Week 4 Fantasy Flames RB: The Benson Era begins

SIGN UP: Get the best player prop and game betting projections at BetAlytics. Use code JUICE for a special promo rate. 

Each week the Noise highlights under-started names who he believes are destined to torch the competition. To qualify, each player must be started in fewer than 60 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Speaking as an accountability advocate, I will post results, whether genius or moronic, the following week (Scoring thresholds – QB: 18 fantasy points; RB: 12 fantasy points [10 for shockers], WR: 11 fantasy points: TE: 10 fantasy points; .5 PPR).

Trey Benson, Cardinals

One awkward tackle. One ankle twist. One tendon snap. 

A single play can unlock potential in a blink. See Arizona's Week 3 matchup in San Francisco. 

Barely into the third quarter by the Bay, James Conner gripped the ball, was promptly attacked and folded uncomfortably on a high-low tackle by two Niners defenders. His right leg bent gruesomely as he was pulled to the ground. 

Cart out. Season ... done. 

Diagnosed with a severely damaged ankle -- one which will require season-ending surgery -- The Terminator was just the latest victory of the injury imp's sinister wrath. 

In a next man league, Benson elevates into the lead role, a gig in which he should thrive in. 

The former Florida State standout runs like an incensed boar in the open field. He's ideally framed at 6-feet and 220 pounds while also showcasing sprinter speed (4.39 40-yard). That elite combination has him firmly on the RB2 radar in 12-team formats. Though Emari Demercado will supplant him on occasion, he should receive the bulk of Conner's vacated 60.9% opportunity share (13.4 touches per game). The workload increase matched with Benson's per touch efficiency (RB4 in YAC/attempt (4.05)) imply he's nearly must-start material in 12-team and deeper formats. Those who grabbed him late in drafts are about to earn juicy fruits -- even with Arizona ranking No. 28 in run-blocking according to Pro Football Focus. 

The Seahawks frontline isn't exactly sleepwalking. Interior lineman Leonard Williams is one of the best RB wrappers in the game, checking in at No. 5 in run coverage grade on PFF. As a unit, Seattle enters Week 4 No. 4 in rush EPA defense, allowing a mere 3.16 yards per carry and 80.0 rush yards per game to RBs. Equally impressive, no rusher has yet to cross the chalk against them. 

The on-paper matchup and short week may raise hesitancy, but with the volume cranked and given his per touch effectiveness, Benson is a back to strongly consider. He should churn out a top-20 output at a minimum. 

Please stay far, far away dastardly imp. 

Fearless Forecast: 17 carries, 70 rushing yards, 4 receptions. 18 receiving yards, 16.8 fantasy points 

TreVeyon Henderson, Patriots

Never, ever allow Rhamondre Stevenson to carry grandma's precious fine china -- NEVER! Odds of him disastrously dropping the priceless family heirloom are significant. 

Already with three fumbles to his name -- including a costly one at the goal line Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers -- the banana-handed rusher is firmly entrenched in Mike Vrabel's doghouse. Not logging a single snap post second-half mishap and with Antonio Gibson also booking a coughed rock, Henderson's time is now. For overly exuberant fantasy managers who sacrificed first borns to acquire the rookie's services in August drafts, the early-season disappointment could soon be long in the past. 

Not pulling punches, Henderson has emanated a stench equivalent to weeks-expired cottage cheese. Netting just 36.3% of the opportunity share to begin the regular season, he ranks third-to-last among qualifying RBs in yards after contact per attempt (1.74). If not for his adequate production as a pass catcher (11 rec, 73 yds), he would already be considered a fantasy fraud. 

However, Henderson's top-10 standing in yards created per touch (4.94) and golden opportunity given Stevenson's nasty fumblitis imply his buy window is about to slam shut. So does New England's Week 4 matchup. 

Slow clap, DC Ejiro Evero. You, sir, have taken inarguably the league's worst run defense and transformed it into a unit occasionally capable of denying penetration. The Panthers, rock bottom in rush EPA in 2024, are presently No. 24 in the category. Overall, the Hello Kitties from Charlotte have still surrendered 5.72 yards per carry and 149.0 total yards per game to RBs, but they've also yielded only one TD to the position. Slotting middle-of-the-pack in fantasy points allowed to RBs (No. 15), they're moving in the right direction. 

The Patriots offensive line has underperformed -- PFF ranks it No. 30 in run-blocking efficiency -- and exactly how much action Stevenson or Gibson will receive is undetermined, but reading the room, the much hyped youngster should earn considerably more run. Do the right thing, Vrabel. 

Take the gamble at the FLEX or RB2 in challenging formats. 

Fearless Forecast: 12 carries, 41 rush yards, 1 touchdown, 4 receptions, 20 receiving yards, 14.1 fantasy points 

Deep league dish: Quinshon Judkins, Browns, RB at Lions (10% started) - The mind-bending, stomach-churning and toupee-displacing rollercoaster ride Judkins endured in August changed his fantasy ADP almost daily. Maybe he'll return to college. Maybe he'll sign. Maybe he'll arrive at training camp. Though not completely out of the woods -- he's still the subject of an ongoing NFL investigation -- the Browns' second-round rookie has looked nothing short of spectacular. His surface data hasn't moved mountains, but the underlying numbers have climbed a fourteener. Among rushers with at least 20 attempts, he's No. 1 in YAC per attempt (5.14), netting an outstanding 92.9% of his yards after initial contact. Wrecking ball-like. Admittedly, Detroit isn't the greatest opponent. The Lions rank top-five in rush EPA D on the season. Still, Cleveland's suffocating D combined with Judkins' growing three-down role arrows to another RB2 effort. (FF: 16-67-1-2-10-0, 14.7 fpts)