NFL Snap Counts Breakdown: Week 2

Week 2 is in the books which realistically gives us the most important data set that we are going to see this season – it tells whether the trends from week 1 can be expected moving forward or whether the team is still experimenting with their player usage.

For the sake of visual aesthetics, we have decided to include a small chart of the snap

49ers

There is a lot to unpack in this one, mostly because these blowouts often muddle the snap count when backups play a decent amount.  The first point is that Jeff Wilson did his damage to put the team up 41-10 so he’s likely not going to be a fantasy asset as of now despite scoring a touchdown.  The opposite can be said for Breida who played fantastically and made one of the more creative runs of the season before being able to be rested in a big win.  That’s why the numbers themselves are only half the battle. 

Dante Pettis played significantly more than the two snaps he played last week yet still didn’t have single pass thrown to him meaning he’s still clearly not fantasy viable.  Its difficult to judge the wide receiver assets moving forward but it feels like Deebo Samuel is the best choice followed by Marquise Goodwin .  Lastly, on one of the more interesting notes, George Kittle blocked on 24% of his pass snaps which is not what you want to see as a fantasy owner as elite tight ends typically only block on 5% to 10% of snaps.  We’ll chock this one up to the blow out but it’s certainly something to monitor – he blocked on 11.5% of his snaps in the first week which is more in line with the usage we want to see. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Dante Pettis snaps vs. Deebo Samuel
• Breida snaps vs. Mostert (especially with potential return of Tevin Coleman )
• Kittle pass blocking

Bears

Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel retained their high snap counts showing that they will likely be manning the split end and flanker roles for the forseeable future.  Anthony Miller took a respectable step forward reclaiming form his 15 total snaps week one, playing 31 snaps and reclaiming 24 snaps from the slot but once again showing that he will not be playing much outside as we had expected with only 5 snaps out wide.  Trey Burton played an uninteresting number of snaps this week so it will be worth monitoring whether his usage increases moving forward. 

David Montgomery got the start over Mike Davis and played nearly twice as many snaps as him while getting significantly more carries which is a promising development for Montgomery owners.  And in one of the largest and strangest usage swaps from week to week, Tarik Cohen went from playing 40 snaps in the slot and four in the backfield last week to playing five snaps in the slot and fifteen in the backfield in week two.  This usage is potentially good news for Anthony Miller owners and not great for Montgomery owners so we will certainly be keeping tabs on this going into week three as it is such a drastic switch in usage. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Can Montgomery continue to out snap Mike Davis ?
• Mysterious use of Tarik Cohen

Bengals

Being on the gnarly side of a blow out is never fun but at least there are lessons to be learned for fantasy gamers.  As predicted, Damion Willis played a large, empty snap share as his right foot occupies the spot tethered the line of scrimmage that will, at some point, be filled by AJ Green.  Ross and Boyd are still the guys to own as they padded their stats with garbage time snags.  Mixon is still the guy once he’s overcome his injury fully, CJ Uzomah proved he’s not fantasy relevant despite his snap share by blocking on 24% of his pass snaps and Tyler Eifert was in for passes on 13 of his 18 snaps but a 26% snap share is simply not going to produce a viable fantasy tight end.  It is worth monitoring Eifert to see if he gets more involved but, until then, we know who the fantasy assets are here.  If John Ross didn’t get added in your league he absolutely needs to be. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Mixon ankle progress
• Will Eifert ever play a semi-full snap share again?

Bills

What seems to be emerging here in the Bills backfield is the dreaded “game script dependent time share”.  In a tough game in week one against the Jets, Devin Singletary outsnapped Gore but largely in a passing down role playing 38 pass snaps and only 4 run snaps while Gore played 3 pass snaps and 11 run snaps.  This week, with the script flipped to “clock eating” victory, Gore was the one who played twice the snaps as they cruised to a victory.  An injury to one would almost certainly bolster the other but until then, you will likely be trying to guess who to play based on the outcomes of the games.  With the Bills favored by 6 next week against the Bengals, it’s looking like a Gore game while Singletary will likely be the start the following week versus the Patriots.

John Brown was the clear number one while Zay Jones saw a notable increase in offensive snaps despite not being targeted.  John Brown and Cole Beasley still remain the only viable wide receiver options on that front.  An interesting player to keep an eye on is Dawson Knox who may not have received a lot of targets but played 22 snaps in a pass catching capacity which is actually more than the 21 routes run for Zay Jones . 

What to watch for Week 3

• Gore vs. Singletary (especially pass usage for Gore or run usage for Singletary)
• Will Dawson Knox emerge as a pass threat?
• Is there any hope left for Zay Jones ?

Broncos

Our greatest fears from week one seem to have materialized before our very eyes as Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay once again split not only the snap share right down the middle, but also the passing down duty as both players were involved in a similar number of pass plays and received a similar number of targets (Freeman six targets on 21 routes run and Lindsay seven targets on 24 routes run).  If this usage continues in this pattern both players will continue to severely depress the other’s ceiling unless there is an injury to the other. 

On the bright side, the wide receiver and tight end snaps remained fairly easy to decipher so which makes our job easy.  Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders are your startable assets and Noah Fant becomes an intriguing add in leagues where you may be having tight end issues (looking at you Howard/Njoku/Ebron/Cook owners).  He once again played a healthy snap share including running 37 patterns while only blocking 3 times.  He has nine targets through two games so it seems he may be building a bit of trust in the passing game.  According to PlayerProfiler.com, he is a top percentile athlete in nearly every metric for tight ends and he ran the same 40 time as Evan Engram .  Not currently startable but he is trending in the right direction which could be worth an add in deep leagues.   

What to watch for Week 3

• Will the nightmare split for Broncos RBs continue?
• Does Noah Fant emerge as a viable fantasy tight end?

Browns

If it weren’t for a brief injury scare for Odell, the trend from week one would have continued of Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry playing nearly every snap and being the only fantasy relevant wide receivers on the team.  Nick Chubb remains a start every week given his usage though its worth noting that D’Ernest Johnson managed to weasel his way in for 19 pass snaps while Nick Chubb only played 23 himself.  This is not so much concerning for us now than it is for when a back with true pass catching prowess in Kareem Hunt s rejoins the team just after the halfway mark.  David Njoku left the game after a scary fall onto his neck but not after playing ten snaps where he blocked on four and went out for passes on six continuing a less than encouraging trend from week one.  He should be good to go for week three but, if you have other options for tight end week three, I would seriously consider them until we can see his usage improve. 

What to watch for Week 3

• David Njoku – need them to stop using him to pass block
• Is D’Ernest Johnson carving out a role in the pass game?

Buccaneers

Though Godwin and Evans played pretty much all the passing snaps, they were not created equally as Evans played nearly all of his snaps (50 of 55) from the split end position while Godwin played mostly flanker with 22 snaps from the slot.  Due to the nature of it being developed with Larry Fitzgerald in mind, Bruce Arians offense should favor the role Godwin is playing though the reality is that who does better in any given week, he or Evans, will be largely matchup dependent.  Playing the same snap share as Evans you would think we would be hopeful for OJ Howard but, considering he once again blocked on 20% of his snaps (as we warned about last week), we are officially benching him until his usage changes.  As you can see, despite reports that his usage may go up, Ronald Jones took a very clear backseat to Peyton Barber in Week Two. 

What to watch for Week 3

• If OJ Howard blocks on ~20% of his pass snaps for the third time in a row, he is officially droppable
• Is this Peyton Barber ’s backfield?

Cardinals

A clear pattern has emerged for the top two wide receivers in Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk who once again played the vast majority of their snaps from the slot.  Larry Fitzgerald has played over 92% of his snaps from the slot over two weeks while Kirk has played ~81.5% of his there suggesting that both will feature heavily in those slot roles where the primary receivers live in Kliff Kingsbury’s version of Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense.  With Michael Crabtree making his real debut, KeeSean Johnson was the clear loser and Damiere Byrd the obvious winner as Byrd continued his full snap share while KeeSean split with Crabtree.  With Byrd receiving seven targets for the second week in a row, he now becomes a bit of an intriguing add in deeper leagues.  David Johnson left briefly with an injury scare but returned later in the game and told reporters that he will be fine moving forward. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Is Damiere Byrd going to be a stable, full time part of this pass attack?
• How high does Michael Crabtree ’s snap share go?

Chargers

Not much notable here as Austin Ekeler continued to dominate snaps as he rolls on as the top fantasy back.  Our advice would be to move him now even for what may seem like a bit of a downgrade in the interim as his lack of running success, especially in the short yardage where he had a goal line fumble, has been masked a bit by his receiving prowess.  The looming return of Melvin Gordon could relegate him back to an RB2/flex status if Gordon takes any chunk out of his rushing or goal line usage.  Keenan Allen led the wide receivers while the other three played a fairly similar snap share yet Mike Williams appears to be the only relevant fantasy start based on usage.  Virgil Green played a massive snap share in the absence of Hunter Henry though largely in a blocking capacity, blocking on 25% of his pass snaps which should render him useless for fantasy purposes. 

What to watch for Week 3

• At 8.9 yards per carry vs. 4.3 for Ekeler, does Justin Jackson deserve more touches in the run game?
• Can Mike Williams separate himself from other receivers? 

Chiefs

Well we mentioned monitoring Demarcus Robinson in deep leagues but we did not expect this explosion of 172 yards and two touchdowns on six catches.  We will have to pump the breaks on crowning him the biggest benefactor of the Tyreek Hill injury as Mecole Hardman both played a similar number of snaps and ran a similar number of snaps.  You’ve got to remember that even Tyreek Hill last year had eight games with less than ten fantasy points proving that this offense, though explosive, can often be a bit of a crap shoot as to who will go off from week to week.  They do a good job of keeping the defense honest and exploiting weekly matchups which isn’t always great for predicting fantasy success.  That being said, based on how explosive the offense truly is, you can’t be faulted for slotting any one of these guys in in any given week. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Who will be the better option in Hill’s absence – Mecole Hardman or Demarcus Robinson ?
• Is McCoy healthy? Will he take control of the backfield?

Colts

As you can see above this is one of the larger charts of potentially fantasy relevant player snap shares which is, of course, terrible for fantasy gamers.  At the top you have T.Y. Hilton and Marlon Mack as obvious fantasy starts in most formats (Mack even outsnapped Hines in the passing game two to one which is a surprisingly development for his owners).  After that you have a convoluted tight end situation with Doyle outsnapping Ebron, Ebron having more targets, but neither getting enough work to be relevant (as predicted in our tight end series). 

After that is where it gets interesting as you have a series guys competing for the void left by the Devin Funchess injury.  The more fun and intriguing guys are the younger players in Deon Cain and Parris Campbell but it was Chester Rogers who received the most targets in week two.  Zach Pascal is largely a special teams player so those three are the ones to watch.  It’s a complicated dynamic because the player who fills in for Funchess playing split end is going to have to line up with his foot tethered to the line of scrimmage for most snaps facing the jam and the number two corner (at least) on the opposing team as TY Hilton is only 5’9” and almost always gets the benefit of flanker or slot spot with the free release.  Because of this, we predict Deon Cain as the larger player to fill in that role but wouldn’t be surprised if Parris Campbell was the more successful player running plays from the slot, flanker, and even backfield at times. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Is Marlon Mack developing into a three down player?
• Who will emerge as the wide receiver two?
• Will these tight ends continue to cannibalize one another’s targets?

Cowboys

Similarly to the Colts, you’ve got your every week auto-start guys up top in Zeke Elliot and Amari Cooper .  Jason Witten continues to carry a full work load but has blocked on 21.6% of his pass snaps through two weeks which renders him nearly obsolete for fantasy purposes unless that changes.  Michael Gallup was looking like potential WR2/WR3 until taking a helmet to the knee this week – hopefully he returns healthy to that role for the fantasy stretch.  In the meantime, Devin Smith is expected to fill that spot on the outside with Randall Cobb manning the slot.

What to watch for Week 3

• We have a good idea who will take the snaps but where will Michael Gallup ’s targets go – Devin Smith , Randall Cobb , Jason Witten ?

Dolphins

I know there are certain fantasy circles, especially dynasty ones, infatuated with Preston Williams but the reality is that they didn’t draft any wide receivers for a reason and UDFAs rarely turn into anything.  In all likelihood when they are ready to compete and they have their QB of the future on a rookie deal they will draft real blue chip players or bring in hired guns like the Browns did with Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham or the Rams did with Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods .  The real interesting asset on this team in both dynasty and redraft is Mike Gesicki who has run 59 pass routes and only blocked on two pass plays this season after blocking on almost 20% of his pass plays last year.  The new regime seems to feel he’s a pass catching threat which is great for his value and, after playing a Patriots defense who shut down Vance McDonald week one (who scored two touchdowns the following week) Gesicki could be an interesting deep play in DFS tournaments moving forward.  That’s about it.Wow.  Just wow.  We’ve never seen a team embrace the tank like this and, if they continue this pace, they will obliterate the record for worst point differential ever.  Typically we may look at these snaps and say there may be salvageable pieces but these team is simply getting steamrolled and they are already 20 point underdogs going into this week.  Parker and Preston Williams are worth stashes in the deepest of leagues as other teams obviously will have to kick the ball back to the Dolphins from time to time as they rack up points and they at least have gotten targets (though neither of them seem particularly interested in catching them).  Kenyan Drake could become vaguely interesting if he’s granted the trade he’s seeking. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Do Parker and Williams continue high snap shares and can they catch the football?
• Does Drake get traded?
• Do they lose by 40 again or only 30?

Eagles

Zach Ertz is a locked and loaded tight end one, especially with Goedert and so many other options in the passing game getting hurt this week.  Injuries to Alshon Jeffrey and DeSean Jackson propelled Nelson Agholor and rookie J.J. Arcega Whiteside into prominent roles, confirming one item that had been widely speculated on since the draft – with a similar size, speed, and profile to Jeffrey, JJAWs was likely drafted as his replacement due to the looming enormous contract Jeffrey has that the team can opt out of next year saving over $10 million.  Yet another injury to Alshon will likely factor into that decision.  These injuries however are both not the kind that should make you jump to action on Whiteside or Hollins in redraft leagues as both players are likely to return within a couple weeks.  Agholor should be an add if available though.  On the runningback side, this was yet another victory for Miles Sanders owners, mainly because Jordan Howard was relegated to such a small snap share.  Sanders likely isn’t startable just yet but things could trend in that direction so he remains a stash.

What to watch for Week 3

• Who will step up at wide receiver in the starter absence?
• Will Miles Sanders continue to gain control over that job in the running game?

Falcons

Freeman owners can breath a small sigh of relief as Freeman outsnapped Ito nearly two to one in both regular snaps and pass snaps while having almost three times as many carries in the win.  He’s not out of the woods yet as he was fairly inefficient on his carries while Ito did have an impressive run that he broke for 28 yards be he also only managed four yards on his other three carries.  The usage this week lends a bit of credence to the notion that Freeman was punished a bit for a fumble in week one and there could be greener pastures ahead for him.

Austin Hooper continues to play a decent snap share while also running 38 routes and only blocking on three which at least indicates they consider him a part of the passing game.  He seems to be suffering the same fate as Sanu where there are just better targets in the passing game that Ryan prefers.  He is still a start for now but, if you haven’t already, it might be time to add some backup options to your bench.

What to watch for Week 3

• Can Devonta Freeman maintain his week 2 snap and touch share over Ito?
• Will Austin Hooper get the target volume to be a viable fantasy tight end?

Giants

Start Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram every week.  Engram once again played 21 snaps at receiver spots and they are the top two guys on that team, easily.  There that’s out of the way. Now on to the interesting stuff.

The biggest story this week is that Daniel Jones will get the start over Eli Manning for the first time and its only week three.  It’s difficult to tell who he will favor after Barkley and Engram but there is one intriguing play for DFS in our opinion – with concussions for Sterling Shepard and Cody Latimer , TJ Jones found his way onto the field and actually scored a touchdown.  It was reported in the offseason by Justin Penik of the Bleeding Blue Podcast that TJ Jones was a favorite target of Daniel Jones.  Often time when they backup QB comes in, they dial up some specific plays that worked well in preseason and practice with the players they have report with so I would not be surprised to see TJ Jones get a little bump in snap share in the early going with Daniel Jones at the helm.

What to watch for Week 3

• Only one story here – has the Daniel Jones era begun and who will “his guys” be?

Jaguars

As a Fournette owner this is exactly what you want to see – any perceived threat of Ryquell Armstead is done.  As we discussed last week, Westbrook, Conly, and Chark have solidified their place as the top guys so it’s up to Gardiner Minshew to decide who he likes.  Our money is on Dede Westbrook followed by DJ Chark.  Tight ends O’Shaunessy and Swaim have actually both been running routes while out there rather than blocking but neither have been particularly efficient – when healthy, we’d sure like to see what rookie tight end Josh Oliver can do, especially if this ends up being a lost season like it’s shaping up to be. 

What to watch for Week 3

• I think we can all agree that we want as much of that sweet meme-filled goodness that Gardiner Minshew II provides so, outside of fantasy, I’m rooting for this guy to succeed and keep this job.  His presence is electric. 

Jets

If the offense operates anything like it dude last week under Luke Falk , we can expect this to be the Le’Veon Bell show once again.  In an absolute pinch, Crowder and Anderson are clearly the top two wide receivers so they can be started but the harassment of Robby Anderson should continue this week against all world cornerback Stephon Gilmore so avoid him if at all possible.  These are dark times for the Jets until their quarterback can return from Kisser’s Flu.  Stream Ryan Griffin if you must – but the Patriots have been fantastic against the tight end dating back to last year.  Griffin has two more games until Herndon returns to muddle that situation up. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Watch Le’Veon Bell make something out of nothing
• Can Robby Anderson succeed against the elite coverage he will see all year?

Lions

Despite being a low scoring affair, this game was largely filled with good news for fantasy gamers who have been listening to our advice.  Kenny Golladay had a fantastic game and Marvin Jones matched his snap total while catching three balls.  Kerryon Johnson made some amazing plays, especially in the passing game, and CJ Anderson was cut after the game for a player off waivers which should be a relief to KJ owners.  And finally, Danny Amendola was a nonfactor in this game, as we predicted. 

But what about TJ Hockenson? He only had one catch for seven yards.  Well yes, the results for this one, low scoring game was not particularly ideal.  But the good news is he maintained a near elite snap share near 80% which, as we’ve seen, very few tight ends are doing even when they are the only guy on the team.  He also only pass blocked on two snaps while going out for 24 passes (meanwhile Jesse James pass blocked on 25% of his snaps).  And, Danny Amendola who he is competing with for slot snaps, threw up on his shoes with zero targets which will hopefully translate for to more slot usage for Hockenson.  If you have other options it may be a cautious move to use them but we are still starting Hockenson over guys like Howard and Njoku who have alarming usage trends compared to his.

What to watch for Week 3

• Hockenson vs. Amendola for slot snaps
• Does Paul Perkins pose a threat to Kerryon in short yardage?

Packers

Despite a touchdown for Geronimo Allison , MVS proved for the second week in a row that he is the preferred guy opposite Davante Adams which should afford him a much higher snap share each week than Allison.  Adams remains a start everywhere, MVS is a decent wide receiver three or flex, and we are still skeptical to run Allison out there based on his usage.  Jimmy Graham in a rare instance blocked on 20% of his pass snaps which we have made it clear time and time again that that is not what you want to see.  

On the Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams front we saw the same usage as last week which had Aaron Jones outsnapping Jamaal Williams and getting more carries while Jamaal Williams and he split pass work fairly evenly.  As a Jones owner you would prefer to see that split favor him a little more heavily but, as long as Jones is getting the start, the goal line work, and some pass work you really can’t complain too much about rolling him out as an RB2. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Does MVS continue to outsnap GMO two to one?
• Aaron Jones vs. Jamaal Williams pass work split
• Jimmy Graham pass blocking needs to stop

Panthers

All Hail the Snap Count God, Christian McCaffrey !  In all seriousness though, the Panthers seem to be rolling their starters out on pretty much every single play which is great for fantasy players like us but you have to wonder if maybe that’s not the best strategy both from a season long stand point and in terms of playing 60 minutes of combat in the Thunder Dome.  The team, especially Cam Newton , looked pretty exhausted and deflated this past week.  I mean, if they don’t think other guys can do it then it’s great for fantasy football but there’s a reason you don’t see teams doing this.

What to watch for Week 3

• Does Cam Newton play this week? Obviously you start CMC no matter what but you have to wonder what that means for this offense if Kyle Allen starts this week

Patriots

After losing on the last play to the Dolphins last year, Belichick vowed to play 60 minutes this week which is probably the only reason the starting QB played every snap.  These blowout games are always difficult to decipher because Belichick does a great job of using these games to try new things out, get guys snaps, rest those who need it. By and large though it was a fairly normal affair for Julian Edelman who manned the slot in most of his snaps, Josh Gordon who played the split end and saw a heavy share of Xavien Howard , and Sony Michel who run the ball up the gut and set up the play action. 

The weirdness of course comes with the addition of the strangest player we’ve seen in quite some time – Mr. Blond Mustache Big Chest.  It’s actually a bit of shame really because Phillip Dorsett has actually looked great and people across the league are rooting for Josh Gordon .  If we know anything about the Patriots it’s that they are going to simultaneously do both exactly what you expect them to do and what the defense isn’t expecting so it’s going to be very interesting to see how this shakes out.  If it were up to me, I would roll Josh Gordon at split end with Antonio Brown and Edelman switching back and forth at flanker and slot which should create mismatches for everyone but will make it difficult to predict who will be successful from week to week in fantasy.  Tom Brady is must start.

What to watch for Week 3

• Everything.  The circus is in town. 

Raiders

Well, we knew this would be a tough matchup for the Raiders and they were dealt with fairly easily by the Chiefs.  Good news on the fantasy front is that Tyrell Williams and Darren Waller continued their high usage so, if you have them, continue to roll them out where you need to.  Waller ran 13 snaps in the slot and 11 from out wide continuing the trend from last week and locking him in as a high upside tight end.  Josh Jacobs also remained on the RB2 radar with an eye on back end RB1 though there is a little concern that the backfield may be looking similar to the Packers backfield in terms of Jacobs taking the bulk of the running work but both Jacobs and Richard splitting the passing work. This team likely won’t support a third fantasy WR but clearly Grant and Renfrow are the two to watch.

What to watch for Week 3

• Monitor the usage of Jalen Richard
• Potential third receiving option

Rams

Sean McVay and three wide receiver sets – name a more iconic duo? They run more 11 and 10 personnel than any team in the league so you can pretty much count on Robert Woods , Brandin Cooks , and Cooper Kupp playing the whole game.  Who is going to do well in any given week is game plan and matchup related but, at this point, Cooper Kupp seems to be getting the best matchups against the third cornerbacks and sometimes even linebackers.  Just beware that if teams truly start believing that he’s the best receiver and not just the third receiver, teams will start taking him away like they do with Brandin Cooks .  The Todd Gurley fears look a bit overblown with his excellent usage this game but we should still beware of Malcolm Brown vulturing touchdowns.

The most intriguing story from this upcoming week for me is Gerald Everett at tight end.  Tyler Higbee left the game with an apparent lung injury which opens the door for Everett.  We have mentioned before that his usage when in the game is conducive to tight end success as he typically runs routes rather than primarily blocking like Higbee so it will interesting to see what his usage looks like without Higbee.  He may be used in a higher blocking capacity and there still aren’t enough targets to go around so don’t run out and start him just yet but could be worth a start in daily fantasy or even a stash if Higbee is out long term. “Lung injury” sounds bad.

What to watch for Week 3

• Malcolm Brown vulture watch continues
• Gerald Everett potential tight end start

Ravens

Mark Andrews owners have to be pleased with themselves after another week with excellent usage in the pass game as he rolls on as tight end one.  If this team is going to operate at this blistering pace running 77 snaps for the second week in a row then he very well could be a top tight end this season.  There is minor concern though that, at an average game speed of 50 to 60 snaps, his usage might only translate to 25-30 snaps as other tight ends are clearly preferred in the blocking game.  For now lets ride the wave but it’s something to monitor as most elite tight ends play 90%+ of the snaps and he’s sitting at 55%. 

In fact, this team seems to be using the opposite strategy of the Panthers were no one but the QB and line really plays the majority of the snaps.  Marquise Brown was the big winner this week going from only 14 snaps last week to 50 this week and, at this point, you can confidentially start him in your lineups.  On the flip side, Justice Hill took a pretty big stumble with Mark Ingram seemingly solidifying himself as the top back in both the rushing and passing game. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Tight end usage – can Mark Andrews expand his role?
• Mark Ingram vs. Justice Hill – is Hill going to be apart of the passing game or are Ingram owners big winners?

Redskins

We can can’t call every guy named Terry “Scary Terry”, especially when Terry Rozier was just given that name within the last year of so.  Twitter seems to have already decided it but I’m still in favor of McLaurin F1.  Only time will tell if Terry McLaurin is truly the scariest of Terrys but so far his usage has been pretty ideal and his owners have to be feeling pretty shwifty.  In fact, the usage from week one for McLaruin, Richardson, and Quinn all stayed pretty consistent so it seems those are your chosen three moving forward.  Vernon Davis remains an option with no Reed and reports are saying that the Skins are preparing for him not to play at all.  Chris Thompson vs. Adrian Peterson remains game script dependent and based on the sentiment around the Redskins, Thompson is likely the better fantasy asset. 

What to watch for Week 3

• We will always be watching Case Keenum to see if Dwayne Haskins gets a shot at any point
• Keep an eye on runningbacks to see what usage looks like but Peterson has never been much of a pass catcher and Thompson not much or a runner

Saints

Well, this situation just changed dramatically.  With an injury to hyper-dependable quarterback Drew Brees , we will not face uncertainty for a few weeks with Teddy Bridgewater .  Whereas we were previously wondering who the third target in this offense would be, we now wonder if a third player is sustainable at all and what the impact will be on Thomas and Kamara. 

As we truly are gluttons for fantasy punishment, we will continue to hold onto Jared Cook despite his pool play so far.  He actually increased him usage in the pass game lining up in the slot 22 times and out wide 10 times for a total of 32 of 43 snaps lined up as a wide receiver.  He is still out best bet to be the third option on the team and perhaps Bridgewater does what inexperienced QBs do an leans on his tight end. 

What to watch for Week 3

• What will the Teddy Bridgewater Saints look like?
• I think we can all agree that Taysom Hill out there doing whatever it is that he does is a heck of a lot of fun, even if he’s not fantasy relevant

Seahawks

Any time a guy scores two touchdowns you will see your leaguemates running to the wire to scoop him because, if he can score two, obviously there’s a good chance he scores one right?  Thus will be the story with Will Dissly but in reality he didn’t play that many more snaps than Nick Vannett and Dissly ran 25 pass routes while Vannett ran 24.  The additional snaps Dissly played were spend blocking (21) while Vannett only blocked on 9 snaps.  If Dissly emerges with a snap share closer to 75%+ then perhaps we’d consider adding and starting him but the Seahawks played an abnormally high 78 plays in this one which meant more snaps for just about anyone.

Outside of that Locket and DK Metcalf established themselves as the top dogs though Metcalf once again ran a fairly limited route tree making Lockett a must start in fantasy and Metcalf more of a start if you must.  Chris Carson is clearly the guy ahead of Rashaad Penny and should be a locked in RB2 every week. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Can Dissly separate himself from Nick Vannett for tight end snaps
• Will Metcalf diversify his route tree and prove he’s the real deal?
• Is Rashaad Penny done?

Steelers

What a nightmare game for the Steelers – you lose your quarterback for the season, your runnigback for the game, and then you lose the game itself.  The Mason Rudolph era will begin which isn’t as difficult as some of the other QB injuries as he’s been with the team but he’s certainly not big ben.  James Conner says that he will be a go for this weekend but, if not, Jaylen Samuels and his pass catching prowess would be a sneaky flex play or even a replacement for Conner. 

On a positive note, as we predicted last week after facing a tough Patriots defense, Vance McDonald bounced back with a 91% snap share, running 34 routes and only pass blocking on three which is squarely within ideal tight end usage and he was rewarded for it with two touchdowns.  On the flip side, the drops caught up with Donte Moncrief and his snap share plummeted with James Washington and Diontae Johnson the main benefactors.  With any new QB we will have to watch to see who he likes but the favorite coming out is James Washington who he played with in college.

What to watch for Week 3

• Mason Rudolph era begins – who does he like?
• Will James Conner play and how effective will he be?

Texans

Duke Johnson once again cannot escape Carlos Hyde as Hyde proves for the second week that he still has some pop.  Hyde has become the startable back of the two for the time being if you must start one as the role is clearly split into running down for Hyde and passing downs for Duke with Hyde having more success thus far. 

In the passing game Hopkins and Fuller remain the only two startable assets as Stills and Coutee split as did Jordan Akins and Darren Fells .  Fells blocked on nearly half of the pass plays he was in on so the only road to a viable fantasy tight end would be Jordan Akins taking a full grasp on that role.  Realistically though, if anyone will be a fantasy relevant tight end, it will come in the form of Jordan Thomas or Kahale Warring being activated from the injured reserve at the mid point of the season or beyond.

What to watch for Week 3

• Duke vs. Hyde usage
• Coutee vs. Stills usage

Titans

Despite conventional wisdom, AJ Brown continued to receive limited snaps in favor of Adam Humphries and Tajae Sharpe despite outplaying both of them in the passing game.  I mean, Adam Humphries had negative receiving yards – I know they paid him a lot of money but at a certain point you need to swallow you pride and do what’s best for the team.

Perhaps Sharpe and Humphries are simply better in the blocking game as the Titans continue to want to run the ball which provided a decent fantasy game for Derrick Henry who scored a touchdown and caught a pass.  At this point Dion Lewis is likely droppable as Henry has taken the reins on the portion of the job that is fantasy relevant.  Once again, Jonnu Smith and Pruitt were used in a blocking capacity while Delanie Walker played almost entirely pass snaps which shouldn’t have too much of a negative effect on his production.

What to watch for Week 3

• Will AJ Brown’s snap share increase?
• Will Derrick Henry ’s snap share increase?
• Will Corey Davis do anything?

Vikings

The Vikings continued their offensive philosophy of “whatever the opposite of the Air Raid is” by going back to the heavy ground attack that they’ve wanted for two years now.  Dalvin Cook remains a locked in Tier 1 runningback until further notice and Alexander Mattison, despite having neither no standalone value, would be his handcuff (if you are in to that).  Diggs and Theilen at least saw some targets in this one after they only throwing 10 times last week but both will continue to struggle with the low volume pass offense.  Kyle Rudolph played every snap once again while putting together another disappointing effort with three catches for nine yards but at least it’s better than the zero spot he threw out there last week.  We’ll continue to monitor Irv Smith Jr. but he’s not playing out of the slot very often whatsoever as we had hoped. 

What to watch for Week 3

• Will they hand it to Dalvin Cook 20 times against the Raiders this week or 25 times?