RADIO
Kevin looks for fantasy football risers, sleepers, breakout candidates for Week 5 of 2025. He analyzes last week's targets, receptions, air yards, snaps, routes.
Welcome back to our fantasy football targets, routes, and snap counts analysis for Week 5 of the 2025 NFL season. Targets are paramount when it comes to evaluating pass-catchers for fantasy football. There are no air yards, receiving yards, receptions, or touchdowns without first earning a target. There’s a reason the biggest and most consistent target-earners are among the top fantasy point scorers; they can be relied on by not just their team’s offense to earn targets and produce on those targets.
We’ll take a weekly team-by-team review of these target earners and separate the wheat from the chaff. To properly lead into what we’ll look at this season, we’ll have to establish a baseline of the most important things we’re looking at with targets and other receiving metrics that paint the full picture for who we should roster, who we should add, and who we can drop.
Everything we’ll discuss in this season’s WR/TE/RB targets, air yards, and snaps trends analysis article will be some of the best metrics correlating to fantasy production. Think of targets as a page in a coloring book, representing the outline yet to be colored. Coloring on that page adds context and flavor. That’s what we’ll do with targets — adding more context than just some target totals and box score stats.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Note: Statistics from our player pages at RotoBaller were included during the compilation of data, in addition to some of the following sites/databases: Pro Football Reference, PFF, Fantasy Points Data Suite, rbdsm.com/stats, NFELO, NFL NextGenStats, NFL Pro+, RotoViz, ESPN Stats and Info, and SumerSports.
Cardinals Notes From Week 4:
The Cardinals had the second-most dropbacks in Week 5 behind the Minnesota Vikings in their quest to catch up with the Seahawks as they were down 20-6 with less than 10 minutes to go in the game before scoring two touchdowns and tying the game before Seattle went down and won it with a four-play drive to boot home the game-winning field goal.
Both Marvin Harrison Jr. (6-66-1) and Trey McBride (7-52) paced the Cardinals with 10 targets apiece, but there was plenty of passing to go around (41 pass attempts), even if that passing from Kyler Murray resulted in 200 yards.
Trey Benson’s (8-35 rushing; 5-19 receiving) role was strong all things considered, as Emari Demercado scored a receiving touchdown and Michael Carter came off the practice squad as well. Demercado and Carter will get more time on the field, though, as Benson was placed on IR and will miss at least four games with a knee injury.
I'd be targeting Carter here in fantasy, with experience in an early-down role dating back to his time with the Jets. He’s still just an RB3-type back. Carter does have some receiving capability, though, but you're looking at a low fantasy points floor and not much ceiling here. A dart-throw flex most weeks if this is the role Carter holds.
Demercado feels insulated in his current role as a third-down back, and I don't think that role grows. Bam Knight feels like depth. I was definitely “today” years old when I realized that Knight was the Zonovan Knight who had minor roles with the Jets and Lions for the last few seasons.
Falcons Notes From Week 4:
The Atlanta Falcons were pretty run-heavy here against the Commanders, but Michael Penix Jr. showed some nice efficiency after two down weeks and hooked up with the main guys in the passing game. The Falcons had the lead the entire way, fending off the Washington Commanders at every step of the way.
Shaking off some of the rust from the last couple of weeks, Drake London (8-110-1) returned to form with an awesome game where he led the way with 10 targets. Darnell Mooney hurt his hamstring, and it’s a good thing the Falcons are on bye, because he certainly would miss a Week 5 game if the Falcons played one.
Further consolidating of routes at tight end, Kyle Pitts Sr. (5-70-1) got into the end zone on a very easy block and release where he just used his size to bully his way to the corner of the end zone.
The story, though, was Bijan Robinson, who not only put up a robust 17-75-1 line on the ground but also went over 100 yards through the air, too. 69 of Robinson’s 106 yards were on a simple swing play, but instead of Penix lobbing it to him and making Robinson lose speed, he threw a bullet pass to him, where he knew Bobby Wagner couldn’t catch up to him or the ball. It was an awesome throw that helped make that long gain.
https://t.co/wDkERSaoIY pic.twitter.com/M7g1QyfTuy
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 28, 2025
Ravens Notes From Week 4:
A rough day for the Baltimore Ravens, which ended up getting much worse when Lamar Jackson suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for a few weeks. With the Ravens already 1-3 and having to rely on Cooper Rush to help right the ship, it puts Baltimore behind the eight-ball.
For Week 4, the Ravens got behind early here, at points trailing by two scores in the second quarter and well into the third. From then on, it was Justice Hill (3-76-1 rushing; 5-41-1 receiving) seeing quite a bit of work with a touchdown at the beginning of the game and then a 71-yard rushing score in garbage time. Derrick Henry (8-42 rushing; 2-16 receiving) was effectively game-scripted out here.
Isaiah Likely (no targets) made his return and ran 50 percent of routes, but didn’t earn a target. Mark Andrews (7-30) tied for the team lead in targets with Zay Flowers (7-74), but ran a season-low 68 percent of routes per dropback. With Likely returning to the lineup, the decreasing routes are probably going to be more of the norm for Andrews, so he’s going to be VERY difficult to recommend with not only that, but Rush as the quarterback for a few weeks.
Bills Notes From Week 4:
Only two Bills players ran more than 70 percent of routes: Keon Coleman (3-45) and Khalil Shakir (5-69-1). Coleman’s is miles away from a massive Week 1 game at this point, as that’s a clear anomaly. Shakir has the best chance of returning consistent value with his role as the short-area YAC compiler that acts as a team’s run game too. It’s a great role for PPR formats, and it’s what propped up Shakir’s fantasy value last season.
Dalton Kincaid (1-28-1) scored a touchdown on his only reception on just two targets and 57 percent of routes. For tight ends in fantasy football, that’s just not going to get it done. Both Dawson Knox (one target) and Jackson Hawes (1-15) also out-snapped Kincaid, so this is just a gross tight end rotation. While Kincaid may run more routes than the other two, he’s not near where we want him in terms of being on the field enough to have target-earning upside consistently.
The one Bill you can feel the best about starting that’s not named Josh Allen, is James Cook, who put up another monster game. With 117 rushing yards on 69 percent of the team's rushing attempts, plus a massive gap in routes and snaps over the secondary backs, Cook’s role is one of the best in fantasy football.
Panthers Notes From Week 4:
Are the Carolina Panthers bad? YES.
Very bad? Probably!
Should they be losing by 29 points to a New England Patriots team that has its own issues? Probably not.
Bryce Young is slipping a bit into his rookie season stuff, and it’s not great. For fantasy, he’s been QB25, QB27, and QB29 in three of four weeks. The lone remaining week saw Young finish QB8, and that was because the Panthers had 55 pass attempts in a heavily skewed negative game script where the Cardinals barely touched the ball in the second half.
Some real human (allegedly) named Brycen Tremayne ran 90 percent of routes in Week 4; that should tell you a lot about where we are right now. You’re starting Tetairoa McMillan, of course, but you get the feeling that this team just doesn’t have it, and they may run out the clock on the Dave Canales regime soon. There isn’t a soul you’re trusting here in Carolina outside of a healthy Chuba Hubbard… who has a calf injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday. GREAT.
Keep your Rico Dowdle shares on stand by, folks.
Bears Notes From Week 4:
The Bears wanted to win this game so badly that they still needed a game-winning field goal after giving up four turnovers to the Las Vegas Raiders. Chicago wasn’t too economical here with their run game averaging 2.7 yards per carry and just 212 yards passing on Caleb Williams’ 41 dropbacks. But in a running theme the last few weeks across the league, a blocked kick of a game-winning field goal sealed a win for the Bears.
Rome Odunze (4-69-1) was solid here as he and Cole Kmet (3-46) tied for the team lead in targets with eight. Kmet got an extended run in this game with no Colston Loveland. Odunze scored Williams’ lone touchdown and was by far the most consistently productive receiver here for the Bears. Luther Burden III’s routes stayed stagnant at 27 percent as Olamide Zaccheaus (5-41) just HAS to get on the field on 68 percent of dropbacks. DJ Moore (4-38) was present and accounted for.
As was D'Andre Swift, who scored a touchdown but remained as inefficient as ever with 2.7 yards per carry. I wonder if Chicago gives Kyle Monangai some more opportunities after their Week 5 bye. Monangai can’t be any worse than Swift, right?
Bengals Notes From Week 4:
Look, these Cincinnati Bengals are a disaster. They scored just three points in Denver on Monday Night Football in a game where the Broncos thoroughly dominated them. We’re at the point here where we throw our hands up and resign ourselves to the fate of these Bengals. There is a shockingly low floor and very little ceiling in most weeks.
This offense will remain broken unless one of these things happens:
- Joe Burrow returns (Whenever that will be, but the likeliest of outcomes.)
- We get a new quarterback (Possible – Jameis Winston, perhaps?)
- Jake Browning improves (LOL, I love a good joke!)
- Zac Taylor goes into his bag of tricks (A better chance of lightning striking twice, I'd say!)
- Something not listed here (Choose your own adventure; have fun with it!)
Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will lead the team in targets and counting stats in most weeks, as well as run a ton of routes per dropback. It’s just not going to turn into much fantasy production without some kind of tangible change, however. Both Chase and Higgins just flex plays right now, and if you had the No. 1 overall pick in fantasy and selected Chase, it hurts. I get it.
Chase Brown will still take a huge share of the team rushing attempts each week, and he may turn in some decently useful fantasy production in most weeks. He’s pretty good, and volume is king, as they say. 71 total yards and three receptions were the tally in Week 4, but without the threat of the passing game we’ve known and grown accustomed to, the floor and ceiling are smushed together.
Browns Notes From Week 4:
Cleveland has struggled big time getting the passing game going to any degree of success, and that continued against the Lions in Week 4, where they got behind 20-7 at halftime and then never really threatened the rest of the way as they lost 34-10.
Another lackluster game from the passing game, where this offense was supposed to be largely positive in PROE, but a lot of secondary players are involved a bit too much. The players who should be earning the volume are earning inefficient versions of it. Jerry Jeudy continues that season-long trend as he’s caught just 13 of 29 total targets this season without a touchdown. The intent has been there (106.3 air yards per game) as has the first-read targets (26.7 percent in four games), but it’s been the quarterback holding him back.
Cedric Tillman hurt his hamstring and left early in this game, so Isaiah Bond saw a season-high in routes per dropback to varying degrees of success. With Tillman placed on IR on Wednesday morning, that’s going to allow Bond to get more routes, and with the quarterback change from Joe Flacco to Dillon Gabriel for Week 5 in London, we’ll see if it produces any tangible change.
The tight ends are seeing routes, but they’re slightly cannibalizing each other despite the Browns having by far the most 12-personnel utilization (47.9 percent) than the rest of the NFL. Both David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. are low-end fantasy TE starts, but what we’re really rooting for is a trade with Njoku. That would give the Browns a bit more runway with Fannin to do what Pitts Sr. is doing: consolidating routes at the position, putting a blocker on the line (Blake Whiteheart), and letting Fannin be the chess piece and slot mismatch to eliminate most slot work from nothing players like Jamari Thrash.
While this Browns’ passing game has disappointed greatly over four weeks, it has spurred the quarterback change from Flacco to Gabriel. Quinshon Judkins has chugged along with some incredibly consistent per-carry efficiency. It’s to the point where we need to be starting him in almost every league. Judkins is +57 in rush yards over expected and a tick above average (40.8 percent) in NFL Next Gen Stats’ Success Rate.
Jerome Ford is basically playing the Justice Hill role in Cleveland: eating up routes and doing some pass protection stuff, but a mostly unimportant role for fantasy purposes. Getting the true squeeze is Dylan Sampson, who is very cuttable right now. Unlike Hill, Ford would likely take the early down work with Sampson taking the receiving and two-minute drill work in the event of a Judkins injury.
Cowboys Notes From Week 4:
No CeeDee Lamb? No problem, as the Cowboys’ offense looked excellent in this one against the previously vaunted Packers’ defense. Still, it wasn’t good enough to get the win OR the loss, as Dallas tied with the Green Bay Packers 40-40.
Both teams traded touchdown drives three times in the third and fourth quarters, so Dak Prescott was about to rack up some passing volume with 40 pass attempts in regulation and overtime. With no Lamb, George Pickens was the breadwinner, with an overall WR2 week on a monster 8-134-2 line.
Jalen Tolbert slid into close to full-time routes with 83 percent of routes per dropback and a solid 4-61 line. The current overall fantasy TE1, Jake Ferguson, kept up his quality start to the season with a touchdown and a 7-40 line. Some were hoping for more run for KaVontae Turpin, but he was still a part-time guy with five touches for 34 yards on 68 percent of routes.
At this point, through four games, it’s time to just accept that Javonte Williams is back more than we thought he’d be back. Tied for seventh in the NFL in total RYOE (+61) this season and fifth among qualified running backs in yards after contact per attempt, Williams has been excellent and put up another 100 total yards and a touchdown against the Packers. Ride the wave here!
Broncos Notes From Week 4:
In the “later” Monday Night game in Week 4, the Denver Broncos thoroughly handled the Cincinnati Bengals, ran a ton of plays, and produced some fantasy goodness that we like to see.
I might as well start calling Courtland Sutton “the pinned comment” because you always see him at the top – ugh, I hate myself for writing that and keeping it in, but it’s 8:11 am at the time of this writing. Anyway, Sutton is awesome, and his status at the top of the pecking order remains unchallenged and unchanged.
Week 4 marks three straight weeks for 80 percent or more routes for Troy Franklin, and he led the Broncos in targets (8) as well. Besides Franklin’s massive 8-89-1 stat line in Week 2, he has combined for 6-63 in the last two weeks. Bo Nix tried to find Franklin deep (114 air yards) a few times, including his last target in the fourth quarter, where Nix shorted Franklin a tiny bit, but Franklin probably should have caught it between two defenders.
For the rest of the pass-catchers, Marvin Mims Jr. got a rushing touchdown on a fun little jet motion play where he got the handoff off it and was literally faster than any other Bengal to get the edge and score. He chipped in with 6-69 on just 51 percent of routes, but it was a hugely productive day that we can’t really rely on week to week in this offense that spreads the ball to a ton of targets.
Evan Engram (60 percent routes) was just a situational player in his return to the lineup, with a 4-29 line on six targets. He’s not somebody we can start in fantasy right now in this role, as rotating time on the field equally with Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins is probably not a great sign.
With the Broncos running a lot of plays, they not only gave J.K. Dobbins 17 touches and a 100-yard game, but also gave R.J. Harvey time on the field, where he got 14 carries himself plus five targets, including his first touchdown to cap off the scoring for Denver.
It’s still Dobbins’ backfield for now, let’s be clear. But it was as good a time as any to get Harvey involved and get him some much-needed touches. 98 total yards plus a touchdown with receiving work is some nice utilization that could be a sign of things to come if the team shifts some more things over to Harvey in the coming weeks.
Lions Notes From Week 4:
In contrast to the Cleveland Browns, Detroit’s opponent in Week 4, the Lions are #very good and dominated an inferior opponent to the tune of 34-10. If you know how awesome the Browns’ run defense has been through four weeks and how they’ve handled some of the best rushers in the league, you wouldn’t be that surprised David Montgomery was bottled up significantly. You also wouldn’t be surprised that Jahmyr Gibbs was still awesome, and that’s the reason we’re seeing such a disparity in not just touches, but the utilization of Gibbs compared to Montgomery this season versus the previous two seasons.
Bless ‘em, they’re definitely trying with Jameson Williams. A massive 25.1-yard aDOT this week for Williams and just two catches on seven targets, including 176 air yards that led all pass-catchers in Week 4. There’s no reason to ever get away from Williams as a fantasy play, as variance means those plays are going to hit massively for his managers.
Sunrise, sunset, Amon-Ra St. Brown is really good, the sky is blue, the grass is green. Another two touchdowns on 7-70, and we’re looking at one of the best producers in one of the best offenses in the league.
It was St. Brown pacing things in the passing game in Week 4, with Sam LaPorta chipping in on 85 percent routes per dropback. He’s been moderately disappointing, and the hope for LaPorta was that his massive 2024 second-half surge could carry over into 2025, but he’s had just 11 targets in the last three games combined. He’s just a low-end fantasy starter for now, but one on a wildly productive offense that can blow up at any time.
Packers Notes From Week 4:
The Packers and Cowboys got into a little bit of a shootout on Sunday Night, but a 40-40 tie didn’t seem like the desired outcome for Green Bay in a game that ruined a lot of Survivor pools – not me, we’re still alive! And make sure you check out that article too!
The story of the pass-catchers was a blow-up game from Romeo Doubs, where he caught all three of Jordan Love’s touchdown passes. No, this doesn’t make Doubs a waiver wire pickup. Doubs could go back down to zero in Week 6 even though he typically runs the most routes for the Packers.
Dontayvion Wicks got a lot of run as well with 79 percent of routes, but saw his first target on the night in the overtime period. There just is too much riffraff with so many Packers vying for targets that it’s hard to get consistent target volume for the guys who run the most routes. That’s also the main point of contention for Doubs, because a half-dozen players could lead this team in targets each week. In fact, four different Packers already have this season:
- Week 1 – Jayden Reed (5 targets)
- Week 2 – Dontayvion Wicks (6)
- Week 3 – Josh Jacobs (9)
- Week 4 – Romeo Doubs (8)
Matthew Golden has slowly ramped up his production with a 5-58 line on six targets; both season-highs. His routes came down to 72 percent from last week’s 84 percent, but it’s nitpicking, as the Packers had a lot of dropbacks in regulation and overtime, where he actually ran six more total routes despite the percentage decrease.
Look, Tucker Kraft is an awesome player, but probably a better real-life player than a fantasy asset. He seems destined to take the George Kittle mantle of the efficient two-way tight end with high week-to-week variance. Kraft is awesome when conditions are right, but he gets bogged down by the reliably uncondensed Packers offense.
Jacobs bounced back with an exceptional game against the Cowboys, with 157 total yards, two touchdowns, and +23 RYOE, even if the YPC was still slightly under 4.0 yards. No issues here, though, as the Packers enter their Week 5 bye.
Texans Notes From Week 4:
From a skill-position standpoint, the Houston Texans are a hot mess. If you were to quantify how “hot” a mess exactly, well, if you took out Nico Collins, the level of “hot” would be the sun’s core. You know, it is only around 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. Is that an exaggeration about the Texans? I’ll let you decide.
Collins is keeping this ship afloat, as he’s done enough to make it a hopeless affair with two touchdowns and a 100-yard game under his belt in Week 3. In Week 4, Collins (4-79) led the way amongst the wide receivers and tight ends, though Dalton Schultz led the team in targets with six.
In the running game, we got Woody Marks passing the stationary Nick Chubb ship in the night, where Marks blew by him with 119 total yards and two touchdowns, showing the juice that has been missing in this offense since Tank Dell (we miss you, king!) was healthy. Marks ran more routes than Chubb (44 percent to 28 percent) and took more snaps (56 percent to 42 percent) as well. It was dominant, and we must reframe our opinion.
Chubb will still get work in this offense, but Marks looks like a competent RB2 with receiving upside. League-winning upside? I would say no, but every fantasy team needs competent scorers, and Marks can be that at the very least. In a game of ever-evolving opinions, we’ll revisit this a few times, I’m sure.
Colts Notes From Week 4:
With no Alec Pierce due to injury, that gave a ton of time to Adonai Mitchell to get on the field with 91 percent of routes per Daniel Jones’ dropbacks. Mitchell had a nice game (3-96 on four targets) if you didn’t look at the fumble column and wonder what happened.
Ball is out before it crosses the goal line. It’s a touchback!
INDvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/DtuT1kDX9s
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
That Mitchell touchdown would have really put a nice exclamation point on his day, and could that have put him in position to work further into Pierce’s workload alongside Michael Pittman Jr.? We’ll never know. Pittman scored about a quarter later from Mitchell’s gaffe, with Tyler Warren having another very solid game (5-70) at the top of the Colts’ target tree.
Mitchell didn’t just affect the passing game; he affected the run game as well with a brutal holding penalty that negated a 53-yard rushing touchdown from Jonathan Taylor. Not great! Taylor was still incredibly solid on the day against the Rams, with 96 total yards on 22 opportunities.
Jaguars Notes From Week 4:
A few interesting notes about the Jaguars in Week 4, as Brian Thomas Jr. (5-49, tied for team lead with seven targets) looked a bit better than he has at most points this season. No doubt it’s been very frustrating as a fantasy manager for Thomas, but it’s been an incremental improvement based on the eye test. Travis Hunter (3-42) played MUCH less on defense with only nine snaps attributed to him in Week 4. Hunter had a three-week high in routes in Week 4 with 70 percent of routes per Trevor Lawrence’s dropbacks. Baby steps, it seems.
Travis Etienne Jr. (19-124-1 rushing; 1-1 receiving) has a chokehold on the rushing part of the equation, but the routes are still in a murky three-way split with Etienne, Bhayshul Tuten (4-14 rushing; 1-8 receiving), and LeQuint Allen Jr. (1-7 receiving) all splitting one receiving role. Etienne was electric on his 48-yard touchdown run, where he just went off tackle, bounced outside, blew by everybody past the second level, and then made a killer step inside to freeze the safety to blow by him for the touchdown.
Travis Etienne 48-YARD HOUSE CALL
JAXvsSF on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/rw18T7TMD8
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
Chiefs Notes From Week 4:
It’s funny how just adding one player into the mix changes the entire complexion of an offense. Xavier Worthy (5-83) made his long-awaited return to the Chiefs’ offense. Patrick Mahomes used him right from the jump on the first play, and he ended up leading the team in everything, but didn’t get into the end zone. The Chiefs had a whole different vibe here, with Marquise Brown (3-38-1) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (4-36-1) being able to work off Worthy, and Travis Kelce also getting involved.
As for the routes, Brown (59 percent) and Thornton (38 percent) dropped down a ton with Worthy back, and Smith-Schuster actually led all Chiefs in routes per dropback. Brown and Thornton are just bench holds right now to see if they jump back up, but Smith-Schuster is purely a deep league stash.
After a few weeks of teasing, the Chiefs decided to get Brashard Smith more involved in the offense, in the same role as Jerick McKinnon once had in Kansas City: a passing-down option that can be utilized and schemed as we saw in Week 4. They even put him out wide with Isiah Pacheco (7-34 rushing; 2-13-1 receiving) in the backfield to run a swing pass for him. It’s interesting to get these wrinkles at the same time as Worthy being back, which really changes the tenor of an offense.
The targets and utilization of the Chiefs’ passing game still feel too spread out to roster most of the pass-catching options, but Worthy is back to being a must-start fantasy option, especially with the clear intent to make him the offensive focal point that everything else builds off. Kelce as a floor option at tight end feels fine enough, but I’m not expecting many spike weeks out of him.
Raiders Notes From Week 4:
FINALLY. We got the eruption game from Ashton Jeanty, who had looked good in limited action but hadn’t put all the pieces together for one complete game until Week 4 against the Bears. Jeanty was a huge part of the Raiders’ offense, as he scored all three touchdowns and racked up 155 total yards out of the team’s 357 total offensive output. We clearly feel better about starting him in managed leagues, not that you weren’t, but you know.
Geno Smith only threw for 117 yards on just 21 pass attempts, so muted days from Jakobi Meyers (4-30 on seven targets) and Brock Bowers (5-46 on six targets). No other Raider had more than two targets or two receptions. This game from Tre Tucker (2-13, two targets; 2-9 rushing; 100% routes) was more of what we can expect from him in most weeks, not as much the three-touchdown outburst from Week 3.
Chargers Notes From Week 4:
The Los Angeles Chargers, under offensive coordinator Greg Roman, are going to be studied for decades. Roman, a run-first coordinator who directed run-first offenses with mobile quarterbacks like Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Tyrod Taylor, and Lamar Jackson, becomes a pass-first coordinator with Justin Herbert and these Chargers. Analysts who have been watching Roman’s offenses for years and years are left waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But it might not!
The Chargers had 44 dropbacks and just 13 team rush attempts, with Omarion Hampton (12-128-1 rushing; 5-37 receiving) getting 12 of those attempts. He was awesome here with this massive role sans Najee Harris.
In the passing game, the Chargers retain their perch atop the PROE leaderboard with a massive 14.8 percent PROE, the highest mark of any team this season. Quentin Johnston (8-98-1) has far and away been the biggest 2024 to 2025 jump in terms of production and us having to change our perception of a player. Johnston’s rise to a massive target-earning player has come at the expense of
Ladd McConkey (1-11, six targets) has been the opposite of Johnston in the first four games of this season. He seems like a priority for the Chargers to get going with some layup targets to utilize his ball-in-hand skills, which haven’t been on display yet.
Keenan Allen earned seven targets but took a bit of a backseat to Hampton and Johnston, who both crushed. You also can’t put the genie back in the bottle, as tight end Oronde Gadsden jumped up to 50 percent of routes per dropback. It’s going to be hard for Gadsden to find fantasy value this season, barring injury, but he’s going to be a huge part of what they do as a former wide receiver-turned-tight end in the mold of Darren Waller.
Rams Notes From Week 4:
I probably don’t have the say that Puka Nacua is good or anything, but he’s on pace to absolutely destroy the best wide receiver fantasy season of all time, set by Cooper Kupp in 2021. All Nacua did was just casually put up 13-170-1 on 14 targets, another overall WR1 week. He’s amazing.
Pair that with Davante Adams, who is getting there on touchdowns and some target volume, and you’ve got the best combination of wide receivers in the league right now. Despite the second-fiddle status of Adams, he’s still putting up massive efficiency stats in line with his career, like a YPRR right around 2.00 and a 25 percent targets per route run. Those are both very strong, and we love our condensed Rams. Also, Tutu Atwell (1-88-1) scored an 88-yard touchdown on his only target, where the Colts had 10 men on the field, so that was pretty cool.
The run game is as status quo as ever, with Kyren Williams putting up 94 total yards on 16 opportunities and Blake Corum racked up 13 opportunities as well. Same as it’s always been.
Dolphins Notes From Week 4:
The New York Jets made this Dolphins’ 27-21 win look much closer than it was, with the Dolphins looking like a much superior team for most of it. Unfortunately, the team lost Tyreek Hill to a dislocated knee for the season, so we’re going to have to adjust some of the priors for Miami for the remainder of the season.
As we know, the Dolphins are a very condensed offense in terms of production, and that was primarily through Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and De'Von Achane. Waddle and Achane obviously remain, but several things could happen here going forward with Miami’s target distribution:
- Malik Washington takes a much bigger role in the offense with a full-time routes share and varying week-to-week consistency.
- Waller finds the fountain of youth and becomes the solid third target here after Waddle and Achane, providing a solid avenue of tight end fantasy value.
- Both Washington and Waller flip-flop as the third option in the offense week to week and muddy everything up for both, with Washington remaining an inconsistent option and Waller being a streaming option at tight end. Waddle and Achane absorb most of Hill’s production, and both level up quite a bit, further widening the gap between those two and everybody else in the offense.
- Nick Westbrook-Ikhine runs a bunch of routes as the sacrificial ‘X’ receiver, and everybody else stays in their roles, with Waddle and Achane taking slight bumps up in target volume and per-target efficiency.
I would lean toward the third bullet point being the most likely scenario, but it’s worth noting that Washington has been featured quite a bit on designed work this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Washington took a bigger role. I don’t want to overreact to the two touchdowns from Waller in his first game back; he did it on 36 percent of routes. I don’t know if a full-time role is there for him at this stage of his career.
Even without Achane receiving work this week (just one target), he was still awesome on the ground and scored a rushing touchdown. Without Hill, he’s probably going to be more of a focal point in the passing game going forward.
Vikings Notes From Week 4:
Do you think the Minnesota Vikings are happy to have Jordan Addison back? You have to think Justin Jefferson is, because the Vikings look that much more dynamic on offense with Addison back to open things up for the rest of the passing game.
Both Jefferson (10-126; team-leading 11 targets) and Addison (4-114; 8 targets) consolidated the target volume here for the receivers, combining for almost half of the Vikings’ targets and most of the yardage. Jefferson had 100 percent route participation, and Addison was not far off that with 96 percent routes, so the boys are back in town here.
The typical third, T.J. Hockenson (4-39; five targets) chipped in, but a new challenger could be emerging to give the Vikings a bit of a different look in the passing game. That would be Zavier Scott, the former wide receiver-turned running back who had seven targets, six receptions for 43 yards, and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Scott offers a much different skill set than Jordan Mason (16-57 rushing; 3-15 receiving), who hasn’t been featured much as a receiver, but is awesome between the tackles. Perhaps it’s a role that will grow here for the Vikings to basically take a running back and use Scott’s receiving skills in a mismatch-type role against linebackers. He’s certainly worth a speculative add to see if it grows in the next couple of weeks.
Patriots Notes From Week 4:
The New England Patriots pulverized the hapless Carolina Panthers, and a lot of that is thanks to Drake Maye, who, outside of the elites at the position, is poised to break down that door and join them. To do what he’s doing with one of the worst collections of receiving targets is pretty remarkable. A couple of them even showed up in Week 4!
Stefon Diggs reemerged as a worthy target for Maye with his best game of the season, a 6-101 performance on a resurgent 82 percent of routes. The other four receivers combined for just four targets, two catches, and 22 yards. Though Mack Hollins did get a touchdown, so there’s that. Hunter Henry also continued his solid play with a touchdown on top of a 2-39 afternoon.
One of the biggest fantasy storylines running through this season is this backfield, and when TreVeyon Henderson is going to get legitimate work here. Henderson doesn’t NEED to be a bellcow running back to be effective. He can work in as the “Jahmyr Gibbs” while Rhamondre Stevenson is some form of the “David Montgomery”-type back. But it’s a disservice to both backs that Antonio Gibson is still taking 21 percent of the team rushing attempts in Week 4 of the 2025 NFL season.
Henderson saw one less touch (9) than Stevenson’s 10, but Henderson (and Gibson) both got into the end zone. It’s murky, it’s a quagmire; it’s the Patriots’ backfield, baby! Veteran deference by head coach Mike Vrabel is going to rule the day for a good chunk of the season. If you have Henderson rostered, you’ll likely have to exercise some patience, but he’s a back-end flex play in the meantime.
The same goes for Stevenson until we get some more clarity on the backfield.
Saints Notes From Week 4:
The Saints were 16.5-point underdogs and stayed in the game for a large portion of it to the surprise of many, but they were very run-heavy doing so. They just didn’t have the horses to stay with the Bills the entire game, but the Saints are definitely plucky.
Both Alvin Kamara (15-70 rushing; 4-2 receiving) and Kendre Miller (11-65-1 rushing) combined for 135 yards on the ground, but Kamara still looks a bit sluggish due to all the tread on his tires from years and years of work. Start Kamara if you must, but his upside is dwindling by the week when he’s not springing anything in the receiving game.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler only threw for 126 yards, so there obviously wasn’t too much on the plate for the Saints’ pass-catchers. Chris Olave co-led things with five targets and scored on Rattler’s only touchdown score to at least make his day not a total dud. Olave also threw an interception, so that didn’t help things. Juwan Johnson (3-28), Rashid Shaheed (4-47), and Brandin Cooks (3-22) ran a ton of routes, but it didn’t amount to much production on the afternoon.
Giants Notes From Week 4:
Okay, let’s rip off the Band-Aid here: Malik Nabers (2-20) tore his ACL and is out for the season. It’s gut-wrenching to see that happen after he was set to be a dominant force among fantasy wide receivers, and he got ONE quarter with new quarterback Jaxson Dart. HATE it. But it’s the game we play.
Without Nabers, Dart is going to have to look to players like Cam Skattebo (25-79 rushing; 2-11 receiving) and Wan'Dale Robinson (3-14) to produce in this offense for the rest of the season. Robinson’s role has fluctuated massively this season, with weekly aDOT of 3.3, 16.7, 21.3, and 0.8 in his four games this season. Whether it’s a short, target-earning role that’s an extension of the run game, a deep-ball role, or both, Robinson is going to have to be a big factor for the Giants going forward.
Who else will? Darius Slayton (3-44) will be around, but he’s boring and only somewhat productive. We haven’t seen Theo Johnson (3-17-1) take a step in his second season. Former Biletnikoff Award winner Jalin Hyatt (57 percent of routes, no targets) can’t earn a target to save his life. It’s a condensed target tree because it HAS to be in New York.
Skattebo is going to have to be a massive focal point here, but perhaps he and Dart can play some two-man rushing stuff to keep defenses on their toes. The Giants will have to get creative, for sure. Skattebo’s role was massive, though, with 27 touches, 60 percent of the team’s rushing attempts, and 63 percent of routes per dropback.
Jets Notes From Week 4:
It truly doesn’t matter who the quarterback is – okay, maybe it does, considering the issues he’s had with quarterbacks who have been throwing him the ball in recent seasons – but Garrett Wilson is just really, really good.
Garrett Wilson MONSTER catch in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins
— nflplays.bsky.social (@nflplays.bsky.social) October 1, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Normally, I would say you’re not rostering anybody else from this Jets offense as everything flows through Wilson, but Mason Taylor had a solid game on almost 75 percent of routes. Week-to-week consistency is clearly the key here, as Taylor hasn’t had it. That said, Taylor‘s12 targets combined in the past two games on a starter’s share of routes with over 70 percent routes in every week this season? That’s not nothing. He’s a streaming option right now as we head into the bye week season starting this upcoming week.
With the Braelon Allen MCL sprain he suffered in Week 4, that’s only going to consolidate work for Breece Hall. Yeah, Hall has been good but not great, but the workload and lean into the run have been there in the last two weeks as a well-below-average PROE team. 101 total yards for Hall on 14 carries and six targets was nice, and even with inevitable Isaiah Davis utilization (29 percent routes, five touches), Hall ticks up a little bit with the Jets clearly needing to make him a focal point with Wilson and Justin Fields.
Also, when you rush for 81 yards and a touchdown, you can add negligible scoring through the air and be a top-five fantasy quarterback every week. That was Fields this week as the QB4 with 226 passing yards and a touchdown on top of the rushing stuff. This is the thesis every single week that Fields plays. Yes, you’re going to have the downside games. The upside is too much to ignore, and he needs to be started in 100 percent of leagues, ESPECIALLY against Dallas in Week 5.
Eagles Notes From Week 4:
The Eagles remain winning, somehow, with another poor showing from the passing game, prompting a cryptic tweet from A.J. Brown that Denny Carter has always been right about. It’s not Brown’s first.
Brown (2-7, team-leading eight targets) was shut down by the Buccaneers’ defense, or Jalen Hurts. Either way, it’s not great! DeVonta Smith (2-29) didn’t do much either.
Dallas Goedert (4-37-2) had two of the easiest touchdown “catches” he’ll ever have, one coming on a fake tush-push formation, and the other being a fake handoff shovel pass ala what the Chiefs have run with Travis Kelce for years.
Saquon Barkley (19-43-1 rushing; 4-31 receiving) continues to underperform despite the team being 4-0, as Barkley had just 2.3 yards per carry and took a pitch on a fake tush-push for an easy touchdown in the third quarter. His role is still very strong, but it’s abundantly clear that this version of Barkley is nowhere close to the 2024 version. The 400+ touches he received in 2024 may have something to do with that.
Steelers Notes From Week 4:
With the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, facing the Minnesota Vikings in the first game in the NFL’s round of International Series games, it was the Kenneth Gainwell show. I honestly never thought I’d type that sentence out, but here we are. Anyway, Gainwell was excellent here after starting running back Jaylen Warren (knee) was scratched for “precautionary reasons” by head coach Mike Tomlin.
With Warren out and rookie running back Kaleb Johnson in the doghouse, Gainwell (19-99-2 rushing; 6-35 receiving) admittedly looked REALLY good. Better than any of his appearances with the Eagles, that’s for sure. Gainwell was the overall RB3 for the week and probably has earned a bit more of the market share when Warren returns.
Besides DK Metcalf’s 80-yard catch and run touchdown, it was just an average day. Most of his production was on that catch and run, as he had just a 7.0-yard aDOT and just 35 air yards total. Calvin Austin (2-13) left the game in Dublin with a shoulder injury and is expected to miss multiple weeks, so that likely just condenses the limited targets to Metcalf and a smattering to the tight ends and backs.
Who that tight end will be is up for debate, but it sure won’t matter for fantasy, as Darnell Washington comfortably paced the position in snaps (90 percent) and routes (64 percent) – well over both Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith.
49ers Notes From Week 4:
It’s truly a war of attrition for these San Francisco 49ers, as they can’t seem to either get people healthy or stay healthy. Ricky Pearsall (4-46; 61 percent of routes) left the game with a knee injury. Jauan Jennings (2-24) played 78 percent of routes, but didn’t contribute much. Quarterback Brock Purdy threw for over 300 yards, but turned the ball over three times as they gave this game away to the Jaguars for their first loss of the season. All three of Pearsall, Jennings, and Purdy won’t play in the short turnaround to Thursday Night Football.
This Christian McCaffrey guy is also pretty good. He’s been the one player who’s stayed healthy, and he’s reaped the benefits. He may not be as efficient on the ground, but he’s been amazing in the receiving game. How amazing?
Remove Christian McCaffrey's rushing fantasy points & just take his receiving FPTS, CMC is WR6 behind George Pickens but ahead of Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Ranked among the RBs, CMC would only move down to RB7, behind Javonte Williams & ahead of Josh Jacobs.
CMC is averaging 18.4 receiving FPPG.
Sick.
— Kevin Tompkins (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social) September 29, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Even in McCaffrey’s record-setting 2019 season, he's never been anything close to this efficient from a receiving standpoint. He averaged 15 receiving fantasy points per game that season and would have been the end-of-season RB12/WR12 in 2019 with just his receiving scoring.
Seahawks Notes From Week 4:
Targets were very spread out for the Seahawks, unlike previous weeks, but the Cardinals seemed to put a full-court press on Smith-Njigba (4-79), beating them, which, hey, that says a TON about JSN. Cooper Kupp (4-26) chipped in, as did both AJ Barner (3-32-1) and Elijah Arroyo (2-44). But when the Seahawks got into crunch time in their last drive before kicking the game-winning field goal, there was Smith-Njigba with a 22-yard catch to get them into field goal range.
Both backs for the Seahawks were successful on the night, with Walker carrying most of the efficient volume on the ground and putting up 110 total yards. Zach Charbonnet was back in Week 4 with just 44 total yards, but scored a second-quarter touchdown to put Seattle up two scores. You can start both in fantasy, but between the two, it’s Walker for the upside and Charbonnet as the steadier back of the two.
Buccaneers Notes From Week 4:
No Mike Evans, but the Buccaneers DID get back Chris Godwin, and he immediately earned 10 targets and 151 air yards on 91 percent of routes. The production was obviously disappointing based on that intent from the offense, but better days are ahead. Emeka Egbuka matched Godwin’s 10 targets and was slightly more efficient, but caught a 77-yard touchdown to save the day. Egbuka is undeniable at this point, and when Evans comes back, it feels like Egbuka is just going to stay out there on the field to relegate Godwin to a lesser route share. It’s definitely fair to say that Egbuka is staking his claim and then some.
Bucky Irving (15-63 rushing; 5-102-1 receiving) is a maniac, with 165 total yards and 102 of those coming through the air with a receiving touchdown to boot. Speaking of boot, the aftermath of Week 4 had Irving in a walking boot and on crutches, so his Week 5 status is in jeopardy. The Tampa Bay backfield would fall to a combination of Sean Tucker and Rachaad White, with receiving work to White and Tucker to take some early-down work as well. Both would be very viable fantasy starts if Irving were to miss any time.
Titans Notes From Week 4:
The Titans scored zero points, and only Tony Pollard had more than two receptions (3-12 receiving) and more than 44 total yards (14-64 rushing). It was bowling-shoe ugly. Calvin Ridley (2-30) saw just 42 percent of routes in a game in which he was healthy. This team is awful.
Start Pollard if you must, but what can he do in this situation that’s clearly one of the worst in the NFL? Even a player like Elic Ayomanor (2-44, five targets), who we clearly like, isn’t immune here either.
Commanders Notes From Week 4:
With a lot of the main players out here for the Commanders, including Jayden Daniels, there weren’t many viable starts for fantasy in Week 4 from this team. Still, Deebo Samuel Sr. was excellent with Terry McLaurin out, taking 94 percent of routes plus three carries on the ground too. No other Commander had more than two receptions, but seven others earned targets.
The other route runner was not Jaylin Lane (2-18; 42 percent routes) or Luke McCaffrey (2-21-1; 42 percent routes), but veteran Chris Moore, who ran 87 percent of routes but didn’t catch either of his two targets. Zach Ertz (2-21) had a dud game and didn’t factor into much on his 81 percent of routes.
This backfield is entirely fragmented, so you can’t start any of these guys. Both Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez Jr. had seven carries with the same number of snaps, but Jeremy McNichols ran the most routes of the backfield trio. If we’re going to start any of these backs, workload consolidation is sorely needed.
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