One-quarter of the fantasy football season is in the books. Seems too fast, right? That’s how it goes in our weekly game. There are a few interesting situations about to unfold with players returning or being injured. Here’s how the week 4 workloads shook out.
Austin Ekeler , RB LAC - One of the week's biggest questions will be how does the Chargers backfield shape up. Ekeler has shown his playmaking ability to be an absolute weapon. Head coach Anthony Lynn has said Melvin Gordon will return to starter status. My gut tells me the team will figure out how to keep both involved. Gordon should be reliable after a week or two of real games. Ekeler becomes an option with a lower but still has decent upside, especially if they’re trailing.
Aaron Jones , RB GB - Jones owners are either in for a treat with the backfield to himself for a couple of weeks or a huge headache if rookie Dexter Williams steals snaps the same way the injured Jamaal Williams has. My guess is it falls somewhere in the middle depending on Dexter’s sharpness with the playbook and pass protection.
Wayne Gallman , RB NYG - Gallman had a great day with one rushing and one receiving touchdown apiece. His lone blemish was a goal-line fumble. Jon Hilliman did siphon ten carries with little success. It’s a tougher matchup with Minnesota coming to town week 5.
Jaylen Samuels , RB PIT - Samuels and the Steelers dusted off the Wildcat playbook to some success. He did not attempt a pass but racked up 83 total yards. This feels like more of a one week wrinkle against a Bengals defense that is ripe to be run on. James Conner had a solid day as well with most of his yards coming through the air.
Kerryon Johnson , RB DET - Johnson seems to finally be the man in Detriot’s backfield. A fumble at the 1-yard line prevented his good day from being a great day. SO CLOSE!
Kansas City Chiefs RB's - The back to own in Kansas City is still whichever one scores the touchdowns. Lazy analysis, I know, but there’s nothing to help predict this backfield outside of a ouija board. LeSean McCoy is the primary option at the moment and figures to stay involved once Damien Williams returns. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Williams eased back in, however.
Leonard Fournette , RB JAX. - Jacksonville doesn’t hide their desire to feed Fournette as he toted the rock a whopping 29 times for 225 yards in Week 4. I guess that is good. His usage remains ridiculously high. If you’re a Fournette owner it’s advisable to stash Ryquell Armstead as we’ve seen lower body issues creep up with this kind of work in his past.
David Montgomery , RB CHI - Montgomery truthers got a shred of hope with a 21 carry effort against Minnesota. The good news is they’ve phased out Mike Davis somewhat. The bad news is that was in an attempt to get Tarik Cohen going. This week should be telling with the poor Raider run defense on tap in London and backup QB Chase Daniel firing dump offs.
Todd Gurley , RB LAR - Gurley played 74 snaps (up from an average of 49) in a game the Rams trailed. That passing script was probably a big part of the increased snap rate. Gurley did little on the ground but turned in two TDs and 7 catches for 54 yards. Darrell Henderson is safe to drop if he can’t get involved in this kind of game script.
Phillip Lindsay , RB DEN - Lindsay remains entrenched in a timeshare with Royce Freeman despite his solid week 3. The staff seems to view the backs as interchangeable and use them in the same fashion throughout games.
Christian McCaffrey , RB CAR - Carolina refuses to let any back besides CMC touch the football. He does amazing work with the ball in his hands so it makes sense. I just wonder when this usage catches up to him. It happens for every player touching it so many times at some point.
Duke Johnson , RB HOU - We saw some signs of life from Johnson this past week with a 6-56 on the ground and 2-22 in the air. He also played 65% of the snaps. With Atlanta coming to town this may just be the Duke breakout week. Of course, Bill O’Brien will disappoint us all at some point.
Mark Ingram , RB BAL - Ingram is going to continue to be a boom/bust option if he’s capped at around 60% of the snaps and 15 touches give or take.
Alvin Kamara , RB NO - Kamara will remain the offensive focal point until Drew Brees returns. The entire game was ugly and we may be in store for a few more of those with game manager supreme Teddy Bridgewater at the helm.
Chris Carson , RB SEA - Carson didn’t fumble and Rashaad Penny didn’t play. Carson owners may have dodged a bullet there. With a 104 rushing yards and 4-41 through the air, Carson remains a workhorse until further notice.
Ronald Jones , RB TB - Jones continued to show some burst. A theme is emerging in games the Bucs lead, and it’s that they like RoJo running it. If Brice Arians can keep Jameis Winston from melting down in second halves there could be something here.
Kenyan Drake , RB MIA - Continue to ignore Drake in all but the most desperate situations. Miami’s backfield is still gross. Drake will score a rushing TD one of these weeks and be usable but we have no idea when that could happen.
New England Patriots RB's - The Frustrating Backfield Bingo landed on Brandon Bolden rushing TD week. Rex Burkhead had a minimal role with his foot injury. Sony Michel continued to be fairly ineffective with a 17-63 line. With Burkhead’s propensity to get hurt and Michel looking somewhat shot it’s not the worst time to stash Damien Harris.
Josh Jacobs , RB OAK - Jacobs was back in his typical role (17-79 & 2-29). Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington split up what was left of the snaps without much success. Jacobs will have better days ahead when the TDs come.
Jordan Howard , RB PHI - Here’s yet another weekly reminder that the Philadelphia Eagles rotate their RBs and occasionally ride a hot hand. Howard was that hot hand this week with three total TDs on 53% of the snaps. This can and will change in coming games. Do not overreact.