Just the Stats: Usage Trends from Week 4 (Fantasy Football)
Every Monday during the NFL season, I want to give you a blitz of usage stats, scheme changes, and oddities from the previous week of the NFL. The goal is to give you a rapid fire, unfiltered look at how we digest a Sunday’s-worth of action and try to start deciphering what is valuable and what is not.
I wrote a 10 Usage Trends primer article before the season if you want more detail about some of the statistics and examples from the past. This data supplied in the article is noted under each statistic.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This data includes games played from Thursday-Sunday and does not include MNF games.
Personnel Updates through Week 4
*Data per SumerSports
- The Bengals leading the league in 12-personnel sets (41.8%) is certainly not what we all envisioned going into the season. For context, Cincinnati averaged just 18% since 2021 with the league average being 21.5% in that span.
- With teams emphasizing more heavy sets, the Bills (0.346 EPA per rush) and the 49ers (0.801 EPA per pass) are essentially lapping the field on a per-play basis.
- The teams with the heaviest 11-personnel usage so far (PHI, TB, and TEN) have all underwhelmed on a per-play basis. The Buccaneers have one of the wilder week-to-week distributions thus far:
- The only teams to sport a negative EPA per play figure in all four aspects listed in the chart (11-P Pass, 11-P Rush, 12-P Pass, 12-P rush) are the Chargers, Steelers, and Titans. The Chargers are also one of two teams to trail by double-digits in all four games so far.
Play-Calling Metrics
*Data per Fantasy Points Data Suite
- The 49ers (by no surprise) have the most EPA and EPA per play gained when using motion this season. The Chargers are dead last in both of those metrics.
- The Bears rank #1 in EPA per rush and 2nd in rush success rate when utilizing motion.
- The Ravens sport the highest yards per attempt (12.5) and Passer Ratng (153.2) when using play-action. This will be put to the test following Lamar Jackson‘s Week 4 injury.
- The Cardinals might have volume on their side but they rank dead last in pass plays gaining 10+ yards and bottom-5 in play-action rate.
Per-Route Metrics
Through four weeks, these were the league-leaders at WR by receiving yards. I was interested in seeing how each is succeeding comparing slot versus outside production:
*Data per SumerSports
- CeeDee Lamb‘s 17 receptions were the 2nd most of any WR in a game over the last decade trailing only the GOAT Keenan Allen (18).
- Tetairoa McMillan was moved into the slot on 27% of his routes versus Detroit on Sunday night:
This week's edition of "When you put your best WR in the slot":
CeeDee Lamb
21 routes, 9 targets, 61 rec yards
43% TPRR, 2.90 YPRRTetairoa McMillan
11 routes, 5 targets, 83 rec yards
45% TPRR, 7.55 YPRRData per @SumerSports
— Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg) October 5, 2026
Other WR Stats of Note
- Carnell Tate became one of 7 1st Round WRs over the last 20 years with a 9+ reception game within their 1st month of the NFL.
- Since 2021, the only WR to run 130+ routes through four weeks with a lower target share than Marvin Harrison Jr.’s 7.2%: 2022 Parris Campbell… and it was 7.1%.
- Among 18 WRs gathering 30+ percent of their team’s receiving yardage on the season, Michael Wilson and Malik Washington are the only ones < 0.30 fantasy points per route run.
RB Metrics
*Data per Fantasy Points Data Suite
I organized this week’s top RBs by “weighted opportunities” per game. Since targets are worth 2-2.5x a rush attempt (especially in full PPR leagues), it is better (in my opinion) to see a RB’s workload through this lens.
- There have been only 4 RBs to score 14+ fantasy points (half-point leagues) in every single week so far: Kenneth Walker III, Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry, Kyren Williams.
- Ashton Jeanty‘s efficiency numbers might look meager but he is seeing the 3rd most weighted opportunities per game among RBs.
- Chase Brown sneakily is tied for the 2nd most RB receptions thanks to seeing a 15% 1st read target share.
- Chuba Hubbard is one of 5 RBs to score 13+ fantasy points in all four games. He is only being targeted on 11% of routes.
- Aaron Jones Sr. ranks 48th among 49 qualifying RBs in yards after contact per attempt. He is living off volume right now.