CeeDee Lamb 9%; George Pickens 82%; Jalen Tolbert 88%; KaVontae Turpin 66%
CeeDee Lamb suffered an injury early in this game and never returned. Also, the Bears led big for most of the game, so this was a good look at who might replace Lamb if he were out long-term. From a target standpoint, it appears that Dak Prescott preferred the TE, Jake Ferguson in particular, who saw 14 targets and caught 13 (for a mere 82 yards). From a playing time perspective, it appears that Jalen Tolbert is the biggest beneficiary. He saw a mild uptick in targets (six), but only caught three for 24 yards. In a game that was out of hand, you would hope for more from a player stepping into Lamb’s shoes, but Tolbert has never really been that flashy or exciting. If you are desperate, he’s a guy to keep on your radar, but I would have hoped for a better showing in a severely negative game script. Turpin played less and received far fewer targets, but was very efficient with those targets (3/2/64). He’s a high-risk player, but perhaps the one worth acquiring.
Conclusion: Tolbert may see the field more, but the passing game looks like it will concentrate through Pickens and Ferguson.
Jaylen Warren 80%; Kenneth Gainwell 26%
After spending a few weeks giving Warren his usual part-time role, the Steelers apparently have figured out what everyone else knew three years ago: Kenneth Gainwell isn’t a particularly great NFL RB. Moreover, Kaleb Johnson is officially in the doghouse and was inactive for the game. That makes the Steelers’ backfield very exciting if you have Jaylen Warren on your fantasy team. I did not foresee Jaylen Warren being a true workhorse, but that is where we are. He saw all but four RB carries and six targets.
That said, the Steelers are not a great offense, and Aaron Rodgers is not the same player anymore, so don’t expect huge numbers (18 for 47 on the ground and no TDs despite 23 opportunities is nothing to write home about). Moreover, Gainwell is the goal-line back, and he scored the TD in this game.
Conclusion: Still, this playing time and opportunity render Warren an RB2.
Tyquan Thornton 76%; JuJu Smith-Schuster 69%; Marquise Brown 68%
Tyquan Thornton is currently the Chiefs’ WR1. This is, of course, only going to be true for three more weeks. Still, he is outproducing some big-named veterans like Travis Kelce, Marquise Brown, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Thornton is playing the most, receiving the most, and performing best. “Best” being a bit of a misnomer because this version of the Chiefs offense is not elite. They seem to put up a lot of field goals.
Still, Thornton saw nine targets and caught a TD. He’s an interesting player tied to a good QB. That is very usable until Rashee Rice returns from suspension. I don’t see the absence of Xavier Worthy as being relevant to him – Hollywood seems to be the beneficiary of that injury absence. So if Worthy returns, I still like Thornton.
Conclusion: Tyquan Thornton is a playable asset until Rashee Rice returns.
Kenneth Walker 53%; George Holani 35%
Without Zach Charbonnet, the Seahawks maintained their two-headed RB system. However, Holani’s usage (10/27 rushing, 2/15 receiving) is entirely the result of a blowout. Holani only saw one opportunity in the first three quarters, and 11 of his 12 touches occurred when the score was 44 to 13. When the game was even remotely competitive, Holani was not a factor in the game.
Conclusion: Ignore George Holani.
Chris Rodriguez 38%; Jacory Croskey-Merritt 40%; Jeremy McNichols 26%
Yikes, the dreaded three-headed monster. This backfield is about as even of a split between three players as you can get, rendering all of them pretty unappealing.
Making matters worse, the fantasy-relevant usage was all spread out: Rodriguez saw the most carries, Bill got the goal-line TD, and McNichols had the exciting highlight play.
Jeremy McNichols bounces off tackles for the 60-yard TD!
LVvsWAS on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/x8j0UTgN2I
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2025
JCM is still the goal-line back, so he appears to be relatively safe (TDs in two of three weeks). Still, he has not demonstrated any of the dynamic playmaking that he showed in the preseason. Perhaps it will come, or perhaps it was just the result of playing against backups. His 7th round draft price seems kind of appropriate, now given his mediocre play outside of the short-yardage TDs.
Still, we know that the Commanders believe in him, so perhaps the day will come when he can be a trusted RB2, but we are not there yet. Moreover, giving a player who was inactive for Weeks 1-2 (Rodriguez) more carries this week does not suggest a ton of faith. Still, the game got out of hand pretty quickly (it was 34-10 mid-3Q), and Merritt only saw one more touch after the Commanders reached 34 points. So I guess game script? But that does not explain why Rodriguez got the first carry of the game. It kind of feels like the team views Ekeler and Rodriguez similarly, especially since Rodriguez was inactive while Ekeler was still available, which means Rodriguez isn’t going away.
Conclusion: The Commanders still do not trust JCM enough to give him the majority of the carries. We might never see it.