NFL Box Score Breakdown: Snaps, Routes, Air Yards and Personnel from Week 4

Just a heads-up: I'm no longer adjusting full-season target and air-yard shares in the box scores to only count the games each player participated in. It becomes a more time-consuming task with each passing week, and it's information we have updated by every Tuesday on RotoWire's Advanced Receiving Stats page (which I recommend as a tool).

Vocab/Index

• DB = QB dropbacks = pass attempts + sacks
• Rts = Routes
• Rt% = Percentage of team dropbacks on which the player ran a route
• aDOT = Average Depth of Target
• AY = Air Yards
• TS SZN = Percentage of team targets this season
• AY SZN = Percentage of team air yards this season

Personnel Groupings

• 11 = 1 RB / 1 TE / 3 WR
• 12 = 1 RB / 2 TE / 2 WR
• 21 = 2 RB / 1 TE / 2 WR
• 13 = 1 RB / 3 TE / 1 WR
• 01 = 0 RB / 1 TE / 4 WR

Any RB/WR/TE with a touch, carry or snap share of at least 10 percent is listed below. Any personnel grouping used on at least 10 percent of snaps is listed, in addition to rates for 11 and 12 personnel (by far the two most popular sets league-wide).

Color-coding is used under route/snap share to denote players that got significantly more or less playing time relative to previous weeks. However, I won't use it for instances in which the difference was simply a result of starters being rested during a blowout.

Lions (23) at Packers (20) 

• Lions Personnel: 11 - 49% / 12 - 26% / 13 - 15%
• 30 DBs — 6.3 aDOT — 19-of-28 for 210 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks

• David Montgomery took 34 touches for 141 yards and three TDs on 70% snap share, four days after missing a game with a thigh contusion.
  • Jahmyr Gibbs dropped to 38% snap share, though it was a little better (44%) before the fourth quarter.
• TE Sam LaPorta has started his career with four straight games of at least five targets, four catches and 39 yards. We usually don't see that kind of consistency from any TEs besides Travis Kelce, much less a rookie.

• Packers Personnel: 11 - 77% / 12 - 21%
• 41 DBs — 9.2 aDOT — 23-of-36 for 246 yards — 1 TD, 2 INTs, 5 sacks

• Aaron Jones and Christian Watson had limited roles after missing time with hamstring injuries.
  • AJ Dillon played more than two-thirds of snaps but again was extremely unproductive. The Packers' attempt to trade for Jonathan Taylor makes more and more sense with each passing week.
  • Watson found paydirt but was fourth among the WRs with 46% route share.
• Romeo Doubs put up 9-95-0 on 13 targets and ran seven more routes than any other Green Bay player.
• Luke Musgrave played all nine snaps in Q1 but then left Q2 with a possible concussion.

Stock ⬆️:   RB David Montgomery / WR Romeo Doubs

Stock ⬇️:   RB Jahmyr Gibbs / RB AJ Dillon

Injury 🚑:   TE Luke Musgrave (head)

Falcons (7) at Jaguars (23) 

• Falcons Personnel: 11 - 19% / 12 - 45% / 21 - 21%
• 35 DBs — 8.8 aDOT — 19-of-31 for 191 yards — 1 TD, 2 INTs, 4 sacks

• Jonnu Smith's success the past few weeks makes Kyle Pitts' lack of production all the more glaring. 
  • The Falcons now have four guys in the range of 17-to-20 percent target share: Smith, Pitts, Bijan Robinson and Drake London.
    • That's a far cry from the Pitts/London-dominated attack everyone expected. 
• This was the second straight game of Robinson getting about 3x as many touches and 2x as many snaps as Tyler Allgeier, who is averaging 3.4 YPC this year.

• Jaguars Personnel: 11 - 52% / 12 - 19%
• 32 DBs — 6.2 aDOT — 23-of-30 for 207 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks

• Travis Etienne played a season-high 84% of snaps and got 23 of the 29 RB opportunities.
  • It was actually 89% before the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter.
• Calvin Ridley's target share (19.6%) is officially concerning, especially with Zay Jones (knee) having missed the past two games. Ridley did at least score a TD.
  • Christian Kirk and Evan Engram both have more targets this year.
• QB Trevor Lawrence isn't playing well, but there is a silver lining for fantasy. He's averaging 5.8 rush attempts for 25.4 YPG, up from 3.6 for 17.1 YPG last season.
  • Lawrence had five carries for 46 yards prior to his three kneel-downs at the end Sunday.

Stock ⬆️:   TE Jonnu Smith

Stock ⬇️:   TE Kyle Pitts / WR Calvin Ridley

Bengals (3) at Titans (27) 

• Bengals Personnel: 11 - 82% / 12 - 6%
• 33 DBs — 4.1 aDOT — 20-of-30 for 165 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 3 sacks

• Tee Higgins left early with a rib fracture. That usually means at least a missed game or two, but he's hoping to avoid it.
  • Trenton Irwin played two-thirds of snaps in the second half, with rookie Andrei Iosivas at 43%.
• TE Irv Smith (hamstring) missed a second straight game, and the Bengals again deployed a three-way timeshare with all three TEs below 50% snap share.
• At this point, I'm at least slightly worried (from the perspective of a fantasy football guy, not a Ravens fan). The Joe Burrow we saw the past two seasons could play better than this on one leg. 
  • If his calf isn't that bad, why is he playing so poorly? If his calf is that bad, why is he playing at all? 
    • Davis Mills, Case Keenum, Gardner Minshew and Jacoby Brissett are currently employed as backups for teams that have no shot at a deep playoff run. Meanwhile, we have win-now teams with Super Bowl dreams that don't have real backup QBs, namely the Bengals, Browns and Jets (pre-ARodg injury).

• Titans Personnel: 11 - 47% / 12 - 31% / 12 - 13%
• 29 DBs — 11.6 aDOT — 19-of-26 for 242 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 3 sacks

• DeAndre Hopkins tied for the target lead, but he isn't in an every-down role and saw his route share dip below three-fourths (slightly) for the first time this year. He's been playing through an ankle injury, though playing banged up has been the norm for him for years and didn't usually impact his snap counts in Arizona.
• With Treylon Burks (knee) inactive, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine led the team in routes run and tied for the most targets.
  • NWI played 89% of snaps before the fourth quarter, most among Tennessee's skill-position players.
• Derrick Henry's 60% snap share was his second largest of the year, but he often was up in the 70s or even low 80s in this type of game script in previous seasons.
  • Tyjae Spears being more involved than previous backups (including from two-RB formations) is taking a chunk out of Henry's value/upside.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine / WR Trenton Irwin

Stock ⬇️:   QB Joe Burrow (and friends)

Injury 🚑:   WR Tee Higgins (rib fracture) / CB Cam Taylor-Britt

Buccaneers (26) at Saints (9) 

• Buccaneers Personnel: 11 - 75% / 12 - 18%
• 34 DBs — 6.1 aDOT — 25-of-33 for 246 yards — 3 TDs, 1 INT, 1 sack

• Mike Evans injured his hamstring and missed the second half. 
  • Deven Thompkins played 81% of snaps after halftime and Trey Palmer got 78%, and both numbers were higher before garbage time (95% and 90% before the final five minutes).
    • Both scored TDs, and Thompkins had 56 yards on five touches to boot.
    • Palmer got 34% of his snaps in the slot, Thompkins was at 38%. Chris Godwin actually played the slot even less than Weeks 1-3, which was already way less than in previous years. Godwin also had his best game of the year and is more than capable on the perimeter.
  • The Bucs have a Week 5 bye, and while Evans has a lengthy history of hamstring injuries, he also has a good track record of returning within a few games and putting up numbers again.
• Rachaad White took 79% of snaps before the fourth quarter.
  • Ke'Shawn Vaughn replaced struggling rookie Sean Tucker as the RB2, getting 21% of snaps pre-Q4 with six touches for 15 yards.
  • Chase Edmonds is on IR with an MCL injury and won't be back until the end of the month or later.

• Saints Personnel: 11 - 39% / 12 - 0%
• 42 DBs — 7.7 aDOT — 24-of-39 for 140 yards — 0 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks

• Alvin Kamara played three-fourths of snaps and got 24 touches in his season debut. The receiving line was odd and inefficient, but the usage couldn't be more encouraging.
  • Kamara took 65% of snaps before halftime and 85% after.
• The Saints had two "QBs" on the field for 39% of snaps. In related news, the NFL's insistence on listing Taysom Hill as a QB continues to make its own personnel grouping stats for the Saints borderline useless. Even more so when Hill gets extra playing time at TE because Juwan Johnson (calf) and/or Foster Moreau (ankle) is injured. In this case, Moreau was inactive and Johnson didn't play, which meant Hill and Jimmy Graham were the top TEs.
  • Johnson may have been injured during pregame warmups. He wasn't on the injury report or inactive list but was announced with a calf injury in the first quarter without playing a single snap.
  • Graham wasn't targeted on 22 routes.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Alvin Kamara / WRs Chris Godwin & Deven Thompkins

Stock ⬇️:   RB Kendre Miller

Injury 🚑:   WR Mike Evans (hamstring) / S Ryan Neal (head) / TE Juwan Johnson (calf)

Rams (29) at Colts (23) 

• Rams Personnel: 11 - 95% / 12 - 5%
• 42 DBs — 7.4 aDOT — 27-of-40 for 319 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks

• Puka Nacua answered any doubts about whether he should remain in fantasy lineups if Cooper Kupp (hamstring) returns for Week 5. Remember that the Rams barely give any targets to backups and have a TE who annually ranks among the league leaders in pass-block rate, i.e., the offense might be able to support something like 23-24 targets per game between the top three receivers.
  • For season-long managers the bigger question is Tutu Atwell, who slumped to 4-21-0 on this one but maintained his sturdy target/route shares.
• Higbee had season highs across the board and took on his usual every-down role, after being listed as questionable with an Achilles injury. He also signed an extension last week, FWIW.
• Kyren Williams dropped to 73% snap share, down from 95 and 100% the past two games.
  • Williams also scored two TDs for a third time in four weeks and had season highs for carries, rushing yards and total yards.
  • Ronnie Rivers got his first touches of the season and contributed 57 total yards.

• Colts Personnel: 11 -79 % / 12 - 14%
• 27 DBs — 12.4 aDOT — 11-of-25 for 200 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 2 sacks

• Zack Moss played more than three-fourths of snaps for a third straight game, and also got at least 18 carries for the third week in a row.
  • Moss is averaging 22 carries for 93.3 yards (4.24 YPC) and 2.0 catches for 14.0 yards, with two TDs in three games. 
• TE Andrew Ogletree still hasn't run double-digit routes in a game, but the Colts have been getting him the ball when he's on the field.
• ICYMI, the Colts came back from a 23-0 deficit but then lost in OT.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Ronnie Rivers / QB Anthony Richardson

Stock ⬇️:   WR Van Jefferson

Injury 🚑:   QB Matthew Stafford (hip)

Vikings (21) at Panthers (13) 

• Vikings Personnel: 11 - 57% / 12 - 20% / 13  - 16%
• 21 DBs — 8.6 aDOT — 12-of-19 for 139 yards — 2 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 sacks

• Alexander Mattison got 66% of snaps and 18 of the 25 RB opportunities (72%) in Cam Akers' first game with the Vikings.
  • Mattison finished with 19 touches for 98 yards, and Akers had seven for 51.
• I guess this is what I deserve for speculating about Kirk Cousins throwing for well over 5,000 yards. The Panthers ran way more plays than the Vikings in this one, and it was a low-volume game overall with both teams moving slow and not throwing many incompletions.
• Justin Jefferson had half of Minnesota's targets and nearly all the receiving production.
  • Jordan Addison remained the WR3 in terms of snap/route share and finished without a catch on two targets. 

• Panthers Personnel: 11 - 68% / 12 - 28%
• 37 DBs — 3.4 aDOT — 25-of-32 for 204 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 5 sacks

• The split between Miles Sanders and Chuba Hubbard was awfully close to 50/50, but that might be because Sanders was listed as questionable with a groin injury. 
  • Or it might be because Sanders is averaging 2.9 YPC and not playing well overall. Either way, he took only 32% of second-half snaps Sunday. We'll keep both eyes on it.
• Terrace Marshall led the team in targets and catches while filling in for Jonathan Mingo (concussion), but Marshall's 65% route share fell a good deal behind DJ Chark and Adam Thielen.
  • Thielen has seven or more catches in three straight games since opening the year with a 2-12-0 receiving line (he was listed as questionable heading into Week 1, FWIW).
• NFL teams throw the ball a lot when they're losing because they need to score points fast and incompletions essentially become no more harmful than short gains (and in many cases are even preferred). If you're going to just throw a bunch of two-yard passes in comeback mode, you might as well run the ball instead. 
  • Panthers fans have to be pretty annoyed right now. It's not just Bryce Young that looks overwhelmed; Frank Reich and the rest of his coaching staff are struggling. And the front office spent a bunch of money on mediocre veterans this offseason — rather than rolling more cap space over for the future — to make sure Young wouldn't be overwhelmed and overmatched with no chance to succeed.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Cam Akers / RB Chuba Hubbard

Stock ⬇️:   RB Miles Sanders

Injury 🚑:   CB Donte Jackson (shoulder)

Dolphins (20) at Bills (48) 

• Dolphins Personnel: 11 - 47% / 12 - 5% / 21 - 40%
• 39 DBs — 6.1 aDOT — 25-of-35 for 282 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 4 sacks

• Prior to the fourth quarter, De'Von Achane took 61% of snaps and 10 opportunities, with Raheem Mostert at 54% and 11 opportunities, i.e., a 50/50 share, pretty much.
  • The fourth quarter padded Achane's overall snap advantage. He took 11 of 18 in the fourth quarter, compared to two for Mostert and four for No. 3 RB Salvon Ahmed.
  • Achane scored from 3 and 10 yards out in the first half, then padded his line with a 55-yard scamper in the fourth quarter.
• Durham Smythe was back to a near-every-down role after an in-game injury allowed Julian Hill to take most of his playing time the previous week.
• Braxton Berrios saw a team-high six targets on 46% route share. The Dolphins still rotated a bunch of WRs behind the top two guys after putting River Cracraft Erik Ezukanma on IR last week.

• Bills Personnel: 11 - 52% / 12 - 25% / 21 - 11%
• 27 DBs — 8.2 aDOT — 21-of-25 for 320 yards — 4 TDs, 0 INT, 2 sacks

• Dawson Knox played 60% of snaps in the first half, the same percentage as Dalton Kincaid.
  • Kincaid's playing time was coming at the expense of the WR3 role at the beginning of the year, but the rookie increasingly has taken snaps away from Knox instead.
  • Knox played only 50% of snaps in 11 personnel before halftime Sunday, and only 43% for the entire game.

Stock ⬆️:   RB De'Von Achane

Stock ⬇️:   RB Raheem Mostert / TE Dawson Knox

Injury 🚑:   LT Terron Armstead (knee) / CB Tre'Davious White (Achilles) / WR Khalil Shakir (concussion)

Broncos (31) at Bears (28) 

• Broncos Personnel: 11 - 52% / 12 - 21% / 22 - 13%
• 29 DBs — 6.7 aDOT — 21-of-28 for 223 yards — 3 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack

• Javonte Williams suffered a hip flexor and didn't play in the second half.
  • Samaje Perine didn't take on additional playing time. Instead, undrafted rookie Jaleel McLaughlin went off for 104 yards and a TD on 10 touches, playing 33% of snaps overall and 35% after the first quarter.
  • McLaughlin had three snaps, two touches and a TD even in the first quarter, before Williams' early exit. Perine got two snaps and one touch in the opening quarter, and he might've ultimately played fewer snaps than McLaughlin had the Broncos not been trailing most of the game.
• Marvin Mims is one heck of a No. 4 receiver. But you can understand why he's not playing much when the depth chart ahead of him contains overachievers like Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton and straight-up legends like Brandon Johnson.
  • Johnson became the first player in NFL history to score a TD in a game played in a city that currently has a mayor with the same name as him (citation needed).
  • Jerry Jeudy is putting up mediocre lines week after week, only played 63% of snaps against Chicago (79% routes) and has a talented second-round pick behind him making a strong case for more work. Jeudy won't lose his top-three role because he's proven he's at least a starter-quality player, but I can't entirely rule out the possibility of him only being the No. 3 receiver in Denver by year's end. I also think he still has some shot to turn things around and be a useful fantasy starter, FWIW.

• Bears Personnel: 11 - 57% / 12 - 20% / 21 - 19%
• 39 DBs — 8.4 aDOT — 28-of-35 for 335 yards — 4 TDs, 1 INT, 4 sacks

• Khalil Herbert took 79% of snaps and had 22 touches for 122 yards and a TD.
  • Roschon Johnson of course played less than in previous weeks, though it's not all that surprising given how much of his playing time had come in the late stages of blowouts this year.
  • Herbert took two-thirds of Chicago's snaps in the first half and 86% in the second.
  • Herbert took 64% of snaps pre-Q4 in Weeks 2-3, with a 15-11 advantage in opportunities over Johnson. The Week 4 split was a change, to be sure, but perhaps not as drastic as it looks on paper because Herbert would've been further ahead of Johnson in Weeks 2-3 if the Bears had avoided being whupped.
• DJ Moore exploded for 8-131-1 and Cole Kmet for 7-85-2, with both creeping above 20% target share for the season in the process.
  • Darnell Mooney has been efficient on a per-target basis but now has seen only half as many looks as both Moore and Kmet (12 in four games)
• Equanimeous St. Brown replaced ex-communicated Chase Claypool as the No. 3 wide receiver and made a nice sideline catch on his lone target (from a flea-ficker)
• I guess we can't really blame Justin Fields for ignoring the memo about taking a dive 

Stock ⬆️:   RB Jaleel McLaughlin / RB Khalil Herbert

Stock ⬇️:   WR Jerry Jeudy

Injury 🚑:   RB Javonte Williams (hip)

Commanders (31) at Eagles (34) 

• Commanders Personnel: 11 - 80% / 12 - 18%
• 46 DBs — 9.4 aDOT — 29-of-41 for 290 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 5 sacks

• The six carries were a season high for Antonio Gibson, who nonetheless played second fiddle to Brian Robinson.
• This was much closer to my preseason expectations in terms of target distribution, with Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson both getting season highs for looks and scoring TDs (McLaurin recovered a Robinson fumble in the end zone). 
  • Logan Thomas was targeted three times on 35 routes in his return from a concussion. He did run more routes than both Dotson and Curtis Samuel.

• Eagles Personnel: 11 - 90% / 12 - 7%
• 40 DBs — 11.0 aDOT — 25-of-37 for 319 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 3 sacks

• The Eagles had a Rams-like rotation in this one, using four guys in near-every-down roles.
  • Olamide Zaccheaus is filling in for Quez Watkins (hammy) as WR3.
• D'Andre Swift holds the following advantages over Kenneth Gainwell the past two weeks:
  • Carries: 30-18
  • Targets: 6-4
  • Snaps: 88-63 (59% - 42%)
  • Yards: 217-69
• AJ Brown is now Top 5 in the league for both target share and AY share.

Stock ⬆️:   RB D'Andre Swift (for a third straight week)

Stock ⬇️:   TE Dallas Goedert

Injury 🚑:   RG Cam Jurgens (foot) / S Jartavius Martin (thumb)

Ravens (28) at Browns (3) 

• Ravens Personnel: 11 - 44% / 12 - 16% / 21 - 20% / 20 - 18%
• 22 DBs — 6.9 aDOT — 15-of-19 for 186 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 3 sacks

• Gus Edwards got 71% of snaps and 72% of RB opportunities, though Justice Hill and Melvin Gordon both were more efficient.
  • Hill looked healthy after missing a week with turf toe, but Gordon got one more touch and a few more snaps.
• Nelson Agholor and Devin Duvernay stepped in as WR2 and WR3, respectively, with Rashod Bateman (hamstring) and Odell Beckham (ankle) both inactive.

• Browns Personnel: 11 - 91% / 12 - 5%
• 40 DBs — 9.1 aDOT — 19-of-36 for 121 yards — 0 TD, 3 INT, 4 sacks

• Jerome Ford took 78% of snaps before the fourth quarter.
  • Pierre Strong didn't play at all until fourth quarter garbage time
  • Ford had an 8-5 carry advantage and 5-0 target advantage over Kareem Hunt before the fourth quarter.
• All it took for David Njoku to get involved in the passing game was a weird accident at his house and an injury to the starting QB.
• Joshua Dobbs looks pretty good right about now, eh?

Stock ⬆️:   RB Gus Edwards

Stock ⬇️:   RB Justice Hill

Injury 🚑:   DE Myles Garrett (foot) / RT Morgan Moses (shoulder)

Steelers (6) at Texans (30) 

• Steelers Personnel: 11 - 84% / 12 - 14%
• 31 DBs — 6.2 aDOT — 18-of-28 for 132 yards — 0 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks

• Getting blown out by the Texans is bad. Even worse when you lose three starters to injury (see below), though in Kenny Pickett's case the backup might actually be an upgrade.
  • It's not all bad news for the towel waivers. Even Mike Tomlin's baffling loyalty to Matt Canada has its limits, and I'm not seeing how Canada makes it to 2024 with the team. 
  • I'm interested to see how refs respond to a (potentially) non-competitive Steelers team. Opponents are accustomed to playing 11 vs. 18 in the fourth quarter of close games in Pittsburgh, but I'm not sure the officiating gifts continue if the Steelers are legitimately bad for the first time in a very long time.
  • If Tomlin gets this team to 9-8, he deserves a red carpet and chariot for his HOF induction.
• Jaylen Warren is now second on the team in target share, even though he and Najee Harris have split the RB routes fairly evenly.

• Texans Personnel: 11 - 42% / 12 - 9% / 21 - 48%
• 31 DBs — 8.8 aDOT — 17-of-31 for 312 yards — 3 TDs, 0 INT, 0 sacks

• Nico Collins erupted for 7-168-2, his second monster receiving line in the past three weeks. I've been skeptical, but he's now up to 22.7% TS and 33.7% AYS, and he's playing well enough that there could be even more volume coming to make up for the inevitable decline in per-target efficiency.
• Dameon Pierce had nine more carries and 43 more rushing yards than in any other game this year, taking 26 of the 35 RB opportunities (74%) w/ 58% snap share.
  • Houston's run-blocking has been brutal all year, with the team missing 3-4 O-line starters in each game so far. The line is starting to get healthier now, and it looks like the Texans will have positive game scripts more often than most of us expected pre-season. In other words, buy-low on Pierce if you still can.
• John Metchie has three straight games with 14-16 snaps and one or two targets. That's pretty standard for a No. 4 WR, but he's at least worth remembering in deeper leagues given that he's a recent second-round pick on a team that used a ton of 11 personnel prior to the comfortable Week 4 win. An injury to any of the three guys ahead of him could put Metchie in the range of three-fourths route share.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Nico Collins / RB Dameon Pierce

Stock ⬇️:   TE Dalton Schultz

Injury 🚑:   QB Kenny Pickett (knee) / TE Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) / LT Dan Moore (knee)

Raiders (17) at Chargers (24) 

• Raiders Personnel: 11 - 65% / 12 - 0% / 21 - 33%
• 46 DBs — 6.2 aDOT — 24-of-39 for 238 yards — 0 TD, 1 INT, 7 sacks

• Aidan O'Connell looked about as ready for the NFL as Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
  • Jimmy Garoppolo (concussion) should be back next week.
• Jakobi Meyers was targeted only four times on 39 pass attempts, after seeing 22 targets in his two games with Garoppolo under center.
• Josh Jacobs finally had a big fantasy game, but he's still sixth to last among qualified rushers with 2.7 YPC.

• Chargers Personnel: 11 - 50% / 12 - 21% / 13 - 16%
• 26 DBs — 12.0 aDOT — 13-of-24 for 167 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 sacks

• Joshua Palmer led the team in targets and receiving yards and tied Keenan Allen for the most routes in the first game without Mike Williams (knee).
  • Quentin Johnston was the No. 3 receiver, but No. 4 Derius Davis actually had a more productive day, including three rushes for 51 yards (Johnston ran 5x as many routes, however).
    • Johnston ran routes on 77% of Justin Herbert's dropbacks.
• The Chargers have a Week 5 bye, which should allow Austin Ekeler (ankle) to avoid any additional missed games. It's also good news for Herbert, though I'm guessing he wouldn't miss a game due to an injury on his non-throwing hand. That's a boo-boo in football terms, even if it doesn't look pretty.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Joshua Palmer

Stock ⬇️:   RB Joshua Kelley

Injury 🚑:   QB Justin Herbert (hand) / TE Donald Parham (wrist) 

Patriots (3) at Cowboys (38) 

• Patriots Personnel: 11 - 36% / 12 - 33% / 13  -24%
• 32 DBs — 7.8 aDOT — 16-of-30 for 207 yards — 0 TD, 2 INT, 2 sacks

• Eight Patriots had at least three targets, yet none had more than five. 
• DeVante Parker is still the only WR in an every-down role (or close to it) and isn't being targeted at a high rate. Fast starts by Kendrick Bourne and Hunter Henry look increasingly fluky in this spread-it-around, subpar offense.
• Rhamondre Stevenson is averaging 15.0 carries per game but only 41 yards (2.7 YPC), and he's also lost more of the passing-down work to Ezekiel Elliott than most expected.

• Cowboys Personnel: 11 - 54% / 12 - 26%
• 39 DBs — 6.5 aDOT — 30-of-36 for 281 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 3 sacks

• The blowout impacted a lot of snap shares, with the most noticeable difference being Deuce Vaughn getting some of Tony Pollard's normal playing time.
  • RB2 Rico Dowdle suffered a hip injury but is believed to have escaped with a contusion.
  • Remember that Pollard took 86% of snaps in the previous game and was backed up by Rico Dowdle rather than Vaughn.

Stock ⬆️:   TE Jake Ferguson

Stock ⬇️:   RB Rhamondre Stevenson

Injury 🚑:   RB Rico Dowdle (hip) / OLB Matthew Judon (biceps) / CB Christian Gonzalez (shoulder)

Cardinals (16) at 49ers (35) 

• Cardinals Personnel: 11 - 73% / 12 - 16%
• 42 DBs — 8.1 aDOT — 28-of-41 for 265 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 1  sack

• Marquise Brown and Zach Ertz have combined for 51% of the targets and 67% of the air yards, but the real story this week was a 7-76-2 receiving line from rookie Michael Wilson.
  • Wilson had only nine targets before the game despite playing a comfortable majority of Arizona's snaps, but he'd at least been extremely efficient with seven catches for 161 yards. Now he's at 14-of-16 for 237 yards and two TDs. That's the type of performance that could shift target share away from Ertz/Brown and toward the rookie long term.
• Undrafted rookie RB Emari Demercado got 36% of snaps with Keaontay Ingram (neck) inactive. Demercado appeared to take the RB2 job away from Ingram before, in any case.
  • James Conner looks good this year, and his injury luck / durability has been better in Arizona than it was in Pittsburgh, but I'd still bet against him playing all 17 games.
  • Demercardo was part of backfield committees at TCU, sharing work with fellow NFL players Kenre Miller and Zach Evans. At 5-9, 215, the rookie at least has the right build to handle large NFL workloads, though it's not clear he has the talent/skill to match. Either way, he should be rostered in all deep leagues and some medium ones too.

• 49ers Personnel: 11 - 26% / 12 - 8% / 21 - 57%
• 22 DBs — 8.4 aDOT — 20-of-21 for 283 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack

• Elijah Mitchell was inactive due to a knee injury, one week after getting significant playing time for the first time this season. Christian McCaffrey took advantage, of course, though Mitchell's absence was far less of a factor than the 49ers offense simply dominating the Cardinals defense.
  • This is the third time McCaffrey has provided a fantasy season more valuable than any season ever produced by any WR. Maybe he gets hurt and it doesn't end that way, but on a per-game basis I have no doubt.
• Deebo Samuel played through his rib injury and took three carries but wasn't targeted at all on a team-high 19 routes.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Emari Demercado / WR Michael Wilson

Stock ⬇️:   WR Rondale Moore

Chiefs (23) at Jets (20) 

• Chiefs Personnel: 11 - 67% / 12 - 17% / 13 - 17%
• 31 DBs — 7.0 aDOT — 18-of-30 for 203 yards — 1 TD, 2 INTs, 1 sack

• The Chiefs had five WRs in the range of 32-to-61 percent route share, with none going above that.
  • Rashee Rice had the most targets, catches and yards, and generally continues to look like the best of a subpar bunch.
• Pacheco RB1?

• Jets Personnel: 11 - 63% / 12 - 16% / 13 - 14%
• 41 DBs — 8.2 aDOT — 28-of-39 for 245 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 2 sacks

• Zach Wilson was surprisingly efficient overall despite averaging only 4.3 YPA on the 14 throws to Garrett Wilson.
• Dalvin Cook got only six touches on 25% of snaps, with Breece Hall taking nine touches for 69 yards on 46% (Michael Carter also played a bunch).
  • Cook can be dropped in most leagues. He'd probably lose a lot of work/targets to Carter even if Hall were to miss time, and hopes of the Jets offense being good (or even decent) died along with Aaron Rodgers' Achilles. 
• Mecole Hardman is not only behind Randall Cobb but also Xavier Gipson now.
• 2022 third-round pick Jeremy Ruckert looks to have overtaken 2022 free-agent signing C.J. Uzomah for the TE2 role.
  • Tyler Conklin is second on the team in targets, but the 51% route share isn't so encouraging.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Isiah Pacheco

Stock ⬇️:   WR Skyy Moore / RB Dalvin Cook