The Royale

The Royale

Dynasty Weekly Rundown + Redraft Reload

Unpacking market trends, player movement, and waiver-wire gold every Monday.

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The Devy Royale
Sep 29, 2025
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Four weeks are in the books, and now the season is starting to take real shape. The noise of September is fading, usage trends are stabilizing, and dynasty values are shifting fast. We’ve seen enough to trust some of these patterns, but it’s still early enough to pounce on market overreactions in your leagues.

The mission stays the same: you shouldn’t need ten different articles on Monday morning to figure out what actually matters. This is your one-stop shop — usage trends, dynasty risers and fallers, buy/sell/hold trade calls, injury fallout, panic checks, and redraft waiver edges to keep you ahead every single week.

Week 4 delivered statement games, surprise disappointments, and some clear dynasty signals. Let’s dig into what matters most heading into Week 5.

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Section 1: Trends & Usage Tracker (The Data Pulse)

Four weeks are in the books, and now we’re starting to see what’s real versus what’s noise. Snap shares are stabilizing, usage patterns are locking in, and dynasty values are shifting in ways that matter. This is the point in the season where opportunity meets reality — and the moves you make now can swing your season in both dynasty and redraft.

Week 4 gave us statement games, some disappointing letdowns, and usage shifts you can’t afford to ignore. And it starts with Trey Benson, who hit his first real stumble of the season and left managers asking what comes next for Arizona’s backfield.

Trey Benson Might Squander His Opportunity

Trey Benson had his chance to seize Arizona’s backfield after James Conner went down, but Week 4 showed us it’s not a smooth takeover. Benson did lead the Cardinals in early-down snaps, essentially inheriting Conner’s old role but he couldn’t lock down the passing-down work. Instead, Emari Demercado slid back into his familiar third-down/two-minute drill role, while Michael Carter was elevated off the practice squad to mix in as a depth option.

On paper, Benson’s usage looked fine: he handled 87% of the early-down work and 8 of 11 RB carries. He averaged a solid 4.4 yards per tote against Seattle and chipped in five catches on five targets, which gave him a 12.2% target share. But the real concern is how scripted-out he was in key situations — Demercado out-snapped him 7–1 on third downs and took 16 of 17 two-minute drill plays.

From a dynasty perspective, Benson still holds RB2 value because his role mirrors Conner’s from years past, volume-driven with touchdown upside. The problem? Arizona went pass-heavy in this one, and if that trend continues, Benson’s weekly floor will feel shaky unless he earns back those passing-down reps.

In redraft, he’s a buy-low candidate, the touches will be there when game script flips in his favor. But if he keeps losing high-value snaps to Demercado, the ceiling people hoped for when Conner went down may never fully arrive.

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