The NFL sure does find ways to keep us on our toes doesn’t it? This week for fantasy football we not only had a bunch of monster trades with guys like TJ Hockenson, Jeff Wilson Jr., Bradley Chubb, Calvin Ridley, Nyheim Hines etc. changing teams but we have six teams on bye week in Week 9. As always, we’ll tell you who is getting the work so you can plan ahead for one of the toughest weeks this season.

 


NFL Snap Counts - Week 8

Arizona Cardinals

WR: The Cardinals traded for Robbie Anderson but he only played 7 snaps so he’s a long way for relevance as of now. DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore played the full snap shares while AJ Green played about 50%.

RB: Whenever James Conner is out, Eno Benjamin is the guy. He played 58 of 78 snaps.

TE: Zach Ertz ran 56 of 61 routes so he is dialed in. The only question is what happens to the targets when Marquise Brown returns.

 

Atlanta Falcons

WR: Drake London routinely leads the team in snaps and routes run with Olamide Zaccheaus second. This week Zaccheaus played a full share but there are times when they lean into multiple tight end sets and hardly throw at all so he’s hard to trust,

RB: The carries are split between Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley but Allgeier gets the pass work so he’s the safer option for fantasy purposes.

TE: Parker Hesse continues to operate as the in-line blocking tight end while Kyle Pitts is essentially the third WR for this team.

 

Baltimore Ravens

WR: Typically this team uses two WRs, a tight end, and fullback. This week with Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews banged up, they used three wide receivers (Devin Duvernay, Demarcus Robinson, and James Proche). When everyone is healthy, the two WRs are Bateman and Duvernay.

RB:  Gus Edwards was looking like the guy but he exited the game with what is being called a minor hamstring injury. Kenyan Drake got the bulk of the work in his absence.

TE: With Mark Andrews banged up, Isaiah Likely stepped up in his role and had a rock solid day (as predicted). He lined up at a WR sport for 38 snaps (only 13 in-line) so essentially the way Andrews is utilized. He’s a rare TE handcuff.

 

Buffalo Bills

WR: This situation is etched in stone at this point - Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis are your full time split end and flanker, Isaiah McKenzie plays about a 50% snap share from the slot, rotating with the extra TEs and fullback.

RB: Devin Singletary has been a locked in three down back but the Bills just traded for Nyheim Hines so we can expect the split to feature Singletary in running situations and Hines on pass downs. They sent Zack Moss to go backup Jonathan Taylor in Indy,

TE: Good usage for Dawson Knox: 52 of 39 snaps, played on 30 of 34 pass plays (3 blocking, 27 routes). If one of Diggs or Davis were to go down he would be a more attractive option. For now he’s fairly TD dependent. 

 

Carolina Panthers

WR: DJ Moore has consistently had one of the best utilization rates for a WR but now, with Matt Rhule and Robbie Anderson gone, Terrace Marshall is also getting a ton of work. 74 of 80 snaps this week with routes on 40 of 42 drop backs. He should be on your radar in deep leagues.

RB: No Chuba Hubbard meant a full workload for D’Onta Foreman and, boy, did he take advantage. We don’t know the split when Hubbard gets back but might be hard to go away from Foreman if he’s going to run like this.

TE: Snaps were split between Tommy Tremble (46) and Ian Thomas (44) but the routes weren’t as Tremble ran 29 to only 9 for Thomas. But that was out of a possible 42 so still not ideal.

 

Chicago Bears

WR: Darnell Mooney is the only one you can really consider - he ran 36 of 37 routes. No one else ran more than 22 (Pettis) as N’Keal Harry, Dante Pettis, and EQSB all rotated.

RB: The split here is similar to the one we described earlier for the Falcons. They split the carries evenly but David Montgomery gets the pass down work so he’s the better option. Khalil Herbert is running well enough to be viable in some deep leagues though.

TE: Cole Kmet was on the field for 36 of 37 pass plays but he blocked on 9 of them so only ran 27 routes. Pass blocking is the TE killer.

 

Cincinnati Bengals

WR: With Ja’Marr Chase sidelined the Bengals are running open tryouts of sorts at the WR spot.  Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are locked in but they tried Trenton Irwin, Mike Thomas, and Trent Taylor at that third spot (Irwin has already been sent back to the practice squad). Outside of Higgins and Boyd, no one is worth more than a random DFS dart throw for now.

RB:  Joe Mixon played his usual large snap share with Samaje Perine spelling him sporadically. 

TE: Hayden Hurst didn’t quite take the leap we had hoped - 38 of 52 snaps running 32 routes on 43 drop backs. Still viable if you don’t have anyone else but pretty boring usage.

 

Cleveland Browns

WR: No change here - Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones play full snap shares on the outside and David Bell played slot but plays less than half the snaps typically (in favor of multiple tight end sets). 

RB:  The rumors were swirling regarding Kareem Hunt but nothing got done - apparently the Browns wanted a fourth. So the split will continue with Nick Chubb skewing run downs and Kareem Hunt skewing pass downs.

TE: We thought Harrison Bryant could be David Njoku but his usage was brutal. Not only did he only play on 18 of 26 pass plays but he blocked on 7 of them so he only ran 11 routes. Yeesh.

 

Dallas Cowboys

WR: CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup each played 48 snaps and ran 26 routes (of 28 drop backs). With Noah Brown out (foot) it was the rookie Jalen Tolbert up next but he only ran 13 routes in favor of multiple TE sets.

RB:  With Zeke Elliott sidelined, Tony Pollard got the start and he absolutely steamrolled. Will be interesting to see what this means for Zeke moving forward. 

TE: Dalton Schultz ran 18 of 28 routes while Jake Ferguson ran 11 of 28. The bye week will serve Schultz well as he’s been dealing with a PCL injury.

 

Denver Broncos

WR: Trade rumors for Jerry Jeudy but nothing got done. He and Courtland Sutton ran 34 of 35 routes while KJ Hamler ran 28.

RB: The Broncos acquired running back Chase Edmonds as part of the Bradley Chubb deal so am already convoluted situation becomes even more murky. 

TE: Greg Dulcich is clearly the man in Denver - he ran 32 routes and didn’t pass block one time so pretty solid stuff.

 

Detroit Lions

WR: When all is said and done this offense should be DJ Chark, Jameson Williams, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Khalid Raymond and Josh Reynolds are starting in their place for the time being.

RB: Jamaal Williams was included in a lot of trade talks but at the end of the day he stayed put. D’Andre Swift is the starter and gets the pass work but Williams should continue to contribute in short yardage/goal line.

TE: Big news here - TJ Hockenson was traded to the division rival Minnesota Vikings. Brock Wright is the next man up at tight end.

 

Green Bay Packers

WR: Typically Allen Lazard and Romeo Doubs play the full snap shares on the outside but Lazard was out this week so Doubs and Sammy Watkins played the full game. Christian Watkins and Randall Cobb have been hurt and no one else has realky made an impact.

RB: Aaron Jones once again played more on both pass downs and run downs. AJ Dillon at this point just comes in to spell him.

TE: Tonyan’s ceiling is capped by him not running all the routes - with 37 drop backs, he should be running more routes than 24. He’s a fine play but a bit boring.

 

Houston Texans

WR: It’s been Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins but, with Collins out, it was Phillip Dorsett than stepped up. He and Cooks both ran 30+ routes out of 36. Chris Moore operated out of the slot and ran 26 routes.

RB: Dameon Pierce is the man in all phases - Rex Burkhead is a distant backup.

TE: The snaps have been a mess for the Texans tight ends and this week was no different. Out of 36 drop backs, Brevin Jordan ran 18 routes, OJ Howard ran 12, Jordan Akins ran 12. Not good.

 

Indianapolis Colts

WR: Last week all three WRs played over 90% of the snaps but that changed this week. Only Michael Pittman played 55 of 58. Parris Campbell played 46 and Alec Pierce played 33. So back to what they were doing before.

RB: Jonathan Taylor is back and it’s his show. They traded Nyheim Hines to the Bills so will be interesting to see who mixes in. Deon Jackson is probably the front runner.

TE: There really hasn’t been a viable TE here for fantasy. Out of 36 pass plays, here were the routes run; Mo Alie-Cox 13, Kylen Granson 12, Jelani Woods 10. Yuck.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

WR: Zay Jones, Christian Kirk, and Marvin Jones are your three WRs that play. When one comes out for two-WR sets, it’s Marvin Jones.

RB: As expected after the James Robinson trade, Travis Etienne got the bulk of the work. JaMycal Hasty contributed a little but not enough to matter.

TE: Evan Engram continues to be a focal point of this pass attack. In fact, this week only Zay Jones (38) ran more routes than Engram (36). He’s a pretty safe play at this point and his schedule is good.

 

Kansas City Chiefs

BYE

 

Las Vegas Raiders

WR: Davante Adams usually plays all the snaps but the starters came out late in this blowout, including Derek Carr. In normal games it will be Adams and Mack Hollins as the split end and flanker with Hunter Renfrow in the slot.

RB:  Josh Jacobs had been playing virtually every snap but this week Ameer Abdullah mixed in more than usual. Jacobs played 32 snaps, Abdullah played 21. Like Adams, might have had something to do with the blowout.

TE: In the absence of Darren Waller, Foster Moreau played every single snap. Waller should be back but maybe a DFS dart throw in weeks Waller is out.

 

Los Angeles Chargers

BYE

 

Los Angeles Rams

WR: Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson play every snap. Van Jefferson is being eased back in so he split with Ben Skowronek but he should be up to a full snap share soon enough. We will monitor.

RB: There were rumors that Ronnie Rivers could start this week and those rumors proved to be true. He got the most carries but Darrell Henderson played the pass downs and got the most snaps overall. With Cam Akers returning to the team this week, it could be pretty ugly.

TE:  Tyler Higbee is back to his old tricks again - the bad ones. He blocked on NINE pass plays so he only ran 15 routes out of 38 possible drop backs. Yuck.

 

Miami Dolphins

WR: Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are locked in to full time roles - Trent Sherfield rotates in the slot with Mike Gesicki. 

RB: Big shake up here. Chase Edmonds traded to the Broncos and Jeff Wilson traded to the Dolphins. Mike McDaniel has all his old friends from San Francisco with him now in Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr.

TE:  Durham Smythe plays in-line tight end, Mike Gesicki mostly plays slot. Gesicki only ran 24 routes out of 42 possible but be saved the day with a touchdown. 

 

Minnesota Vikings

WR: Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen play most snaps every week but this time KJ Osborn ran routes on 38 of 44 pass plays (just 2 less than Thielen). They just traded for another tight end though so can’t really count on that.

RB: Dalvin Cook is the man and Alexander Mattison is just a backup. Same as it ever was.

TE:  Irv Smith Jr. got banged up again and the team immediately traded for TJ Hockenson. Irv Smith can be dropped in redraft and will likely be on new team next year.

 

New England Patriots

WR: Last week Jakobi Meyers played every single snap, DeVante Parker played all but four, and Tyquan Thornton played 44 of 52. This week Parker got hurt the first play so Meyers and Thornton played their snaps and Kendrick Bourne was the next man up playing 54 of 77.

RB: Damien Harris (32 snaps) is getting ramped back up but it’s already back to more of a split with Rhamondre Stevenson (48).

TE: Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith each played 49 snaps out of a possible 77 which is terrrible for fantasy. Can’t trust either.

 

New Orleans Saints

WR: With no Michael Thomas or Jarvis Landry it was once again Chris Olave, Tre’Quan Smith, and Marquez Callaway though Rashid Shaheed is making a push for some of Callaway’s snaps. 

RB: Alvin Kamara is the man - with Mark Ingram out for a couple weeks, Dwayne Washington will chip in.

TE: Juwan a Johnson quietly played more snaps than any of the wide receivers but they didn’t need to throw a whole lot as they shutout the Raiders.

 

New York Giants

WR: Marcus Johnson, Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson. Until Kenny Golladay returns, those are the guys. 

RB: Saquon Barkley is dialed in as the starter - have to be pleased with his usage if you have him.

TE: As we expected, Tanner Hudson in routes run and he ran only one less than Wan’Dale and two less than Slayton. As long as Bellinger is out, he’s a DFS dart throw.

 

New York Jets

WR: Elijah Moore returned but that doesn’t mean he’s not in the dog house as he hardly played. Garrett Wilson and Denzel Mims led the charge with Corey Davis out and Braxton Berrios played a partial snap share from the slot.

RB: Michael Carter was “king for a day” but he should soon be splitting snaps with James Robinson who they recently acquired.

TE: Tyler Conklin ran 31 routes of 43 drop backs, CJ Uzomah ran 21. Not ideal for either but Conklin remains the better option.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

WR: AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith run all the routes, Quez Watkins mixes in at the slot. It’s been like that for the whole season.

RB: Miles Sanders gets the most work in all phases. If he were to get hurt, it would be Gainwell on pass downs and Boston Scott on run downs.

TE: Dallas Goedert is the man. Playing a good number of snaps every week and one of your safest options. 

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

WR: Chase Claypool has been traded to the Bears so it will be interesting to see who plays alongside Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. We could see them also use two WR, 2 TE sets without three full time WRs. 

RB: Najee Harris is back to getting the full workload after a brief scare with Jaylen Warren snaps. Though you can only trust him as much as you trust this offense.

TE: Big bump for Pat Freiermuth with the Chase Claypool trade. He’s now fully in the mix for second target on the team after Diontae Johnson.

 

San Francisco 49ers

WR: Deebo Samuel was hurt but he’s expected to return after the bye week so he and Brandin Aiyuk will once again be the only guys you can consider for fantasy.

RB: Christian. McCaffrey. Not much more needs to be said. 

TE: Since the return of Trent Williams. George Kittle’s usage has been picture perfect. You start him every week.


Seattle Seahawks

WR: Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf are the dudes. Marquise Goodwin is clearly only viable when one of them are out. 

RB: Kenneth Walker played 49 of 64 snaps - DeeJay Dallas is merely a backup.

TE: There were 41 pass plays and of Will Dissly and Noah Fant ran 24 routes. Neither are viable while both are playing.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

WR: Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are the very down players while Julio Jones and Scotty Miller rotate. Would be nice if Julio Jones played every snap but he might not be that guy at his stage.

RB: 49 snaps for Leonard Fournette, 18 for Rachaad White. That’s all that matters.

TE: Any time Cameron Brate is out, Cade Otton is worth a potential spot start. He played 62 of 68 snaps and only pass blocked on one pass play.

 

Tennessee Titans

WR: They didn’t need to throw much in this one with Henry doing his thing. On 14 drop backs, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine ran 14 routes, Robert Woods ran 12, and Cody Hollister ran 8.

RB: Derrick Henry is a force. Dontrell Hilliard plays when Henry is tired and that’s it.

TE: Geoff Swaim played the most but he’s a blocking TE so only ran three routes. Can’t start any of these guys.

 

Washington Commanders

WR: When everyone is healthy, it’s Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Jahan Dotson. With Dotson out, Cam Sims filled in.

RB: Brian Robinson is a pure run down back but he gets the most carries. JD McKissic is the opposite, playing mostly pass downs. Antonio Gibson is a kind of third fiddle that does both. What a mess.

TE: Logan Thomas is back so we are back to stashing him on the bench to see if he ever gets back up to a full snaps share. Right now he’s at about 50% which isn’t going to cut it.

 

 

 

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