Another absurd week with injuries to guys like CMC, D’Andre Swift, Dalvin Cook etc. Good thing we’ve been following along all season and tracking who gets the work and in what scenarios so that we are ready to make moves for the playoff push! Here are the important notes from this week regarding snap counts.
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: With no Deebo Samuel it was Trent Sherfield who stepped up to play opposite Brandon Aiyuk. Beyond that they used a rotation but Jauan Jennings was next.
RB: This is clearly Elijah Mitchell’s backfield. No other running back played more than 2 snaps.
TE: George Kittle reminded us all this week of what he’s capable of.
Bears
WR: We know what they want to do with Allen Robinson out - it’s Darnell Mooney and Damiere Byrd on the outside with Jakeem Grant in the slot. When ARob gets back, Byrd takes the hit.
RB: When he’s healthy, the full job belongs to David Montgomery.
TE: Cole Kmet is getting great deployment and usage yet Jimmy Graham continues to vulture the touchdowns in the red area each week. Something, something basketball.
Bengals
WR: Business as usual - Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase on the outside with Tyler Boyd in the slot.
RB: Joe Mixon showing once again that he’s the man this year.
TE: This offense is nicely consolidated in terms of snaps - the starters play the majority of them so Uzomah played 65 of 75 snaps. There is still only one ball though.
Bills
WR: Business as usual here too - Diggs and Manny on the outside, Beasley in the slot. Just not god weather for throwing obviously.
RB: After Matt Breida had recently felt like the hot hand but his snaps plummeted after fumbling in this one. Devin Singletary split the snaps fairly evenly after that with a slight edge to Singletary.
TE: Dawson Knox played 56 of 58 snaps, just had a hard time securing his targets. Better matchup set for this week with the Bucs.
Browns
BYE
Buccaneers
WR: We saw a change this week after not seeing one since AB was first ruled out. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin played their full snap shares but it was Breshad Perriman who played the AB role with Tyler Johnson moving to the bench.
RB: Still the Leonard Fournette show here - at this point only an injury can change that.
TE: Rob Gronkowski is back playing pretty much all the snaps and showing us why he’s a hall of fame caliber player.
Broncos
WR: At first glance it would seem that Jerry Jeudy played a lot less than Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick. Which is technically true. But most of those were run plays. The pass snaps went Patrick (24), Sutton (23), Jeudy (21). So not that far off.
RB: We got to see Javonte Williams with no Melvin Gordon and he looked the part for sure. Melvin Gordon.
TE: Noah Fant led with 33 routes run while Albert Okuegbunam ran 14. We’d like to see Fant run more routes if there are going to be 49 pass plays like this week.
Cardinals
WR: DeAndre Hopkins is back! Good times. The Cardinals didn’t throw much here with only 23 pass plays on the day but Hopkins led the team with 19 routes. Next up for the WRs were Green (16), Kirk (14), and Moore (14).
RB: James Conner is the man here - his 48 snaps out of 54 was the highest of any RB, TE, or WR.
TE: Zach Ertz actually ran the second most routes to Hopkins with 18. It’s not much but, in games where they throw more, percentages tell us he’ll have a better day.
Cowboys
WR: Amari Cooper played a limited snap share returning from COVID but, with everyone healthy, it should be him, Lamb, and Gallup once again.
RB: Ezekiel Elliott continues to battle through a knee injury but he still leads this team in snaps every week. He told reporters that it’s only getting better so don’t expect them to just all of a sudden go with Pollard as the starter (who is a little banged up himself).
TE: Dalton Schultz played 67 of 70 snaps. Locked in.
Chargers
WR: This is a nightmare situation - Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are on the COVID list. There is an outside chance they play but we have to prepare for the worst. The next guys up are Jalen Guyton and Josh Palmer. Beyond that they will likely use a mix of tight ends.
RB: Austin Ekeler is a locked in RB1 and this week they are likely to lean on him heavily.
TE: Here’s a little secret - Jared Cook plays more snaps at WR (301) than TE (162) anyway. So he’s likely to play a ton of slot with the WRs out. Anderson, Parham, and McKitty will handle the in-line duties.
Chiefs
WR: Same as always - this team essentially has a scale, unlike many others. Tyreek plays all the snaps, Pringle is next playing a share usually somewhere in the 75% range, and then Demarcus Robinson is next closer to 50%. Hard to trust anyone but Hill.
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire got most of the run work but Darrel Williams pitched in on pass plays. That seems to be the way it’s going to be.
TE: Travis Kelce is a guy you start every single week. Don’t overthink it.
Colts
WR: It’s probably time to give up hope on a full snap share from TY Hilton. Pittman and Pascal play the whole game.
RB: Jonathan Taylor might end up being the offensive player of the year. Nyheim Hines is an afterthought these days.
TE: Here are the tight end routes run: Jack Doyle - 9. Mo Alie-Cox - 5. Kylen Granson - 8.
Dolphins
WR: DeVante Parker returned so it was him and Jaylen Waddle playing full snap shares. Albert Wilson played in the slot some but they used a lot of multi-TE looks. Only the return of Will Fuller could see meaningful three WR sets.
RB: Myles Gaskin is the guy. Salvon Ahmed trickled in a bit but not enough to worry about.
TE: Even with Parker back, Gesicki played 2 snaps at in-line TE. He played 43 at WR. Durham Smythe is the real TE.
Eagles
WR: DeVonta Smith, for the first time in awhile, played fewer snaps than the other WRs. Nick Sirianni explained that as game script dependent as they were running well so I wouldn’t be too concerned.
RB: Hey Miles Sanders! As we said, they ran the ball well but Miles Sanders also got a big snap share which is good to see. Get him in lineups moving forward.
TE: “Despite the output, Dallas Goedert played a full snap share and ran 32 routes. Expect better games in better matchups.”
The quote above is what we said last week. This was one of those better games in better matchups.
Falcons
WR: Tajae Sharpe and Russell Gage played the whole game alongside Kyle Pitts, as we’ve become accustomed to. We’ll probably stop mentioning Calvin Ridley for now.
RB: Cordarelle Patterson and Mike Davis continue their split though oddly Patterson plays more run plays these days while Davis plays more pass plays.
TE: Kyle Pitts is playing a lot of WR so Lee Smith and Parker Hesse play the in-line snaps while Hayden Hurst is out.
Giants
WR: This team has been a mess so it’s hard to know who is available and what to expect. Darius Slayton led the way with Kenny Golladay, Pharoh Cooper, and John Ross playing limited snap shares. Could be that they just had plays for Mike Glennon that utilized the second string guys.
RB: Saquon Barkley is playing his full role for the most part which is nice.
TE: Evan Engram continues to play a massive snap share and get good deployment. Now just needs someone to get him the ball.
Jaguars
WR: Laquon Treadwell has really captured the role opposite Marvin Jones. Laviska Shenault on the other hand is now just playing a limited role out of the slot.
RB: James Robinson seemingly got punished for fumbling so Carlos Hyde played a ton. All indications are that Robinson should get his job back this week as multiple sources, including the QB, voiced their displeasure.
TE: James O’Shaughnessy is the guy now with Dan Arnold out. This offense stinks but you could do a lot worse.
Jets
WR: It’s been announced that Corey Davis will undergo season ending core muscle surgery. Elijah Moore and Jamison Crowder had been playing a ton of snaps but maybe we’ll finally get to see Denzel Mims?
RB: In a negative game script they threw more and we got more Ty Johnson. In rare positive game scripts, Tevon Coleman is the preferred guy on the ground.
TE: Ryan Griffin is the closest thing to a viable tight end on this team for fantasy. And he’s not viable.
Lions
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown is at least getting a shot to play some outside WR - after only playing slot essentially he’s played 15 and 22 snaps out wide over the last couple games. It seems like it’s him and Josh Reynods most plays then when Kalif Raymond comes in for three WR sets,
RB: Until Swift is back, it’s Jamaal Williams where you need him and that’s that.
TE: TJ Hockenson has some brutal matchups here but the deployment is good so hard to go away.
Packers
BYE
Panthers
BYE
Patriots
WR: The run heavy nature of this game led to more N’Keal Harry but it’s still Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor, and Kendrick Bourne that are most fantasy relevant.
RB: Damien Harris got banged up but he should be fine - should be the normal split where Harris and Stevenson split run snaps and Bolden plays pass snaps.
TE: Hunter Henry if you want to risk it but he’s TD dependent.
Raiders
WR: Same as it’s been - Bryan Edwards, Zay Jones, Hunter Renfrow.
RB: Kenyan Drake has a broken ankle so it’s all Jacobs from here on out.
TE: If Darren Waller is playing you start him. Forster Moreau blocked on nine snaps which is concerning so he’s not as good of a start.
Rams
WR: Rams continue to run a super consolidated snap share so you know what you have here.
RB: Well, at least we know what happens when Darrell Henderson is out - it’s the Sony show. Only question now is if there is a split moving forward.
TE: Higbee played 63 of 68 snaps so only guy here.
Ravens
WR: This is the opposite of the Rams really. Snaps are all over the place. As of now, only Hollywood Brown can be trusted at WR. No one else plays enough.
RB: 51 of 74 snaps for Devonta Freeman even with a healthy Latavius Murray. You love to see it.
TE: Mark Andrews is a guy you roll out every week where you have him.
Saints
WR: It continues to be Tre’Quan Smith and Marquez Callaway playing most snaps. Deonte Harris finally had to serve his DUI suspension and Kenny Still was released so it’s rough sledding after that. Lil’Jordan Humphrey is a DFS dart throw.
RB: Anytime Kamara is back and Ingram is out. Get him in there.
TE: Neither tight end played nearly enough to be relevant but if you have to pick one, it’s Juwan Johnson.
Seahawks
WR: It’s still just Metcalf and Lockett for fantasy.
RB: What a mess this has turned into. I honestly don’t trust anyone this week, especially with Alex Collins coming back. If someone emerges, we’ll let you know.
TE: Not a good matchup this week so Everett is just a desperation option.
Steelers
WR: Chase Claypool was back at practice so it should be Claypool and Diontae Johnson as the big dogs. Ray-Ray McCloud and James Washington will split the rest.
RB: Najee Harris continues to be the man.
TE: Pat Freiermuth is the big dog here with Eric Ebron out. Not one else matters for fantasy.
Texans
WR: Brandin Cooks is the only one you can play in redraft and Nico Collins is just a DFS dart throw.
RB: I guess if you had to start anyone it would be Rex Burkhead but they will be trying everyone out including Royce Freeman and Jaylen Samuels.
TE: Brevin Jordan is the only pass catching option right now but he needs to play way more than he did this week to matter. Only ran 15 routes on 37 pass plays.
Titans
BYE
Vikings
WR: With Thielen missing time, it will be KJ Osborn and Dede Westbrook battling for snaps. We like Osborn if we had to pick one.
RB: Alexander Mattison is the man any time Dalvin is out.
TE: Tyler Conklin still blocked on 8 pass snaps with Theilen out. He’s in a better spot now but maybe not as good as we might think.
Washington Football Team
WR: Terry McLaurin is a lock every week. The only question now is whether Curtis Samuel can step up as DeAndre Carter has just been okay.
RB: With McKissic out, it’s wheels up for Antonio Gibson.
TE: Logan Thomas was hurt on a dirty hit. Brutal. If Ricky Seals-Jones is playing, he’s a start. If RSJ is out, John Bates is a very cautious start.