NFL Week 9 usage risers and fallers: which new roles will last

Six running backs took a bigger share of their team’s carries over the last three weeks, up 17 to 34 percentage points: Mike Washington Jr., Woody Marks, Ollie Gordon II, Braelon Allen, D’Andre Swift and Tony Pollard. Most of those jobs exist because someone else is hurt, so the question for Week 9 is which ones last. Ollie Gordon II’s should. Braelon Allen’s and D’Andre Swift’s may not.

I compared every running back, receiver and tight end’s share of his team’s work in Weeks 6–8 against Weeks 1–5, then checked each change against the week’s injury and team news. These are picked from the biggest changes, among players with a real workload.

Backfields: who took over, and for how long

• Ollie Gordon II, MIA: 42.0% of the carries in Weeks 1–5, 71.8% in his two games since, on 83% of the snaps. De’Von Achane tore his ACL in Week 3 and is out for the season, so this is the role to trust.
• Woody Marks, HOU: 36.7% to 68.0% of the carries in two games, on 84% of the snaps. David Montgomery has been out (groin), and Marks is expected to lead the backfield again in Week 9 against the Chargers. The points haven’t come yet: 9.6 a game.
• Mike Washington Jr., LV: the biggest jump in carry share, 17.6% to 52.0%, including 25 carries in Week 8 while Ashton Jeanty had 2. Las Vegas expects Jeanty to play, so this looks like a coaching choice. He’s averaging 5.7 PPR, so it’s a role to watch more than one to start.
• Braelon Allen, NYJ: 48.0% to 73.9% of the carries, on 83% of the snaps, and 8.9 full-PPR points a game to 18.4. Breece Hall (quad) has been out, and the Jets’ coach said he expects Hall to be the lead back again once he’s healthy. Ride Allen while Hall sits.
• D’Andre Swift, CHI: 44.0% to 66.3%, and 16.2 PPR a game to 23.3. Kyle Monangai has been out since Week 5 and is unlikely to play in Week 9; expect a split again after Chicago’s Week 10 bye.
• Tony Pollard, TEN: 63.7% to 80.3% of the carries, and 8.7 PPR a game to 24.3, with Tyjae Spears (knee) out. Tennessee is on bye in Week 9, Spears is expected back in Week 10, and Pollard’s name has come up before the November 10 trade deadline.

Pass catchers: who’s getting the ball

Colston Loveland’s 28 targets in three games are the standout: 29.2% of Chicago’s targets, up from 14.2%, and 16.6 PPR a game after 4.8. CeeDee Lamb went from 27.3% to 39.6% of Dallas’ targets, though his points fell from 23.0 a game to 17.7. Germie Bernard’s snaps went from 60% to 90% with Roman Wilson on injured reserve. Kyle Pitts and Colby Parkinson also have bigger roles than in Weeks 1–5.

Two running backs gained as receivers. Christian McCaffrey’s target share rose from 18.0% to 26.2%, but he has a hamstring strain and didn’t practice Wednesday, so check his status before Sunday. Justice Hill went from 6.9% to 17.4% of Baltimore’s targets, though he has 6 carries in three games and 5.9 PPR a game.

Fallers: smaller roles

• Ashton Jeanty, LV: his carry share fell from 63.7% to 34.4% as Washington’s rose. His target share held (16.7%), and so did his points (15.9 a game), but the rushing work has moved.
• Aaron Jones, MIN: 65.0% of the carries to 27.7%, and 73% of the snaps to 33%. Jordan Mason came back from injured reserve in Week 7 and played ahead of him, and Jones aggravated a knee injury in that game. It’s both a smaller role and a health question.
• Jonathan Taylor, IND: 74.7% to 51.8% of the carries, and 19.5 PPR a game to 15.6. Indianapolis has said it’s open to trading him before November 10, which could change his role either way.
• Garrett Wilson, NYJ: 30.1% of the targets to 23.2%, and 9.1 PPR a game. He’s in the concussion protocol after a hit late in Week 8 and didn’t practice Wednesday.
• Mark Andrews, BAL: 22.8% of the targets to 12.3%, and 3.7 PPR a game, mostly with backup quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson needs thumb surgery and is on injured reserve for at least four games.
• Nico Collins, HOU: 26.3% to 16.8% of the targets in his two recent games.

Before you act

• A role that exists because a teammate is hurt lasts until he’s back. Gordon’s should last the season; Allen’s, Swift’s and Pollard’s depend on Hall, Monangai and Spears.
• A big carry share with low points (Washington, Marks) is a role that hasn’t paid off yet. A big share with points to match (Allen, Pollard, Swift) has.
• The news here runs through Thursday, November 5. Check the final injury reports before kickoff.

How this was computed

• Games: the 2026 regular season through Week 8, from CUTLINE’s game stats.
• Shares: a player’s share of his team’s targets (receivers, tight ends, running backs as receivers) or carries (running backs) in each game, averaged over the games he played. Weeks 1–5 needs three games or more, Weeks 6–8 two or more.
• Workload: risers at receiver and tight end had 12 or more targets in Weeks 6–8; running backs 25 or more carries and targets (10 or more targets for the receiving backs); fallers had at least 15% of the targets or 35% of the carries in Weeks 1–5.
• Snaps: the share of his team’s offensive snaps, averaged the same way.
• Points: full PPR, per game played.
• News: injuries, returns and team news from Linus’ research through November 5.
• Left out: Tampa Bay’s Weeks 7 and 8 and Green Bay’s Week 3, whose team stats were incomplete.