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John Laghezza's fantasy football RB breakouts watch for Week 5 based on snap count risers/fallers in 2025. Whose usage and fantasy value is trending up or down?
Turning the calendar to October, it is right around the time we start to trade patience for panic. Being so wildly unpredictable, every NFL slate shakes up the fantasy Etch-A-Sketch, rewriting team trajectories and our teams' futures with them. However, at the end of the day, some things do stay the same -- regardless of format or flavor, touches, targets, and opportunities rule the day.
Talent mostly be darned (especially at RB), opportunities have always been and WILL continue to reign supreme as the driving fantasy commodity. Can't score points if you don't see the field. We always need to be aware of how snap counts shake out as fantasy players, so as not to fall into the trap of starting a player based on name only.
I've always found something so pure about analyzing playing time. The very same coordinators, coaches, and owners who spend the week lying through their teeth get left with no choice but to show their cards via player deployment once the whistle blows -- and that's where we come in. Every week, I'll be right here at RotoBaller, breaking down the weekend's most impactful changes in utilization and what it means to fantasy gamers going forward. As hard as it is to believe when you're losing, it's still anyone's game crossing the quarter pole. With that, the weeks will keep flying by, and every move should be geared toward the future, eyes firmly focused on down the road.
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RB Usage Bumps I'm Buying
Woody Marks, RB - Houston Texans
Another round of universal health across the running back spectrum leaves us scouring snap counts for potential backfield flippenings as bye weeks approach.
My apologies to all the Nick Chubb truthers out there (like myself), but that veteran ship appears to have finally sailed for good. Our first bullish signal for rookie Woody Marks went off when Dameon Pierce found an early exit from the active squad without an injury designation. The writing was on the wall, and now it's in giant block letters.
Fast forward to the present day, and any realistic hopes for an offensive line revival in Houston have long gone the way of the dodo. Chubb's inability to consistently impact the pass game already hurt him in negative game scripts, but inefficiency on the ground really drove home the final nail in his replacement (4.0 yards/rush, -0.11 EPA/attempt, 2.2 yards after contact/carry, 40% success rate). The glory days of Chubb plowing over defenders for long gains are over.
Sure, last weekend's matchup versus the spiraling Titans helped a bit, but there's no denying it -- Marks clearly exhibited more burst, better ball skills, and better route-running ability than his aging counterpart.
Check out this stat. No Texans RB finished inside the top 36 all season until Marks' (17-69-1; 4-50-1) Week 4 breakout. The Texans finally found the win column, and we could end up looking back at this game as a major inflection point.
Hitch your wagon to Marks, even if it means "buying high." Unload your FAAB clip and/or get those fair trade offers out there now -- I believe Marks' price is at its lowest.
Kendre Miller, RB - New Orleans Saints
After totaling fewer than 100 total touches through two seasons in the NFL, many fantasy GMs figured Kendre Miller would join so many other third-round running backs in the dustbin of history. Well, not so fast, partner. Pump the brakes, I guess sometimes patience really is a virtue.
While Miller can't lay claim to the same degree of takeover as Marks, at least this situation affords us a little more time to act and save some precious FAAB bucks.
Miller secured an increased touch share every week, while outproducing Alvin Kamara between the tackles in yards/rush (4.4), EPA/attempt (-0.01), yards after contact/carry (3.7), and explosive rush rate (10.7%). Realistically, any chance of a true demotion for Kamara still rests somewhere between slim and none. However, Miller's positive production on a team going nowhere could greenlight a Kamara trade without a citizen uprising in The Big Easy.
Lastly, the Saints played so abysmally on defense so far that it's creating ideal game scripts -- leading to a consistent circus pace and those 68 plays run per game in Kellen Moore's offense. That's what I call fantasy goodness.
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
Wan'Dale Robinson, WR - New York Giants
Whenever a clear alpha goes down, a target vacuum is created, and it becomes just a matter of who's going to fill it. The entire Giants offense immediately got several orders of magnitude worse when Malik Nabers blew his knee out, but it should still at least be somewhat exciting with Jaxson Dart under center.
Generally thought of as just a slot-only option, it's worth noting Wan'Dale Robinson achieved a perfect 100% route participation rate on his way to a productive day (5-71-1). If Robinson is going to dominate snaps in two-wide sets, he's going to wildly outproduce his current price on volume alone, whatever it is.
Noteworthy RB Usage Downturns
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB - Washington Commanders
Everyone's favorite draft-day sleeper failed once again to seize the bulk of Washington's backfield workload on Sunday. Despite already losing two regulars in Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler, Jacory Croskey-Merritt still has yet to eclipse 50% of the Commanders' RB touches in any game.
With Chris Rodriguez Jr. running well (5.4 yards/carry, 11.1% explosive rush rate) and Jeremy McNichols leading the Commanders in Week 4 routes run, why bother chasing the dragon any longer?
Without another injury to clear up even more touches for Croskey-Merritt, it looks for now like we're stuck with fantasy's RB45 over three weeks.
I'd sell now while there are still a few positive vibes lingering before another downgrade sours the market for good. Pitch Bill's pair of green-zone carries versus the Raiders as trade bait -- just make sure to omit the fact that McNichols soaked up the lone goal-to-go attempt last Sunday.
Bill Croskey-Merritt converts!
LVvsWAS on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/jQfsrzvcHh
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2025
Noteworthy WR Usage Downturns
Calvin Ridley, WR - Tennessee Titans
As the resident preseason conductor of the Calvin Ridley hype train, this one stings. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has gone right for the Tennessee Titans this season. At this point, it's not even a matter of what they're ranked last in offensively, but by how much on the field. How's scoring 20%+ fewer points than the field sound through four weeks? Yikes. Abandon ship.
There's more than enough blame to go around on this sky-blue dumpster fire, starting with atrocious QB play. Transitioning to the NFL is incredibly hard, so don't overreact for dynasty purposes.
That said, Cam Ward's league-worst 51.1% completion rate and 4.9 yards/attempt tell us now's not the time in redraft formats. Move on from everything related to the Titans -- not every downtrend is a buy-low opportunity.
My hopes that Ridley's veteran presence and target-earning ability would spearhead an inspiring underdog story in the Music City took its final death blow on Sunday. Somehow, our top-50 overall WR just inexplicably ran fewer routes than Elic Ayomanor, Tyler Lockett, and ... Van Jefferson. It's over, people. Make sure to tip the staff on your way out.
Honorable Mentions - Usage Risers
- Michael Wilson, WR - ARI
- Brashard Smith, RB - KC
- Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB - WAS
- Casey Washington, WR - ATL
- Zavier Scott, RB - MIN
- Jalen Tolbert, WR - DAL
- Adonai Mitchell, WR - IND
- Justice Hill, RB - BAL
- Isaiah Bond, WR - CLE
- Emari Demercado, RB - ARI
- Brycen Tremayne, WR - CAR
- Andrei Iosivas, WR - CIN
Honorable Mentions - Usage Fallers
- Tyquan Thornton, WR - KC
- Nick Chubb, RB - HOU
- Calvin Austin III, WR - PIT
- Josh Palmer, WR - BUF
- Tyler Johnson, WR - NYJ
- Ray Davis, RB - BUF
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