There was no rust on the Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell. His first game of 2016 resulted in 18 carries for 144 yards on the ground and 5 catches for 34 yards through the air. He played 52 snaps for Pittsburgh Sunday night, despite the game being a blowout. But, Bell’s return was far from the only story in Week 4. Here’s the snap count report for Week 4!

RUNNING BACKS

The Titans’ offense has plenty of issues, but the silver lining to that cloud is the volume that DeMarco Murray is receiving. He played 64 snaps in Week 4 that resulted in 24 carries for 94 yards and 2 TD’s. Murray pretty much is the Titans offense at this stage in the game, which is why he was a main cog in last week’s Black Book Lineup on Fantasy Alarm. Murray is 3rd on the year in snaps played for RB’s behind only Lamar Miller and David Johnson. Rookie Jordan Howard performed well in his first start for the Bears, playing 63 snaps and gaining 111 yards on 23 carries, despite not finding the end zone.

Melvin Gordon was on the field plenty (62 snaps), but he didn’t make the most of his time. Not only did he have a crucial fumble, but he also averaged less than 2 yards a carry against a bad Saints defense over 19 attempts. Theo Riddick was also a disappointment over his 51 snaps with just 58 all-purpose yards. Todd Gurley owners are now free to officially panic after another down week. He played 51 snaps, but carried the ball just 19 times for 33 yards. The worst part is the Rams have been winning, which means they may not see Gurley’s lack of impact on a weekly basis as a problem. Well, it’s a BIG problem for his fantasy owners!

WIDE RECEIVERS

Falling through the cracks between Julio Jones’ incredible day and Odell Beckham’s incessant whining, was old man Steve Smith Sr.’s day. Smith played 73 snaps which saw him catch 8 balls for 11 yards and a TD. This old dog has plenty of tricks left and it looks like he’s ramping things up after an injury riddled preseason.  Speaking of Julio Jones, his incredible 300 yard game came on just 47 snaps. Talk about making the most of your time on the field. T.Y. Hilton and Mike Wallace led the WR’s in snaps played Week 4, but neither reached 50 yards receiving (although Hilton did have a TD). DeAndre Hopkins leads all WR with 275 snaps played so far this year, despite just 2 TD’s. He’s due for a multiple TD game and the Texans will need to lean on him now that the defense is without its star, J.J. Watt, the rest of the season.

Dontrelle Inman played 68 snaps and was targeted 11 times for 7 catches, 120 yards and a TD. Inman is clearly in the mix going forward for the Chargers who are already without major offensive pieces. Whether this game was an outlier because of how bad the Saints defense is, remains to be seen. John Brown finally showed up in week 4, playing 70 snaps with a whopping 16 targets for 10 catches and 144 yards. Brown will be boom or bust as always the rest of the season, but with Carson Palmer (concussion) in doubt on the short week, it may be best to look for better options.

TIGHT ENDS

Jason Witten remains Dak Prescott’s favorite toy (76 snaps, 9 targets, 7 catches, 47 yards). However, Witten isn’t making a real fantasy impact outside of very deep PPR leagues. Kyle Rudolph on the other hand is emerging as viable starter on a weekly basis. On Monday, Rudolph played 72 snaps and Sam Bradford completed 5 of 7 targets to him for 55 yards and a TD. Cameron Brate (62 snaps) and Hunter Henry (68) continued to be integral parts of their teams offense after finding their way to fantasy rosters from the waiver wire in recent weeks. To no ones’ surprise, Greg Olsen of the Panthers played 67 snaps and was a targeted a whopping 13 times in Sunday’s loss. Even with Cam Newton a potential no go, Olsen is too talented to even consider benching. Do NOT overreact! With Tom Brady returning in Week 5, it will be fascinating to see how Martellus Bennett (44 snaps/5 catches/109 yards) and Rob Gronkowski (39 snaps/1 catch/11 yards) fit together for the Patriots offense moving forward in the short term. 

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Joe Pisapia (@JoePisapia17) is the eight-time best-selling author of the Fantasy Black Book Series for baseball and football. He hosts The Fantasy Black Book Show Tues/Turs 7-9pm est & Sunday GameDay 8-11am on FNTSY Network Radio.