Backfield Breakdowns: Week 4

Teams continue to learn about themselves as we learn about them. Multiple teams narrowed their backfields in Week 3, granting glimmers of hope for some messy situations. Meanwhile, the injury roulette continued with veterans James Conner and Najee Harris going down, clearing the way for Trey Benson and Omarion Hampton to take on leading roles. We'll break down the entire league. 

Backfields Worth Noting

Some backfields saw significant developments in Week 2:

• NY Jets: Dropped Isaiah Davis from the rotation, creating a cleaner split for Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.
• Houston: Dare Ogunbowale was the casualty here as their three-headed approach dropped down to just Nick Chubb on early downs and Woody Marks in the pass game role. 
• Buffalo: Ray Davis is only a handcuff to James Cook, who has moved into a featured role with Ty Johnson in support. 
• Denver: Tyler Badie dropped out, making J.K. Dobbins the lead option and RJ Harvey the backup. 
• LA Chargers: Harris' season is over, Omarion Hampton gets the shining role, and Jim Harbaugh mentioned Kimani Vidal as the next up.
• Arizona: Conner is out, and Benson gets his opportunity. Emari Demercado will be the complement. 
• NY Giants: Tyrone Tracey is expected to miss a month, while Cam Skattebo took a starring role on Sunday Night Football, with Devin Singletary behind. 

Bellcow Backfields

• The Falcons fell behind and were unable to get anything going. They leaned on Robinson as the passing back. In these scripts, the backfield will play this way. Allgeier's role is not in question, but some games will leave him sidelined. Robinson and William Andrews are the only Falcons with 200+ rushing yards and 150+ receiving yards in the first three games.  The good: Robinson is on pace for 1,354 rush yards and 929 receiving yards. The bad: one touchdown and the Falcons were just shut out. FYI, Andrews is a heck of a deep dive on Pro Football Reference. 

• Cook has ascended to feature back status. Davis has been out of the rotation when the game is close, and Johnson is getting reps on passing downs, but the team is willing to put games on Cook's shoulders in ways it did not previously. 

• Jacobs faced a tough Cleveland defense and ended his bid for history with a rushing touchdown streak stopped at 11 games. The most significant development is his shift in the passing game with Jayden Reed out of the lineup and Tucker Kraft limited. Brooks was the complementary back in Week 2, seeing pass-down usage. Jacobs took on a larger passing-down role, and Wilson stepped in for relief duty. If Jacobs misses time, there will likely be a role-specific split between Wilson and Brooks. 

• Daniel Jones gets the headlines, but this Colts' hot start is on Taylor. The parallels to coach Shane Steichen's Eagles are too easy, but Taylor looks to be 2025's answer to Saquon Barkley through three games. Taylor is on pace for 1,915 rush yards and 527 receiving yards. The list of 2,000 rush yard / 500 receiving yard seasons includes only Chris Johnson's 2009 season. 

• Harris' injury ends a season that looked snake-bitten. Very disappointing to see him work back from the offseason eye injury, look good in Week 2, then go down in a non-contact situation. Hampton will now assume the full role. The Chargers have leaned on the pass game to great success, giving the rookie the chance to be the only back without being overloaded. Hampton looked much better in Week 3 than in the previous two games. He'll be an RB1 moving forward. 

• Corum rushed the ball more than in Week 2. But he played less. Sean McVay mentioned the ideal was a 70-30 split with Williams, but they clocked in at 75-25. That will keep Williams in Bellcow territory.

• Gordon had his best showing as the Dolphins were more physical in a rivalry game with the Bills. He vultured a goalline look. Achane still clocked in with heavy usage, though missing the endzone kept his day more modest in non-PPR formats. 

• Mason received the full Bellcow treatment with Aaron Jones Sr. out of the lineup. The lopsided nature of the game allowed the backups some run, with Scott rotating in first. 

• Kamara still holds the feature role, but the passing game element that made him so valuable for years has completely disappeared. The Saints were blown out, which may be a habit. Three games with trailing scripts and only one over two targets make Kamara very limited. It may be worth investigating his trade value based upon name alone; otherwise, it's hard to sit this volume.

• Barkley handled every touch. He's RB14 on the season. There's little reason to believe an explosive game that knocks him in line with ADP is not coming soon, though Tampa Bay and Denver have been strong run defenses in the past. 

• Now, here is what we expected when Mike Tomlin called Warren the Feature Back. Warren is currently RB17 in half PPR scoring, and Kenneth Gainwell stealing a goal-line touchdown was the only thing lacking from a true breakout game.  If Warren had that touchdown, he would be RB9 on the season. For managers desperate for running back help, he's a great target. 

• McCaffrey did McCaffrey things. Everyone is relieved. He is RB3 on the season and is seeing some of the heaviest passing volume of his career. 

• Speaking of relief. Irving managers had to have some level of concern when White looked strong on a Monday Island in Week 2, ultimately getting the game-winning touchdown. Week 3 shifted back toward expectation with Irving grabbing a feature back workload in a tight game against the Jets.

• Chestnut did get two touches, breaking up Pollard's usual monopoly. Pollard got into the endzone to help boost his score to where his workload indicates. Pollard drafters have to have some disappointment considering the workshare.

Committees With a Lead