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Top 10 Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 4 Usage

1. The Woody Marks Takeover Is Complete

We saw this one coming. We highlighted Marks in the post-Week 2 waiver wire article after his snap rate climbed to 28% from 12% in the opener. Then we upped the priority level on Marks in last week's waiver targets after another jump in usage.

The rookie took yet another leap forward in Week 4, leading Chubb in snaps and carries for the first time this season. Marks also continued to control passing-down work and drew a season-high 18% target share. The result: 27.9 PPR points (RB6 on the week) on 16.3 expected points (RB13).

The Texans won't be able to rack up 30 RB carries in 26-point wins very often like they did in Week 4 vs. Tennessee. And I don't expect Chubb to completely disappear on early downs.

But if Marks owns 50-60% of the RB carries -- plus the pass-catching work -- he has a good chance to score as a top-25 RB the rest of the way.

2. What’s Wrong With Brock Bowers?

The answer to that question is likely the knee injury that still has Bowers sporting a brace. He’s seemingly avoided a setback over the past few games, though, and should be getting closer to 100% every week.

That should solve most of the problem. But it doesn't mean Bowers will pay off his lofty ADP. Let's look at his usage and efficiency this season vs. last.

Bowers' efficiency is generally up from last year. So what gives?

The first issue is that his target share is down from 24.1% to 21.3% -- a 12% decline. I'd expect that to rebound some if he gets healthier, but maybe not all the way back to 24%.

The bigger problem both so far and going forward is a decline in passing volume. After averaging 37.4 pass attempts per game last year, the Raiders are averaging 31.8 this year -- a 15% decline. I don't expect that to improve much, if at all, the rest of the season with QB Geno Smith's volatile play and the addition of RB Ashton Jeanty.

Where does that leave Bowers? When healthy, I expect him to be right there with TE Trey McBride as the top TE in fantasy football. That could make him a buy-low right now if his owner is panicking.

But I don't expect Bowers to separate from McBride or be the fantasy league-winner many drafters thought he'd be.

3. Don’t Panic On Trey Benson (Unless He’s Hurt)

Benson’s first full game without James Conner didn’t produce many fantasy points. He carried eight times for 35 scoreless yards, adding five catches for 19 more yards.

Benson didn’t play a bell cow role that I thought might be possible, ceding long-down-and-distance and two-minute snaps to Demercado. But Benson's role will be plenty good most weeks. It just didn't turn out that way in this one because of game script.

The Cardinals were down 14-3 at halftime and 20-6 early in the fourth quarter. That resulted in 41 passes vs. just 11 RB carries. And they had 17 snaps in the two-minute drill, of which Demercado played 16.

Arizona won't typically face such negative game script or run so many two-minute snaps in most games. And Benson controlled early-down work against Seattle, playing 87% of those snaps and handling eight of 11 RB carries (73%).

I'm not ruling out Benson taking some of those obvious passing-down snaps as we progress through the season. For now, losing that work lowers Benson's floor when games go awry and keeps him out of RB1 territory. But he still looks like a weekly RB2 starter.

We'll just need to keep an eye on the undisclosed injury that kept him out of Monday's practice.

4. Ashton Jeanty Takes Back Passing-Down Work

Jeanty busted out for 138 yards and a score on 21 carries in the Week 4 loss to the Bears. It was good to see -- even if it might say more about Chicago's defense than Jeanty' rushing efficiency going forward.

The better news to come out of that one was Jeanty's role in the passing game. After losing third-down and two-minute snaps to Zamir White and Dylan Laube in Weeks 2 and 3, Jeanty took that work back in Week 4. Per Fantasy Life, the rookie played 80% of the long-down-and-distance snaps and 56% of the two-minute snaps. (RB Raheem Mostert got the rest of that work, with White a healthy scratch.)

Jeanty drew just two targets -- but he scored on both of them. We can count on significantly more volume going forward if he continues to play this role. That, of course, boosts Jeanty's weekly floor and ceiling.

If this usage sticks -- and it should! -- Jeanty will be a top-12 RB the rest of the way.

5. Xavier Worthy Is So Back!

Worthy wore a brace on his injured shoulder in his Week 4 return, but it didn't impact his speed. He looked explosive in the big win over the Ravens, catching five of a team-high eight targets for a team-high 83 yards. Worthy also carried twice for a team-high 38 yards.

In his last 10 full games dating back to last season, Worthy is averaging:

• 7.9 targets (22.0% share)
• 5.9 catches
• 70.1 receiving yards
• 0.5 receiving TDs
• 1.5 carries
• 10.6 rushing yards
• 0.1 rushing TDs

Worthy's 17.6 PPR points per game over this stretch would have ranked ninth among WRs last year and would rank 10th among WRs so far this season. He has a chance to continue to score as a fantasy WR1 -- at least for the next two weeks.

WR Rashee Rice's return in Week 7 will add serious target competition and likely shrink Worthy's fantasy production. But there's room for him to produce as a WR2 alongside Rice.

TE Travis Kelce continues to look washed. And Worthy did not play the "Rashee Rice Role" in Week 4. He ran just 28% of his routes from the slot and registered a 16.6-yard average target depth vs. Baltimore.

6. James Cook Version 2.0: A Bell Cow

It turns out we should have adjusted our projections for Cook after the Bills gave him a four-year extension in mid-August. His playing time, usage, and fantasy production are up considerably from last season.

James Cook games with more than 20 opportunities (carries + targets) this season: 3

Games with more than 20 opportunities all last season: 3

— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) September 29, 2025

Only seven RBs are averaging more expected PPR points per game than Cook. Only Christian McCaffrey has scored more actual points.

It's worth noting that OC Joe Brady said Monday that he needs to be smart with Cook's usage and wants to get RB Ray Davis more touches going forward. But that's a "believe-it-when-we-see-it" situation. Plus, Cook could lose a bit of work and still be an easy RB1.

Cook looks like one of the better picks you could have made in Round 3 or 4 of fantasy drafts. He's a hold as a top eight fantasy RB going forward.

7. New England's Backfield Is Still A Three-Man Committee

There was some hope that Henderson's role would grow in Week 4 after Stevenson lost two fumbles and Gibson one in Week 3. But the Patriots went right back to an ugly three-man committee vs. the Panthers.

In fact, Stevenson registered a season-high route rate, while Henderson matched a season-low in snap rate and posted a new season-low in route rate.

The rookie salvaged his fantasy day with a five-yard TD, but Gibson also scored and out-carried Henderson two to one inside the five-yard line. Carries inside the five for the season:

• Stevenson: 2
• Gibson: 2
• Henderson: 1

I still believe Henderson's role will grow at some point this season, but there's no sign of it happening anytime soon. That leaves Henderson (and Stevenson) stuck in RB3 territory for now.

8. Is Quinshon Judkins A Must Start?

The Browns got smoked 34-10 by the Lions ... and Judkins still racked up 25 total touches.

His role didn't tangibly change from Week 3. Judkins continued to dominate early-down snaps and carries but cede almost all of the obvious passing-down work to RBs Jerome Ford and Dylan Sampson.

That theoretically makes Judkins game script sensitive -- and I still have some concerns about his weekly floor on this usage. But it's tough to worry too much after what we saw in Week 4. On top of the rushing work, Judkins drew four targets on an 11% share, despite his route rate not climbing.

More good news for Judkins: After registering a +2% pass rate over expected across the first two weeks of the season, the Browns have been -5% over the last two weeks. I expect this to continue to be a run-leaning offense (as long as game script allows), especially with rookie QB Dillon Gabriel taking over.

It'd be nice to see Judkins capture more passing-down work -- and he might. But he looks like the focal point of Cleveland's offense moving forward, making him a weekly RB2 in fantasy lineups.

9. Chris Godwin Surprisingly Busy In 2025 Debut

Godwin tallied just 5.6 PPR points in his 2025 debut, but his usage suggests much more productive outings are coming.

Godwin was surprisingly a full-time player in his first action since last October's ankle injury. His route rate was right in line with his 89% mark in six healthy games last year. And he matched WR Emeka Egbuka for the team lead with 10 targets.

Godwin ran just 35% of his routes from the slot vs. Philadelphia after being at 62% last year. And he saw a huge 15.1-yard average target depth (vs. 5.6 last year). That's not ideal usage for Godwin, who's been more efficient from the slot throughout his career. But this was certainly an encouraging debut overall.

We'll see what this WR corps looks like when Mike Evans returns. And we shouldn't bet on Godwin returning to pre-injury efficiency any time soon. But he already looks like a WR3 candidate in fantasy lineups.

10. Can We Trust The Stefon Diggs Breakout?

After totaling 112 yards on mediocre volume and underwhelming playing time over the first three weeks of the season, Diggs busted out for 101 yards in Week 4.

More impressively, he did it on a day when QB Drake Maye threw just 17 passes for 203 yards in an easy 42-13 win. And most importantly, Diggs got a big boost in playing time. In fact, he ran a route on 18 of 20 pass plays through the first three quarters, before resting for most of the fourth.

Last Sunday marked exactly 11 months since Diggs' torn ACL, and it looks like the Patriots are ready to give him a full-time role. With Maye playing well and no one else stepping up in the WR corps, Diggs has every opportunity to be a high-volume fantasy producer the rest of the way.

Next Up

Waiver Wire Pickups Week 5: Did You Wait Too Long to Grab Woody Marks?

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Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.