- Darren Waller scores twice in his Miami Dolphins debut: After nearly two seasons away from NFL action, Darren Waller returned as a frequent red-zone target for Miami.
New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins
Monitor Tyreek Hill’s health: Hill is believed to have suffered a dislocated knee, an injury that could end his season.
The Dolphins opened the game with their usual wide receiver rotation: Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as the primary wideouts, with Malik Washington joining them in three-receiver sets. Hill got off to a strong start, catching six passes for 67 yards.
However, Hill’s day — and possibly his season — was cut short after his leg bent awkwardly on a tackle. He was carted off the field and later taken to a hospital for further evaluation. If the injury is confirmed to be a dislocated knee, it could end his 2025 season and potentially impact the start of 2026. Hill, now 31, has built his career on elite speed, and there’s a legitimate concern he may not return to the same level of explosiveness.
Following Tyreek Hill’s injury, it was Nick Westbrook-Ikhine — not Malik Washington — who stepped into a full-time role in Miami’s offense. Westbrook-Ikhine, who scored nine touchdowns last season with the Tennessee Titans despite averaging just 1.9 receptions per game, brings a bigger frame and red-zone presence the Dolphins may prefer. Washington, while explosive, is undersized, and it appears unlikely he’ll see a significant increase in usage.
Westbrook-Ikhine is a viable pickup in deeper leagues, but he’s unlikely to offer consistent value in standard 12-team formats. Hill’s absence will more likely funnel additional targets to Jaylen Waddle, De’Von Achane and Darren Waller.
Darren Waller scores twice in his debut: Darren Waller operated in a part-time role for Miami but still delivered strong fantasy production.
Darren Waller was an elite fantasy tight end at his peak, recording back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019 and 2020. However, injuries derailed the next three years of his career, and he retired following a one-year stint with the New York Giants in 2023. After trading away Jonnu Smith this offseason, the Dolphins quickly moved to bring Waller out of retirement and acquired him via trade. He missed the entire preseason and the first three weeks of the regular season.
During Waller’s absence, the Dolphins leaned on Julian Hill and Tanner Conner at tight end. Hill handled most of the early-down work, while Conner played primarily on third downs, resulting in a near-even split in overall playing time.
With Darren Waller back in the lineup, the Dolphins deployed a three-man tight end rotation. Waller took over as the second tight end in two-tight-end sets, logging 85.7% of those snaps, and served as the primary third-down tight end with a 75% snap share in those situations. Tanner Conner remained the top backup in single-tight-end sets on early downs.
This usage marks a shift from how Jonnu Smith was deployed last season. Smith rarely saw the field as often in two-tight end sets — playing 58.2% of such snaps over the course of 2024 — and had a larger role in single-tight end looks. It’s worth noting this was Waller’s first game in nearly 23 months, so his snap count could rise in the weeks ahead. Miami played with a lead for most of the game, but Waller could see more action in pass-heavy situations. Even in 2023, before his injury, he played over 90% of snaps in multiple games. That said, Waller is now 33, and workload management may be a factor.
Waller is a strong waiver-wire target, especially with Tyreek Hill potentially out for the season. His role in the offense could grow quickly, but fantasy managers may want to keep him on the bench for one more week while his usage stabilizes.
Monitor Braelon Allen’s health: Allen suffered a knee injury on a special teams play and didn’t return.
The Jets opened the season with a three-man running back rotation. Breece Hall has led the way, playing 58.3% of the offensive snaps through three weeks. Allen has served as the primary backup at 28.9%, while Isaiah Davis has operated as the third-down back at 15%.
That same rotation carried into Week 4. On the opening drive, Allen played six of the Jets’ 13 snaps, Hall logged seven, and Davis saw two. Allen averaged 6.5 yards per carry on four attempts and came close to scoring but lost a fumble at the goal line.
Unfortunately, Allen suffered an injury on the ensuing kickoff before the Jets’ second drive and was ruled out late in the first half. The severity of the injury remains unclear, but there’s at least some concern it could be significant.
After Allen’s injury, the Jets shifted to a two-man backfield. Isaiah Davis began taking early-down snaps, and he and Breece Hall split work during the two-minute drill. New York’s initial three-man rotation likely stemmed from the talent of the backs involved, rather than a strict philosophical approach. With Allen sidelined, the Jets will still have a third active running back, but the workload should consolidate into a two-man rotation.
That change should result in a significant increase in snaps and touches for Davis and a slight uptick for Hall. Davis becomes a viable waiver-wire option in deeper leagues, with a path to near double-digit touches each week Allen is out. Hall remains a safer bet for fantasy lineups moving forward.
Josh Reynolds returns to the Jets‘ lineup: Reynolds had missed the last two weeks with a hamstring injury, but returned to the lineup this week.
The Jets started the season with Garrett Wilson as the top receiver and Reynolds as the clear second receiver. Wilson has played nearly 100% of snaps in every game this year. Reynolds played 62 of a possible 64 snaps in Week 1. The Jets have spent all four weeks trying to figure out their depth chart beyond Reynolds.
In Week 1, Tyler Johnson was the third receiver, fourth-round rookie Arian Smith received a few snaps, and Allen Lazard was healthy and active. In Week 2, Johnson became the full-time player in place of Johnson, with Smith and Lazard splitting time in three-receiver sets. In Week 3, it was Smith who became the full-time player, with Johnson playing in three-receiver sets and Lazard as the clear fourth receiver.
This week, it was Johnson who was a healthy inactive. Josh Reynolds returned to his role in three-receiver sets but wasn’t a consistent presence in two-receiver formations. The Jets rotated all three active receivers in those two-wide sets, while Arian Smith and Allen Lazard continued to split time in the third spot during three-receiver sets.
Outside of Garrett Wilson, no Jets wide receiver has offered any fantasy relevance. Johnson leads the group with just 63 receiving yards, and none of the three active players in Week 4 has topped 25 yards on the season.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Jets tight end Mason Taylor’s role has been very consistent all season, playing at least 70% of snaps in single tight end sets both on early downs and third downs, while playing all of the two tight end sets. He posted his best game of the season with five receptions for 65 yards.
- Jets fourth-string running back and returner Kene Nwangwu was inactive for the third straight game with a hamstring injury.
- Quarterback Justin Fields also returned to the lineup after missing last week with a concussion.
- Jets tight end Jelani Woods and Dolphins wide receiver Tahj Washington were healthy inactives as usual.
- Miami’s running back rotation between De’Von Achane and Ollie Gordon II was similar to what it’s been all season, with Achane seeing roughly three-fourths of snaps compared to one-fourth by Gordon.
- The Dolphins signed kicker Riley Patterson to the 53-man roster before the game, as they’ve already called him up from the practice squad three times.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Denver Broncos
Pat Bryant takes on a larger role for Denver: The rookie was the offense’s clear fifth wide receiver over the first three weeks of the season, but he was more of a rotational player this week.
The Broncos spent the first three weeks with Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin as their top two wide receivers, with Marvin Mims Jr. joining them in three-receiver sets. Denver rotates its wide receivers more than most teams, which meant Trent Sherfield Sr. was also playing 24% of two-wide receiver sets and 45% of three-receiver sets. Bryant was held to snap rates of 17% in two-receiver sets and 20% in three-receiver sets across the first three weeks.
This week, Bryant rotated often with Troy Franklin in three-receiver sets early in the game. Later in the contest, Mims was more often the odd man out. That left both Franklin and Mims seeing notably fewer snaps than usual. It didn’t impact the box score, as both receivers tallied more than 50 receiving yards.
Bryant didn’t see enough playing time to make him a waiver-wire target, but it was enough that fantasy managers should be concerned about the other Broncos wide receivers. There is a chance Bryant could take playing time away from any receiver, including Sutton.
Evan Engram puts together his best game in a limited role: Engram caught four passes for 29 yards — his best outing with the Broncos — but played less than 50% of snaps.
Engram played only 37.8% of offensive snaps across the first two weeks. That included 41% of early-down snaps in single-tight-end sets, 61% of third-down snaps and only 13% of snaps in two-tight-end sets. Engram missed last week with a back injury. Nate Adkins had missed the first two weeks but has been back for the past two weeks. It was the first time all season that all four Broncos tight ends were available. Lucas Krull was a healthy inactive, leaving Denver with three tight ends.
Engram’s role in this game was nearly identical to before his injury, with the percentages in different situations changing by only a few percentage points. He was targeted more often, but it still wasn’t nearly enough for him to have fantasy value. While his playing time could increase a little bit in some situations, it seems unlikely he will see a massive change in snaps that holds over time. It’s fine to drop Engram in most fantasy leagues in favor of a tight end who is more consistently on the field.
Bengals adjust without Noah Fant: The Bengals’ newest tight end was inactive after suffering a concussion last week.
Cincinnati spent the first three weeks with Drew Sample and Mike Gesicki splitting time as the single tight end on early downs and with Gesicki as the primary tight end on third downs. Fant would join Sample in most two-tight-end sets. Cam Grandy was inactive for the first two weeks of the season, and Tanner Hudson was inactive last week. This week, both tight ends were active for Cincinnati.
The Bengals adjusted to the new personnel by giving Grandy most of the two-tight-end snaps. Gesicki saw a slight increase in snaps in two-tight-end sets. Grandy also wasn’t used in any single-tight-end sets, where Fant was used sparingly in those situations in the first three weeks. This led to another slight increase in snaps for both Sample and Gesicki. The Bengals were constantly playing from behind, so Gesicki logged more offensive snaps than Sample.
The Bengals didn’t get much going through the air, with all of the production going to Chase Brown and the wide receivers. Gesicki caught his only target for eight yards. While Fant had found some production early in the season, the Bengals use too much of a rotation to trust any of their tight ends in fantasy leagues.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton was a healthy inactive, as he’s been all season.
- Samaje Perine dealt with an injury last week but returned to his normal role as the third-down back this week. The split between him and Chase Brown this week was very similar to the first three weeks.
- Bengals third wide receiver Andrei Iosivas played more this week than in other weeks, largely because the Bengals fell behind so early.
- The gap between J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey was slightly closer this week, largely from Harvey playing in goal-line situations.
- The Broncos signed fullback Adam Prentice to the 53-man roster last Wednesday after calling him up from the practice squad in the first three games.
- Jaleel McLaughlin has been a healthy inactive for each of the first four games of the season.
- Marvin Mims Jr. was added to the injury report Saturday with a hip injury and was officially questionable.
Table Notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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