20 Best Points Per Snap Performers From Week 4

Fantasy Points Per Snap

Earning playing time is the first key to success, both in the NFL and in fantasy football. But it’s what a player does with those snaps that truly separates the most efficient performers from mere contributors. Measuring fantasy points per snap is a great way to look beyond the box score to determine which players are really the best of the bunch. 

Now that we’ve reached the one-quarter mark of the football season, accumulated points per snap totals tell us who should be starting each week and which player’s roles could grow moving forward. Analyzing those numbers on a week-to-week basis is a great way to determine those surging talents. 

Here are the top-20 skill-position points per snap performers from Week 4 and what it means for our fantasy football rosters as we move into the second quarter of the 2019 NFL season.

20 Best Running Backs

Jordan Howard turned 18 touches into 115 yards and three touchdowns to lead all players in points per snap for Week 3. Howard has seen an increase in snaps and touches each week and now has four total scores in four games. Doug Pederson is likely to still rely on a committee backfield utilizing Howard, Miles Sanders, and Darren Sproles, but Howard looks like the preferred short-yardage back and has even looked improved in the passing game. Don’t expect another elite showing but Howard is becoming a viable weekly RB2.

Nick Chubb‘s 0.83 points per snap figure against the Ravens is the third-highest total seen so far in 2019, trailing only Jordan Howard this week and Mark Ingram‘s 0.91 score from the season opener. A big chunk of Chubb’s production came on an 88-yard touchdown gallop but his Week 4 showing could have been even better if the Browns hadn’t called off the dogs in the fourth quarter of their blowout win. Chubb also has three-plus grabs in every game and has developed into an every-down, top-5 fantasy option. 

After not getting a touch at all in Week 3, Jaylen Samuels had 21 against the Bengals, which included three pass attempts. Those 21 touches in 27 snaps gave Samuels a 77.8% Utilized Rate, which is the highest total seen so far in 2019. Samuels and James Conner both excelled on Monday Night, giving the Steelers a pair of top-5 points per snap running backs and their first victory of the season. Conner should remain the featured back, but Samuels’ strong showing certainly warrants a larger role moving forward. 

Another team that might have a formidable 1-2 punch is the Chargers, who now welcome Melvin Gordon into the fold after a lengthy holdout. The issue here is that Austin Ekeler has excelled with an increased role and stands as the No. 2 fantasy running back entering Week 5. Gordon’s presence will likely result in fewer touches for Ekleler, which might not necessarily be a good thing. This week, Los Angeles hosts a Denver squad that has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs so far this season, so we should get a good indicator of how this new backfield will shake out. 

Continuing the trend of dual-productive backfields, LeSean McCoy and Darrell Williams both put up impressive numbers for the second straight week. McCoy 0.47 points per snap total was far lower than last week’s 0.77 but still managed to rank sixth. Williams, who is thriving while Damien Williams remains sidelined, also sported a 0.43 points per snap figure, which was an improvement from Week 3. Wiliams actually played four more snaps than McCoy, who looks like a far different player than he was last year in Buffalo. The success of both McCoy and Darrell Williams could complicate Damien Williams’ value once he’s back. 

Wayne Gallman logged 60.3% of New York’s snaps in his first start and produced a pair of touchdowns. Gallman was targeted or carried the ball on over half of his snaps, which means he should have a solid role as a potential three-down replacement for Saquon Barkley. 

20 Best Wide Receivers

A.J. Brown only played 28 (43.8%) snaps but managed to turned three targets into 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Brown’s 0.76 points per snap score not only dwarfed all wideouts from Week 4, it’s the highest score posted by any wide receiver so far in 2019. Brown has more or less been splitting snaps with Tajae Sharpe, but after his Week 4 breakout, should start to see an increae in playing time. Just don’t count on another 20-plus point fantasy outing in Tennessee’s innocuous offense. 

Miles Boykin posted a solid 0.44 PPS average against the Browns but accumulated those numbers in only 21 snaps. Boykin is well behind Marquise Brown, Willie Snead, and even Seth Roberts in Baltimore’s receiving corps and will also lose targets to multiple tight ends and running backs. 

Heading into Week 4, Chris Godwin was considered questionable with a hip injury. Clearly, this ailment had no effect as Godwin torched the Rams for 12 catches, 174 yards, and two scores. Godwin played 70-of-74 snaps and became the second consecutive Tampa Bay wideout–following Mike Evans last week–to post overall WR1 fantasy numbers. Godwin’s 0.42 points per snap total easily bested his previous season-best back in Week 2, which was also a top-10 number. Tampa’s passing attack is surging, making Godwin and Evans both every-week top-10 fantasy options. 

The Broncos also had a pair of wideouts excel in Week 4, as Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders posted top-12 PPS numbers. Sutton padded his numbers with a pair of TD grabs while Sanders hauled in 5-of-9 targets for season-high 104 yards. These were both impressive showing against a Jacksonville secondary that has struggled against opposing wide receivers. Up next, Joe Flacco and company travel to Los Angeles to face a Chargers defense that is very middle-of-the-pack.

Jarvis Landry was off to a rough start before it all came together against the Ravens. Landry set season-high marks in targets (10), catches (8), and yards (167) en route to 0.32 points per snap in 52 plays. Landry more than picked up the slack for Odell Beckham, who had the worst game of his entire career with just two receptions and 20 yards. Up next, the Browns travel to San Francisco to take on a rejuvenated 49ers defense that has exceeded expectations, so don’t expect another superlative outing out of Landry.

20 Best Tight Ends

Ricky Seals-Jones produced the second-highest point per snap score for any tight end this season on just 21 snaps, which is both impressive and glaring. Seals-Jones has yet to play more than 30% of Cleveland’s snaps but that rate should start to rise after his strong showing agaisnt the Ravens. Seals-Jones caught all three of his targets for 82 yards including a red-zone touchdown. Despite the impressive outing, Seals-Jones has barely played this season so he’s just a name to monitor moving forward. 

The Colts run a lot of ’12’ personnel with two tight ends. While Eric Ebron had the better points per snap average last week, Jack Doyle has out-snapped and out-targeted Ebron in all four of Indy’s games. All of Ebron’s 0.40 points per snap came on his lone 48-yard TD grab that came in the fourth quarter. Doyle posted a mediocre 0.14 points per snap but also hit paydirt while hauling in 4-of-8 targets. Ebron’s regression was easy to predict and further exasperated by the loss of Andrew Luck. He’s become a boom-or-bust weekly play, while Doyle has a lower ceiling and higher floor. 

Mark Andrews continues to make the most out of his playing time and now leads all NFL tight ends with a 0.30 points per snap average through four games. Amazingly, Andrews isn’t even leading Baltimore’s tight end group in snaps, as Nick Boyle (176) is nearly 30 snaps ahead of Andrews (147). When he has been on the field, Andrews has been an elite fantasy points producer. He enters Week 5 as the No. 3 fantasy tight end…imagine what he could do with a 70% snap rate.

Will Dissly took advantage of an atrocious Arizona defense to catch 7-of-8 targets for 57 yards and his fourth touchdown grab in three weeks. With Seattle trading Nick Vannett to Pittsburgh, Dissly played a season-high 79% of Seattle’s snaps. While he won’t always be as productive as he was against the Cardinals, Dissly has a clear path to a top-10 fantasy finish in 2019. Not bad for a guy coming off of a major injury who went undrafted in most fantasy leagues.