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- NFL Week 4 Dynasty Detour
Week 4 is in the rearview, and the young bucks at running back made a statement. Take a look at Dynasty Detour Johnās dissection of the newest RBs, and some more fun facts that will make you rethink some big names around the league. Letās hit the Detour.
-- Dynasty Detour Ryan
š Rookie Running Back Bonanza
Some have arrived, some are stuck in line, and some look dead in the water. Hereās the read on the rookie running backs as the class begins to settle out.
Patience, patience, patience. Fantasy football can sometimes be a battle against your own angst, trying to figure out when to cut your losses (anyone heard from CEH recently?) or buy at the right time and watch your ābuy-lowā target transform your fantasy season (Congrats to those who believed in Travis Etienne). That clock becomes louder and louder for running backs, who more often than any other position, are the subject of shorter periods of fantasy relevance and extreme volatility in production. And when you just spent a draft pick to try and change your dynasty teamās trajectory, nothing can spur a team turnaround quite like an immediate impact rookie. Week 4 was the week of the rookie RB breakout for the class of 2025, and there may be more coming down the line:
ā° Itās Time
The first guys in the class to own their backfields
š“āā ļø Ashton Jeanty - 21 carries for 138 yds & 1 TD , 2/2 rec for 17 yds & 2 TDs
By taking a quick look under the hood, anyone could tell that Jeanty was playing much better than the stats indicated. He had 101% of his yards after contact which is genuinely insane. His O-line was letting him get hit behind the line on average and yet, he was churning out 3 yards per carry. Week 4 showed what he could do with even a sliver of space (and his Michael Myers stance back). Jeanty may experience more variance due to his lack of O-line help, but seeing these performances validates the extreme talent he has.
ā”ļø Omarion Hampton - 12 carries for 128 yds & 1 TD , 5/5 rec for 37 yds
Although last week could have been considered the breakout game, Hampton confirmed his status as the unquestioned leader of the Chargers backfield post-Najee Harris injury. He looked like a go-to option in the passing game as well, especially on check downs as Herbert continues to see a lot of pressure after injuries to Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt.
š Woody Marks -17 carries for 69 yds & 1 TD , 4/5 rec for 50 yds & 1 TD
As much as I would like to focus on Woody Marks contribution in pass protection, I unfortunately have to focus on the 17 carries and 119 total yards he decided to put up. He has firmly supplanted Nick Chubb as the RB1 in that backfield and will give Joe Mixon some serious comp if he ever decides to return.
šµ Cam Skattebo - 25 carries for 79 yds , 2/2 rec for 11 yds
Although Jaxson Dart was the headliner, Skattebo very quietly led all rookies in touches in Week 4 with 27(!). Itās a mystery how much the Nabers injury will affect the Giants offensive production as a whole, but the backfield was completely turned over to Skattebo on Sunday, and the Giants rookie backfield led them to their first win. It will be hard for the team to rationalize taking any of that away when Tracy returns, especially given Skatteboās efficiency in the red zone the last two weeks. He has graded out as one of the top 3 RBs in terms of PFF grade through Week 4 and if he continues to make the most of his opportunity, he wonāt be giving it back.
š Quinshon Judkins - 21 carries for 82 yds & 1 TD , 4/4 rec for 33 yds
Judkins' murky future from the start of the season is a distant memory at this point. After some legal issues and contract disputes, Judkins has been well worth the wait in fantasy, delivering back to back top-11 performances and scoring a touchdown in back-to-back weeks since taking the lead role in the Browns rushing attack. His four catches this week show potential for a considerable role in the passing game to go with his already dominant share on the ground.
š¦„ Stuck In Line
These guys are looking good, but someone or something is holding them back
š“ Jacory Croskey-Merritt - 7 carries for 47 yds , 2/2 rec for 10 yds
Although Bill graded out as the #1 rusher by PFF grade through 3 weeks, Washington seems to have no interest in making him a feature back. His snap count remained at 35 percent, and his time share remained steady with Chris Rodriguez and Jeremy McNichols. The talent is clearly there, and we thought the opportunity would come without Ekeler, but the Bill mafia may need to wait a little longer.
šµ TreVeyon Henderson - 7 carries for 32 yds & 1 TD , 2/2 rec for 14 yds
Even in a blowout against the Panthers, Henderson did not see any more opportunity than usual. The Patriots backfield seems firmly entrenched in a committee and not to be changing any time soon. TreVeyon even had some of his special teams duties taken away as well with Marcus Jones delivering some big time returns. We will wait patiently here, but this season is likely a wash.
š R.J. Harvey - 14 carries for 58 yds , 4/5 rec for 54 yds & 1 TD
Harvey has not seen the snaps or touches that we would have expected with how sought after he was in the draft, but after a huge drop in snaps and touches in Week 3, he rebounded in a blowout win last night. Much of his usage came against one of the leagueās worst defenses while Dobbins took the rest of the night off, but he certainly looked solid. Last week he wouldāve been in the last section, so temper expectations, but heās not dead yet.
š¬ Ollie Gordon II - 6 carries for 10 yds , 0/1 rec
Although Achane is still the feature back, Week 3 saw Ollie Gordon take the field during the first drive of the game and be heavily involved in the script. The Dolphins clearly donāt mind using him in any instance, but have shown him particular attention in the red zone. The Raheem Mostert 21 TD role may not be what it was in Miamiās offensive hay day, but it still could be productive.
š Dead In The Water
Maybe itās not totally over, but itās not looking good
āļø Kaleb Johnson - 6 carries for 22 yds , 0/1 rec
Even with Warren out for this Dublin festivity, Kaleb could not get involved in the offense. 22 percent snap share in a backfield headlined by Kenneth Gainwell is not what owners want to see. This could have been a big opportunity for Kaleb to break out, but instead, owners are left with more disgust, as he does not seem to have the trust of this coaching staff.
āļø Jaydon Blue - 0 carries , 0/0 rec
Yeah, nothing. Once again, the Cowboys leaned on Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders to produce out of their backfield. Admittedly, Javonte has been really impressive, but it is still shocking to see the veteran Sanders handling so many of the secondary touches.
-- Dynasty Detour John
š Fast Lane Fun Facts
Before MNF, here are 10 quick fun facts that forced me to tap the brakes and say āwowā Owen Wilson-style.
Rookie Texan RB Woody Marksā 27.9 PPR point outburst generated more fantasy points than any game Bucky Irving had during last yearās rookie season (top was 27.5 in Week 13).
Dynasty Take: Woody may not buzz past Bucky anytime soon, but he is an exciting flex play that should be viable this entire season.
Luke McCaffrey has more fantasy points on the season than Matthew Golden, Josh Downs, and Travis Hunter.
Dynasty Take: Is Luke McCaffrey a legit fantasy asset? No. That said, the injury-riddled Washington receiving room is providing some daylight for McCaffrey to make an impact. Heās worth a flyer and available in just under 50% of Sleeper dynasty leagues.
Quentin Johnston is 3rd in the NFL in targets and currently the PPR WR4 overall.
Dynasty Take: The Johnstaissance hasnāt been the best for Treā Harris or the KLS hive. Moreover, his surprise emergence is hurting Laddās target share. But for Johnstonā¦ I buy the hype. Touchdowns may regress (he has 4), but the third year WR is commanding tons of targets.
Christian McCaffrey is once again the RB1. He has more receiving yards (305) than Emeka Egbuka (282), Drake London (269), and Nico Collins (260).
Dynasty Take: Run (and catch) CMC is back. For all contending teams: Do. Not. Sell. For rebuilders: golden selling opportunity. He will not get more valuable than this.
Joe Flacco has the 2nd most pass attempts out of any QB, yet heās 18th in passing yards and 34th in passing TDs (behind Marcus Mariota).
Dynasty Take: Though the coach wonāt admit it, the Flacco era (part 2) is soon coming to a close. The shame is, this Browns team is actually not terrible. Dillon Gabriel should be next up, though I donāt have high hopes he will be a durable asset.
Travis Etienne has the best yards per carry (YPC) of any starting RB in the NFL (6.1).
Dynasty Take: As I said last week, Etienne is backā¦and heās en route to top-15 RB value. That said, he turns 27 in January so the father-time clock is ticking.
Kyle Pitts has more receptions (20) than Tyler Warren (19), Brock Bowers (19), Tucker Kraft (16) and Sam Laporta (16).
Dynasty Take: Pitts is TE8 on the season, so he hasnāt done a ton with his decent volume. But this could be a buying opportunity on a guy that clearly has some legit talent and is finally finding a place in this Falcons offense.
Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey are averaging career lows in YPC (3.1 and 3.3 respectively). As mentioned, CMC is the RB1 and Barkley is the RB11
Dynasty Take: Though I had mentioned McCaffrey is the RB1 on the season, his efficiency hasnāt even been good this season (this is crazy). Meanwhile, Barkley also isnāt looking efficient either. I think positive regression is on the table for both guys this season, but their prime selling window is coming to a close.
Puka Nacua is averaging an obscene 27.4 PPR points per game. This is 3.8 more PPG than the next closest WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. For context, JaāMarr Chaseās insane season last year netted 23.7 PPR points per game.
Dynasty Take: Puka is quickly ascending the KeepTradeCut rankings. He will pass Justin Jefferson soon and has an outside shot to pass Chase to become the Dynasty WR1. Absolute liftoff for his value, although Iām slightly concerned he isnāt tied to a long-term answer at QB (Stafford is 37).
Drake Maye is the QB4 so far this season, only behind Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes.
Dynasty Take: Mayeās emergence may finally be upon us. Yes, the schedule has been light. But I am encouraged by the progress weāve seen from the UNC product this season. That said, itās really hard to be a top fantasy QB without rushing upside. Currently, Maye hovering around the top 10 in QB rushing, so not terrible. I will not personally be a buyer, though.
Ten fun facts in the books, and plenty of storylines on the road ahead. āTil next week, Detourists.
-- Dynasty Detour Jesse
Weāre officially in the swing of things, so be sure you follow us for all the must see events and reactions of every week. Follow us @dynastydetour on Instagram and X/Twitter to get our reactions and opinions in between write-ups, as well as email us with any questions at [email protected]. See you out on the road šļø.
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