In my “Coop’s Corner” article this week I talked about overreacting through the early part of the season. I also discussed some numbers that suggest that offseason ADP is actually just as good for rest of season prediction as the first four weeks of stats. Well guess what? We now have five weeks of data so we are officially into the zone where production so far outweighs draft capital. So the snap count numbers now are more important than ever. Let’s dig in.
As a reminder, this year we have a brand new tool that lets you not only look at this week's snaps but the total snaps on the year and percentage played by each player. On top of that you can sort by team or position to see how your guy stacks up!
The best way to consume this article is to have that tool open in another window and then sort by “team” which will automatically sort the players from most to least snaps. Then in this article I'll give an explanation as to what happened as well as some additional underlying stats (slot snaps, pass blocking snaps etc.) and what sort of actionable data we can extract to help us win our leagues.
49ers
WR: Deebo is still consistently playing a bit more than Aiyuk - the assumption being that he’s the single WR that stays out there when they use two TEs and a fullback. But Aiyuk isn’t far behind. None of the other WRs play close to enough but Mo Sanu seems like the next man up.
RB: Well, guess that answers that question. Elijah Mitchell played pretty much the whole game and Trey Sermon played 2 snaps. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk once again played a massive snap share.
TE: With George Kittle out, Ross Dwelley took on the full Kittle role. But he’s not George Kittle and the Cardinals are one of the best teams vs. the tight end anyway. The 49ers have a bye this week so we’ll have to see where Kittle is at then.
Bears
WR: Once again, Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney play huge, highly consolidate snap shares at WR which would normally be good for fantasy. This tweet is the best way I can sum up why they aren’t producing.
RB: With David Montgomery out we actually saw a pretty even split between Damien Williams and rookie Khalil Herbert. Even the pass snaps were split - Williams played 14 and Herbert played 13.
TE: Cole Kmet once again played a big snap share with 51 of 64 snaps. He also played 23 of 26 pass plays. But this week they asked him to stay in and block on 6 of those pass plays which is far too many. He’s a dynasty or very deep league stash at best right now.
Bengals
WR: Ja’Marr Chase led the charge in snaps - Tee Higgins was eased back in a bit but it should soon be Chase and Higgins on the outside once again with Boyd in the slot.
RB: With Joe Mixon nursing an ankle injury, he split with Samaje Perine. As Mixon gets healthy, this should tilt back in his favor.
TE: CJ Uzomah is the clear pass catching tight end of the group running 36 routes which actually tied Tee Higgins. But there’s probably not enough targets to go around making him more of a DFS dart throw.
Bills
WR: They took Emmanuel Sanders and put him right in the John Brown role which is a good thing - he’s playing pretty much every snap opposite Stefon Diggs. Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis rotate in the slot though Beasley gets far more pass plays.
RB: Zack Moss all of a sudden seems to be the favorite here in this backfield for both run and pass downs. Interesting development though the split is still fairly close.
TE: The Dawson Knox break out might be real folks. Maybe it was the weather but the Bills deployed the tight end on 55 of 57 snaps and he only pass blocked once. He also played 23 snaps in the slot. What I would like to see is another game where they are playing from behind or it’s at least close as, in Week 1, the Bills used 4+ WRs 45% of the time which limited him.
Browns
WR: Odell Beckham Jr. led the charge in snaps and routes (34) with Donovan Peoples-Jones (29) opposite him and Rashard Higgins (25) in the slot. The reality though is heavy three tight end sets and run script make it tough for the WRs to be consistent.
RB: The split this week looked more like what we would describe as the “2020 Packers” split. The two backs split the pass work evenly but Nick Chubb (Aaron Jones) got more carries than Kareem Hunt (Jamaal Williams). Hunt owners would like to see him at least get more pass work than Chubb.
TE: Austin Hooper once again played more snaps but this time David Njoku ran more routes (18 to 21). People will be on Njoku on the wire but 21 of 38 snaps really isn’t all that impressive when many tight ends would be running 30+ (and the startable ones running almost all of them).
Buccaneers
WR: Mike Evans and Chris Godwin full snap shares, Antonio Brown playing a large but partial one. With Gronk out they opted for more four WR sets which brought Tyler Johnson into the fold but he’s no more than a DFS dart throw.
RB: It’s clearly the Leonard Fournette show. Ronald Jones has made too many mistakes. Gio Bernard helps on passing downs but he also allowed a sack this week.
TE: Same as last week - with Gronk out, OJ Howard plays the primary in-line role and Brate plays a pass catching role from the slot. Brate is interesting in DFS but he’s not even running half the routes.
Broncos
WR: This team just has no one left with the injuries. It’s Tim Patrick and Courtland Sutton on the outside, Kendall Hinton in the slot.
RB: Even though Javonte Williams was more productive in the box score, Melvin Gordon played more pass snaps while splitting the carries. Javonte Williams let up a sack in pass protection but Melvin Gordon allowed a QB hit himself.
TE: We talked about this weeks ago and it hasn’t changed - Noah Fant’s snap share is good, his routes run are good, but it would be slightly better if he were playing more slot/WR rather than in-line. That’s tough with Albert O out now though.
Cardinals
WR: Business as usual here - the two bigger players who can line up at split end (DeAndre Hopkins and AJ Green) play a full snap share. Chrsitian Kirk is the slot and Rondale Moore comes in for four WR sets (which they run often). With Maxxx Williams out, the door could open for more Moore. With a rebel yell, they cried “More Moore More!”
RB: Classic split - Chase Edmonds pass work, James Conner run work.
TE: Devastating injury to Maxx Williams. It was pretty clear Demetrius Harris was the next man up for his blocking ability. Williams was a tough start so Harris is even tougher.
Cowboys
WR: We know the deal here - Amari and Lamb playing full snap shares, Cedrick Wilson playing a part time gig until Michael Gallup returns.
RB: Zeke is getting the high leverage snaps including goal line and pass work - Pollard returns kicks and comes in to spell him. Pollard did not help his case by allowing a sack this week.
TE: Dalton Schultz clawed away a bigger share of the snaps last week and he managed to keep that this week - this time running three times as many routes as Blake Jarwin. He’s the guy.
Chargers
WR: Keenan Allen plays the slot for three wide sets then moves to flanker for two wide. Mike Williams is always out there at split end. For now, Jaylen Guyton is the third WR into the game to play flanker in three wide. But Josh Palmer got a few more snaps this week than normal.
RB: As long as he’s healthy, Austin Ekeler is the only RB in this backfield you need to worry about.
TE: Do not be fooled by Donald Parham. He has blocked on more plays in every single game than routes he’s run. He once again blocked on 6 of his 25 pass plays which is 40%. Jared Cook is the guy you want. In dynasty, maybe stash Parham in case Cook is done and Mike Williams doesn’t come back.
Chiefs
WR: Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson, and Mecole Hardman all played a ton of snaps but only Tyreek is dependable. Josh Gordon only played 9 snaps. He’s still more interesting than the other two. Worth noting Tyreek Hill was slightly banged up with a knee.
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire finally seemed to be playing decent the last couple weeks then promptly got hurt. THe snaps were split between Darrell Williams and Jerrick Mckinnon 37-27 so Williams is the guy you probably want.
TE: Travis Kelce suffered a stinger and was out towards the end but reports are that he should be fine.
Colts
WR: Same as usual - Michael Pittman and Zach Pascal full share, Parris Campbell a partial one. Campbell finally flashed a bit at least and we did see them use a lot of three WR sets a week ago.
RB: Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines both played 21 pass plays but Hines blocked on 9 of his compared to Taylor. If Taylor was a better pass blocker, he might just play all the snaps.
TE: Once again Mo Allie-Cox wasn’t the one who ran the most routes. This time it was Jack Doyle with 20 to his 14 (Kylen Granson ran 6). Hard to trust that.
Dolphins
WR: With both DeVante Parker and Will Fuller out, Preston Williams came back into the fold playing the second biggest snap share after Jaylen Waddle. Not other WR played more than 14 snaps.
RB: After Malcolm Brown drastically outsnapped Myles Gaskin over the past two weeks, the Dolphins decided to just go all in with Myles Gaskin this week. Brown played 35 snaps last week but only five this week. We can only hope that Gaskin can just maintain the snaps and we don’t have some kind of hot hand thing going on.
TE: The reality here is that Mike Gesicki is playing WR. 94% of his snaps have come at WR. Adam Shaheen and Durham Smythe play in-line tight end which is a primary blocking role. Shaheen got banged up this week, not that it matters for fantasy.
Eagles
WR: Typically it had been only DeVonta Smith and Jalen Reagor getting meaningful snaps but this week Quez Watkins finally played more than Reagor. He could be interesting if this sticks, especially with Goedert out.
RB: Miles Sanders dominated snaps this week, top to bottom (50 ro 16). 33 pass snaps to 12 for Gainwell.
TE: With Dallas Goedert likely out this week, Zach Ertz will likely see extra snaps while Jack Stoll should be looking to play some more in-line tight end.
Falcons
WR: With no Calvin Ridley or Russell Gage it was Olamide Zaccheaus and Tajae Sharpe. Not that it matters once Ridley gets back.
RB: The split between Davis and Patterson was far more even but it’s pretty clear who the better back is for fantasy at this point.
TE: We’ve been saying all along that the deployment for Kyle Pitts has been good. And he finally had the production to show for it. Stick with him.
Giants
WR: Kenny Golladay got banged up here so it was the Kadarius Toney show (until he got ejected). This week they get Sterling Shepard AND Darius Slayton back so it will be very interesting how things shake out.
RB: Brutal luck for Saquon with the rolled ankle. Devontae Booker stepped in and played pretty much the whole game so he’s you guy.
TE: Again, Evan Engram got good deployment in terms of snap share and route participation. But with the wide receivers back there are now big questions.
Jaguars
WR: Marvin Jones and Shenault were on the outside with Jamal Agnew in the slot. Tavon Austin mixed in but only about a third of the snaps.
RB: James Robinson is getting more work in both phases.
TE: Dan Arnold may have finally arrived for fantasy. He played a huge snap share and played 30 snaps at WR. And he let the team in targets. Which makes sense considering they traded a guy they drafted in the first round for him.
Jets
WR: Corey Davis is the split end. Jamison Crowder is the slot. Keelan Cole on the outside. We were hoping it would be Elijah Moore on the outside opposite Davis but it seems they are easing him back in.
RB: Michael Carter got more work in the run AND the pass game once again but Ty Johnson helped in the pass game. Still a bit of a split.
TE: Tyler Kroft blocked on 8 of his 32 pass plays in week 4, now 8 of 35 in week 5. Not an asset.
Lions
WR: Interesting development with the injury to Quintez Cephus - the rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown was almost exclusively playing slot until this week but he did play double his usual outside snaps. If he can earn that gig over Khadarel Hodge, he might have some upside.
RB: Jamaal Williams got more carries but D’Andre Swift played far more pass plays which is what the Lions will need more. Swift turning into a nice option, especially in PPR.
TE: TJ Hockenson has been banged up but he’s still the man - he ran more routes than any other player on the team and played 26 snaps at WR.
Packers
WR: Davante Adams and Allen Lazard played full snaps shares - Randall Cobb played half of one from the slot. As long as MVS is out, that is what it should look like.
RB: Aaron Jones is getting the bulk of the work with AJ Dillon mixing in at times. Kind of like Zeke Elliott with Tony Pollard - Jones gets all the crucial snaps.
TE: Robert Tonyan is playing his usual 50-60% snap share but his touchdown dependent-ness has been exposed in full this season.
Panthers
WR: Same as usual. DJ Moore, Robby Andeson, and Terrace Marshall. Making life easy.
RB: With CMC out it’s Chuba. With CMC in, it’s CMC. Same as it ever was.
TE: Neither of these guys are playing enough to matter and they have too many weapons. Ian Thomas ran 25 routes to 16 for Tremble for anyone that cares but that’s out of 43 pass plays.
Patriots
WR: Jakobi Meyers has led essentially every game in WR snaps. And he ran a route on every single pass play. He’s a safe bet in PPR leagues and, someday, he’ll catch a touchdown pass. Nelson Agholor is the only other one playing close to enough snaps.
RB: Damien Harris got banged up so Rhamondre Stevenson came in for some run down work. Brandon Bolden is the chosen one for the James White role.
TE: This week was DRASTIC in terms of tight end usage and it likely can’t be blamed on the hip anymore. Both Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith played 40 snaps but Henry ran 22 routes and Jonnu only ran 6. Jonnu will have his days too but right now it’s all Henry.
Raiders
WR: The Raiders are kind of locked in for pass catchers - Ruggs and Edwards on the outside, Renfrow in the slot.
RB: Josh Jacobs played 46 snaps to 12 for Kenyan Drake. Has to make you wonder why they paid Kenyan Drake all that money.
TE: Darren Waller is that dude.
Rams
WR: Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp - every snap, per usual the other guys like Van Jefferson and DeSean Jackson rotate.
RB: Darrell Henderson is the guy you want - Sony just plays sporadically.
TE: Tyler Higbee still getting a decent snap share but he’s just not a focal point of the offense.
Ravens
WR: Sammy Watkins pulled a hammy so it was Marquise Brown, Devin Duvernary, and James Proche as your WRs. Brown and Duvernay played the most pass snaps with 50+ each and Proche at 40.
RB: Ty’Son Williams has been relegated - Latavius Murray is playing the bulk of the snaps while Devonta Freeman is mixing in for some pass plays.
TE: “Mark Andrews is still the man here. Be happy to have him in this tight end landscape.” That’s what we said last week. Are you happy you have him now?
Saints
WR: This team has just been so weird. Marquez Callaway played the most snaps followed by Kenny Stills. Deonte Harris scored a massive TD but only played 2 snaps before being ruled out.
RB: Alvin Kamara played 49 of 56 snaps.
TE: Adam Trautman is playing a large and boring snap share. Juwan Johnson hasn't played much at all.
Seahawks
WR: Lockett and Metcalf are the only ones playing full time snaps. Freddie Swain just platoons in the slot with tight ends. That’s how it will be until Eskridge gets back.
RB: With Chris Carson out, Alex Collins got the full workload. He’s the one you want to handcuff Carson with.
TE: Dissly didn’t do much with Gerald Everett out. Now we will see if Everett has chemistry with Geno Smith.
Steelers
WR: JuJu Smith-Schuster is having surgery so Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson will be the two main characters here. Ray-Ray McCloud could play extra slot and James Washington will mix in when healthy.
RB: Najee Harris gets all the snaps basically which is nice for fantasy purposes.
TE: Pat Freiermuth played more snaps but he only ran 12 routes - Ebron ran 16.
Texans
WR: Brandin Cooks played all the relevant pass plays. Chris Conly played outside opposite him. Chris Moore who came over with David Culley from Baltimore, played slot. With Anthony Miller gone, that’s probably what it looks like.
RB: Same split - pass downs for David Johnson, run downs for Mark Ingram.
TE: Pharaoh Brown is out there to block - he only ran 10 routes. Jordan Akins ran 22 but that’s just not enough in this tight end landscape.
Titans
WR: AJ Brown returned but Julio Jones was out so Marcus Johnson played the split end role. Chester Rogers ran the slot. Josh Reynolds hardly played oddly and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is still out with a hammy.
RB: Derrick Henry.
TE: Anthony Firkser is getting the best deployment of the tight ends but it’s still not good - only 14 routes of 27 pass plays.
Vikings
WR: This team is the best - Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson played full snap shares. They may have down games but they will always be out there.
RB: With Dalvin Cook out it was the Alexander Mattison show.
TE: Tyler Conklin has blocked on 7 and now 8 pass plays the last two weeks. You can’t start him this week and he has a bye week next week. Drop him.
Washington Football Team
WR: Terry McLaurin is the undisputed number 1 here. With Curtis Samuel banged up that leaves nothing but DFS dart throws in DeAndre Carter and Adam Humphries.
RB: Antonio Gibson got the bulk of the run work and split the pass work evenly with McKissic. It’s that “2020 Packers Split” we talk about.
TE: Since Logan Thomas got injured last week, Ricky Seals-Jones has played all but ONE snap. He played 82 of 83 this week. He is absolutely a streaming option vs. the Chiefs this week and possibly next week vs. the Packers too.