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Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. led the backfield with 11 carries in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders, and reports have surfaced on Thursday that Jacory Croskey-Merritt (knee) was officially a non-participant at practice due to an injury. With that in mind, Rodriguez is someone who, should JCM miss time, could handle lead-back duties and be a sneaky play in Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons. It's important to note that JCM still has the opportunity to practice on Friday. Regardless, Rodriguez is someone who can be stashed on your bench for now and inserted into your lineups should JCM not play or we get a more consistent approach to how the Commanders will treat this backfield now that Austin Ekeler (Achilles) is out for the season.

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Tory Horton caught one of his two targets for 10 yards in the Seahawks' 23-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night. It was a fairly uneventful evening for Horton, coming off a game where he scored a touchdown through the air and in the return game. Horton is serving as a situational home run play for the Seahawks at this time and is at best a touchdown-dependent WR4/5 for fantasy managers right now. Fantasy managers seeking consistent production moving forward should consider alternatives, as Horton does not provide the volume that fantasy managers typically look for from a target standpoint. Up next for the Seahawks is a home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which promises to be a good matchup between two teams with strong records and at the top of their respective divisions.

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Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado had four touches for 21 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals' Thursday night loss to the Seahawks. His score came by a seven-yard reception to tie the score at 20 with 28 seconds to go before eventually falling to the Seattle Seahawks 23-20. Demarcado had two rush attempts and two receptions, and Trey Benson operated as the team's primary running back on Thursday with James Conner (foot) out for the season. Demercado mostly found himself in the game on third downs and in the two-minute offense. With the Cardinals down by a few scores in the fourth quarter, he played a decent amount late in the game, which ultimately led to a touchdown. Demercado is expected to remain involved, but not to the extent that it can provide standalone PPR value. Fantasy managers will want to look elsewhere for production, as Demarcado's looking like a handcuff to Benson, at best.

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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Demarcus Robinson has rejoined the team after serving a three-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy, and according to Cam Inman, a Bay Area News Group sports reporter, Robinson has "looked great" in practice. This is encouraging news for the 49ers' offense, which is three games into the season and is dealing with multiple injuries in their wide receiver room, including Brandon Aiyuk (knee), Jauan Jennings (ankle/shoulder), and rookie Jacob Cowing (hamstring) all having missed time, while star tight end George Kittle (hamstring) remains on injured reserve. In 2024 with the Los Angeles Rams, Robinson hauled in 31 of his 64 targets for 505 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues looking for a spot start due to injuries on their team might want to look Robinson's way, especially if Jennings isn't able to go Sunday. If Jennings misses time, Robinson could be in line to see five or six targets and operate as the team's second wide receiver behind Ricky Pearsall.

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Theo Mackie, beat writer for the Arizona Cardinals, reports that head coach Jonathan Gannon mentioned the following about the run game: "We have to run the ball better. It's just not where it needs to be at the moment. And that's a part that, going into the year, you'd think that you'd be able to run it a little bit better." Cardinals running backs are currently averaging exactly 4.0 YPC on the season. Operating as the team's clear back, Trey Benson rushed eight times for 35 yards and hauled in all five targets for 19 yards in the Cardinals' 23-20 loss to the Seahawks on Thursday night. Regardless of Benson's final line, it was encouraging to see Benson involved in the pass game and earning eight out of the 11 running back carries on the evening. The main issue for the Cardinals on Thursday was their inability to sustain drives. The Cardinals experienced multiple three-and-outs in the first half and third quarter. Once they fell behind by a few scores in the second half, the game flow dictated a more pass-happy game script, which led to Emari Demercado receiving more playing time. There should be better days ahead for Benson; he still had a good share of the opportunities out of the backfield. Fantasy managers should view him as a lower-end RB2 moving forward.

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Seattle Seahawks tight end AJ Barner caught all three of his targets for 32 yards and a touchdown during Thursday's Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals. After Barner's snap share dipped to just above 50 percent last week, he bounced back this week by playing 86 percent of snaps, which was more than fellow pass-catchers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp. The 23-year-old has been a boom-or-bust option so far, finishing with fewer than 3.5 fantasy points or greater than 10.5 fantasy points (PPR) in each of his four games so far. Simply put, his fantasy value has been incredibly dependent on scoring touchdowns, which he has done in two of four contests. We need to see a little more consistency from Barner before rostering him in redraft leagues. On a positive note, though, it was intriguing to see him play at least 85 percent of the snaps for the third time this year. Barner and the Seahawks take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.

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Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet rushed 12 times for 39 yards and a touchdown during Thursday's Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He also caught each of his two targets for a total of five receiving yards. Charbonnet's rushing efficiency has dropped to a pitiful 2.46 yards per carry so far this season, but he has still managed to post double-digit fantasy points (PPR) in two of his three games by vulturing touchdowns from Kenneth Walker III. Going forward, Charbonnet must continue to contribute as a touchdown scorer or pass catcher in order to be a fantasy starter, as he doesn't get enough production from his rushing volume alone. Walker is the running back to own in Seattle, while Charbonnet is a handcuff with RB3/flex appeal in deeper leagues. The Seahawks face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.

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Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught four of his five targets for 79 yards during Thursday's Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He also rushed for 11 yards on three carries. All in all, it was a solid showing from Smith-Njigba, but nothing special. Additionally, fantasy managers might be surprised to see that the young receiver only had five targets and four catches. Both of these numbers tied for the team-high, but it's still noteworthy for fantasy football. Managers should rest assured that the Seahawks used a run-heavy approach on Thursday because they were leading by two scores for a large portion of the game. As a result, there weren't many passes to go around; Sam Darnold only threw the ball 26 times. Smith-Njigba's receiving volume should take a big jump in a potential shootout next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He continues to rank as a low-end WR1 for fantasy football.

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Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. caught six of his 10 targets for 66 yards and a touchdown during Thursday's Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The former first-round pick had a very poor showing in the first half as he caught just one pass. Furthermore, he appeared to give up on a play that resulted in an interception, and a different target intended for him later in the half resulted in a second interception. He cleaned things up in the second half, though, helping Arizona mount a comeback effort before ultimately falling on a last-second field goal. Harrison bounced back enough to deliver 18.6 fantasy points (PPR), setting a new season high. He'll look to carry this momentum into next week's game against the struggling Tennessee Titans.

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Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III rushed for 81 yards on 19 carries during Thursday's Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He also converted two targets into one reception for an additional 29 receiving yards. He didn't find the end zone, but he did post a season-high in touches and receiving yards. The 24-year-old entered this week as the overall RB16 in PPR leagues and should continue to rank just outside the top 12 running backs heading into next week's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Zach Charbonnet should continue to see double-digit touches, but there's no question that Walker is still the primary option out of the backfield.

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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold completed 18 of his 26 pass attempts for 242 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions during Thursday's Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He also took three sacks and rushed for 24 yards. The veteran's clean, turnover-free football helped keep his team in the lead for most of the game and was enough to seal the victory over a divisional opponent on primetime television. The 28-year-old has strung together three decent weeks, totaling five touchdowns and two turnovers during that span. He ranks as a mid-range QB2 heading into Week 5 against Tampa Bay.

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Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray completed 27 of his 41 pass attempts for 200 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions during Thursday's Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He also took two sacks and rushed for 41 yards. While Murray impressed on the ground, leading Arizona in rushing yards, and did throw for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, his turnovers and sacks proved too costly as the Cardinals couldn't finish off their comeback effort Thursday night. Murray has been one of the most consistent fantasy quarterbacks this season, albeit somewhat unimpressive. He continues to rank as a mid-to-high QB2 ahead of next week's game against the Tennessee Titans.

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ESPN's Ben Baby reports that Cincinnati Bengals tight end Noah Fant (concussion) did not practice on Thursday and is currently in the league's concussion protocol. Fant will get an extra day to get healthy this week with the Bengals squaring off against the Denver Broncos as part of a Monday Night Football doubleheader. He'll have two more opportunities to get in at least a limited session, though it wouldn't be surprising if he were to miss Monday's contest. Despite placing third in total snaps amongst Cincinnati's tight ends, the 27-year-old leads his position in targets (14), catches (12), and yards (80). If Fant is forced to miss more time, Cam Grandy would again work in behind teammates Drew Sample and Mike Gesicki.

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Washington Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown (groin, knee) was tagged with a DNP for Thursday's practice, per the team. Not only has the veteran wideout dealt with a nagging knee injury he picked up during training camp, but a groin issue suffered during Week 2's loss to the Packers has kept him from practice over the past two weeks. With teammate Terry McLaurin (quad) also not practicing due to a quad ailment, it's possible that Deebo Samuel Sr., Jaylin Lane, Chris Moore, and Luke McCaffrey handle wide receiver duties in Sunday's road outing with the Atlanta Falcons. Expect an update on Brown and McLaurin following Friday's session, but they're currently trending downward.

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Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (hand, hip) logged his second consecutive limited practice session on Thursday while dealing with multiple injuries. Tillman remains as Cleveland's obvious WR2 through three weeks, as he and Jerry Jeudy are the only wideouts to eclipse 100 snaps, boasting 90 more than the next pass-catcher (Isaiah Bond). However, the 25-year-old sustained two injuries in Week 3's 13-10 win against the Green Bay Packers, putting his status for Week 4 in question. Tillman hasn't missed a practice yet, which is a positive sign for his potential designation. Still, he'll likely need to get in a full session before suiting up for their meeting with the hosting Detroit Lions. Bond is the most likely candidate to fill in if Tillman can't go, with teammate Jamari Thrash operating as their third WR. Tight ends David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. would also get a boost.

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Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten (shoulder) remained a limited participant at Thursday's practice as he battles through a shoulder injury. The Virginia Tech product logged a week's worth of limited practices ahead of the team's win over the Houston Texans in Week 3, but would still suit up for the contest. However, Tuten saw his snap share decrease as fellow rookie rusher LeQuint Allen Jr. picked up extra work. Despite the discrepancy, the former out-touched the latter 6-1. Tuten looks to be the second option out of the backfield behind starter Travis Etienne Jr., and now we know the team is comfortable trotting him out there on less-than-ideal practice reps. As of now, he should be a go for Jacksonville's road outing with the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday. Allen Jr. would operate as the change-of-pace option behind Etienne Jr. if he's not.

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Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (hip) was listed as a limited participant for Thursday's practice with a hip injury. The veteran logged a full practice on Wednesday, so the hip injury presumably occurred within the last 24 hours. Mid- to late-week injuries are typically detrimental to a player's game-time designation. However, considering his limited status, it doesn't seem to be that serious. Higbee has clearly led the Rams' tight end room thus far, out-snapping his next closest teammate, Davis Allen, 117-72 through three weeks. If Higbee is unable to play, Allen would be the next man up, with fellow TE Colby Parkinson playing second fiddle. Rookie Terrance Ferguson would mix in behind them both as the third option.

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Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer (concussion) was tagged with a DNP for the second consecutive day while he works back from a concussion. Mayer exited the Raiders' 41-24 loss to the Washington Commanders in the first half after sustaining a head injury and has yet to practice since doing so. With only a Friday session separating him and the team's Week 4 tilt with the visiting Chicago Bears, the 24-year-old is trending in the wrong direction. Fellow tight end Ian Thomas worked in Mayer's stead during their Week 3 loss upon the latter's exit, and figures to do so again if he's inactive this Sunday. Brock Bowers would also be in line to pick up a few extra snaps.

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New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (concussion) was a full participant at Thursday's practice, ESPN's Rich Cimini reports. It's a positive step for the Ohio State product, who had yet to log even a limited session since sustaining a concussion back in Week 2. Fields is still required to fully clear protocol before he can suit up for Monday night's matchup with the Miami Dolphins, but he appears to be on track to do just that as of now. Fortunately, he'll get an extra day to do so, as the game takes place on Monday. The 26-year-old will slot back in as New York's starting QB upon his return, and presents as a low-end QB1 for fantasy purposes when healthy.

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Per the team, Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (calf) logged a limited practice session on Thursday while dealing with a calf injury. Hubbard didn't appear on Wednesday's practice report, so it's at least mildly concerning that he was limited with a new injury a day later. That he practiced in at least some fashion is positive, but fantasy managers will need to monitor his participation on Friday ahead of Week 4's road tilt with the New England Patriots. If for some reason Hubbard is unfit to suit up for that contest, backfield mate Rico Dowdle figures to operate as the Panthers' lead rusher with rookie Trevor Etienne mixing in behind him.

From RotoBaller