Welcome to the bar! The Week 4 DFS Cocktail Hour is here to satisfy your thirst for DFS football strategies. We’ll be looking at useful ingredients that you can use as part of your weekly DFS plays. Additionally, we’ll mix up my cocktail from this week’s Operation: Domination program.
A reminder that we’re looking at cash games on the DraftKings Classic mode, using the Sunday through Monday games. All player scores mentioned use DraftKings scoring as displayed by FantasyData.com.
Week 4 DFS Cocktail Hour: Base Spirits
It’s an interesting slate this weekend in terms of point totals and spreads. No super-high over/unders, but several matchups on the upper end with intriguing possibilities for fantasy blow-ups. Additionally, five different games had at least a touchdown spread, offering some run game and DST juice.
The base spirit we’re going with is the Indianapolis Colts visiting the Los Angeles Rams. That game boasts the highest over/under on the schedule, while the host Rams are only favored by 3.5. That promises a competitive game. Each team should be throwing haymakers until the end. So if we’re looking for an ingredient to pack a punch, let’s go with Colts quarterback Daniel Jones ($5,600). Danny Dimes is currently your QB4 on the season, but is just QB14 in terms of DraftKings salary this week. Not many (outside of yours truly) were thrilled when he beat out Anthony Richardson for the starting job in training camp. But Jones has finished as QB4, QB7, and QB12 over the first three weeks. He’s rolling, as are the Colts.
Jones has been an underrated rusher in his pro career. In his best fantasy season (2022), Jones rushed for seven scores and over 700 yards. For his career, he has averaged 5.4 yards per carry —the same as Josh Allen. He’s held form thus far in 2025, with three rushing touchdowns on the season, trailing only Jalen Hurts among quarterbacks. However, it’s his passing that has been surprising. Jones ranks third in yards per attempt and total passing yards through three games. And he has a touchdown pass in each game as well.
A Heavy Pour
We’ll pair Jones with his top wideout, Michael Pittman ($5,100). With Jones as his quarterback, Pittman is on pace for the best fantasy season of his career. He’s averaging 15.8 points per game. His 10.2 yards per target average would be a career-best by almost two full yards. He’s catching over 84% of his targets and is on pace for double-digit touchdowns. Ranking as WR15 on the season, he’s a WR2 with WR1 upside at bargain-basement prices. He’s inexplicably cheaper than such fantasy luminaries as Hollywood Brown (WR38) and Matthew Golden (six catches for 68 yards). Pittman leads the Colts in receptions and is second only to tight end Tyler Warren in target share. He’s getting looks and making them count.
Jones and Pittman are facing a Rams defense that has been very average against opposing fantasy pass attacks. Los Angeles gives up the 17th-most points to opposing quarterbacks and the 14th-most to wideouts. In Week 3, Jalen Hurts finished QB1 against them, passing for 226 yards and three scores while completing 21 of 32 attempts. Those aren’t outrageous numbers- well within Jones’s wheelhouse. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, meanwhile, were both top-11 in fantasy scoring among wide receivers in Week 3. Look for Pittman to attack on deeper routes, with Josh Downs and Warren drawing attention underneath. For the price, I expect both Jones and Pittman to return outstanding value.
Souring Agent
To balance our budget-friendly base spirits, we’re going top-shelf this week. You can’t get higher-shelf than Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua ($7,900). The week’s second-priciest option at wide receiver, Nacua, has been fantasy’s top wideout by a wide margin. Nacua leads the league in wide receiver scoring despite not scoring a receiving touchdown yet. He’s pacing the league in yards and receptions, and is third among wide receivers in target share. He’s finished no lower than WR6 in any of the first three weeks of 2025. Indy is tough on opposing fantasy receivers, but they’re not invincible. Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin each got loose for a score on them in Week 2. Last week, Titans rookie Elic Ayomanor was able to find the endzone.
Nacua’s new running mate, Davante Adams, has been limited this week with a hamstring injury. But Head Coach Sean McVay says they don’t expect it to affect his game status. That would help Nacua on several counts. First, it draws coverage away from Nacua- the Colts can’t automatically double-team him. Secondly, it allows Nacua to work out of the slot more. Colts’ slot corner Kenny Moore II has been ruled out. He’ll likely be replaced by Mike Hilton, who only signed with the Colts’ practice squad this week. Look for Nacua to leave a definite sour taste in the mouths of the Indianapolis secondary as a key ingredient to the Week 4 DFS Cocktail.
Sweetener
The last piece of this delectable little puzzle is a personal favorite of mine. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know about my love affair with Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins ($5,800). To mix my movie metaphors, every time I think I’m out, he pulls me back in. The majority of the fantasy community may be lamenting the dearth of R.J. Harvey in the Denver run game, but I’m in Seventh Heaven.
Dobbins is your RB13 on the season through three weeks. He’s averaging 15.2 points per game. That’s the same as last season, which was his best fantasy year and his healthiest since his rookie season. Dobbins is 10th in the league in rush yardage and tied for second among running backs with three scores on the ground. He’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry, right in line with his career average, but his best mark since 2022.
He’s done all this against some quality defenses in Tennessee, Indianapolis, and the Chargers. Denver has the league’s second-ranked offensive line according to PFF and is a 7.5-point favorite at home against Cincinnati. The Bengals, meanwhile, have given up the second-most points to opposing running backs. I know everyone’s waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to Dobbins’s injury history. Truth be told, so am I. But maybe not knowing is part of the thrill? And in the meantime, I’m willing to keep coming back. I just can’t quit him.
Garnishes
As always, how you dress up the rest of your lineup is up to you. Going relatively cheap at quarterback and using affordable options in Pittman and Dobbins means you have some flexibility in building out the rest of your lineup. I was able to put together lineups with some high-powered running back options like James Cook ($7,100), as well as Omarion Hampton ($5,900), in a great spot against the Giants. I was also able to double down on the Broncos as heavy favorites, plugging in their DST for $3,200. If you’re looking for some affordable options, check out GOYAADI’s DFS Cheapskate plays.
Week 4 DFS Cocktail: The D.F.S.
Capitalizing on a recent trend, we’re making a version of a “Dirty Soda” with our Week 4 DFS Cocktail. We’re calling it the Dirty Freakin’ Soda, or D.F.S. (see what we did there?) It’s essentially a Colorado Bulldog, substituting gold rum for the vodka.
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce of gold rum
- 1 ounce coffee liqueur
- 1 ounce heavy whipping cream
- 6 ounces of real sugar Coca-Cola
- Ice
- Maraschino Cherries (garnish)
- Reddi-Wip (optional garnish)
Directions:
Fill a pint glass halfway with ice. Add 1 ounce each of gold rum and coffee liqueur. Pour 6 ounces (about half a glass bottle) of real sugar Coca-Cola over that and stir slightly. Add 1 ounce of heavy whipping cream. Garnish with Maraschino cherries. For an old-school soda fountain presentation, top with Reddi-Wip before adding a cherry or two and serve with a straw. Slàinte mhath!
A few notes:
- I cannot stress enough how much better all your cocktails will be if you use real sugar Coca-Cola (as opposed to the high-fructose corn syrup variety).
- Pouring the cream in last should allow for a nice, swirly visual effect. Serving with a straw allows the drinker to stir the cream and Reddi-Wip to their liking.
- You know me. I prefer real cocktail cherries (Luxardo, Fabbri, etc.) to the bright, syrupy-sweet, plastic-looking sundae cherries. But, each to their own.