2015 Fantasy Football Snap Counts: Week 3

There's a classic football saying, “you can't make the club from the tub”. Well, in fantasy football it's hard to win the strap if your players aren't getting the snaps. Each Wednesday, in addition to reviewing how things are trending over the course of the season, I'll be taking a look at the snap counts from the previous week of action and decipher how playing time situations are unfolding.

Cardinals Secondary Wide Receiver Showdown

John Brown owners may want to consider shopping the Cardinals No. 2 receiver while he still holds that title. First, the percentage of snaps played by Brown has dropped with each game played. He was off the field for only two offensive plays in the opener, stood on the sideline eight times in Week 2, and sat out for 23 plays during last week's blowout. Meanwhile, Floyd saw a jump from only one target in the first two games to matching Brown with five looks. Last year, Floyd played nearly 90 percent of the snaps on offense, meanwhile Brown checked in at close to 63 percent. As Floyd continues to work his way back from an August surgery to mend three dislocated fingers, remember he was the preferred deep threat in 2014. Unfortunately, Floyd struggled turning targets into receptions at an efficient rate with the Cardinals quarterback situation in turmoil. Things are shaping up for Floyd to regain last year's role sooner than later and satisfy patient owners.

Torrey Smith WR SF

I touched on Floyd last week following his garbage time touchdown against the Steelers. Now three games in and he's yet to play more than 60 percent of the snaps in a single contest. Last week during a shellacking by the Cardinals, Smith was on the field for 32 of 51 offensive plays and was targeted on just two of Colin Kaepernick's 19 throws. One resulted in an interception and the other was incomplete. In the opener, Smith only caught one pass on three targets. The lack of usage is puzzling given how far often the 49ers have found themselves playing from behind the last two games. Unless Kaepernick suddenly finds some traction, Smith is borderline rosterable in 10 and 12 team leagues.

Zach Ertz TE PHI

An Ertz break out year is a thing that just may never happen. In the first two games, he was a targeted a total of 14 times with just six catches. In last week's win against the Jets, Ertz played just half of the snaps after seeing 70 percent and 65 percent in the first two games. Meanwhile, veteran Brent Celek played a season-high 62 percent of the snaps last week and he hasn't been targeted since catching one pass in the opener. Ertz will make the occasional big play and even though the Eagles passing offense should improve, the presence of Celek puts a tight ceiling on his outlook.

Larry Donnell TE NYG

When Daniel Fells was active for Week 1 and Week 3, Donnell played 68 and 69 percent of the snaps, respectively?. His touchdown from Week 2 turns out to be a little bit of fool's gold as Fells was inactive due to a foot injury. In that game, Donnell saw his snap count leap to 86 percent. Rather than roster a mediocre tight end option like Donnell, strongly consider streaming the tight end position to chase favorable matchups.

Backfields

Bengals (77 offensive snaps)

Giovani Bernard 51 snaps

Jeremy Hill 26 snaps

On the season, Bernard has played nearly 60 percent of the offensive snaps while Hill is just under 40 percent. They've each recorded 41 carries yet Gio has nearly doubled him up, 120 yards to 235 yards. Neither ran the ball well against the Ravens and have a daunting schedule ahead of them with the Chiefs, Seahawks, and Bills upcoming prior to the Week 7 bye. Those three units have combined for just one rushing touchdown allowed to an opposing running back thus far. Assuming they struggle to move the ball on the ground, Gio's ability to make contributions as a receiver will allow him chances to outplay Hill for the foreseeable future.

Browns (75 offensive snaps)

Duke Johnson 33 snaps

Isaiah Crowell 30 snaps

After playing close to half the snaps in the first two games, Crowell was second to Johnson in playing time for the first time this season. Finally, Johnson was asked to make plays in the passing game. After somehow not being targeted at all in the first two games, Duke caught all six balls sent in his direction for 32 yards in Week 3. As a runner, however, he only managed three yards on four carries. Crowell played a season-low 40 percent of the snaps and only ran 10 times. This backfield isn't pretty, and just got a little more murky.

Lions (78 offensive snaps)

Ameer Abdullah 37 snaps

Joique Bell 25 snaps

Theo Riddick 16 snaps

After catching a touchdown pass in the opener, Riddick has been targeted 13 times over the last two games. The rookie Abdullah has only been targeted three times during the same span, but did catch a touchdown last week. Bell has looked terrible, averaging 1.1 yards per carry on 20 opportunities so far this season. As Abdullah gains the trust, owners hope to see the receiving opportunities shift away from Riddick over to Abdullah in order to get him out in space where he's at his best.

Patriots (81 offensive snaps)

Dion Lewis 35 snaps

LeGarrette Blount 31 snaps

Lewis saw a significant decrease in playing time in Week 3. After playing nearly 85 percent of snaps in Week 2, Lewis was down to 43 percent last week. Even though Blount was a much big factor in the game plan, Lewis got the same number of touches as he did in Week 2 and scored another touchdown. The Patriots also run a lot of plays, so even when Blount is featured there will be plenty of opportunity for Lewis on a weekly basis, following this week's bye that is.

Redskins (77 offensive snaps)

Matt Jones 26 snaps

Alfred Morris 12 snaps

The Redskins couldn't run the ball with either guy in Week 3, but Morris owners should still be panicked over the big drop in playing time. The coaching staff has said more carries are coming for Morris, however. That case could made stronger fueled by Jones fumbling last week. Morris looked sharp in the opener before the rookie went off in Week 2. While Jones is the long term answer, the team may opt to ride the hot hand as things unfold in a given game. It's hard to trust either back until we see consistent usage over several games.