Be a Week Early on Picking Up Brashard Smith for Your Fantasy Football Roster

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Cloaked:

Jo’Quavious Marks (yes, here at Fantasy Life, we refuse to give in to the Big ‘ Woody’ Industrial Complex) might just be the waiver wire pick of the year.

Kendall was all over it after Week 3 when his usage initially jumped, and then he exploded in Week 4 with 17-64-1 on the ground plus 4-50-1 through the air.

His Utilization Score looks like a rabbit population—nearly doubling in size week after week (8 > 26 > 44 > 88).

Here’s the thing, though …

If Marks is still available in your league, you will need to unload the clip to get him. The cat is out of the bag, especially when paired with more bearish reports about Joe Mixon (spoiler alert: I wouldn’t expect to see him on the field this year).

In case you don’t win the Marks bidding war, I have an intriguing consolation prize for you. There’s another rookie RB to add whose role is quietly doubling week-over-week, as well.

Can you guess who this is?

Snaps: 5 > 7 > 18
Touches: 1 > 2 > 7
UR Score: 8 > 10 > 38

That’s Chiefs RB Brashard Smith. It might seem paltry, but it’s a clear trend line and the goal here is to skate to where the puck is going to be for $1 instead of paying $100 once it happens.

Fortunately, the Chiefs seem to be in lock step with us on this one. There is just no juice in this backfield currently. Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco both look like they are trudging through 2.5 feet of snow every time they touch the ball.

This play might take some patience, but when the Chiefs finally get serious, Smith will be the guy they turn to.

WEEK 5 WAIVER WIRE ADDS

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About Last Night …

Another Monday Night Football doubleheader, and both games were hardly alike. The Dolphins’ 27-21 victory became a tight ballgame when the Jets scored with less than two minutes to play. Though there were a pair of tough injuries in that game. The Broncos-Bengals game, however, was a one-sided 28-3 contest that did have some player highlights. On one side. Here are some notes from the games.

Bo Nix went for 326 yards and 3 TDs (one rushing). Not bad.

Brutal injury for Tyreek Hill. He was taken to the hospital for imaging and testing.

Top scorers in Game 1. Wait, he’s still in the league?

RJ Harvey tallied 98 total yards and his first TD. And J.K. Dobbins went 16-101.

Garrett Wilson, how’d you do that?

Nix to Courtland Sutton, who finished 5-81 and this TD grab.

Justin Fields making it look easy from 43 yards.

Welcome back to the NFL, Darren Waller.

Braelon Allen knee injury is one to follow, too. Meanwhile, Breece Hall had 111 scrimmage yards.

IS HARVEY GAINING IN THE DENVER RB ROOM?

Editors’ Picks

Week 4 is in the books, who’s ready to change the calendar to October and look toward Week 5? Still, every day we have to be looking to improve our rosters. Get a head start with some of the latest Fantasy Life content to come through the Week 5 pipeline …

QB Streamers For Week 5

The first bye week is here. John Laghezza helps you out with his QB streamers, including a Dart throw or two.

Week 5 Players To Drop

The Cooper Kupp you once knew is no more. Now? He’s headlining a column you never would’ve expected in 2021. Geoff Ulrich breaks down the players to drop ahead of tonight’s waiver run.

Week 5 Trade Targets

Not only did we get more injuries in Week 4, but we also have looming Week 5 byes. Jonathan Fuller breaks down who you should target in the trade streets to stay ahead.

Week 4’s Utilization Data Is In …

And it’s like the Chiefs WR1 didn’t miss a beat. Here are two of Dwain’s top utilization takeaways from Week 4 …

Xavier Worthy was the focal point of the Chiefs' offense in his return.

Well, that didn't take long. I took a conservative approach with Worthy in the rankings and projections last weekend, with concerns about his shoulder, but those were erased against the Ravens in Week 4.

While the Chiefs did somewhat limit Worthy with a 71% route participation, the second-year speedster dominated Kansas City's lackluster receiving corps with a 24% target share. He finished the day with 57% of the air yards (16.6 aDOT) and 17.1 fantasy points.

Andy Reid devised advantageous looks for his top weapon. Worthy operated from the slot on 29% of his reps and was in motion 15% of the time. He took a carry on an RPO and saw a target in the screen game. He picked up 38 yards on two rushing attempts.

Worthy's role should expand as he gets healthier—there isn't one name on the depth chart outside of Rashee Rice that should stand in his way the rest of the way. The Chiefs are the third-most pass-heavy attack through three games, with a 7% dropback rate over expected (DBOE). My intuition says Worthy will be fine even once Rice returns, given how poorly the rest of the Chiefs receiver room looks—this should be a two-person show.

-> Worthy UPGRADES to mid-range WR2 status until the return of Rice, when we will reassess.

James Cook is dominating the Bills' backfield in 2025.

Not only did the Bills award Cook with a new contract this year, but they have also rewarded him with a career-best role. The guy known as Jimbo in Buffalo has shown improvement in every Utilization category over the first four weeks.

2024 Utilization versus 2025:

Utilization Score: 66 → 84
Snaps: 48% → 61%
Attempts: 52% → 70%
Routes: 40% → 50%
Targets: 8% → 10%
Fantasy points: 17.1 → 22.8

→ If you drafted Cook, congratulations, he is a mid-range RB1.

Continue on for the rest of the Utilization Report ahead of tonight’s Week 5 waiver wire run! ⬇️

WHEELS UP FOR CHRIS GODWIN? FOR NOW …

Early Week 5 Rankings: Puka is off the Charts

We knew he was good. But did we think that Puka Nacua could be this good? Ian Hartitz likes to use charts and graphs to show how good certain players are. Puka has been so good, he almost ended up on a whole different chart.

It’s time for an early look at the Week 5 rankings, and Ian highlights a handful of players at each position who are showing why they should be rising up the rankings. Yes, don’t worry, he also drops the list of players who got stopped at the 1 and didn’t end up scoring. Sheesh! (oops, that’s coming later in the week) ⬇️

SEEING GROWTH IN THIS YEAR 2 QB

Around the Watercooler

Week 5 is here and with it, so is our first wave of bye weeks.

👀 Who are the players to target on waivers tonight?

🚑️ A rough hit for the Browns. Isaiah Bond is an intriguing waiver option.

🎭️ The best and worst picks in fantasy so far. Interesting mix of vets and rookies.

🤯 The players dominating fantasy points on their own teams. Look who sneaks in at No. 10.

🤦 The Texans traded … wait for it … one of their offense linemen. Unreal.

🚑️ The Niners are in rough shape for TNF. Oof.

🤔 Wait, Bucky Irving is getting an MRI? I don’t love the sound of that.

🙃 When you spend four hours watching a game that ends up in a tie.

❌ On your Marks. Get set ... You know what to do.