Each Monday, Yahoo fantasy analyst Joel Smyth will go over 10 important stats that you may have overlooked from Sunday. With so much going on, what keys to fantasy football success do you need to know that your leaguemates may have missed?
5
Routes run by DeMario Douglas. The benefactor? Stefon Diggs. After Douglas had 13 receiving yards on 13 targets this season, the Patriots chose to go in a different direction with playing time. Diggs, who is returning from an ACL tear, had only run a route on 56% of pass plays to start the season. That jumped to 86% in Week 4, with the highest target share of the week rising from 14% to 41%.
Douglas was the Patriots’ primary slot receiver, a role Diggs played successfully in Houston last year. Diggs’ slot rate didn’t necessarily increase above his 50/50 alignment, but no New England receiver replaced Douglas 1:1, allowing Diggs to get a significant bump in volume. New England only dropped back 21 times in a blowout versus Carolina, but the hope is that Diggs can return to 2024 form with increased playing time.
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14
Routes run from the slot by Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka and Sterling Shepard. Only 29% of Godwin’s routes being in the slot is a bad sign going forward in what I initially believed to be a hopeful first game back. The production wasn’t great, but 10 targets seemed really encouraging (and obviously still a positive). However, Godwin has a strong history of fantasy dominance relying on slot usage. Even in Week 4, six of his 10 targets came on 29% of his routes out of the slot. In the seasons he’s been a primary slot WR, he’s averaged over 17 fantasy PPG. We’ve seen two seasons where he is not in that role, where that 17 PPG drops to 12.
On an obviously small sample of three receptions, we only saw four yards after the catch. The combination of post-injury and playing on the outside is a concern for his YAC, as a large part of his production came after the catch in his career-best fantasy season last year.
27
Touches for Cam Skattebo. In Jaxson Dart’s first start, the Giants went from the fourth pass-heaviest team through three weeks to the run-heaviest in Week 4, calling a pass play only 43% of the time. With no Malik Nabers or Russell Wilson, this offense shifted its identity. Dart’s design runs can take this rushing offense to the next level as they rely on good defense to control the game.
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Skattebo only scored 12 fantasy points, but the usage could not have been better. He had four goal-line attempts, the most of the week, but just didn’t hit pay dirt. The blame should go on the matchup rather than Skattebo’s abilities. He got all the RB receiving to add to the hope of his production taking a big jump soon.
93%
Trey Benson’s percent of RB touches in Week 5 through 56 game minutes. I wouldn’t judge Benson’s season as the RB1 in Arizona in a TNF game where they trailed 17-3. Prior to the final four minutes of the game, Benson had 5-of-5 RB targets and 8-of-9 RB carries. That makes his 72% of RB touches in the game seem light. Even with using just 72%, that would’ve equaled 17 touches on average over the first three games.
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Looking ahead, we should not have that same issue in Week 5 versus Tennessee. Imagine if Benson saw 93% of RB touches over a full game against the Titans.
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8
Targets for Zavier Scott. If you don’t know who that is, I don’t blame you, but you should know if you’ve got Jordan Mason. The X-factor in Mason’s fantasy potential has been his receiving. There were flashes, but nothing substantial. Those flashes turned out to be just sparks rather than a fire in Week 4. His three targets don’t mean as much when you consider Carson Wentz threw the ball 46 times.
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Scott had his first 16 career snaps in Week 3 with only one target. Eight targets in Week 4 show that the RB opportunity in Minnesota is there, and it’s not for Mason. In an up-and-down offense, it turns the Vikings RB into a matchup-dependent fantasy play. Next week, that matchup would certainly lean toward sit over start. David Montgomery, who also relies primarily on rushing, fell off a cliff going from 28.9 fantasy points in Week 3 to 1.2 against Cleveland on Sunday. I thought Montgomery was going to struggle, but 1.2 was steep. With Mason facing the Browns next, the confidence in a bounce-back is low.
58.3%
Houston RB touches that went to Woody Marks. Prior to Week 4, this was only 23.3%. This resulted in 21 touches for 25.9 fantasy points. The positive is that Marks saw good passing-game usage and was very productive on his touches. It makes him a great waiver claim as he’s available in 70% of Yahoo Fantasy leagues.
In terms of being a start right away, I am less bullish. Will the Texans win every week 26-0? I’m guessing not. In past weeks, an encouraging 58% would barely lead to double-digit touches in this Texans offense. For a team that is only scoring 16 points per game, an RB not getting bell-cow work, especially behind this poor offensive line, is less valuable. He’s a great bench stash to see how things grow, but a matchup-dependent flex is on the positive side of the spectrum for now.
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3.09
The Bears adjusted yards before contact allowed entering Week 4. How bad is that? The Raiders’ offensive line, criticized as one of the worst, if not the worst in the NFL, had the fourth-best OL vs. DL rushing matchup this week, according to Fantasy Points Data. The Raiders were set up better than 28 out of 32 offensive lines this week. The positive that I believe will stick more long-term is from the receiving game.
Of the Raiders’ RB routes, Jeanty only had half over the last two weeks, with Dylan Laube and Raheem Mostert eating into a good chunk on what are important fantasy plays. In what felt like a season-shifting game, Jeanty ran 78% of the Raiders’ RB routes, paying off big time with two receiving touchdowns. The talent is not the issue, but in a struggling offense, we need Jeanty’s receiving usage to be more like Week 4 going forward.
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3.3
Patrick Mahomes’ air yards per attempt on 10 throws when Xavier Worthy was not on the field. It was clear that when Worthy was on the field, the field was opened up. Worthy broke out at the end of his rookie season, averaging 14 PPG in half-PPR from Week 15 to the Super Bowl. This was mainly due to a change-up in his usage. The Chiefs began to use him as they did Rashee Rice, with nearly 50% of his routes in the slot and a very short average depth of target of 6.4. All offseason, the talk was Mahomes and this Chiefs offense wanting to push the ball downfield, which would hopefully unlock Worthy’s downfield ability with Rice returning.
In his first game in 2025, Worthy had an average depth of target of 17.0 yards downfield, while playing significantly more routes from the outside. Five of his eight targets came 10+ yards downfield, and most importantly, it worked. With Rice’s return looming, this is a great sign for both Chiefs WRs. Rice can slide into the slot role that is currently being occupied by JuJu Smith-Schuster, while Worthy can be productive from the outside and down the field, not relying on quick targets and screens as much as he did in 2024.
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5-6-9-11
The number of Kendre Miller touches by week. Only seven RBs have better numbers in yards after contact per attempt this season. He’s getting touches for a reason, and it comes at the cost of Alvin Kamara. With an offense that is not using Kamara as a consistent pass-catcher, slowly losing rushing opportunities becomes an even bigger hit than normal.
The Saints are currently 28th in scoring offense. Miller is nothing more than a solid handcuff, but with Kamara’s lack of bell-cow volume, he’s downgraded to a low-end RB2.
10
Green Bay Packers with a reception on Sunday Night Football. We wanted the Matthew Golden breakout, and there was a sneak peak, but not the big game that was desired. It was the matchup we expected, with Jordan Love throwing for 337 yards and three touchdowns as the Packers scored 40 points versus Dallas. However, I can’t help but be disappointed looking to the future. When Love was failing to hit 200 pass yards it’s understandable to not expect the Golden breakout, but will this be the best it gets?
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Josh Jacobs was once again the leader in receiving yards, Doubs had the highest target share at 18.6%, and Golden ended the day by adding only 12 receiving yards after his 46-yard catch to begin the game. With under 50% of Love’s passes going to wide receivers this season, I don’t expect the Golden breakout anytime soon if he can’t fully capitalize when given the best possible matchup, without Jayden Reed and with his offense scoring 40 points.
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