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John Laghezza's fantasy football RB/WR breakouts watch for Week 9 based on snap count risers/fallers in 2025. Whose usage and fantasy value is trending up or down?
We're back in the saddle for another round of tracking NFL playing time for clues. Remember, at the end of the day, regardless of format or flavor, touches, targets, and opportunities rule the day. Now that we have access to all these cool backend stats, there's no excuse — gotta pop the hood every week if you want to make it to the dance.
Talent more or less be darned (especially at RB), opportunities always drive the fantasy game. Players can't score fantasy points if they don't see the field. Then, of course, there's a matter of quality. Stay aware of players' scoring per snap rates, so as not to fall into the trap of starting someone based on name only. I hate admitting how many times I'm guilty of it myself.
Playing time analysis matters so much because the very same dishonest coordinators, coaches, and owners suddenly have 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. I've got plenty of bubble teams in need of a final push — it's still anyone's game through eight weeks.
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Usage Bumps I'm Buying
Chimere Dike, WR - Tennessee Titans
In what can only be described as a continuous series of achieving new lows, it's incredibly easy as fantasy players to hand-wave the most toxic environments. With that, perhaps any analysts bullish this summer on the 2025 Titans (slowly raises hands) should've seen this train wreck coming. No prospect's growth is going to be linear, so you can only expect to double that volatility when both sides of a battery are first-year players — but that's a different story for another day.
The flipside of that same argument is exactly what makes chasing the latest breakout by Titans' rookie WR Chimere Dike so interesting. The same list of teams no one wants to deal with will also have the largest available shares of their offense up for grabs. Desperate times call for desperate measures — if you're considering starting any Titans, you already understand.
Slowly but surely earning a larger chunk of the wide receiver opportunities for a month straight, Dike finally achieved a full-time role as an emerging favorite of Cam Ward. Little-known fact: Tennessee drafted the former Gator before fellow teammate Elic Ayomanor in last year's draft. Maybe a rising tide lifts all ships down he stretch.
Since a flippening around Week 5, not only has Dike led the Titans' WR room in catches (15), yards (188), and touchdowns (one) as a force from the slot — they just released veteran Tyler Lockett. This latest roster move essentially confirms Dike into a featured role going forward, with or without Calvin Ridley. There's going to be bumps in the road, but don't look now... Ward's the QB7 in passing yards over the last month.
Next Running Back Up Season...
The thing that stuck out to me most amidst my weekly due diligence was the sheer length of the lists. Across the league, we're seeing more and more notable shifts. Backfield usage is solidifying between two tailbacks, particularly on certain teams like Cincinnati, Chicago, or Tennessee. All three respective backups (Samaje Perine, Kyle Monangai, Tyjae Spears) represent uninspiring flex-worthy starts in a pinch, facing bye weeks — but may be worth prioritizing for a chance at full-on takeovers in case of emergency.
Starting in Cincinnati, Chase Brown found himself back in fantasy managers' good graces as fantasy's RB5 over the past two weeks. However, that same play, grounded all season in volume, suddenly depends on efficiency as well. Perine leapfrogged Tahj Brooks as the clear handcuff, even out-snapping Brown going back through Week 7.
The Bengals look reborn with Joe Flacco under center, as Joe Burrow's return looms — Perine's situation's only going to get sweeter as the season progresses...
Samaje Perine 32-yard house call for the Bengals!
NYJvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/lb4h3g9ng3
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
We covered Chicago's seventh-round rookie RB Kyle Monangai in detail last week, with very few fantasy-related changes since. Long story short, D'Andre Swift's running hotter than a supernova since the bye on split-work — and at times doesn't even look like the best Bear RB on the field. Let's assume Monangai's gone, which brings us back to the beginning in Music City. What a tie-in.
Maybe my preseason love for the Titans wasn't wrong, but just early? Tony Pollard spent a whole month hogging all of TEN's backfield touches with little to show for it as the RB29 through four weeks. Pollard GMs knew Spears' return could torpedo his value — a prophecy that began very slowly before happening all at once.
Tennessee's former third-rounder out of Tulane is looking crisp carrying the ball, already outperforming Pollard in terms of EPA/attempt (+0.24) and yards/rush (5.5). Then, for the first time all year, Spears equally split the touch-load at Indy with a healthy RB11 positional finish to show for it (9-59-1; 3-23-0).
Tyjae Spears all the way down to the ONE
TENvsIND on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/fqZybP7adS
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Honorable Mentions - Flex Usage On The Rise
- Allen Lazard, WR, NYJ
- Bhayshul Tuten, RB, JAX
- Blake Corum, RB, LAR
- D'Ernest Johnson, RB, ARI
- Demarcus Robinson, WR, SF
- Devin Neal, RB, NO
- Dylan Sampson, RB, CLE
- Emanuel Wilson, RB, GB
- Jack Bech, WR, LV
- Jaret Patterson, RB, LAC
- Jeremy McNichols, RB, WAS
- Mack Hollins, WR, NE
- Ollie Gordon II, RB, MIA
- Ray Davis, RB, BUF
- Tank Bigsby, RB, PHI
- Tez Johnson, WR, TB
- TreVeyon Henderson, RB, NE
Noteworthy Usage Downturns
Arguing for pulling the plug on a fantasy asset is a lot simpler. Every team's experiencing injuries — if you're failing to earn opportunities at this point, it's likely not happening for fantasy purposes. Once the red flag's waving on usage, it's hard to turn things around. That's why I'm using such a fine-toothed comb to curate this list; there's nothing worse than not noticing a downgrade.
Most of the names losing playing time may not shock you, though. Who among us can say they haven't started Greg Dortch once in their lives? If forced to catch the falling knife, I'll do the broken record thing by suggesting the best combination of youth plus environment.
The way superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba has emerged as the league's preeminent target hog leaves very little for any other Seahawks to eat consistently. With that, Tory Horton's at least produced a ton on limited opportunities (1.96 fantasy points/target) — and there's always a chance Klint Kubiak scripts up more involvement for the fifth-round rookie coming off the bye. Seattle's currently sitting atop the NFC West division with postseason aspirations, plus a desperate need for a second explosive playmaker outside JSN.
Oh, and everyone holding onto TreVeyon Henderson shares can thank me on Twitter — the second I capitulated, he broke out. Classic.
Tory Horton’s 1st career catch is a touchdown!
SEAvsPIT on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/rCS74Ca0gA
— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025
Flex Usage Trending Down
- Alvin Kamara, RB, NO
- Arian Smith, WR, NYJ
- Casey Washington, WR, ATL
- Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB, WAS
- DeMario Douglas, WR, NE
- Greg Dortch, WR, ARI
- Isaiah Bond, WR, CLE
- Jalen Tolbert, WR, DAL
- Jaylin Lane, QR, WAS
- Jordan Mason, RB, MIN
- Terrell Jennings, RB, NE
- Tory Horton, WR, SEA
- Zavier Scott, RB, MIN
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