempts (as many as Saquon Barkley!) and sits third in rush attempts inside the five-yard line with four. What does that show us? Cook still remains one of the best scorers in the NFL on a run-first offense alongside a cyborg of a quarterback who also opens things up on the ground with his own freakish rushing ability. The Bills’ offensive line is a weapon in itself and Cook excels at squeezing himself between the tightest of gaps to sneak into the end zone.
This week, Buffalo hosts the Saints in a contest with blowout written all over it — New Orleans’ defensive EPA/rush looks solid, but their overall defensive EPA/play falls 23rd and the Bills should lead comfortably throughout this matchup. That means plenty of work for Cook on the ground as his team milks the clock, and you never know when he’ll break a big run for a house call.
Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams (vs. Colts)
Our usual “Five Lists” host may be on break this week, but I assume he’s made his love for Puka Nacua very, very clear over the last year. The Rams’ top wideout earns a spot on this week’s edition not only in Dan’s honor, but because he might just be the best player in fantasy football this season (especially in PPR formats). After averaging 17.6 and 18.8 FPPG over his first two NFL seasons, did anyone predict a jump to an average of 24.5 PPR points?
Through the first three weeks among all wideouts, Nacua ranks second in targets (35), first in receptions (29), first in receiving yards (333), second in YAC (133), first in RecYOE (92), first in success/route (28.4%). Plus, he also grades out with the highest receiving grad at 92.0 per PFF. Even if you need to search what a couple of those stats are, the ranking should convey the idea that the third-year wideout is playing like a man possessed at the moment. Here’s the part that’ll completely blow your mind, though. As mentioned above, Nacua averages 24.5 FPPG thus far and comes in as the early-season WR1. However, the young star is actually underperforming expectations since he’s yet to score a receiving touchdown. How’s that for a shocker? Granted, he’s gotten across the goal line once with a rush attempt (and actually has 52 rushing yards on three attempts), so it’s not like he’s totally scoreless. Still, Nacua might actually have an end-zone allergy with just nine receiving touchdowns in 31 career games with just three over his last 14 contests dating back to the start of his injury-shortened 2024 campaign.
Regardless, the benefits of lining up alongside Davante Adams are clear, to say the least. In Week 4, Nacua and the Rams face a 3-0 Colts team with one of the NFL’s most exciting offenses against all odds. The game carries the highest projected total of this week’s slate at 49.5 points on DraftKings Sportsbook, and if these offense both play up to par, a deluge of fantasy points could follow. You don’t need to be told to start Nacua though, you just do it without a second thought.
Jake Ferguson, TE, Dallas Cowboys (vs. Packers)
I considered finding another wide receiver to write up in this column, but instead we’re looking towards the tight end position. No, it’s not Brock Bowers or Trey McBride, as much as we love those two young studs. This week’s must-start player is none other than Jake Ferguson of the Cowboys. Don’t click away, trust me on this one!
Before you ask yourself “WTH is this guy thinking?,” let’s walk together here. Back in 2023, Ferguson drew the second-most targets of any Dallas player behind only CeeDee Lamb during a season in which Dak Prescott played close to MVP-caliber football. The tight end averaged 10.4 FPPG during that campaign with 761 yards and five touchdowns on 102 targets. While his 2024 didn’t live up to heightened expectations, he also dealt with injuries that limited his performance as well as Cooper Rush at quarterback for half the season. With Prescott back in the saddle, Ferguson now averages a career-best 15.1 FPPG with 27 catches for 183 yards on 32 targets without a touchdown. To be clear, this is a volume-based play — when Lamb went down with an ankle injury last week, Prescott hyper-targeted his tight end with 14 looks, 13 of which he hauled in for 82 yards and 21.2 PPR points. With the star wideout still sidelined in Week 4, Ferguson can once again soak up opportunities.
In all fairness, he’s not a threat after the catch and of 56 tight ends to catch at least 12 passes in a game, his performance last week ranks dead last. However, that doesn’t matter as much when he paces all players at his position in targets and receptions with the second-most yards and fourth-most routes run. Even in a negative matchup against a strong Packers defense (with Micah Parsons out for revenge), Ferguson should see a ton of targets in the short and intermediate game as the Cowboys fight what likely becomes negative game script. He’s a PPR banshee for as long as Lamb remains out.
