Hopefully you were able to escape bye week hell unscathed (or you at least took a loss but have your studs for the rest of the season). We aren’t out of the woods yet as the bye weeks have only begun and the injuries continue to pile up. And what’s the best way to know who the next man up will be when there is an injury? That would be the snap counts of course!
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 Samuel once again led it snaps (48) and routes run (30). Brandon Aiyuk was next with 40 snaps and 23 routes run. If Aiyuk can’t even be relevant with George Kittle out, it’s hard to believe anyone other than Deebo will be relevant.
RB: JaMycal Hasty mixed in on some pass plays as expected but Elijah Mitchell led on both pass and run downs. He seems like the guy moving forward.
TE: The 49ers used two tight ends in place of Kittle - Charlie Woerner for his blocking and Ross Dwelley as the “pass catcher” though Dwelley still only ran 13 routes. Neither relevant.
Bears
WR: Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney played their full snap shares. Unless this offense can figure something out, it doesn’t matter.
RB: At least there was one silver lining from this game. We learned that they are going to lean into Khalil Herbert while David Montgomery is out. Should make him a fairly “safe” play moving forward.
TE: Same as always - Cole Kmet played a lot of snaps including 34 at wide receiver. He actually led the team in targets and his 26 routes fun from the slot was second only to Ricky Seals-Jones. But the team is just brutal right now.
Bengals
WR: Another strong showing from Ja’Marr Chase as Chase (38 routes run), Tyler Boyd (36), and Tee Higgins (35) played most of the fantasy relevant snaps.
RB: It seems Joe Mixon still isn’t 100% as he continues to split snaps with Samaje Perine. He scored once again which masked the split to a certain degree.
TE: CJ Uzomah played 34 pass plays but he was asked to block on eight of them which is less than ideal. He did manage to score twice (once on blown coverage) but he did that on only three targets. He’s a boom-bust TD dependent play week to week.
Bills
BYE
Browns
WR: Donovan Peoples-Jones got hurt in warm ups so Odell Beckham Jr led in snaps followed by Jarvis Landry and Rashard Higgins. Odell and Jarvis are the big dogs so the question now boils down to what kind of snap share a healthy DPJ gets. With Baker Mayfield now hurt, it might not matter.
RB: Wow - with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt out, D’Ernest Johnson showed up in a BIG way. As long as they remain out, Johnson is a viable starter.
TE: Same weird split we’ve come to expect. Austin Hooper ran 18 routes, David Njoku ran 17, and Harrison Bryant ran 11.
Buccaneers
WR: It’s nice to get a glimpse sometimes of what a team wants to do when is a guy is out so we can prepare for the future and we got that here. It seems that, when Antonio Brown is out, Tyler Johnson is that next man up. .
RB: This one was a blowout so Ronald Jones got a little extra work but this is Leonard Fournette’s backfield now.
TE: When Gronk is out, Cameron Brate is the pass catching tight end (27 routes run) and OJ Howard is the blocking tight end (14 routes).
Broncos
WR: The real news here is that Jerry Jeudy is BACK this week. The question now becomes whether Tim Patrick keeps his outside role with Jeudy just playing slot of whether Patrick comes out for two WR sets in favor of Jeudy. Since Albert O is also out, I imagine they just run a lot of three wide.
RB: Melvin Gordon continues to play more than Javonte Williams. On pass downs and on run downs.
TE: Same old Noah Fant. Good snap share, good routes, but never almost never lines up at wide receiver. Would like to see a little more of that.
Cardinals
WR: After one week with no tight end, we are back to business as usual. DeAndre Hopkins and AJ Green on the outside. Christian Kirk in the slot. Rondale Moore is the second slot guy for four WR sets.
RB: They deviated from the split a bit - Chase Edmonds got the bulk of the work outright in both pass and run. Usually James Conner gets more carries though he still received plenty.
TE: As expected, Zach Ertz played a limited snap share as he gets up to speed with a new offense. Now the question is: how high does that snap share go?
Cowboys
BYE
Chargers
BYE
Chiefs
WR: Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson, and Mecole Hardman paced the WRs with Byron Pringle bein the next man up for four wide sets. Josh Gordon wasn’t involved.
RB: This is Darrell Williams’s offense. Jerrick McKinnon comes in for some pass snaps but Williams played 38 pass plays to only 21 for McKinnon.
TE: Even when he’s banged up it’s all Travis Kelce. No other option on the team comes close.
Colts
WR: TY Hilton and Parris Campbell cannot stay healthy so it continues to be Michael Pittman and Zach Pascal. Ashton Dulin played the next highest snap share but didn’t even catch a ball.
RB: It used to be that Jonathan Taylor would play more run plays and Nyheim Hines would play more pass plays. But at this point Taylor is playing more in all phases.
TE: Jack Doyle ran 20 routes, Mo Alie-Cox ran 12, Kylen Granson ran 5. Mo keeps scoring touchdowns despite his minimal deployment.
Dolphins
WR: On paper, the Dolphins have deployed HEAVY two tight end sets with DeVante Parker and Will Fuller out but the reality is the Mike Gesicki has been playing WR for most snaps. Mack Hollins and Preston Williams rotated at the third WR spot.
RB: This hasn’t been the clearest picture and it once again didn’t stack up quite the same as usual. Myles Gaskin got the most snaps but Salvon Ahmen out-snapped Malcolm Brown drastically which we haven’t seen much. Odd.
TE: Probably shouldn’t even talk about Mike Gesicki in this section since he played 58 snaps at WR and only two at tight end. Durham Smythe is the tight end in reality. The real question is what happens when Waddle, Parker, and Fuller are all healthy.
Eagles
WR: DeVonta Smith is the lead dog and Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins have fairly even splits behind him. Greg Ward is the odd man out.
RB: With Miles Sanders banged up we’re going to see a new deployment here. My guess would be that they use both Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott with Gainwell skewing more pass heavy than Scott.
TE: Dallas Goedert’s box score wasn’t mind blowing but his deployment was. He played 32 snaps at WR which is an even split with his in-line snaps and the most slot snaps we’ve seen him play since last year when Ertz was out. Wheels up.
Falcons
WR: Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage are back to lead the charge. All other Falcons WRs can be dropped.
RB: Has the torch finally been passed? Cordarelle Patterson played more in every phase than Mike Davis for the first time.
TE: Like the Dolphins, the reality here is that Kyle Pitts is playing mostly WR with Hayden Hurst playing TE. Start him every week.
Giants
WR: With so many injuries, the snap counts here don’t really renewal much. If everyone is hurt again, maybe Dante Pettis is a sneaky DFS play. Otherwise you want whoever is playing out of Golladay, Shepard, Toney, Slayton.
RB: Devontae Booker has taken on the full RB role which is great for fantasy football. As long as Saquon is out, he’s a guy you can start.
TE: Evan Engram over the last three weeks is 7th in all three of these categories: routes run, targets, receptions. He remains a guy that offers a decent floor but not much ceiling.
Jaguars
BYE
Jets
WR: Questions have been answered here - Corey Davis and Jamison Crowder are playing the big snap shares. The other guys mix and match with Elijah Moore being the next closest.
RB: Michael Carter has been a ray of hope on this brutal offense. He’s at least playing the most snaps for both run and pass downs.
TE: There is no fantasy relevant tight end here. Ryan Griffin plays the most.
Lions
WR: They decided to mix things up a little. It seems clear they like Khalif Raymond in one outside role and Amon-Ra St. Brown in the slot. They had used Khaderell Hodge but tried some Geronimo Allison this week. This team hasn’t won a game so expect these kinds of “live tryouts” moving forward.
RB: D;Andre Swift is getting all the pass work but splitting run work with Jamaal Williams. Swift is must start.
TE: TJ Hockenson is about as solid of a tight end start as you are going to get. He didn’t block on a single pass play.
Packers
WR: Davante Adams and Allen Lazard will both be OUT this week. Expect Randall Cobb to play the slot with Equanimeous St. Brown and Amari Rodgers on the outside. Unless they move Cobb to flanker in which case he could be in for a big week.
RB: Aaron Jones is getting the bulk of the pass plays and splitting some of the run plays with AJ Dillon. Dillon is not getting enough work to feel good about.
TE: Robert Tonyan has been hit or miss - mostly miss. But with the WRs out, he could be in line for more action. Too bad it’s vs. one of the league’s toughest defenses vs. the tight end.
Panthers
WR: With Terrace Marshall out it was heavy DJ Moore and Robby Anderson with Keith Kirkwood and Shi Smith in the slot.
RB: Usually this team just features one back but Royce Freeman actually played 25 pass snaps to 22 for Chuba. Concerning.
TE: Same as usual - Ian Thomas played the most snaps and ran the most routes while Tommy Tremble was the second tight end.
Patriots
WR: Jakobi Myers ran 39 routes while Agholor and Bourne tied with 31. That’s kind of how it’s been.
RB: This game was a blowout so everyone got to play some but the interesting parts were how Damien Harris did on the ground and how Brandon Bolden did through the air. Bolden is looking like he’s earned back the trust for that James White role.
TE: Jonnu had some plays schemed up for him early but ended up hurting his shoulder. Hunter Henry was the typical dependable guy, scoring his fourth touchdown in a row.
Raiders
WR: Bryan Edwards, Henry Ruggs, Hunter Renfrow. Those are the guys.
RB: Josh Jacobs got banged up in this one and they actually did use Kenyan Drake with Jalen Richard in the pass catching role. Last time though they used Peyton Barber in the running role with Drake in the pass catching one. If Jacobs is out, that will be annoying.
TE: Darren Waller should be back following the bye.
Rams
WR: Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are mainstays here but Van Jefferson actually played a monster snap share. Something to monitor.
RB: Look at those snap totals. Darrell Henderson is THE guy.
TE: Tyler Higbee played every snap again and this week he got some looks in the blowout. He’ll have another good matchup this week but he’s always a bit risky given there are two great WRs here.
Ravens
WR: Marquise Brown (63) led the charge followed by Rahord Bateman (46) and Devin Duvernay (36). Only question now is what happens when Sammy Watkins gets back.
RB: Wow. Here were the snaps for backs: Patrick Ricard - 43, Devonta Freeman - 29, LeVeon Bell 22, Ty’son Wiliams 21. A mess.
TE: Mark Andrews is all you need in this world. After his bye this week you are good to go.
Saints
WR: Marquez Callaway is the only one playing a big enough snap share to matter until Michael Thomas comes back.
RB: Alvin Kamara is the man but they did just trade for Mark Ingram. Ingram should play a Latavius Murray type role.
TE: Adam Trautman played a ton of snaps but he just isn’t involved enough. Too much pass blocking for my liking.
Seahawks
WR: Same as last week - heavy three WR sets with Lockett and Metcalf on the outside, Freddie Swain in the slot.
RB: Interesting - Rashaad Penny was the one who got the pass snaps with DeeJay Dallas taking a back seat. Alex Collins got the running down work as expected.
TE: Gerald Everett ran 18 routes to 10 for Dissly. Not great but he’s the guy of the two.
Steelers
BYE
Texans
WR: Brandin Cooks is the only one playing a full snap share - Nico Collins was next but only 35 of 56 snaps so hard to trust. Collins is a dyno stash more than anything.
RB: With Mark Ingram now traded, Phillip Lindsay will likely take that Ingram role with David Johnson operating on pass downs.
TE: Jordan Akins and Pharaoh Brown played the same number of snaps but Akins ran 19 routes to 12 for Brown. There ya go.
Titans
WR: AJ Brown did his thing but Julio Jones got banged up. If you take one look at the snap distribution for the other WRs, you’ll know that it’s probably not something you want to go for.
RB: Derrick Henry, that’s that.
TE: Anthony Firkser is the pass catcher but Swaim and Pruitt are playing way more. They are focused heavily on the run.
Vikings
BYE
Washington Football Team
WR: Terry McLaurin is banged up but if he plays he’s the guy. If he’s out, you are looking at rookie Dyami Brown and Adam Humphries. Yowza.
RB: Nightmare situation for Antonio Gibsonowners. They love McKissic on pass downs. 38 pass plays for McKissic, 12 for Gibson.
TE: We’ve said it again and again, as long as Logan Thomas is out, Ricky Seals-Jones is a guy that you can start.