2026
2026 season · RB · #31 · 4th season
Lew Nichols III
Age 25 · 5'10" · 222 lb · Central Michigan · Pick 235 overall (2023). Listed RB4 on the 3WR 1TE depth chart. Snap share 4% across 6 games.
- How goodNichols III has -0.4 EPA on 2 touches; percentiles arrive once he reaches 30 touches.
- Fantasy0.1 standard points a game, RB99 of 109.0.1 half-PPR points a game, RB100 of 109.0.1 PPR points a game, RB101 of 109.
- How he's usedLew gets a fingerprint once he reaches 30 touches; the bars show his shares so far without a league percentile.
- LatelyTouches are steady: 0 a game over his last three against 0.3 for the season.
- This weekWeek 9 is the bye.
How good is hehis line against the league at his position
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 3.0 | |||
| Rush EPA per carry | -0.22 | |||
| EPA per targetreceiving, 5+ targets | - | |||
| Broken tacklesper touch | 0% | |||
| Explosive rate10+ run, 20+ catch per touch | 0% |
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touches per game | 0.3 | |||
| Receiving sharetargets per touch | 0% | |||
| Yards per touch | 3.0 | |||
| Success rate | 50% | |||
| Total EPA | -0.4 |
Graded once he reaches 30 touches. 70 backs qualify so far.
Nichols scores 0.1 standard points a game, RB99 of 109 RBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.0 and 0.0; 0 boom weeks (12+) and 6 busts (under 5). Next up, in Week 10, the Bengals allow the 12th-fewest standard points to RBs, 15.6 a game.
Nichols scores 0.1 half-PPR points a game, RB100 of 109 RBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.0 and 0.0; 0 boom weeks (16+) and 6 busts (under 6.5). Next up, in Week 10, the Bengals allow the 11th-fewest half-PPR points to RBs, 17.5 a game.
Nichols scores 0.1 PPR points a game, RB101 of 109 RBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.0 and 0.0; 0 boom weeks (20+) and 6 busts (under 8). Next up, in Week 10, the Bengals allow the 7th-fewest PPR points to RBs, 19.4 a game.
How this is measured
Fantasy points are nflverse's standard and full-PPR scoring (6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown, 4 for a passing touchdown, minus 2 for an interception or a lost fumble); half PPR is the average of the two. Ranks are points a game among players at his position with at least half the most games played. Most weeks is his 20th to 80th percentile game. Bars are green on a boom week and red on a bust; the dashed line is the starter line, the points a game of the RB24 in a 12-team league. The format you pick is remembered on this device.
How he's usedhis fingerprint, where the ball finds him and when
Lew gets a fingerprint once he reaches 30 touches; the bars show his shares so far without a league percentile.
How this is measured
Every trait is a share of his own touches, so volume does not move it. The marker is him among the league's qualifying backs; the dashed line is the median. Styles are not grades: a high or low percentile is a description, not a verdict. Play action, screen, RPO, motion and blitz flags come from FTN charting and read low in a week it has not published.
Nichols III has -0.4 EPA on 2 touches; percentiles arrive once he reaches 30 touches.
How this is measured
Every carry and target this season, split by what happened. Catches divide at the catch: the yards in the air and what came after. Runs are per carry, the receiving parts per target. The percentile is him among the qualifying backs, higher is better, so a cost smaller than most ranks high. The parts add up to the totals above; the career strip counts seasons with at least 30 touches.
On the field
By depth of target
Who he works withthe connection, and the rest of the huddle
By depth
Week by weekthe shape of his season, the game log and the defenses behind it
The game
at BengalsPaycor Stadium
The defense vs the run
a middle-of-the-pack matchup
His history
Week 3 vs CIN: 1 carries for 0
His status
Week 9 is the bye. A middle-of-the-pack matchup: the Bengals rank 18th vs the run, allowing -0.08 EPA per designed carry. He has averaged 0 yards a game against middle defenses this season, and he went 1 carries for 0 against them in Week 3.
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Snap | Car | Yds | TD | Tgt | Rec | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs ATL W 20-13Did not play | ||||||||
| 2 | at NE L 3-20Did not play | ||||||||
| 3 | vs CIN W 30-2718th D | 18th vs the run | 5% | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.5 | |
| 4 | at CLE L 24-2727th D | 27th vs the run | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 5 | vs IND W 34-2230th D | 30th vs the run | 13% | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | +0.1 | |
| 6 | at TB W 26-195th D | 5th vs the run | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 7 | at NO W 16-1031st D | 31st vs the run | 5% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 8 | vs CLE W 27-627th D | 27th vs the run | 2% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 9 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 10 | at CINSun Nov 15 · next up | ||||||||
| 11 | at PHISun Nov 22 | ||||||||
| 12 | vs DENFri Nov 27 | ||||||||
| 13 | vs HOUSun Dec 6 | ||||||||
| 14 | at JAXMon Dec 14 | ||||||||
| 15 | vs BALSun Dec 20 | ||||||||
| 16 | vs CARSun Dec 27 | ||||||||
| 17 | at TENSun Jan 3 | ||||||||
| 18 | at BALSun Jan 10 | ||||||||
| 6 games | 4% | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.4 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | YPC | EPA/car | EPA/tgt | 10+ | Brk tkl | Snap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs ATL W 20-13Did not play | |||||||
| 2 | at NE L 3-20Did not play | |||||||
| 3 | vs CIN W 30-2718th D | 18th vs the run | 0.0 | -0.51 | - | 5% | ||
| 4 | at CLE L 24-2727th D | 27th vs the run | - | - | - | 0% | ||
| 5 | vs IND W 34-2230th D | 30th vs the run | 6.0 | +0.07 | - | 13% | ||
| 6 | at TB W 26-195th D | 5th vs the run | - | - | - | 0% | ||
| 7 | at NO W 16-1031st D | 31st vs the run | - | - | - | 5% | ||
| 8 | vs CLE W 27-627th D | 27th vs the run | - | - | - | 2% | ||
| 9 | Bye week | |||||||
| 10 | at CINSun Nov 15 · next up | |||||||
| 11 | at PHISun Nov 22 | |||||||
| 12 | vs DENFri Nov 27 | |||||||
| 13 | vs HOUSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | at JAXMon Dec 14 | |||||||
| 15 | vs BALSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | vs CARSun Dec 27 | |||||||
| 17 | at TENSun Jan 3 | |||||||
| 18 | at BALSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 6 games | 3.0 | -0.22 | - | 0 | 4% |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs ATL W 20-13Did not play | |||||||
| 2 | at NE L 3-20Did not play | |||||||
| 3 | vs CIN W 30-2718th D | 18th vs the run | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | at CLE L 24-2727th D | 27th vs the run | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | vs IND W 34-2230th D | 30th vs the run | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | at TB W 26-195th D | 5th vs the run | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | at NO W 16-1031st D | 31st vs the run | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | vs CLE W 27-627th D | 27th vs the run | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | Bye week | |||||||
| 10 | at CINSun Nov 15 · next up | |||||||
| 11 | at PHISun Nov 22 | |||||||
| 12 | vs DENFri Nov 27 | |||||||
| 13 | vs HOUSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | at JAXMon Dec 14 | |||||||
| 15 | vs BALSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | vs CARSun Dec 27 | |||||||
| 17 | at TENSun Jan 3 | |||||||
| 18 | at BALSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 6 games | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Touches are steady: 0 a game over his last three against 0.3 for the season. 6 straight games below a starter's median in touches. Week 8 was his season low in yards.
How this is measured
Bars are his week. The shaded band is the league's middle half at his position, every qualifying player-game this season, and the dashed line is its median. The solid line is his trailing three games. An × on the baseline is a game his team played without him; a dotted tick is the bye.
He has faced the 31st-toughest slate vs the run: his opponents rank 23.0 of 32 on average (league middle 15.9). Ahead: 1 of his next 9 is top-10 vs the run and 4 are bottom-10, starting with the Bengals (18th, away) in Week 10.
The slate · played solid, ahead dashed
His line by defense faced
| Defenses | G | Touches/g | Yds/g | EPA/touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ranked 1 to 10Top-10 defenses | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | – |
| 11 to 22Middle | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | -0.51 |
| 23 to 32Bottom-10 | 4 | 0.3 | 2 | +0.07 |
| All games | 6 | 0.3 | 1 | -0.22 |
Yards against the rank of the defense
His production barely moves with the opponent (r = 0.35); it has traveled.
Careerseason by season, back to his rookie year
His best year was 2025, 0 scrimmage yards in 1 games. This season's 1.2 a game puts him on pace for 20 over 17, a career high.
| Season | Team | G | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Tgt | Rec | Rec yds | EPA/touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | PIT | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026 | PIT | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.22 |
| Career | 1 tm | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.22 |
How this is measured
Regular season only, from nflverse weekly stats back to 1999. This season is partial and drawn hollow; the pace is his per-game rate over 17 games. Bold cells are career highs.
Intel & playsthe report, his best snaps, his teammates
- Depth chart
- RB4 · 3WR 1TE
- Injury report
- clean
- Red zone touches
- …
- Third down
- …
- Explosive plays
- …
- Drops
- 0 on 0 targets
- Broken tackles
- 0
- Play action
- …
- Contested
- …
| Player | Touches | Yds | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jaylen WarrenRB | 155 | 998 · 3 TD | +14.1 |
 DK MetcalfWR | 65 | 389 · 1 TD | -1.0 |
 Rico DowdleRB | 63 | 256 · 1 TD | -5.2 |
 Germie BernardWR | 43 | 288 · 1 TD | -1.3 |
 Pat FreiermuthTE | 39 | 240 · 5 TD | +16.0 |
 Darnell WashingtonTE | 28 | 254 · 3 TD | +8.3 |
 Roman WilsonWR | 25 | 188 · 2 TD | +6.3 |
 Aaron RodgersQB | 12 | 23 | -4.3 |