Take a look back at Dwayne Washington's line in Week 3. In his first performance without Ameer Abdullah, Washington churned out 10 carries for 38 yards, and his lone reception went for a 3-yard loss.
You excited yet? I know I am.
Thankfully for Washington, that was almost the worst-case scenario for a guy in his role. Not only do their opponents in that game -- the Green Bay Packers -- have numberFire's top-ranked rush defense thus far, but the Detroit Lions trailed by four touchdowns before halftime. That's not a script conducive to a running back whose main usage lies outside of the passing game.
Even with these factors working against him, Washington was on the field for 36.8% of the Lions' snaps, and he got his third carry of the season from inside the 10-yard line. That was a nightmare scenario, but he still had at least a role in the offense. That'll be advantageous when things flip completely in Week 4.
Not only are the Lions three-point favorites over the Chicago Bears, but the Bears also are 28th in Adjusted Defensive Rushing NEP per play. Both of those are drastically different than the conditions Washington faced last week, and it gives him a really nice ceiling.
This is the situation you're getting for Washington, and you know what it'll cost you? The stone-cold minimum of $4,500 on FanDuel and the low price of $3,800 on DraftKings. You're not going to get this upside at the position for such a low salary often, so Washington's in a great spot for this week.
This isn't to completely ignore Theo Riddick. He's not your traditional between-the-tackles back, but he is seventh in the league in Success Rate among the 34 running backs with at least 25 carries. He struggled immensely in Week 3 as a rusher, but again, that was in a vomit-worthy matchup.
Additionally, Riddick will benefit from the Bears' pass defense, currently ranking 22nd in the league, according to numberFire's metrics. With Kyle Fuller out, the Lions' entire offense could eat, and Riddick is a heavily-involved part of that.
Because of Fuller's injury, you truly could target Matthew Stafford, Marvin Jones, and Eric Ebron, too. But with Washington's salary and matchup, he likely tops the wish list of this group.