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. This week, I'm jumping all over the place to hit a number of players are various positions. Here are a baker's dozen of players that are being impacted significantly by a shift in their snaps. Last week, I'll dig into some of the more sticky backfield situations such as the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, and Detroit Lions, among others.
Eddie Lacy GB RB
Through five games, Lacy has scored just one touchdown and has two games in which he ran for at least 85 rushing yards. A slow start to the season is nothing new for him, though. In the first 10 games of 2014, Lacy averaged fewer than 13 carries and 55 rushing yards per game. His current owners are hoping for a repeat similar to last year, however. Over the final six regular season games, Lacy averaged close to 20 carries and 99 yards per contest. A big factor in Lacy's sometimes limited output this year is James Starks. Even with Lacy seemingly over his ankle injury, Starks is still getting a decent chunk of the playing time. On the season, Starks is averaging more than 44 percent of the offensive snaps, a mark he exceeded just twice all of last year.
Latavius Murray OAK RB
The Raiders are heading into their bye week as things with Murray are getting a bit odd. He didn't play any of the second half last week against the Denver Broncos. Despite having a small lead they eventually blew, head coach Jack Del Rio said Murray was dealing with a shoulder issue and could have returned. Murray was also benched two weeks ago after a fumble. As the backfield replacements against the Broncos, Marcel Reece saw a season-high eight targets and caught a touchdown. Roy Helu was targeted half a dozen times and pair only ran the ball a total of four times. After being inactive for the opener, Helu has seen his snap percentage increase in each of the last four games, likely because of his superior abilities in pass protection. The Raiders don't have an answer at running back outside of Murray, making these trips to the dog house all the more puzzling.
Mike Evans TB WR
Outside of 17 targets, seven catches, and 101 yards in the Week 3 against the Houston Texans, Evans has been mum nearly all year. Over the last two weeks, Evans has only caught three passes in each contest for 32 and 41 yards, respectively. Particularly alarming, though, is last week's snap percentage of just 62.3 percent. That's the lowest figure for Evans since being limited in Week 2 following the hamstring issue that cost him the opener. Coming off a four-interception game, Jameis Winston was only asked to attempt a season-low 19 passes while Doug Martin excelled on 24 carries. Following a Week 6 bye, Evans will face a Washington Redskins defense that he took for 209 yards a pair of touchdowns last year as a rookie.
Kendall Wright TEN WR
Does Kendall Wright have reason to be "beyond frustrated" with his role in the offense? This season, he's played more than 65 percent of the time in the slot. That's down nearly 10 percent from last year. As a deep threat Wright has yet to make a catch of 20 or more yards downfield all season on five targets, according to Pro Football Focus. During his airing of grievances to the media, Wright said he expected more targets and opportunities as No. 1 receiver. During the team's three game losing streak, Marcus Mariota has averaged nearly 38 pass attempts with 7.3 of those throwing – nearly 20 percent – aimed at Wright. That number is up last year's 5.4 targets per game. While Wright is seeing eight percent fewer snaps when compared to last year, it's not a dramatic drop and offset by bump in targets.
Willie Snead NO WR
If you read this article last week then Willie Snead's breakout game against the Philadelphia Eagles came as no surprise. His increase in snap percentage climbed yet again, setting a new season-high of 71 percent. Snead led the Saints across the board with 11 targets, six receptions, and 141 yards. On the year, Snead continues to pace the team with 381 receiving yards and now has six plays of 20-plus yards. Throwing to Snead had resulted in a QB rating of 123.2. That's good for 10th in the league among wide receivers that have accounted for at least 25 percent of their team's targets.
Michael Floyd AZ WR
Facing the Detroit Lions last week, Floyd played 34 snaps while John Brown saw 28 snaps. Floyd only caught one pass on his three targets, but two of them where 20 or more yards downfield. Floyd continues to see more and more action while getting closer to making a big splash play downfield.
Marquess Wilson CHI WR
Wilson continues to emerge. He's now played more than 82 percent of the snaps in four of the Bears' five games. In each of the last two contests, he has caught six of eight targets for 80 or more yards. Last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, three of those targets went 20 or more yards downfield. Wilson caught both passes deemed catchable for a total of 55 yards and a touchdown. Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) doesn't appear to be improving much, likely extending Wilson's usefulness for at least a few more weeks.
Ty Montgomery GB WR
Montgomery has played 98.7 and 97.0 percent of the offensive snaps each of the last two weeks, respectively. He was targeted five times in each of those contests, catching a season-high 59 yards last week facing the St. Louis Rams and scoring his second touchdown of the season. In another week or two, perhaps there will be a case for Montgomery to stay in the lineup once Davante Adams (ankle) returns.
Dwayne Harris NYG WR
Hamstring injuries to both Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle opened the door for Harris to play a season-high 93.7 percent of the offensive snaps on Sunday night. After catching five passes for 51 yards and a touchdown in Week 4 against the Buffalo Bills, Harris recorded six grabs for 72 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. During those two games as the primary slot receiver, Harris dropped a total of three passes but also had more than 20 yards after the catch in each contest. OBJ returned to the game while Randle remained on the sideline. Even when both are healthy, Harris appears to be gaining value.
Keshawn Martin NE WR
It may mean anything, but it's at least notable that Martin played 51 of 60 snaps for the Pats last week against the Dallas Cowboys. Could Martin be the No. 2 wide receiver for Tom Brady after being a non-factor up until this point? Aaron Dobson was among the inactives and Danny Amendola only saw the field 37 times. Both Martin and Amendola were only targeted twice a piece. Brandon LaFell (foot) is eligible to come off the PUP list in Week 7, meaning Martin may only have one more game in which to make a name for himself.
Antonio Gates SD TE
Working his way back from a four-game suspension, Gates played 56.6 percent of the snaps on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ladarius Green managed five catches for 50 yards while playing 64.5 percent of the snaps. It marked the first time Green played fewer than 83.0 percent snaps of the all year. Meanwhile, Gates made nine catches for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both tight ends are capable of producing out of the slot, giving the offense a lot of versatility. Should Stevie Johnson (hamstring) miss more games, Gates and Green could each from the end zone against the Oakland Raiders in Week 7.
Julius Thomas JAX TE
Thomas only played 32 of the 61 offensive snaps while making his Jags debut his Week 5 against the Bucs. Blake Bortles posted a career-high four touchdowns in that game, but suffered a sprained shoulder. Things had been clicking the passing game lately, too. Bortles has multiple touchdowns in three of the last four games and exceeded 295 yards in two straight. Even if Bortles is alright, Thomas will still have to compete with the hot receiving duo of Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns for targets.
Jacob Tamme ATL TE
After seeing just 10 targets in the first three games, Tamme missed Week 4 with a concussion. In last week's return against the Redskins, Tamme caught eight passes on 10 targets for 94 yards. He also played more than 70 percent of the snaps for the third time in four starts. Back in Week 2 against the Giants, Tamme caught four of six passes for 77 yards, highlighted by a long gainer of 41 yards. With the status of Julio Jones (hamstring) very much up in the air for Thursday night, Tamme could see double-digit targets against a New Orleans Saints defense that has been abused by opposing tight ends.