Fantasy Football at heart is a numbers game. You don’t need to have the eye of an NFL scout to be successful if you focus on absorbing and processing the right information. And in reality, what an individual player’s success level often boils down to is opportunity in the form of targets and carries. Sure a guy can break off a 70 yard run on his one handoff but that kind of thing, naturally, is not sustainable. We value volume and, in order for a player to get a decent number of touches, they first need to be on the field. And lucky for you, we’ve combed through every game from week one to break that info down into some meaningful, digestible numbers.
What we’re going to do with this series is take a look each week at the snap count numbers to see what kind of interesting trends we can decipher. As this is the first week of the season and our first look at the real, game time usage of players, this article will likely be our longest and most thorough. We are going to take a look at each game (via ProFootballFocus.com’s Premium Game Stats) and lay out anything noteworthy to arm you with the knowledge you need to make the right decisions for your roster. So let’s get to it.
Packers @ Bears
Bears - 71 offensive snaps
The biggest takeaway from this game for Chicago was the lack of Anthony Miller (15 snaps). Many expected him to be lining up consistently opposite the split end Allen Robinson (68 snaps) but it was actually Taylor Gabriel (65 snaps) playing flanker for most of the game. Matt Nagy mentioned multiple times this offseason that they may have put too much on Tarik Cohen ’s plate last year which some speculated would mean that his use as a wide receiver would be dialed back a bit in favor of runningback but the opposite proved true - Cohen (51 snaps) only played 4 snaps in the backfield while playing 40 at slot and 7 split wide. It looks like Miller (12 slot snaps) will likely be competing with not only Gabriel but Cohen for snaps which will certainly dampen expectations moving forward. It is also worth noting that veteran Mike Davis (40 snaps) outsnapped rookie David Montgomery (20 snaps) including playing 33 pass snaps to Montgomery’s 20. The Bears traded up to get Montgomery with their earliest draft pick so we still expect talent to win out but it will be important to monitor usage moving forward as a split like this could easily limit his upside to an RB2-RB3 at max.
Packers - 61 offensive snaps
The off-season debate of Marquez Valdes-Scantling (40 snaps) versus Geronimo Allison (22 snaps) may have already been settled if game one is any indication of what their usage will be moving forward. MVS lined up out-wide opposite of Davante Adams (59 snaps) on 34 snaps while the Packers often used two tight end sets (33 snaps each for Jimmy Graham and Marcedes Lewis with 19 for Robert Tonyan ) in an attempt to staunch the Bears aggressive pass rush leaving few opportunities for three wide receiver sets at the expense of the slot receiver. Aaron Jones (37 snaps) outsnapped Jamaal Williams (24 snaps) though it is worth noting that the pass snaps were split a little more evenly with Jones playing 22 and blocking on 6 while Williams played 18 and pass blocked on 4. This is worth keeping an eye on as obviously Jones owners would prefer the role not become divided into “running down” vs “passing down” back like we see with some of the RBBCs.
Titans @ Browns
Titans - 59 offensive snaps
If you simply looked at the box score, you would find it hard to believe that Corey Davis (43 snaps) and Tajae Sharpe (29 snaps) outsnapped rookie wide receiver AJ Brown (25 snaps) while tight ends Jonnu Smith (37 snaps) and MyCole Pruitt (34 snaps) played more than Delanie Walker (27 snaps) but that’s exactly what happened. Smith and Pruitt however were largely out there to block, combining for 40 run plays and blocking on 9 pass plays while Walker went out for passes on 21 of his 27 snaps. Brown showed us what he can do with an explosive 51 yard play while Davis and Sharpe were shut out completely so we can likely chalk up his limited snaps to his inexperience as a rookie. It should also be noted that Adam Humphries was relegated to a strict slot role while in the game (19 of his 20 snaps) and we expect the competition to be between Sharpe and Humphries for slot snaps moving forward as Brown played 24 of his 25 snaps out wide. For running backs, Derrick Henry (36 snaps) owners will be pleased to see that he went out for just as many passes with 10 as Dion Lewis (24 snaps) even taking one 75 yards for a touchdown, hinting that he may hopefully see an expanded role in the passing game this season. Dion Lewis still seems to be the more trusted pass blocker however being asked to pass block 9 times to Henry’s 4.
Browns - 71 offensive snaps
Things did not go according to plans for Browns fans with the team being blown out 43-13 but things actually did shake out as hoped for Browns fantasy owners in terms of usage. The LSU duo at wide receiver of Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry played all 71 snaps and David Njoku played a healthy 65 snaps putting him within that 90+% snap share that we harped on in our (tight end series) *insert hyperlink to TE series*. However, it is definitely alarming that Njoku pass blocked on 11 of his 36 pass snaps putting him at 24 percent in terms of pass block percentage which is well outside our ideal range of 5 to 10 percent. We’ll have to chalk that up to the pressure on Mayfield, being sacked 5 times in the game, and hope that his usage is more favorable moving forward. Also, despite being vultured by Dontrell Hilliard (12 snaps) on a 4 yard touchdown run, Nick Chubb (50 snaps) played an overwhelmingly large portion of the runningback snaps so it may be a good time to try to sneak in an offer on the Chubb owner if he’s nervous about Hilliard.
Chiefs @ Jaguars
Chiefs - 68 total offensive snaps
Sammy Watkins (65 snaps) truthers finally had their day in the sun as Sammy exploded for 198 yards and 3 touchdowns on 9 catches in this one. Tyreek Hill left with an injury and is expected to miss at least a few weeks - as predicted when the suspension rumors were swirling, Mecole Hardman (53 snaps) was the biggest benefactor while Demarcus Robinson (43 snaps) may also be worth monitoring in deep leagues. You wouldn’t know it based on their production but Damien Williams (45 snaps) played double the snaps of LeSean McCoy (20 snaps) while also going out for almost three times the passes (27 to 10). McCoy however clearly outplayEd Williams so we can likely expect the tables to turn on those figures as McCoy familiarizes himself with the playbook. Darwin Thompson will almost certainly need an injury to be relevant playing only two snaps.
Jaguars - 58 total offensive snaps
Much like the Browns, the Jaguars didn’t get the result they wanted but at least they provided fantasy owners with a bit of clarity via snap share. Dede Westbrook (48 snaps), Chris Conley (44 snaps), and DJ Chark (41 snaps) were the obvious starters while Marquis Lee and Keelan Cole each only played 12 plays. Lee was late getting back from a devastating knee injury so his share is something to keep tabs on as it is more likely to expand than Cole’s but for now we can assume it will be Conley (42 snaps out wide) and Chark (32 snaps out wide) on the outside with Westbrook (40 snaps at slot) manning the middle. Leonard Fournette (50) outsnapped his backup Ryquell Armstead (8 snaps) even more dramatically than Chubb did his understudy so no drama there. All this being said, with Nick Foles expected to miss serious time with a broken clavicle and an inexperienced rookie in Gardener Minshew manning the helm, the fantasy value of most pieces of this offense are now in question.
Redskins @ Eagles
Redskins - 64 total offense snaps
Trey Quinn (62 snaps, 46 slot) may have technically played the most snaps but Terry McLaurin (59 snaps, 10 slot) was your big winner of the day racking up 5 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown on 7 targets. Paul Richardson quietly played 51 snaps leaving Kelvin Harmon (13 snaps) as the odd man out. Despite his solid day, I wouldn’t rush to pick up Vernon Davis (52 snaps) as Jordan Reed likely returns next week but I would consider adding Chris Thompson (42 snaps) who led the team in targets with 10 or even Adrian Peterson as Derrius Guice was diagnosed with what likely is an MCL sprain which will cause him to miss some time.
Eagles - 74 total offensive snaps
He may have been drafted as his heir apparent but JJ Arcega-Whiteside (5 snaps) certainly looks to be taking a backseat to Alshon Jeffrey (59 snaps) for the time being. It was the usual suspects for the most part with Zach Ertz (61 snaps) playing his typical elite snap share along with Nelson Agholar (59 snaps, 39 slot) manning the slot and DeSean Jackson (51 snaps) opposite Jeffrey. The most exciting snap share figure came from the backfield with Miles Sanders (36 snaps) leading the team in runningback snaps. Well, not very exciting if you had some fantasy hopes for Darren Sproles (22 snaps) or Jordan Howard (17 snaps). Dallas Goedert remained irrelevant in fantasy for now being relegated to blocking on 25 of his 41 snaps.
Ravens @ Dolphins
Ravens - 77 total offensive snaps
Here’s another game where the box score tells a completely different tale than the snap totals. Would you believe it if I told you that rookie sensation Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (14 snaps) not only didn’t lead the team in snaps, but he was outsnapped by FOUR of his peers, including another rookie? Seth Roberts (51), Willie Snead (49), and Chris Moore (32) all drastically outsnapped Brown while even Miles Boykin (18) played more. He managed to do all that damage on just 10 pass snaps which should have you excited for what he might be able to do with a full workload. Second year stud Mark Andrews (31 snaps) was similarly outpaced by other tight ends Hayden Hurst (43 snaps) and Nick Boyle (43 snaps) though hurst and Boyle spent most of their time blocking, running only 22 combined routes compared to 20 for Andrews. Gus Edwards (29 snaps) paced the running backs though it was a bit of a one sided game allowing backups ample time to play (RG3 even threw a touchdown pass). Mark Ingram played 25 snaps and rookie Justice Hill played an intriguing 22 snaps, 12 of which were pass plays where he ran routes, making him an interesting add in PPR formats.
Dolphins - 49 total offensive snaps
This looks be the first paddling of many for the lowly Dolphins, running 28 less offensive plays than their opponent in a game in which they stood no chance. DeVante Parker (37), Allen Hurns (34), and Jakeem Grant (30) started with Preston Williams (20) mixing in which is about as good as you can expect from an undrafted free agent rookie. In a pleasantly surprising change of usage from last year, Mike Gesicki played 33 snaps, 29 of which were pass snaps, and 18 of which he ran from the slot rather than inline. He also didn’t pass block on one snap which is a move in the right direction from his 17% pass blocking percentage last year which is great news for anyone stashing him in dynasty leagues. This team is not going to be able to do much running but Kenyon Drake continues to be the back to own running 18 pass routes in the game.
Bills @ Jets
Bills - 66 total offensive snaps
As projected, John “Smokey” Brown (56 snaps) and Cole Beasely (46 snaps) remained the only wide receivers worth owning on this team with Zay Jones (29 snaps) pulling part time duty and Robert Foster (14 snaps) being a non-factor. Dawson Knox (38 snaps) played an intriguing number of snaps for a rookie tight end but the big story here is rookie runningback Devin Singletary leading the team with 45 offensive snaps including 38 on pass plays while Frank Gore (19 snaps, 3 pass plays) and TJ Yeldon (2 snaps) were relegated to backup duty. Now is the time to acquire Devin Singletary if at all possible because it’s clear he will be used as the primary pass catcher out of the backfield.
Jets - 71 total offensive snaps
It doesn’t get more cut and dry than the Jets snap count distribution. LeVeon Bell played every single offensive snap, as a guy should when you give him a gazillion dollars guaranteed. Robby Anderson (68), Quincy Enunwa (65), and Jeremy Crowder (64) were the clear cut wide receivers though Jeremy Crowder is the most intriguing to us here playing 53 snaps from the slot while the other two guys will face a murderers row of cornerbacks in the AFC East. The team also traded for Demaryius Thomas which may muddle things a bit but he’s unlikely to be a threat to Crowder in the slot. Ryan Griffin played 64 snaps but his already limited value is fleeting with the impending return of Chris Herndon week 6. Perhaps a daily fantasy start within the next couple weeks for a cheap tight end.
Rams @ Panthers
Rams - 76 total offensive snaps
The trend continued from 2018 of the Rams running more 11 personnel than any other team with Robert Woods (72), Brandin Cooks (70), and Cooper Kupp (68) playing most of the game. Todd Gurley (53 snaps) fans had feared the rookie Darrell Henderson (2 snaps) all off season but it turned out to be Malcom Brown (21 snaps) that took a chunk out of his value by stealing two goal line touchdowns. It’s worth noting that Gerald Everett managed 30 snaps, 19 of which he ran routes on, so an injury to Tyler Higbee would likely make him a must add tight end in our opinion given his advanced metrics but for now it is simply too crowded of an offense.
Panthers - 66 total offense snaps
Christian McCaffrey (66 snaps) playing every single snap this game is the reason many, including this analyst, had him as their number one overall player this season. The usage of DJ Moore (62 snaps) and Curtis Samuel (61 snaps) should not surprise anyone who has been paying attention but the most intriguing number from this game came in the form of Greg Olsen playing 62 snaps. Not only that but he lined up in the slot for 23 plays which is tied for second highest among tight ends. In any leagues where he went undrafted he’s likely worth a roster spot if that usage pattern continues.
Falcons @ Vikings
Falcons - 74 total offensive snaps
The sure-handed Mohamed Sanu led the team with 62 snaps, 51 of which came from the slot with Calvin Ridley (57) and Julio Jones (50) manning the outside. Austin Hooper saw fairly ideal tight end usage at 58 snaps with 23 snaps in the slot where he had 5 catches for 43 yards. Alarm bells should be ringing for Devonta Freeman (36 snaps) owners as Ito Smith (36 snaps) not only outsnapped him but also saw more action in terms of routes run as well with 23 compared to Ito’s 27. It looks like we maybe have Tevin Coleman Timeshare Part 2 on our hands.
Vikings - 53 total offensive snaps
Kyle Rudolph may have provided us the most useless performance of the day by playing all 53 snaps and not catching his only target. Adam Thielen (47 snaps) and an injury plagued Stefon Diggs (32 snaps) didn’t give us much more on a team that only attempted 10 passes on the day. If this is the Vikings game plan it will be tough for any pass catchers outside of those two to be fantasy relevant though Dalvin Cook (36 snaps) owners will certainly be rejoicing based on his week one numbers.
Bengals @ Seahawks
Bengals - 75 total offensive snaps
Another box score anomaly - Damion Willis (67 snaps) quietly led the team in snaps while John Ross (61 snaps) and Tyler Boyd (59) snaps provided most of the firepower. Despite that, Willis is likely not worth an add given the impending return of AJ Green. Interestingly, all three wide receivers mixed in fairly evenly at the slot playing 25, 19, and 25 snaps respectively. CJ Uzomah (53) outsnapped Tyler Eifert (37) though both ran 27 pass routes and Eifert is still considered the guy to own if you must own one of them. It’s worth keeping an eye on Giovanni Bernard (47 snaps) if Mixon misses any time with the ankle injury but beyond that he has little value with Mixon there.
Seahawks - 51 total offensive snaps
This one was pretty much by the book though we did find out that rookie Gary Jennings (inactive) does not have a role with a healthy Tyler Lockett (46), DJ Metcalf (40), and Jaron Brown (40). Chris Carson (39 snaps) quashed any Rashaad Penny (14 snaps) concerns and both tight ends showed that they likely aren’t going to amount to much, splitting the snaps and pass routes fairly evenly.
Colts @ Chargers
Colts - 63 total offensive snaps
TY Hilton (56 snaps) showed us that he’s still a star even without Andrew Luck and an injury to Devin Funchess (36 snaps) means that one of Chester Rodgers (25 snaps), Zach Pascal (23 snaps), Paris Campbell (18 snaps) or Deon Cain (11 snaps) will need to step up and fill that role. Marlon Mack dominated the runningback snaps playing 48 to Hines’s 17, including 19 pass snaps (though he didn’t catch a single ball). Jack Doyle (43) also played nearly twice as many snaps as Eric Ebron (25) though Ebron ran more routes proving what we already know - without an injury to the other one it will be difficult to either to produce elite numbers. However, the past we have seen the Colts revert to more two tight end sets in the absence of a true split end so this week will be an important measuring stick in determining which player absorbs the most snaps in the absence of Funchess.
Chargers - 63 total offensive snaps
Hunter Henry owners rejoice - his 58 snaps were more than any other offensive weapon and reaffirms that he will be playing an elite tight end snap share. Keenan Allen (52) and Mike Williams (40) remain the wide receivers to own but the big revelation came in the runningback department with Austin Ekeler playing 47 snaps to 16 for Justin Jackson . As long as Melvin is holding out, Ekeler remains a must start.
Giants @ Cowboys
Giants - 68 total offensive snaps
The story of the day here is Evan Engram playing 52 snaps including 22 from the slot where he caught 5 balls for 57 yards. He also lined up out wide for 3 snaps and only pass blocked on 1 play which is exactly what you want to see from your fantasy tight end. If you can acquire him then absolutely do it. Sterling Shepherd played nearly every snap with 67 (44 in the slot) followed by 60 for Cody Latimer and 50 for Bennie Fowler . We don’t need to tell you that Saquon Barkley is an every down workhorse back.
Cowboys - 68 total offensive snaps .jpg)
Michael Gallup (53), Amari Cooper (52), and Randall Cobb (48) showed us they were the guys in the passing game while Jason Witten (45) put in a full days work in his return to the grid iron. Despite missing all of camp and signing at the last minute, Zeke Elliot played the lions share of the snaps at 37 (including 15 pass snaps which was an area of concern coming in while Tony Pollard played 22 (6 pass).
Lions @ Cardinals
Lions - 84 total offensive snaps
As with any overtime game that goes the distance, this one comes with inflated stats and inflated snaps. Kenny Golladay (82) owners got their money’s worth followed my Marvin Jones (68) and Danny Amendola (44). People may be rushing to grab Amendola from the wire but his limited snap share in a regular length game might not translate to high enough usage, especially if TJ Hockeson (60 snaps) is going to play 23 snaps from the slot again where he caught 5 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. He will likely be a big time waiver target considering he was able to play a huge workload despite Jesse James (50) also playing a decent amount. Kerryon Johnson (48) doubled CJ Anderson’s (24) snap share as expected and Ty Johnson (8) did not factor in to the running game but did run 7 routes in his limited action.
Cardinals - 88 total offensive snaps
Everyone was excited to see the “air raid” offense and we had the pleasure of seeing this offense take the most snaps of any team (though it was, of course, aided by overtime). In true Kliff Kingsbury fashion, the team rolled out four wide receivers for most of the day with Damiere Byrd (77 snaps) and KeeSean Johnson (67 snaps) on the outside allowing Larry Fitzgerald (84 snaps, 78 slot) and Christian Kirk (82 snaps, 69 slot) to both man the slot on either side all day. To the joy of David Johnson (76) owners he maintained a full bellcow role in the new offense.
49ers @ Buccaneers
49ers - 67 total offensive snaps
Arguably the biggest snap count storyline of the day came via the 49ers with Dante Pettis playing only TWO snaps all game. We knew that their deployment of fullback Kyle Juszyck (31 snaps) could mean limited three wide receiver sets but we did not expect those to be limited to Deebo Samuel (59) and Marquise Goodwin (49). George Kittle (61) maintained his elite snap share from last season and an ankle injury to Tevin Coleman will likely see Matt Breida (29) catapulted into a much more viable fantasy position.
Buccaneers - 69 total offensive snaps
Mike Evans (59 snaps) and Breshad Perriman (40 snaps) contributed outside while Chris Godwin (63 snaps, 33 slot) played all over the field in this one. In a slightly alarming pattern, OJ Howard (55 snaps) played a large share of the snaps but only went out for 25 passes while his counterpart, Cameron Brave (30 snaps) played less overall but ran a similar number of routes with 22, which included two touchdown catches that were called back. Sleeper extraordinaire Dare Ogunbawale played 26 snaps with a promising 19 pass snaps while Peyton Barber (25 snaps, 12 pass) and Ronald Jones (22 snaps, 4 pass) played a disappointing proportion.
Steelers @ Patriots
Steelers - 67 total offensive snaps
JuJu Smith-Schuster (60) and Donte Moncrief (60) were the clearcut top two options though Moncrief may have dropped his way out of some of that snap share on crucial third downs and red zone opportunities. Ryan Switzer (46), James Washington (35), and rookie Diontae Johnson (24) jockeyed for third fiddle amongst the wideouts. Vance McDonald maintained good usage with 48 snaps while only pass blocking once but wasn’t targeted heavily. As it was a blowout, pass catching back Jaylen Samuels (22) took a big chunk of the runningback snaps from James Conner (30) though in most scenarios that is unlikely to be consistent.
Patriots - 70 offensive snaps
Without tight end Ron Gronkowski this season, the Patriots showed us a heavy dosage of three wide receiver sets with Julian Edelman (67 snaps), Josh Gordon (55), and Phillip Dorsett (53) leading the way though you can expect the debut of Antonio Brown to vaporize any value that Dorsett currently has. James White (33 snaps, 29 pass) once again factored very heavily into the passing game plan while Sony Michel played a meager 23 snaps - less than Rex Burkhead (32) even. If he isn’t going to be heavily utilized in the blowout games like this one were you would expect a heavy volume of clock eating it could be tough to pick your spots with Sony.
Texans @ Saints
Texans - 64 total offensive snaps
DeAndre Hopkins (63) and Will Fuller (62) were essentially your full time starters at split end and flanker while DeAndre Carter and Kenny Stills each played 27 snaps. When Keke Coutee returns that third wide receiver position will be further complicated so we do not recommend adding either of the latter two. Duke Johnson owners should be pleased to see him log 41 snaps including 21 pass snaps compared to Carlos Hyde (23 snaps, 7 pass). An interesting name to monitor is tight end Jordan Akins - though he only had one catch, he did play 45 snaps, 27 of which he ran routes on, which is a usage that could potentially translate to fantasy value if it holds from week to week.
Saints - 66 total offensive snaps
Michael Thomas (59) of course led the show for wide receivers though the other two spots were clearly occupied by Tedd Gunn Jr. (49) and Tre’Quan Smith (42) for the majority of the game. Alvin Kamara (50) owners will be pleased to see he drastically outsnapped potential vulture Latavius Murray (18) while the most interesting piece of snap info came via the tight end position. Jared Cook played 42 snaps, including 28 from the slot and 4 out wide, meaning he played a wide receiver type role that we haven’t seen with the Saints since Jimmy Graham was there. If you were smart enough to grab him, continue to roll with him every week.
Broncos @ Raiders
Broncos - 62 total offensive snaps
This is the story of two crystal clear position groups and one muddled one. Wide receiver (Courtland Sutton - 55, Emmanuel Sanders - 55, and DaeSean Hamilton - 47) and tight end (Noah Fant - 50, only 1 pass blocking play) seemed to be pretty locked down. But runningback with Phillip Lindsay playing 33 snaps (17 pass routes ran) and Royce Freeman playing 29 snaps (18 pass routes ran) could not be any more split. At least with a clear running down back versus pass down back split you can attempt to guess who will have a better game by projecting game script. As of now, this is looking like a straight up coin flip.
Raiders - 55 total offensive snaps
If Dante Pettis is your biggest negative snap count storyline, then your most positive one might be Raiders tight end Darren Waller (55 snaps). Not only did he play every single snap, he played 15 split out wide and 7 from the slot. Given that he’s a former college wide receiver himself, he’s likely a must add at tight end in most formats. On top of that, Josh Jacobs was another win for fantasy owners this game playing 40 snaps, including 15 pass plays (while “pass specialist” Jalen Richard played only 9 snaps, 8 pass plays). On the wide receiver from Tyrell Williams played 52 snaps and Ryan Grant played 40 though only Tyrell is likely a viable fantasy player for now.