Fantasy Football Week 4: Key Takeaways, Injuries, and Role Changes

I can often be guilty of a little ageism in fantasy football.

We all want the shiny, exciting player to emerge and morph into the league's newest superstar. Because of this desire, we can sometimes wishcast, projecting role increases for those players before they actually occur.

Week 4 was a win for the olds.

Derrick Henry, Joe Flacco, Travis Kelce, and Kareem Hunt (among others) all had usage noteworthy enough that it'll alter how we view them going forward. They might not all be the world's most thrilling players anymore, but they can still have value on our fantasy football rosters.

Let's dig into all that we saw across this past week -- from injuries to role changes and more -- and outline what it means going forward for our fantasy rosters.

All snap-rate and average depth of target (aDOT) data is via Next-Gen Stats unless noted otherwise. A "deep" target here is a target 16-plus yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

Key Injuries to Track Entering Week 5

Rashee Rice

Rashee Rice was playing like a superstar to open the season. To see him go down Sunday with a potential torn ACL is a massive kick to the groin.

This downgrades Patrick Mahomes, who has already been scuffling a bit to open the season. He'll need to build a rapport with Xavier Worthy, and his surrounding talent is now weakened. Mahomes is still solid, but this definitely lowers him from his preseason perception. It also dings the backfield, which we'll touch on in the "role change" section.

Travis Kelce came back to life after Rice's exit, though. Rice exited midway through the first quarter. Here's where the targets went after then.

Overall, Kelce had nine targets, more than he had the previous two games combined.

Although the Chiefs probably don't want to, they're likely going to have to lean on Kelce more from here on out. He earned three deep targets on Sunday and showed yardage upside for the first time all year. We should go back to viewing him as arguably the top fantasy option at the position for the time being.

As for Worthy, his four targets tied his mark from the previous two games, but he was more effective here with a career-high 73 receiving yards. He's going to be out there pretty much every play, so while we should expect some bumps, getting access to that many snaps with Mahomes is hard to turn down. Worthy gets a considerable bump alongside Kelce.

I'd rather hold off before throwing darts at others here. Justin Watson led the group in routes, followed by JuJu Smith-Schuster, but neither looks like a legit target-earner right now. We should wait before deploying anybody other than Kelce or or Worthy in the short-term in this depleted skill corps.

Malik Nabers

Malik Nabers left Week 4 with a concussion, putting his Week 5 status up in the air even with extra time to clear protocol.

Before the injury, the New York Giants once again fed Nabers. He had 15 targets, 3 of which were deep. He now has 38.2% of the team's overall targets with 55.0% of the deep looks. The problem is Daniel Jones has completed just 6 of 20 overall deep passes this year, which has prevented Nabers from busting off big plays.

Those should come eventually, and once they do, Nabers has a 200-yard game in his range of outcomes once healthy.

If Nabers misses time, it's hard to bump Wan'Dale Robinson much because his volume is already high. He has a 27.9% target share on 38 looks, but only 1 of those has been deep. Robinson is a solid season-long option, but we should be skeptical of his yardage upside for DFS due to both the offense and his lack of a downfield role.

We might not want to chase others, either. Darius Slayton is a great downfield target, but he doesn't earn many gimme looks, and again, Jones has struggled downfield. So even with a bunch of vacated targets, it's hard to do more than give Slayton a slight bump and lower expectations for the entire offense.

Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor

Although it seems like Anthony Richardson (hip pointer) and Jonathan Taylor (high ankle sprain) both avoided the worst-case scenario, we should at least prepare for what the Indianapolis Colts' offense would look like without them.

Richardson left early, giving us 26 Joe Flacco drop backs. Flacco was efficient on those throws and pumped work to Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr.. Downs led with 8 targets from Flacco on 24 targets throws (33.3%) while Pittman was second with 6 (25.0%).

If Richardson misses time, I'd upgrade both receivers in what would likely be a more pass-heavy offense with Pittman still being the top option and Downs being a usable No. 2.

As for the Taylor side of things, Trey Sermon would likely get the early-down work with Tyler Goodson mixing in on passing downs. Sermon would still get enough work there to be viable, though, as he ran 12 routes back in Week 2 in a negative game script compared to 9 for Goodson.

If Taylor sits, Sermon is a season-long starter and someone we can consider for DFS lineups.

Christian Watson

Christian Watson got his ankle twisted in ugly fashion and was ruled out for the entire second half as the Green Bay Packers faced the Minnesota Vikings. Watson said he believes it's just a sprain, but any absence will boost the Packers' other pass-catchers.

The Packers' numbers got juiced up Sunday by 55 Jordan Love drop backs, but Dontayvion Wicks earned a whopping 13 targets. Only 5 resulted in catches, but he finished with 78 yards and a touchdown while running 43 routes.

Wicks has consistently earned targets while on the field, part of why FanDuel Research's Skyler Carlin had labeled Wicks as a player to stash entering the week. Wicks is a quality add even with Watson's timeline being unknown.

Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft also deserve boosts. Reed had 139 yards on 8 targets and has blown up in both games with Love this year. Kraft had 9 targets on 44 routes (Luke Musgrave ran just 16).

Reed won't have the best median outcome, but his ceiling makes him desirable in all formats.

As for Kraft, he did lose a fumble late, so his role isn't guaranteed to stick. But with some targets for the taking, he does deserve attention with how poor tight end is.

Taysom Hill

After scoring two touchdowns early, Taysom Hill left with an abdominal injury and couldn't return.

The "two touchdowns" portion there is why this matters: Hill sucks up high-leverage usage, and any absence for him would up the appeal of Alvin Kamara and Derek Carr. The New Orleans Saints had a goal-line drive late where Carr had two empty sneak attempts before Kamara punched it in.

Carr is a more palatable streaming option if Hill is out. And Kamara gets a boost to the already sky-high appeal you get via his average of 134 yards from scrimmage per game.

Tyler Badie

Tyler Badie suffered a scary back injury Sunday that forced him to be immobilized on the sidelines. While early indications are that he'll be okay, it's still fingers crossed until we get a more definitive word.

For Badie, this is a letdown after he earned a share of the backfield with some impressive runs last week. In his absence in Week 4, Javonte Williams had a season-high 80 yards from scrimmage on 16 carries and 3 targets.

Jaleel McLaughlin did still steal a red-zone touch, and the offense as a whole isn't one we want to be too high on. But Williams' slight sign of life could make him a bit more interesting for season-long if Badie misses time.

Fantasy Football Role Changes

Kareem Hunt and Carson Steele

The Carson Steele experience was fun while it lasted.

After impressive usage last week, Steele fumbled early in Week 4 and effectively got benched. He wound up playing just 19.0% of the snaps, third on the team behind Kareem Hunt (43.1%) and Samaje Perine (41.4%).

Despite likely still working his way back into game shape, Hunt ran 14 times for 69 yards and added 3 targets. The team trusted him, and he's now the top back on the team for fantasy. He's both a priority add in season-long and will be firmly on the map for the single-game slate next Monday against the Saints.

Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier

At the start of the year, Bijan Robinson's role was better than it was in 2023. It has regressed in recent weeks, though, hitting a nadir in Week 4.

There, Robinson outsnapped Tyler Allgeier just 60.8% to 41.2%, and Allgeier out-carried Robinson, 8 to 7. It was Robinson's first game this year with a snap rate lower than 74.1% and fewer than 14 carries.

Part of this was just riding the hot hand as Allgeier was effective throughout. But it is concerning that this can happen to a guy who went in the middle of the first round.

This does force us to downgrade Robinson a bit from where he was, even if we don't need to panic. And it means Allgeier can be a flex consideration in season-long as byes begin and injuries mount.

Chase Brown and Zack Moss

For the first three games, Zack Moss dominated snaps in the Cincinnati Bengals' backfield. Chase Brown closed that gap Sunday, especially in key situations.

Moss wound up leading the backfield in snaps, 58.1% to 41.9%. That was the first time Moss was under 66.0% snaps for the season.

Brown especially sucked up work in the red zone, handling 5 of 10 red-zone chances, converting twice for scores. Brown also finished with more yards from scrimmage than Moss, 92 to 78.

After Sunday, Brown now has a 62.1% Rushing Success Rate, per numberFire's Net Expected Points (NEP -- numberFire's EPA model) metrics, up from 39.6% for Moss. He's going to keep gaining work there. Moss will continue to get passing-game work because the team trusts him as a blocker, but arrow is up on Brown while things are looking more thin for Moss.

Bucky Irving and Rachaad White

Although Rachaad White was still the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' lead back, Bucky Irving chipped away at the lead again in Week 4.

Irving played a season-high 40.5% of the snaps compared to White's 59.5%. More importantly, though, is that Irving handled 5 of 14 red-zone chances compared to a goose-egg for White. Irving ran 17 routes to White's 23.

That's the key for Irving. We should expect him to get early-down work, but he'll need goal-line and passing-game work to have a great fantasy ceiling. He showed glimpses of that on Sunday.

We can't just view Irving as the lead guy yet. The team clearly still values White. But the pendulum keeps inching that direction, and the presence of high-value touches on Sunday was the best sign we've gotten on Irving yet.

Xavier Legette

With Adam Thielen on injured reserve, Xavier Legette had a shot to claim a larger role in the Carolina Panthers' revived offense.

He did exactly that.

Legette finished Sunday with 10 targets, second on the team behind just Diontae Johnson (13). Only one of those was deep, but he did score on a short red-zone target.

Johnson's still the top guy here. But Legette is clearly the No. 2, making him startable in season-long and a consideration in the right spots for DFS.

With Andy Dalton posting plus efficiency again, Legette, Johnson, and Chuba Hubbard suddenly have life, and we can have a decent level of confidence in each of them for the time being.

Jordan Whittington

Jordan Whittington's camp hype finally converted to playing time for the Los Angeles Rams.

Whittington played a whopping 96.6% of the snaps and ran a route on all 32 Matthew Stafford drop backs.

Whittington's 6 targets were on just a 7.1-yard aDOT, but with wind speeds in the double digits in Chicago, that's pretty understandable.

Whittington is now the Rams' top pass-catcher for fantasy until Cooper Kupp returns. That alone makes him worth an add in season-long. The potential for him to carve out a role alongside Kupp and Puka Nacua is what boosts him as a priority on the wire.

Rico Dowdle

The Dallas Cowboys' run game is trash, and it's still a committee with fullback Hunter Luepke now stealing snaps. But Rico Dowdle did separate from Ezekiel Elliott and Deuce Vaughn on Thursday.

Dowdle actually does have a 50.0% Rushing Success Rate this year, per numberFire's metrics, putting him clear of Elliott (41.7%) and Vaughn (0.0% on 7 carries). It's possible they're realizing that and letting him scoop up extra usage as a result.

Dowdle is inching toward being a season-long option, and we'll want to keep tabs on him to see if we can eventually turn his direction in DFS.

Noteworthy Fantasy Football Usage

Derrick Henry and the Ravens

The past two weeks, the Baltimore Ravens have decided to just line up and kick some booty up front, and it has led to huge games for Derrick Henry.

Henry had 24 carries and 3 targets for 209 yards from scrimmage Sunday. It was his second straight game with 174 yards from scrimmage on a 60% snap rate.

This is due to a philosophical shift from the Ravens' offense. The first two weeks, their early-down first-half pass rate was 55.9%. It has been 39.6% in Henry's two blow-ups.

And clearly, it's working.

Not every matchup and not every game script will allow for this. Eventually, they'll fall behind and meet resistance, and Henry's lack of passing-game involvement will spring back up. But this approach is boosting both his median expectation and his ceiling, making Henry's outlook a lot rosier.

The same can't be said for the pass-catchers. Justice Hill is the only guy with more than six targets the past two games combined. We have to downgrade Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, and Isaiah Likely all pretty significantly as a result, given how effective this run-centric approach has been.

D'Andre Swift

Here, the noteworthy usage was the lack of a role change.

There had been buzz during the week that D'Andre Swift would lose usage to Roschon Johnson. Given Swift's Rushing Success Rate was a paltry 18.9%, per numberFire's metrics, that change seemed overdue.

Instead, Swift played 66.7% of the snaps and turned 16 carries and 7 targets into 165 yards from scrimmage.

Huh.

Swift still lacked down-to-down consistency, but big plays matter, too, and he had those. This doesn't fully clear Swift from risk of an eventual role change, but he has fended off Johnson for now.

Swift is once again an acceptable season-long starter, even if his usage will bear continued monitoring.

Tee Higgins

After a modest 2024 debut last week, Tee Higgins got tons of looks in Week 4.

Higgins led the Bengals with 10 targets, 2 of which were deep with 1 in the red zone. Ja'Marr Chase had the long touchdown, but he had just six total targets for the game.

In Higgins' two games, Higgins leads with a 23.5% target share, besting Chase at 19.1%. Chase has still gone off in both of those, but he's not getting the elite target shares you expect out of a guy with his reputation.

We shouldn't downgrade Chase here; he's talented and should gain more targets. It does tell us, though, that Higgins is fully re-established, and ancillary pieces like Andrei Iosivas and Mike Gesicki should be downgraded significantly.

Texans' Pass-Catchers

Without Tank Dell, C.J. Stroud funneled work to Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs.

Collins turned 15 targets into 151 yards and a touchdown. He's a superstar.

Diggs, meanwhile, had nine targets, and nobody else had more than five. He also had a red-zone drop back that turned into a rushing touchdown.

The red-zone production is masking a lack of downfield work for Diggs that will eventually catch up to him. But without Dell, we can hold off on pushing forward with any concerns, and we can treat Collins like the true stud he is.

Additional Notes

• Breece Hall's awful showing Sunday came despite a 71.4% snap rate that's in line with what he has done recently. He also handled three of four red-zone opportunities for the team; he just didn't do anything with it. Continued ineffectiveness would eventually lead to more Braelon Allen, but Hall is talented enough where we should expect a bounce-back soon.
• Brian Robinson did miss out on a couple of touchdowns to Jeremy McNichols, but Robinson's usage was still good with no Austin Ekeler. Robinson had 21 carries and 3 targets, and he handled 3 of 8 red-zone chances. He's a rock-solid running back play as long as Ekeler is out of the lineup.
• J.K. Dobbins continued to pull away from Gus Edwards. Dobbins played a season-high 71.7% of the snaps and had a season-high 4 targets. His role is improving, and we should be inclined to buy in once the Los Angeles Chargers come off their bye.
• Jordan Addison earned four targets in his first full game of the year, but that came in a super positive game script, and three of those targets were downfield. With how well Sam Darnold is playing, Addison's on the DFS radar and perfectly acceptable in season-long.
• Travis Etienne missed some time to be checked for a shoulder injury, but Tank Bigsby's play is eventually going to cause some problems. Bigsby is at 81 rushing yards over expected on 21 carries, per Next Gen Stats, while Etienne is at 35 on 47. Bigsby's usage will bear monitoring if he keeps stacking efficient outings.
• Drake London earned a season-high 12 targets, 4 of which were deep. This brings his season-long target share up to 27.4% with 31.8% of the deep targets. Darnell Mooney is still involved enough to be a fantasy option, but London's role is getting better. And Kyle Pitts' 0-for-3 showing pushed his season-long target share down to 13.3%.
• Jauan Jennings remained in the mix even with Deebo Samuel and George Kittle back. Jennings led the team with six targets, two of which were deep, which trailed only Brandon Aiyuk. There are extra targets available with Christian McCaffrey sidelined, and Jennings has earned a decent chunk of that pie, even if it is still a crowded offense.
• If Joe Mixon misses more time, treat the Texans' backfield like a committee. Cam Akers lost early-down work to J.J. Taylor, and Dare Ogunbowale handled the passing-game work. It's a backfield to avoid without Mixon.
• This doesn't matter in the short term with how much the New England Patriots' offense stinks, but Ja'Lynn Polk became a full-fledged starter in Week 4. He ran 33 routes on 39 drop backs, earning 7 targets with 2 downfield. File this away for when the offense shows life or makes the swap over to Drake Maye.
• With Davante Adams out, Jakobi Meyers had 10 targets Sunday, 3 of which were deep with 2 in the red zone. It's a low-volume, low-efficiency passing offense, and Brock Bowers will get more work in the future, but Meyers can serve as a fill-in option with byes and injuries starting to pop up.

New to FanDuel Sportsbook? You’ll receive $200 in Bonus Bets guaranteed after your first bet of $5+ is placed! See here for full terms and conditions. Learn about today’s other offers at FanDuel Sportsbook Promos.

Curious what the odds say about next week's games? FanDuel Sportsbook's latest NFL betting odds to see the lines for each contest.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.