NFL

Week 4 Fantasy Football Backfield Report

Welcome Back! Week 4 brought us the official beginning of bye week season.

Now is time for another review of the different backfields across the NFL that do not heavily favor one back as the bellcow.

There have been a few changes made to this week's piece, as we removed all the backfields that had a bye last week which included the Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins. Also, the Arizona Cardinals have been removed as David Johnson has now been moved into the workhorse role we all expected.

The Houston Texans backfield has been added this week as well, due to Alfred Blue seeing more work behind a banged up Lamar Miller. With each week, we will adjust the date to ensure that the correct backfield are being monitored.

There are officially four weeks of data now, and some running back situations continue to become more clear, while other get harder and harder to predict.

It remains the goal of this weekly piece to help fantasy owners see how coaches are deploying their backs.

Let's dive into the Week 4 data, with all snap and red zone data coming from Pro Football Reference.

Volume Metrics

This table is sorted by total season touches for each backfield.


Running Back Team W4 Snap % W4 Touches Season Snap % Season Touches Season RB Touch Share %
Tevin Coleman ATL 40/70 (57.1%) 17 170/271 (62.7%) 64 65.3%
Ito Smith ATL 30/70 (42.9%) 10 58/271 (21.4%) 25 25.5%
Devonta Freeman ATL DNP DNP 39/271 (14.4%) 9 9.2%
Alex Collins BAL 37/77 (48.1%) 12 141/314 (44.9%) 53 49.1%
Javorius Allen BAL 34/77 (44.2%) 12 145/314 (46.2%) 41 38.0%
Kenneth Dixon BAL DNP DNP 22/237 (9.3%) 13 12.0%
LeSean McCoy BUF 35/58 (60.3%) 8 99/251 (39.4%) 39 41.9%
Chris Ivory BUF 22/58 (37.9%) 6 92/251 (36.7%) 35 37.6%
Marcus Murphy BUF DNP DNP 62/251 (24.7%) 19 20.4%
Jordan Howard CHI 33/61 (54.1%) 11 177/271(65.3%) 74 63.2%
Tarik Cohen CHI 29/61 (47.5%) 20 108/271 (39.9%) 41 35.0%
Giovani Bernard CIN 44/73 (60.3%) 19 152/270 (56.3%) 48 48.5%
Mark Walton CIN 28/73 (38.4%) 7 35/270 (13.0%) 7 7.1%
Joe Mixon CIN DNP DNP 83/270 (30.7%) 44 44.4%
Carlos Hyde CLE 50/82 (58.4%) 22 178/310 (57.4%) 87 73.7%
Duke Johnson CLE 29/82 (37.7%) 6 122/310 (39.4%) 21 17.8%
Phillip Lindsay DEN 24/60 (40.0%) 14 89/268 (33.2%) 50 43.9%
Royce Freeman DEN 16/60 (25.9%) 8 90/268 (33.6%) 45 39.5%
Devontae Booker DEN 20/60 (33.3%) 2 87/268 (32.5%) 19 16.7%
Kerryon Johnson DET 20/54 (37.0%) 10 105/275 (38.2%) 49 43.4%
LeGarrette Blount DET 14/54 (35.1%) 7 70/275 (25.5%) 38 33.6%
Theo Riddick DET 25/54 (46.3%) 5 115/275(41.8%) 26 23.0%
Jamaal Williams GB 28/76 (36.8%) 11 142/282 (50.4%) 52 53.1%
Ty Montgomery GB 20/76 (26.3%) 7 89/282 (31.6%) 27 27.6%
Aaron Jones GB 29/76 (38.2%) 12 46/282 (16.3%) 19 19.4%
Lamar Miller HOU 46/86 (53.5%) 14 206/295 (69.8%) 66 68.0%
Alfred Blue HOU 40/86 (46.5%) 13 83/295 (28.1%) 30 30.9%
Jordan Wilkins IND 31/90 (34.4%) 8 118/292 (40.4%) 45 45.0%
Nyheim Hines IND 62/90 (68.9%) 13 166/292 (56.8%) 40 40.0%
Marlon Mack IND DNP DNP 18/292 (6.2%) 11 11.0%
T.J. Yeldon JAC 48/77 (62.3%) 21 166/268 (61.9%) 63 56.3%
Leonard Fournette JAC 24/77 (31.2%) 12 45/268 (16.8%) 24 21.4%
Corey Grant JAC 7/77 (9.1%) 3 63/268 (23.5%) 21 18.8%
Kareem Hunt KC 45/78 (57.7%) 22 171/267 (64.0%) 75 84.3%
Spencer Ware KC 24/78 (30.8%) 2 57/267(21.3%) 10 11.2%
Damien Williams KC 3/78 (3.8%) 0 26/267 (9.7%) 4 4.5%
Melvin Gordon LAC 49/68 (72.1%) 22 187/259 (72.2%) 78 65.5%
Austin Ekeler LAC 23/68 (33.8%) 10 87/259 (33.6%) 41 34.5%
Kenyan Drake MIA 22/49 (44.9%) 4 133/215 (61.9%) 44 53.0%
Frank Gore MIA 25/49 (51.0%) 13 83/215 (38.6%) 38 45.8%
Dalvin Cook MIN 18/74 (24.3%) 10 125/284 (44.0%) 45 58.3%
Latavius Murray MIN 41/74 (55.4%) 4 116/284 (40.8%) 26 29.8%
Sony Michel NE 33/81 (40.7%) 25 69/265 (26.0%) 51 39.5%
James White NE 40/81 (49.4%) 16 135/265 (50.9%) 43 33.3%
Rex Burkhead NE DNP DNP 59/265 (22.3%) 27 20.9%
Bilal Powell NYJ 35/55 (63.6%) 12 127/243 (52.3%) 49 47.8%
Isaiah Crowell NYJ 20/55 (36.4%) 5 104/243 (42.8%) 47 45.6%
Marshawn Lynch OAK 50/92 (54.3%) 23 160/307 (52.1%) 78 59.1%
Doug Martin OAK 6/92 (6.5%) 5 46/307(15.0%) 28 21.2%
Jalen Richard OAK 34/92 (36.9%) 4 99/307 (32.2%) 26 19.7%
Jay Ajayi PHI 41/78 (52.6%) 18 91/311 (29.3%) 41 34.2%
Wendell Smallwood PHI 36/78 (46.2%) 8 90/311 (28.9%) 29 24.2%
Corey Clement PHI DNP DNP 91/311 (29.3%) 35 29.2%
Darren Sproles PHI DNP DNP 29/311 (9.3%) 9 7.5%
Rashad Penny SEA 16/66 (24.2%) 9 71/258 (27.5%) 33 28.2%
Mike Davis SEA 47/66 (71.2%) 26 64/258 (24.8%) 31 26.5%
CJ Prosise SEA 3/66 (4.5%) 0 28/258 (10.9%) 3 2.7%
Chris Carson SEA DNP DNP 94/258(36.4%) 50 42.7%
Matt Breida SF 38/60 (63.3%) 12 123/259 (47.5%) 51 51.0%
Alfred Morris SF 14/60 (23.3%) 5 103/259 (39.8%) 47 47.0%
Peyton Barber TB 31/63 (49.2%) 8 159/260 (61.2%) 44 59.5%
Jacquizz Rodgers TB 11/63 (17.5%) 0 69/260 (26.5%) 15 20.3%
Ronald Jones TB 20/63 (31.7%) 11 20/260 (7.7%) 11 14.9%
Dion Lewis TEN 48/71 (67.6%) 13 160/261(61.3%) 61 51.7%
Derrick Henry TEN 28/71 (39.4%) 10 106/261(40.6%) 57 48.3%

Situational Usage


Running Back Team W4 RZ Touches W4 RZ Targets W4 Total Targets Season RZ Touches Season RZ Targets Season Total Targets
Tevin Coleman ATL 2 0 3 9 2 12
Ito Smith ATL 4 1 3 11 2 8
Devonta Freeman ATL DNP DNP DNP 3 1 5
Alex Collins BAL 3 1 1 11 4 10
Javorius Allen BAL 4 0 2 10 2 19
Kenneth Dixon BAL DNP DNP DNP 1 0 0
LeSean McCoy BUF 0 0 6 1 0 13
Chris Ivory BUF 0 0 0 3 0 6
Marcus Murphy BUF DNP DNP DNP 1 0 8
Jordan Howard CHI 1 0 1 9 2 12
Tarik Cohen CHI 1 2 8 6 3 14
Giovani Bernard CIN 3 1 4 7 1 21
Mark Walton CIN 1 0 4 1 0 4
Joe Mixon CIN DNP DNP DNP 8 1 8
Carlos Hyde CLE 6 0 1 14 1 7
Duke Johnson CLE 1 1 6 2 1 17
Phillip Lindsay DEN 3 0 2 7 0 8
Royce Freeman DEN 2 0 0 8 0 2
Devontae Booker DEN 0 0 2 1 1 11
Kerryon Johnson DET 3 1 1 5 2 13
LeGarrette Blount DET 0 0 0 4 0 3
Theo Riddick DET 0 0 5 6 5 27
Jamaal Williams GB 0 0 0 3 0 9
Ty Montgomery GB 1 1 3 1 1 15
Aaron Jones GB 2 0 1 2 0 2
Lamar Miller HOU 4 0 0 15 1 10
Alfred Blue HOU 1 1 3 3 2 4
Jordan Wilkins IND 0 0 1 7 4 8
Nyheim Hines IND 2 2 11 7 3 26
Marlon Mack IND DNP DNP DNP 3 0 2
T.J. Yeldon JAC 5 0 3 11 3 22
Leonard Fournette JAC 2 0 1 3 0 4
Corey Grant JAC 1 1 3 2 2 12
Kareem Hunt KC 5 0 4 12 2 7
Spencer Ware KC 1 0 0 1 1 6
Damien Williams KC 0 0 0 1 1 3
Melvin Gordon LAC 5 5 10 14 9 30
Austin Ekeler LAC 2 0 3 10 3 11
Kenyan Drake MIA 0 0 2 5 1 14
Frank Gore MIA 3 1 3 5 1 4
Dalvin Cook MIN 1 0 0 4 0 12
Latavius Murray MIN 0 0 2 3 0 9
Sony Michel NE 6 0 0 11 0 5
James White NE 4 2 10 7 5 30
Rex Burkhead NE DNP DNP DNP 0 3 6
Bilal Powell NYJ 2 1 7 4 1 16
Isaiah Crowell NYJ 0 0 1 9 0 7
Marshawn Lynch OAK 3 1 5 17 5 12
Doug Martin OAK 2 0 0 3 0 3
Jalen Richard OAK 1 1 5 2 2 23
Jay Ajayi PHI 2 1 4 9 2 5
Wendell Smallwood PHI 1 1 5 4 2 10
Corey Clement PHI DNP DNP DNP 8 0 11
Darren Sproles PHI DNP DNP DNP 3 1 7
Rashad Penny SEA 0 0 0 1 0 7
Mike Davis SEA 4 0 4 4 0 6
CJ Prosise SEA 0 0 0 0 0 3
Chris Carson SEA DNP DNP DNP 3 0 8
Matt Breida SF 2 0 3 9 2 12
Alfred Morris SF 1 0 3 9 0 5
Peyton Barber TB 1 1 2 6 2 6
Jacquizz Rodgers TB 0 0 0 3 2 5
Ronald Jones TB 1 1 2 1 1 2
Dion Lewis TEN 1 1 9 4 1 21
Derrick Henry TEN 4 1 2 10 1 4


Bears Get Cohen Going at Howard’s Expense

The Chicago Bears backfield completely flipped against the Buccaneers, as Tarik Cohen had nearly double the amount of touches as Jordan Howard handled. This was a bit of a surprise because the Bears scored the first 14 points and played with a massive lead throughout.

Head Coach Matt Nagy may have been looking for things to get Mitchell Trubisky comfortable and getting Cohen out in space seemed to be a common theme. Cohen saw 8 targets and turned them into a huge receiving line of 7/121/1.

This could be a foreseeable path for the Bears as the offense gets more consistent, and they recognize they are more dangerous with Cohen running routes than Howard.

Howard still handled 11 carries, but the total reverse in his pass game usage is a concern moving forward.

Broncos Continue to Use a Three-Back Committee

The Denver Broncos' valiant effort against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday was spearheaded by the three-headed backfield of Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman and Devontae Booker.

No punishment was given to Lindsay after his Week 3 ejection for throwing a punch, as he led the backfield in snaps, touches and red zone touches.

He appears to be a key part of the Broncos offense as he has seen the most touches of the backs even including the fact he only played a half last week.

Freeman has now scored a rushing touchdown in three straight games while averaging just 10 touches over that span. He continues to be a touchdown or bust candidate as he is a complete zero in the passing game. He has only seen two targets in four games.

Booker’s snaps have increased the past two games, and the Broncos don’t seem to be going away from him any time soon. While he has not see a ton of touches, he has been their most reliable third down back. The fact that he continues to play 20-25 offensive snaps each week, means less time for both Lindsay and Freeman.

This backfield is not a comfortable situation for fantasy owners, as all three backs have played roughly the same amount of snaps through four games.

Right now, Lindsay is providing some flex value, and Freeman is in that conversation when the matchup is ripe for a touchdown.

Jones Emerges in Three-Headed RBBC for Packers

The Green Bay Packers' rushing attack has been quiet over the first four weeks, and the situation continues to be murky. They are using a three-back committee composed of Jamaal Williams, Ty Montgomery, and Aaron Jones.

Jones sat out the first two games, which allowed for Williams to handle the bulk of the work. Since Jones has returned, he has led the group in touches with 19 and has averaged 6.3 yards per carry. He even emerged as the snap leader amongst the backs this week. Jones seems to have the most momentum of the three going forward, as his role continues to expand weekly.

Montgomery continues to be utilized more so in the passing game than the running game. He has seen 15 targets through four games, 6 more than Williams and 13 more than Jones.

Williams had all the buzz coming into the season, and all the opportunity to run away with the lead back role, but he failed and now finds his role slowly decreasing. He still handled 11 touches against the Bills, but they aren’t as easy to come by with Jones back in the mix.

Jones' emergence and momentum is something that needs to be monitored, as he could potentially start seeing a bigger workload with Williams ineffectiveness. He’s the most intriguing back amongst this backfield.

Colts Have a New Weapon in Hines

The Indianapolis Colts offense has showcased the ability to consistently move the ball under Andrew Luck. The backfield situation has been unimpressive, but over the last couple of weeks Nyheim Hines has emerged a one of Luck’s favorite targets.

Hines is being used as more of a receiver than a running back. He has had five or more receptions in three out of the first four games. He seems to have found a niche in this offense, especially in games where they have been in shootouts against the Bengals and Texans.

With T.Y. Hilton and Jack Doyle potentially out for Week 5 against the Patriots, Hines has a realistic shot to lead the Colts in all receiving categories in a game they figure to be trailing.

Gore Eats Into Drake's Role

The Miami Dolphins have run the fewest offensive plays in the NFL through four games. The low amount of plays has hurt Kenyan Drake in terms of fantasy value, but now Frank Gore has hurt it even more.

For the first time this season, Gore out-snapped and out-touched Drake by a wide margin. He also handled all the red zone opportunities.

Drake has become a huge let down after such an amazing run towards the end of last season.

Patriots Backfield Now Has Clarity

With Rex Burkhead placed on the IR, the New England Patriots were realistically down to two bodies at the running back position in Sony Michel and James White. This made it easy to read through the tea leaves and project each one’s role.

As we touched on a few weeks ago, the Patriots' schedule softens up the rest of the season and there is a path for the lead back to emerge. Michel did so this week against the Dolphins, handling 25 touches including 6 in the red zone. While he only played on 40.7% of the offensive snaps, he handled a touch on 75.8% of the snaps he played. The rookie should continue to see a lot of chances in this improving offense and looks to become fantasy difference maker.

While all the talk will be around Michel, White just continues to chug along in this offense. He is consistently playing on half of the Patriots offensive snaps, while averaging 10.8 touches per game. Those touches are typically highly valuable as more than half of them have come as receptions.

White will always play a prominent role in the Patriots' passing game, and this season seems to be more consistent than others. He is averaging 19.1 PPR points per game.

Look for this backfield to continue to improve, now that the roles for each are defined.