Week 4 was relatively clean on the injury front, especially compared to Week 3. It did see a shift toward some younger backs in multiple rooms as rookies get acclimated. Bye weeks are here, creating needs for plug-in production options. How does the landscape look as we get ready for Week 5?
Backfields Worth Noting
Some backfields saw significant developments in Week 4:
- Las Vegas: Ashton Jeanty broke out with three touchdowns and finished as the top back of the week. Behind him was a shakeup, as Raheem Mostert played in relief after that work went to Zamir White and Dylan Laube previously.
- Pittsburgh: Kenneth Gainwell filled in for Jaylen Warren and came up huge in the Steelers' win. The Steelers have a bye in Week 5 to allow Warren recovery time. The split will bear monitoring following Gainwell's performance.
- Houston: Last week, we mentioned Woody Marks pulling even with Nick Chubb. In Week 4, he lept in front as one of the stars of the week. Run to your waiver if he is still available.
- Injury Shakeups
- Dallas: Miles Sanders left with an ankle injury, potentially elevating Jaydon Blue to handcuff.
- NY Jets: Braelon Allen left early with an injury, pushing Breece Hall into a more featured role with Isaiah Davis as the backup.
- Tampa Bay: We are monitoring an ankle injury for Bucky Irving. Rachaad White would be a weekly starter with Sean Tucker as his backup if Irving is out.
- Carolina: Chuba Hubbard was questionable and ceded work to Rico Dowdle and Trevor Etienne in a blowout. Monitor to see if the team decides to give Hubbard a week off.
Bellcow Backfields
| Team | Back | Player | Rushes | Targets | Stat Line | Share | Snap % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | RB1 | James Cook | 22 | 4 | 22-117-1 / 3-18-0 | 93% | 73% |
| RB2 | Ty Johnson | 1 | 0 | 1-0-0 | 4% | 20% | |
| RB3 | Ray Davis | 1 | 0 | 1-3-0 | 0% | 8% | |
| Chicago | RB1 | D'Andre Swift | 14 | 6 | 14-38-1 / 4-22-0 | 83% | 66% |
| RB2 | Kyle Monangai | 4 | 0 | 4-18-0 | 17% | 28% | |
| Cincinnati | RB1 | Chase Brown | 10 | 3 | 10-40-0 / 3-31-0 | 93% | 73% |
| RB2 | Samaje Perine | 1 | 0 | 1-4-0 | 7% | 31% | |
| RB3 | Tahj Brooks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Cleveland | RB1 | Quinshon Judkins | 21 | 4 | 21-82-1 / 4-33-0 | 83% | 58% |
| RB2 | Jerome Ford | 1 | 2 | 1-(1)-0 / 1-4-0 | 10% | 27% | |
| RB3 | Dylan Sampson | 1 | 1 | 1-(2)-0 / 0 | 7% | 13% | |
| Dallas | RB1 | Javonte Williams | 20 | 3 | 20-85-1 / 3-15-0 | 85% | 80% |
| RB2 | Miles Sanders | 2 | 2 | 2-8-0 / 2-17-0 | 15% | 10% | |
| Indianapolis | RB1 | Jonathan Taylor | 17 | 5 | 17-76-0 / 5-20-0 | 96% | 87% |
| RB2 | Tyler Goodson | 0 | 1 | 1-0-0 | 4% | 7% | |
| RB3 | DJ Giddens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 7% | |
| Jacksonville | RB1 | Travis Etienne Jr. | 19 | 2 | 19-124-1 / 1-1-0 | 78% | 60% |
| RB2 | Bhayshul Tuten | 4 | 1 | 4-14-0 / 1-8-0 | 19% | 24% | |
| RB3 | LeQuint Allen Jr. | 0 | 1 | 1-7-0 | 4% | 18% | |
| Las Vegas | RB1 | Ashton Jeanty | 21 | 2 | 21-138-1 / 2-17-2 | 82% | 85% |
| RB2 | Raheem Mostert | 4 | 1 | 4-62-0 / 1-11-0 | 18% | 15% | |
| RB3 | Dylan Laube | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| LA Chargers | RB1 | Omarion Hampton | 12 | 5 | 12-128-1 / 5-37-0 | 100% | 89% |
| RB2 | Hassan Haskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 5% | |
| NY Giants | RB1 | Cam Skattebo | 25 | 2 | 25-79-0 / 2-11-0 | 79% | 75% |
| RB2 | Devin Singletary | 7 | 0 | 7-28-0 | 21% | 25% | |
| RB3 | Tyrone Tracy Jr.. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| Philadelphia | RB1 | Saquon Barkley | 19 | 4 | 19-43-1 / 4-31-0 | 85% | 84% |
| RB2 | A.J. Dillon | 3 | 0 | 3-17-0 | 11% | 14% | |
| RB3 | Will Shipley | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4% | 5% | |
| Pittsburgh | RB1 | Kenneth Gainwell | 19 | 6 | 19-99-1 / 6-35-0 | 78% | 77% |
| RB2 | Kaleb Johnson | 6 | 1 | 6-22-0 / 0 | 22% | 21% | |
| RB3 | Jaylen Warren | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | |
| San Francisco | RB1 | Christian McCaffrey | 17 | 11 | 17-49-0 / 6-92-1 | 85% | 85% |
| RB2 | Brian Robinson Jr. | 5 | 0 | 5-21-0 | 15% | 15% | |
| Tennessee | RB1 | Tony Pollard | 14 | 3 | 14-64-0 / 3-12-0 | 89% | 86% |
| RB2 | Julius Chestnut | 1 | 1 | 1-0-0 / 0 | 11% | 14% |
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Cook's ascension to the feature back role is complete. He's the 33rd player to start a season with 400+ rushing yards and 5+ rushing touchdowns. Joe Brady did note that Davis needs more usage coming out of the win.
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Swift scored the game-winning touchdown, giving him his best fantasy week of the season. Perhaps the score will unlock him. Despite the high usage, he is a back-end RB2 presently.
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Brown did as well as could be expected, considering a struggling offensive line and an even worse quarterback situation. If you play Brown at this point, expect ~8-10 PPR points as a goal with touchdown dependency to go above.
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Judkins continues to exert his grasp on the Browns' backfield. The team looks married to running the ball with Judkins to overcome the struggling Joe Flacco passing game, regardless of game script. One hundred yards or a touchdown is in play weekly for Judkins.
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Williams is on pace for 1,326 rushing yards, 17 touchdowns, 68 receptions, and 314 receiving yards. Sanders left with an ankle injury and did not return. If he misses time, Jaydon Blue could make his debut as the complementary option.
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Taylor was robbed of a long touchdown on an Adonai Mitchell holding penalty. He remains the steal of fantasy drafts.
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Etienne is off to a red-hot start, with his 394 yards second-most yards through four games in Jaguars history, trailing only Leonard Fournette's 404 yards in 2019. Tuten made a splash play in the return game. He is still flashing. But Etienne has shown little reason to shift him into a committee role.
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We can safely put the "Is Jeanty a bust?" conversation to bed. Jeanty became the 9th player with 130+ rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, and 2 receiving touchdowns. Oddly enough, four of those nine were rookies: Jeanty, De'Von Achane, Kareem Hunt, and Eric Dickerson. Mostert was a healthy scratch for the first three weeks. He replaced Zamir White and Dylan Laube as the change of pace back in Week 4. Expect all three to play if Jeanty misses time.
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Hampton was just about the only thing working for the Chargers' offense. His explosion showed up on multiple long runs. Hand-wringing over his slow rookie start should be eased; he is a Top 12 running back the rest of 2025.
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Skattebo was the tenth Giants rookie to hit 25 carries. Saquon Barkley and Andre Williams were the only players since 2000 to do it. A run-heavy attack is likely the game plan moving forward with Malik Nabers out for the season.
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Barkley is an RB1 on the season, but not THE RB1. He has been a disappointment, but considering Ja'Marr Chase and CeeDee Lamb at a similar ADP, it could be worse. He is really only lacking one blow-up performance to put him back on pace. Two of his next four are against the Giants, and emotions likely linger for that matchup.
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Gainwell won the early Streamer of the Year award. Managers in a pinch or who showed faith were rewarded with the best fantasy game of Gainwell's career. Jaylen Warren looked to be in the feature role last week. Gainwell's performance may have reopened that split.
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McCaffrey continued his dominance of the 49ers' backfield and the passing attack. He joins Alvin Kamara (2018 & 2020) and Paul Hofer as the only running backs with 30+ receptions and 300+ receiving yards to start a season.
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The Titans' offense is the worst in the NFL. The team has a lighter schedule coming up, and Cam Ward should improve at some point. But Pollard could also be sharing the backfield with Tyjae Spears soon.