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Zach analyzes the top fantasy football RB committees, looking for fantasy football RB breakouts heading into Week 5 (2025). Read his key takeaways about eight RB committees.
We've reached the portion of the fantasy football schedule where managers will have to navigate teams taking their bye weeks over the next several weeks. Hopefully, all the planning and depth built into your roster pays off, but stay active since you'll probably have to make adjustments to get a full lineup on the field each week. If running back is a place you need help, one factor in your favor is that many teams are rotating running backs and using a committee approach to keep their backs fresh throughout the game and utilize their differing skills. The committees can be hard to navigate for fantasy football, but they do give more players opportunities to step up and can bring excellent value if you take the time to dive in and figure it out.
This week, we'll examine a massive eight situations where a committee is in place. We'll see how the workload was split up in Week 4 and what that means for the position moving forward into Week 5. Obviously, each week the matchup and game script are a little different, but with four weeks of data, we are starting to get a clearer idea of how teams want to handle their backfields.
What did we learn from Week 4, and how does it change our projections going forward? Below are breakdowns of the backfields in Kansas City, Washington, New Orleans, Carolina, New England, Houston, Seattle, and Arizona
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Chiefs RB Committee: Isiah Pacheco punches it in
The Chiefs got a huge win in Week 4 over the Ravens, and it was Isiah Pacheco who found the end zone after Kareem Hunt hit paydirt in Week 3.
Pop 🎸 🎸
📺 BALvsKC on CBS
— Rutgers Football 🪓 (@RFootball) September 28, 2025
While the touchdown made Pacheco the better fantasy play last week, he only had seven carries for 35 yards and two catches for 13 yards, while playing 37% of the team's snaps. He had played over 50% of snaps in each of the first four weeks of the season. Like he showed this week, he can bring touchdown-dependent upside, but he needs to find the end zone to be a starter at this point.
Hunt got the call at the goal line in Week 3 and took almost twice as many carries as Pacheco in Week 4. He only managed 34 rushing yards on his 13 carries against the Ravens and caught his only target for 13 receiving yards.
While his output wasn't great last week, he played more snaps than Pacheco for the first time this season, which could be a sign of good things to come. If he's on your waiver wire, he's a solid depth pickup since he brings steady depth production even though his ceiling isn't extremely high.
In Week 4, the Chiefs also gave a season-high 26% of snaps to converted receiver Brashard Smith. Smith had four carries for nine yards and caught three of his four targets for 27 yards. While he's not on the radar for standard leagues just yet, he is an interesting option to consider for deep PPR leagues and could continue to work his way into a bigger role.
Of the three backs, Hunt is probably the best current option as the Chiefs head to Jacksonville for Week 5's Monday night matchup. Pacheco has boom-or-bust upside, and Smith is still in "sleeper" and deep league territory. He could get more work going forward, though, so he's definitely someone to monitor in deep leagues.
Commanders Committee: Bill banged up?
When Austin Ekeler went down with a season-ending injury, it looked like the door was wide open for seventh-round rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt to step into a full-time role. In the two weeks since Ekeler's early exit, though, that hasn't been how the situation has played out.
"Bill" is dealing with an injury to his ankle that caused him to miss two practices last week before getting in a full session on Friday. He got a questionable tag but played through the injury Sunday in Atlanta. He played only 35% of the snaps, though, taking his seven carries for 47 yards and adding two catches for 10 more yards.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. played the same number of snaps as Croskey-Merritt and was slightly more effective with 59 yards on his seven carries. However, for better or worse, 48 of those 59 yards came on this one big play:
Chris Rodriguez Jr. rips off a 49-yard run for the @Commanders
WASvsATL on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/z875X7V00w
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
Jeremy McNichols played 33% of snaps as well, but he only had two carries for three yards and one catch for zero yards. He broke off a huge 60-yard touchdown run in Week 3 but couldn't find space like that in Week 4.
This situation seems to be stuck in a three-way timeshare. It seems like the Commanders like to go to Croskey-Merritt in the second half after leaning on Rodriguez and McNichols more early in the game. All three have limited upside in the situation and can go off for big weeks with big plays, but remain very hit or miss.
Of the three, Bill still has the most upside and the greatest chance to work his way into more action. He's definitely not a locked-in RB2, though, until he gets more consistent work.
All three can be flex plays with Croskey-Merritt the top option, followed by Rodriguez as the second-best option, and McNichols as the third-strongest play, making him safe to leave on waiver wires in standard-sized leagues.
Saints Committee: Who's marching where?
The 0-4 Saints hung with the Bills for much of their visit to Buffalo in Week 4, but a few ill-advised risks proved to ultimately be their undoing. Veteran Alvin Kamara remains the lead back for now, but last week, Kendre Miller handled a much larger workload.
Kamara still played 73% of snaps and was very involved with 15 carries and five targets on his way to 72 rushing and receiving yards. The 30-year-old has 256 yards and a touchdown on his 65 carries through four weeks, with 13 catches for 49 more yards.
He hasn't found the end zone since Week 1, though, and he could be a trade candidate with the Saints' season quickly going nowhere. His fantasy value would depend largely on where he lands, but with the Saints, he's still a startable option even though the offense is very shaky.
If Kamara is traded, it would open up the starting job for Miller, who played a much larger role in Week 4. He still only played 31% of snaps, so let's not get too excited. But on the other hand, he did get 11 carries and churned out 65 yards and this touchdown:
Kendre Miller finds an opening for a Saints TD
NOvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/g1kSJHyVTO
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
His production has been solid when he has gotten a chance, and if the Saints keep working him in, he has a high ceiling. With Kamara still getting most of the work, Miller is an emergency flex option, but if Kamara is dealt or injured, he'd instantly become a solid RB2.
Panthers Committee: Blowouts clouding the outlook
The Panthers have been heavily involved in blowouts the last two weeks, trouncing the Falcons 30-0 before losing to the Patriots 42-13. In each of those games, Rico Dowdle has significantly cut into the workload of starter Chuba Hubbard. Should Hubbard managers be worried? Is Dowdle worth a pickup? Let's take a look.
Hubbard played at least 60% of snaps in the first three weeks of the season but only 51% in Week 4. Dowdle played 30% to 40% of snaps each week, with his workload on the rise.
He only had three carries in Week 1, but he had 10 carries in Week 3 and nine carries in Week 4, adding at least one reception in each game as well. Dowdle hasn't piled up big yardage, managing just 83 yards on 28 carries this season, but he did have a touchdown against the Falcons:
RICOOOOOOO
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/vdKCCeAbqG
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 21, 2025
Dowdle has gotten some short-yardage work, like he did on that short touchdown run, and he continues to get plenty of chances as the Panthers try to keep both backs fresh.
When he has gotten work, Hubbard has been much more productive, averaging 4.1 yards per rush compared to Dowdle's 3.0 yards per carry and 7.2 yards per catch to Dowdle's 4.0 yards per reception. Hubbard has racked up 217 rushing yards on his 53 carries and 94 yards on his 13 catches with multiple receptions in each game.
He hasn't had a touchdown or 100 yards, though, partly due to the timeshare and partly due to the offense's overall struggles.
Hubbard could be an RB2 with RB1 upside if he got all the work, but Dowdle stealing carries is limiting his upside. Dowdle himself could work his way up to being a flex option if he keeps getting around 10 touches a game, although it's hard to know how the two will split work if the game is close.
Patriots Committee: No fumbles detected
The Patriots were in position to beat the Steelers in Week 3, but costly turnovers from Rhamondre Stevenson and Drake Maye took away that opportunity. Stevenson's workload was dramatically cut back in Week 4 against the Panthers, and the Patriots cruised to a fumble-free 42-13 win.
Maye, Antonio Gibson, and TreVeyon Henderson all had rushing touchdowns, and Stevenson mixed back in with a team-high 38 rushing yards on a team-high nine carries.
Stevenson played 57% of the snaps in Week 4, while Henderson played 31% and Gibson played 18%. Stevenson's workload was slightly reduced after his fumble issues, but he was still the slightly preferred option. He didn't get into the end zone, though, which kept his fantasy production in check.
Instead, it was the veteran Gibson and the rookie Henderson who got the running back scores. Henderson's score was the first of his career and came on this impressive run in the second quarter:
First @NFL TD for @TreVeyonH4 👏
📺 NFL pic.twitter.com/2hFbnDpMaY
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 28, 2025
While the rotation will likely keep any of the three running backs from being a top-20 option most weeks, all three bring upside. Of the three, Henderson has the highest long-term ceiling and the most big-play ability. While Henderson has the current advantage, it wouldn't be surprising to see the rookie getting more work going forward.
Texans Committee: Welcome to Woody's World
In the first two games of the season, Nick Chubb got about half the work in the Houston backfield, while rookie Woody Marks rotated with Dare Ogunbowale on the other half of the workload. In Week 3, Marks' playing time jumped to about 50% of the snaps, and Ogunbowale did not play an offensive snap. The spike in usage was a sign of things to come, even though his numbers for Week 3 weren't great.
In Week 4, though, Marks had a full breakout performance against the Titans. He took his 17 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown while adding a second touchdown with four catches for 50 more yards.
C.J. Stroud to Woody Marks for a Texans TD!
TENvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/9MacZp1BTJ
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
Marks showed great ability as a receiver in his college career and now looks to be ready for a bigger role in the Texans backfield. He's the best waiver wire pickup of the season so far if he's still available, and if you grabbed him before Week 4, you are set for success the rest of the way.
He'll still split time with Chubb and doesn't get to play the Titans every week, but he does have a great matchup against the Ravens in Week 5. Marks deserves to be one of the hottest fantasy names right now, and he'll look to deliver on that promise and continue to establish himself as the primary running back in Houston.
He has true RB1 potential in an offense that needs all the playmaking help it can get.
Seahawks Committee: Sharing is caring
The Seahawks dramatically won on Thursday against the Cardinals, and they continue to split work between Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.
Walker and Charbonnet have split work relatively evenly when both are healthy. Charbonnet played 58% of snaps in Week 1 and 55% of snaps in Week 2. Charbonnet missed Week 3, though, and Walker stepped up with 16 carries for 38 yards and two touchdowns.
In Week 4, Charbonnet was questionable but played, getting back into the end zone and playing 47% of snaps. Walker got slightly more work with 19 carries for 81 yards and a 29-yard reception, while Charbonnet finished with 39 rushing yards and five receiving yards on 12 carries and two catches. His foot looked just fine on powerful runs like this:
Charbonnet powers his way into the endzone to extend @Seahawks lead 💪
SEAvsAZ on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/8kMeEQnUi7— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2025
Both Charbonnet and Walker have had enough success to be weekly flex options, and if either goes down, the remaining back would be a strong RB1 candidate. Either one of them can produce big games if they get touchdowns, so they should be in your lineup most weeks, unless you have stacked alternative options.
The Seahawks will likely stay run-heavy with their attack, especially with matchups against the Bucs, Jaguars, and Texans before their Week 8 bye. Neither seems to have a strong edge right now, with Charbonnet the slightly better option, in my opinion, just because he's been a little better near the end zone and more utilized in the passing game.
Cardinals Committee: The Plan Post-Conner
The Cardinals lost James Conner to a season-ending injury in Week 3, and since he had been the team's feature back the last several seasons, it definitely changes the look and feel of the Cardinals' backfield.
In the first game for the team since losing Conner, second-year running back Trey Benson took over the lead-back responsibilities, playing 55% of snaps. He actually had an even heavier workload in Week 3 after Conner's departure, playing 61% of snaps in that game.
Benson was solid but not spectacular in both games, posting 10 carries for 42 yards against the Niners in Week 3 and following that with eight carries for 35 rushing yards in Week 4. He was also very involved as a receiver, catching three passes for nine yards and five passes for 19 yards in those two games, respectively. Benson is still looking for his first touchdown of the season, but it looks like he's the primary running back to have in your lineup from Arizona.
However, Benson did give up some snaps and work to Emari Demercado, the Cardinals' third-year running back from TCU. While he only had two catches and two carries, he did take one of his catches into the end zone:
Emari Demercado! The @AZCardinals have tied this game 💪
SEAvsAZ on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Lgt5gQAywX— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2025
Demercado played 39% of snaps, primarily focused on passing downs and the two-minute drill. Part of the reason he was in the game late, though, may have been an injury to Benson. While the team hasn't given any details, Benson missed practice with an "undisclosed" injury on Monday. The team also signed Michael Carter to the active roster on Monday, which could be nothing or could be something. Last year, Carter had 188 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown on 46 touches with Arizona, and he could step in as the early-down back and rotate with Demercado if Benson were to miss time.
Kyler Murray's rushing production is also a factor to consider with the Cardinals' backfield, since he does vulture some touchdowns and rack up some rushing yards as well.
The Cardinals have a great matchup against the Titans this week, making their running backs especially valuable short-term. Benson will be an RB2 if healthy, and Carter could even be an interesting desperation play if Benson is out. Demercado will likely remain the passing-down back in either scenario and offer flex potential for GPP. He would probably get more work if Benson is sidelined, but his style and skill set probably won't work as a high-volume, every-down option.
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