Daily Fantasy Football Week 4: DraftKings Must-Start Players at Each Position

Daily fantasy football Week 4 looks ripe for major performances by owners who can nail down the must-start players.

Of course, must-start options can come in obvious and not-so-obvious forms. Look at last weekend. Obvious? Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (27.6 points). Not so obvious? Arizona Cardinals stopgap solution Chris Johnson (31.0).

Here's a look at the best of both worlds when it comes to must-start plays ahead of Week 4, so get to crafting those DraftKings lineups for success early.

Quarterback 

High-end Options
Sleepers
Player	Team	Opp	Price*
Aaron Rodgers	GB	SF	$7,900
Andrew Luck	IND	JAC	$7,800
Andy Dalton	CIN	KC	$5,900
Derek Carr	OAK	CHI	$5,300

The stars seem obvious enough, right?

It's hard to complain about Aaron Rodgers' price despite his being the priciest option at the position. He scored better than 22 points in each of his first two games and next gets the woeful San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers let up three touchdowns to quarterbacks in Week 2 against Pittsburgh, then turned around and let Carson Palmer gun his way to 22.54 points this past weekend.

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

With the matchup pristine, Rodgers isn't one to ignore.

Neither is Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck despite his iffy start to the season. Luck has 19.72, 12.4 and 18.5 points over three games, but it has lowered his price just in time for a date with the reeling Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars have already let up five passing touchdowns, last week permitting Tom Brady to waltz toward 25.72 points with his eyes closed. Struggles or not, Luck's in for a big day and will justify the price.

So too will Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals, who continues to hover around affordable range. He started the season modest enough with 18.86 points followed by 21.56, then exploded with 35.52 last weekend, yet his price only bumped by $200.

Owners would be smart to take advantage. Kansas City visits Cincinnati on a short week after a tough matchup with Rodgers. The Chiefs can't seem to stop any quarterbacks this season.

Keep an eye on Oakland's Derek Carr in the same price range. After an injury-riddled debut, he's looked great with 30.34 and 23.46 points against tough AFC North defenses. Things relax for the talented sophomore in Week 4 against Chicago, a team that has managed to allow eight touchdown passes in three games.

Running Back 

High-end Options
Sleepers
Player	Team	Opp	Price*
Matt Forte	CHI	OAK	$7,100
Marshawn Lynch	SEA	DET	$7,200
Frank Gore	IND	JAC	$4,700
Karlos Williams	BUF	NYG	$3,400

Just stick with the Oakland-Chicago showdown when it comes to top-tier running backs, too.

Owners might shy away from Matt Forte after a 7.4-point performance, but this is the cheapest he has been all season heading into a perfect matchup. The Raiders let Cincinnati's Jeremy Hill go for 18.3 points in Week 1 and haven't looked great since. 

With an injured offense around him, Forte will see a huge amount of carries and targets in what could divulge into a high-scoring affair. 

This also matches the lowest price of the year for Seattle's Marshawn Lynch. Coaches mostly held him back last week in a knee-slapper of a contest against Chicago, but ESPN's Liz Matthews captured some good news:

Seattle won't hold Lynch back against Detroit, a team that has been absolutely trampled in all facets on the defensive side of things.

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

While it sounds odd, veteran Frank Gore looks like a great sleeper play this week for the Colts. He got off to a slow start, hardly going for more than 11 total points in his first two games with his new team. Gore turned it around in Week 3, though, totaling 22.4 points.

Now Gore figures to see plenty of chances in a grind-it-out affair with Jacksonville, which hasn't looked any better against the pass than it has the run.

For an even deeper player, consider Karlos Williams in Buffalo. LeSean McCoy still seems hobbled with a nagging issue and the coaching staff clearly trusts the rookie, allowing him to find room for a score in all three games so far.

Williams gets lots of shots near paydirt, which is what owners need to look for in a sleeper. Against a leaky New York Giants defense, he figures to find plenty of room.

Wide Receiver 

High-end Options
Sleepers
Player	Team	Opp	Price*
Odell Beckham	NYG	BUF	$9,100
A.J. Green	CIN	KC	$7,600
Donte Moncrief	IND	JAC	$5,000
Michael Crabtree	OAK	CHI	$4,600

New York's Odell Beckham Jr. sits as the second-most expensive option at wideout this week.

It's not hard to see why after he's combined for more than 50 points over his last two outings heading into a matchup with Buffalo. The Bills tout a solid defense, but for one reason or another the unit hasn't been able to stop wideouts, letting up five touchdowns to the position in three games.

Beckham won't have any issues taking advantage of this weakness, and neither will Cincinnati's A.J. Green in a matchup with Kansas City. The Chiefs have looked even worse against wideouts, allowing four touchdowns over the team's first two games.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Forced to hit the road for an early kickoff, the unit won't have an answer for Green even though they understand Dalton will go to him early and often.

Oh, and yes, a stack with the Colts couldn't hurt this weekend. Donte Moncrief remains one of Luck's favorite targets regardless of what happens with T.Y. Hilton, hence his receiving just as many targets as the No. 1 wideout in Week 3.

So far, Moncrief has posted a minimum of 13 points in each game with a high of 28.2. He might be in for his biggest total of the year against the Jaguars.

Oakland's Michael Crabtree is another slick option well down the price leaderboard. He struggled in Cleveland last weekend, but he's just one game removed from a 29.1-point outburst against a struggling Baltimore unit.

Now Crabtree gets to run wild as the No. 1 against Chicago, which somehow managed to let up seven touchdowns to wideouts in the team's first two games.

Tight End 

High-end Options
Sleepers
Player	Team	Opp	Price*
Jimmy Graham	SEA	DET	$6,000
Martellus Bennett	CHI	OAK	$4,500
Charles Clay	BUF	NYG	$3,300
Larry Donnell	NYG	BUF	$2,900

With New England on bye, there isn't much in the way of high-end options at tight end in Week 4.

Of course, there's always Jimmy Graham. He's looking down the barrel of an outstanding matchup, too, considering Detroit has allowed one touchdown to the position in each of its first three games.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

There's a new rule at tight end, too—start whoever lines up against Oakland. This past weekend it was Cleveland's Gary Barnidge, mostly a run-blocker who exploded for 25.5 points.

This week it's Chicago's Martellus Bennett, who has had a quiet couple of weeks thanks to quarterback issues. Those issues won't prevent production against the struggling Raiders.

When it comes to sleepers, Charles Clay is worth a shot. One of Buffalo's big offseason adds posted a season-best 19.2 points last week and welcomes the Giants to town next week, owners of a defense that has allowed three scores to the position.

For a deep gamble at an unstable position, consider the starter on the other side of the matchup, Larry Donnell. He's had a quiet season so far with just one touchdown, but in what figures to be a shootout, he looks like a great option against a defense that has surrendered two touchdowns to tight ends.

DST 

High-end Options
Sleepers
Team	Opp	Price*
Seahawks	DET	$3,700
Cardinals	STL	$3,400
Bengals	KC	$2,800
Raiders	CHI	$2,600

Seattle would be the highest-priced item for a good reason here.

The Seahawks are at home, have already posted 19- and 18-point performances this year and welcome Detroit to town, an offense that looks miserable after scoring fewer than 20 points in two of three games so far.

Elsewhere in the division, Arizona figures to have a field day with Nick Foles and St. Louis. Not only do the Cardinals have 18- and 28-point showings under their belts, the Rams have scored more than 10 points in a game once this year.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

A little farther down, owners will find the Bengals in a suitable matchup against the Chiefs. The Bengals have allowed more than 20 points just once, get plenty of pressure and are dangerous at home.

Oakland looks like a smart deep play after the team's five sacks in Week 3 ahead of a showdown with a Chicago team that just posted a goose egg and may or may not have its starter under center.

Pricing information and scoring data obtained from DraftKings. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise specified.