Fantasy Football Stock Up/Stock Down: Drake Maye Continues to Perform Well in New Offense

There's a lot that goes into trying to stay one step ahead of your leaguemates in fantasy football. Among the things you have to pay close attention to, it's crucial to keep an eye on new trends, usage, and roles for players in order to make optimal decisions when setting your lineups.

Each week is a different beast, and as the regular season progresses, we'll gather more valuable information to utilize.

While we don't want to overreact to everything that happens early in the season, which players saw their stock go up or down following the action in Week 4?

Note: All stats come from Next Gen Stats or Pro Football Focus unless stated otherwise.

Fantasy Football Stock Up/Stock Down Entering Week 5

Fantasy Football Stock Up

Drake Maye, QB, Patriots

Entering Week 4, the Carolina Panthers' defense had yet to allow a quarterback to finish better than QB22 on the week in fantasy football. Despite Drake Maye still lacking weapons on the New England Patriots, the second-year quarterback is the current QB3 in Week 4, and he's showing plenty of improvement from his rookie campaign.

On the season, Maye is now tied for the fourth-most expected points added per drop back (0.22) among quarterbacks with four starts in 2025, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is dialing up a bit more designed runs for him. While 2.5 designed rushing attempts and 24.5 rushing yards per game doesn't seem like much, that raises Maye's floor, and he's now the QB4 through four weeks with 20-plus fantasy points in three straight.

Next up for Maye is a Sunday night clash against the Buffalo Bills, who are 28th in fantasy points per drop back (0.58) and 32nd in defensive rushing success rate (72.7%) versus QBs.

Omarion Hampton, RB, Chargers

This was a week of rookie RBs seeing increased workloads, and Omarion Hampton certainly took advantage of his opportunities despite the Los Angeles Chargers suffering their first loss of the season. Against the New York Giants on Sunday, Hampton handled a season-high 87.5% snap rate and 63.6%. route rate, resulting in him totaling 165 scrimmage yards and a score on 22.0 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets).

Hampton also tallied a stellar 8.03 rushing yards over expected per attempt in Week 4, and his rushing touchdown was an impressive 54-yard score late in the fourth quarter. With Najee Harris sidelined for the rest of the season, Hampton is expected to be a true workhorse in a Justin Herbert-led offense, making him extremely valuable in fantasy the rest of the way.

The only concern for Hampton -- and the Chargers' offense -- is that Los Angeles is now without both of their starting tackles, as Joe Alt was carted off with an ankle injury in Sunday's loss.

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders

Everyone was clamoring for rookie Ashton Jeanty to see increased usage for the Las Vegas Raiders, and despite the Raiders not getting the result they wanted, people who roster Jeanty have to be content with his production in Week 4. In Sunday's defeat to the Chicago Bears, Jeanty played a season-best 84.6% of the offensive snaps and had a season-high 60.9% route rate.

As a result of Jeanty's uptick in playing time, Jeanty exploded for 155 scrimmage yards and 3 touchdowns on 25 adjusted opportunities, making him the current RB1 in half-PPR formats for Week 4. The Raiders finally phased out Dylan Laube on passing-down snaps and didn't limit Jeanty's snaps in the second half, paving the way for him to be a top fantasy performer moving forward.

After gashing Chicago's defense, Jeanty will face the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans (who are both 23rd or worse in rushing expected points added per carry allowed to RBs) over the next two weeks.

Cam Skattebo, RB, Giants

When looking at the box score numbers for Cam Skattebo, it was an underwhelming performance for the rookie rusher in Week 4, as he tallied only 3.3 yards per touch. However, Skattebo led the Giants' backs in snap rate (75.4%), route rate (63.3%), red-zone rushing share (60.0%), and adjusted opportunities (29.0) in the win over the Chargers.

The absence of Tyrone Tracy Jr. has led to Skattebo averaging 105.5 scrimmage yards per game on 27.5 adjusted opportunities per game across the last two weeks. Additionally, New York's decision to have Jaxson Dart start at quarterback -- and the unfortunate season-ending knee injury to Malik Nabers -- should lead to more opportunities for Skattebo.

If Skattebo continues to get the workload he's gotten in recent weeks, he can be a potential league-winner in fantasy.

Woody Marks, RB, Texans

Early in the new campaign, the Houston Texans have expectedly deployed a rotation at running back amid the ongoing absence of Joe Mixon. At the same time, Week 4 marked the first time this season that rookie Woody Marks led the backfield in snap rate (58.5%).

While Nick Chubb still garnered a 40.0% snap rate and 13 of the 30 running back carries on Sunday, Marks notched a 53.1% first-half snap rate (compared to Chubb's 43.8% first-half snap rate), so he wasn't just in the game because of the Texans holding a massive lead in the second half. With Marks turning 27 adjusted opportunities into 119 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns, he's the RB6 in half-PPR leagues before the Monday night games are played.

Expectations should be partially tempered for Marks behind Houston's dismal offensive line, but he's trending toward being a viable weekly starter in fantasy if he continues to see an increase in playing time.

George Pickens, WR, Cowboys

There were concerns surrounding George Pickens with CeeDee Lamb sidelined for the Dallas Cowboys, but the big-play wideout may have put those concerns to rest on Sunday night versus a formidable Green Bay Packers defense. As the primary target for Dak Prescott, Pickens led the Cowboys in route rate (97.6%), target share (28.9%), air yards share (49.3%), and end-zone target share (66.7%) while accruing 134 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 catches.

Only Puka Nacua has more fantasy points than Pickens in Week 4 right now, and he's the WR5 in half-PPR formats across the first four games of the campaign. Given how well Prescott is playing right now, and the Cowboys' defense creating fantasy-friendly environments, Pickens is someone we can comfortably start in fantasy every week -- even when Lamb returns.

Fantasy Football Stock Down

Tony Pollard, RB, Titans

Volume can mean a lot for a running back in fantasy, but it can also amount to nothing if that running back plays in an ineffective offense. Through the first month of the season, Tony Pollard is seeing fantastic usage, generating an 88.7% snap rate, 60.7% route rate, 86.4% red-zone snap rate, and 21.5 adjusted opportunities per game.

Even with that being the case, Pollard is the overall RB27 in half-PPR leagues right now, and the Titans are logging a league-worst 12.8 points per game after being shut out versus the Texans. On top of that, Pollard's workload could take a hit soon with Tyjae Spears eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 5.

Regardless of how Tennessee elects to deploy their running backs the rest of the season, none of them can be trusted in fantasy football.

Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints

Alvin Kamara has long been a superstar in fantasy football, but this could be the season where his production declines. During the New Orleans Saints' Week 4 defeat to the Bills, Kamara played a season-low 72.3% snap rate, and he received only one of the five red-zone carries.

Over the last two weeks, we've seen Kendre Miller mix in more, earning a 29.6% snap rate and 44.4% red-zone rushing share with 50.5 scrimmage yards per game during that span (compared to Kamara getting a 73.3% snap rate and 22.2% red-zone rushing share with 64.0 scrimmage yards per game). At the moment, Kamara is the RB25 in half-PPR formats.

Unless Kamara is traded elsewhere this season, his days of being a trustworthy weekly option in fantasy could sadly be behind him.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Commanders

When the Washington Commanders traded Brian Robinson before the season and Austin Ekeler suffered an unfortunate season-ending injury in Week 2, the vast majority of people believed it was wheels up for Jacory Croskey-Merritt's fantasy stock. But after producing 14.2 fantasy points in Week 1, JCM has now combined for only 18.0 fantasy points across his last three outings.

Instead of leaning on one back, the Commanders have three running backs splitting the workload across the last two weeks, with Croskey-Merritt seeing the second-highest snap rate (36.2%) and second-highest route rate (20.4%) of the trio. It's been Chris Rodriguez Jr. leading the charge with a 39.0% snap rate and 44.4% red-zone rushing share across the team's last two games, and Jeremy McNichols is primarily mixing in on passing downs.

Unless something drastically changes, it's tough to trust JCM or any of Washington's backs in fantasy entering Week 5.

Calvin Ridley, WR, Titans

Entering the 2025 campaign, Calvin Ridley was expected to operate as the go-to target for rookie quarterback Cameron Ward. Through the first three weeks, Ridley did lead the Titans in route rate (85.8%), target share (23.3%), and air yards share (34.5%), but he still was averaging only 2.7 receptions per game and 37.0 receiving yards per game in that sample.

As for Sunday's 26-0 loss to the Texans, Ridley saw concerning usage, seeing his route rate (40.0%) and target share (13.0%) decline despite the Titans being in a negative game script. Ridley did play on 70.4% of the first-half snaps before Tennessee found themselves behind by a decent margin, but limiting his playing time when Ward still played every snap seems far from ideal.

Ridley is the WR72 in half-PPR formats, and there currently isn't anyone in the Titans' offense who we should trust on a weekly basis.

Jakobi Meyers, WR, Raiders

Jakobi Meyers has remained a steady option in fantasy football in recent years, and the arrival of Geno Smith on the Las Vegas Raiders was expected to boost his production. But aside from Meyers requesting a trade before the 2025 season kicked off, it appears we may not be getting an effective version of Smith, and there are other wideouts the Raiders are trying to get more involved.

Although Meyers does lead Vegas in route rate (93.1%), target share (29.5%), and air yards share (29.5%), he's scored fewer than 10 fantasy points in three consecutive weeks. Tre Tucker owns a 90.3% route rate and is the WR8 in fantasy due to a big Week 3 performance, the Raiders want Dont'e Thornton Jr. to be a deep threat in their aerial attack, and Brock Bowers has gotten off to a slow start after sustaining a knee injury in Week 1.

Similar to Kamara, the only way we can likely trust Meyers weekly in fantasy again is if he's traded elsewhere -- and preferably to a team that can maximize Meyers' strengths.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.