We need to cherish the football we have left. If you are still in line for the playoffs then great - we’ll let you know who you can trust. If you are eliminated from the playoffs that’s fine - set your lineups for pride and let’s make some DFS lineups. I’ll let you know who I think is worth a dart throw in DFS or not. With so many moving parts, we can’t afford to not know what the heck is going on at this stage. So let me get you up to speed so we can dominate down the stretch. My thoughts on every fantasy-relevant player are in this article.

This article goes best with our snap count tool where you can see all of the raw snap numbers. But I take it a step further letting you know who got the pass snaps, two-minute drill, who pass blocked, who played slot, who played two WR sets. I do my best to let you know who is getting the work and who isn’t. So, without further ado, here is Week 14.

 

NFL Week 14 Snap Count Report

San Francisco 49ers - 59 snaps

WR: Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. That’s it unless one of them gets hurt (or Kyle Juszczyk gets hurt). The fullback usage is what limits the snaps for a WR3. Same as always.

RB: CMC is locked in per usual. He played 52 of 59 snaps. It would be wise to throw Elijah Mitchell on the bench just in case, if you have the space.

TE: George Kittle always plays a big workload. 55 of 59 snaps this week. It’s a matter of whether they have enough targets to go around. But, in this tight end landscape, you are likely starting Kittle.

Chicago Bears

BYE

Cincinnati Bengals - 73

WR: Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the outside with Tyler Boyd in the slot. That’s the deal when everyone is healthy.

RB: Mixon gave up some carries early on to Chase Brown which is rare for him. But he finished the night playing 52 of 73 snaps with Brown only playing 11. So it’s still Mixon’s show.  

TE: There were 43 dropbacks. Drew Sample led with 15 routes followed by Irv Smith and Tanner Hudson with 10 each. Mitchell Wilcox ran 6. Hudson is the most consistent but that usage caps his upside.

Buffalo Bills

BYE

Cleveland Browns - 71 Snaps

WR: With Amari Cooper leaving with a concussion, Cedric Tillman maintained his outside role and Elijah Moore moved to the slot opposite him. David Bell picked up work out of the slot. Flacco liked Moore but monitored the weather for this game.

RB:  Jerome Ford gets more of the pass work but they split the carries

TE: David Njoku ran 43 of 50 routes with no pass-blocking plays. He gets more targets with the backups than he did with Deshaun Watson so he should be alright here.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 62 Snaps

WR: Mike Evans and Chris Godwin play full-time snap shares while Trey Palmer is the third man. He only played 38 snaps as they deployed some two tight end sets.

RB:  Rachaad White continues to get the bulk of the work with 54 snaps here. He’s a fairly safe bet.

TE:  Cade Otton ran 33 of 35 routes but, for the first time this year, didn’t catch a pass. The Panthers have been a tough matchup for tight ends so we’re willing to chalk this one up to that.

Denver Broncos - 62 Snaps

WR: Cortland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy are the only full-time players - Lil’Jordan Humphrey was third with only 25 snaps. Marvin Mims isn’t happening this year.

RB:  Javonte Williams had good usage again, getting the bulk of the carries and running more routes than any of the other RBs. We can trust him moving forward hopefully.

TE:  With Greg Dulcich out they have struggled to generate production here. Lucas Krull quietly led in routes run with 20 of 36.

Arizona Cardinals - 67 Snaps

WR: No Michael Wilson or Zach Pascal so we saw Greg Dortch (47), Rondale Moore (37), and Marquise Brown (36) lead the way. Seems pretty clear the next man up is Andre Baccellia who played 30 snaps.

RB: We were a little worried about Michael Carter stealing pass work but James Conner played 51 snaps to 13 this week. So not that worried anymore.

TE: Zach Ertz has officially been released which locks Trey McBride in rest of the season for us. He played 64 of 67 snaps despite being listed as questionable with a groin. Stud.

Dallas Cowboys - 89 Snaps

WR: For the last few weeks, Michael Gallup has split snaps with Jalen Tolbert. And that remained the same this week. So the only real fantasy-relevant options are CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks.

RB:  Tony Pollard played 69 snaps, and Rico Dowdle played 16. It’s Pollard’s backfield.

TE: Jake Ferguson played 66 of 89 snaps and ran 41 of 57 routes. Not quite ideal but it’s starting to look like Peyton Hendershot might be done for the year. As long as Zach Ertz stays away, he should be a solid enough option.  

Los Angeles Chargers - 61 Snaps

WR: Keenan Allen is must start. After that it’s dicey. Quentin Johnson played 47 snaps to 38 for Jalen Guyton. No one else played more than 8. But it’s hard to trust them. The 21-day window for Joshua Palmer has been activated so maybe we’ll see him soon.

RB:  Austin Ekeler played 35 snaps while Joshua Kelley played 26. You still start Ekeler where you have him but he’s been disappointing.

TE: Gerald Everett is not a full-time player so we need to be careful about where and when we use him. He has NEVER played more than 80% of the snaps for the Chargers. And, since joining the team, he’s only played more than 70% three times. He has a good matchup this week but I can’t trust him to put together three straight weeks in the playoffs.

Kansas City Chiefs - 60 Snaps

WR: Still no one plays every snap here - Rashee Rice led with 47 of 68. The breakdown was Rice 47, Skyy Moore - 45, Justin Watson - 41, Marquez Valdes-Scantling 33. Annoying but Rice feels trustworthy at this stage.

RB:  Isaiah Pacheco 48 snaps of 68 - he’s the man, especially with no Jerrick McKinnon

TE: Travis Kelce is the king. Start him every week.

Indianapolis Colts - 71 snaps

WR: This one continues to disappoint as Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce play full snaps and Josh Downs

RB:  There were some rumblings that Jonathan Taylor perhaps coming back for this game but I doubt it. If it's the Zack Moss show again it’s a good matchup for it.

TE: There were 49 possible routes. Andrew Ogletree and Will Mallory each ran 13. Kylen Granson and Mo Alie-Cox each ran 12. Nightmare for fantasy football.

Washington Commanders - 78 Snaps

WR: Business as usual - Jahan Dotson and Terry McLaurin on the outside, Curtis Samuel in the slot. Only 32 of 55 snaps for Samuel in the role, the other two each played 45.

RB: Brian Robinson left the last game with an injury so we’ll have to monitor that - Antonio Gibson got the bulk of the work with a little help from Chris Rodriguez.

TE: The usage for Logan Thomas has not been great as of late and this week we got hit with the zero target game. He played 34 of 55 snaps and ran 20 of 30 routes which is obviously not ideal.

Miami Dolphins - 61 Snaps

WR: Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. With the fullback playing a lot of snaps, those are the only two guys we can trust.

RB: De’Vone Achane and Raheem Mostert split the early work then, once it was a blowout, the rookie and Jeff Wilson closed it out with Mostert getting a break. I expect them to continue to split fairly evenly.

TE: Durham Smythe plays a ton but he’s a blocker, not a pass catcher.

Philadelphia Eagles - 72 Snaps

WR: DeVonta Smith played all 72 snaps, and AJ Brown played 62. Quez Watkins took his slot job back but still mixed in with Julio Jones and Olamide Zaccheaus so only played 46 snaps.

RB: It was a rare negative game script so we saw Kenneth Gainwell play 39 snaps (33 pass plays) to De’Andre Swift’s 30 snaps. This Cowboys game this week is the last tough matchup of the year for the Eagles so Swift should be fine.

TE: Dallas Goedert will hopefully be back and he’s right back to being an option for us. Before getting hurt, he had the highest route participation of any tight end.

Atlanta Falcons - 68 Snaps

WR: Drake London is the only one that matters. Van Jefferson only played 36 snaps and he played the second-highest.

RB: Bijan Robinson will hopefully continue to get this new workload - 51 of 68 snaps. It’s why they drafted him.

TE: Big change here and a positive one. Kyle Pitts ran 30 of 33 routes - that’s 90%. First time all year. He also got almost a 30% target share. That has us intrigued for sure. Jonnu Smith ran 15 of 33 routes.

New York Giants - 52 Snaps

BYE

Jacksonville Jaguars - 69 Snaps

WR: Christian Kirk is likely done for the year. So we’ll see Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones on the outside with Parker Washington picking up slot snaps. I would rank them in that order for fantasy.

RB: Travis Etienne is a stud and he seems to have gotten over the injury issues pretty quickly. He’s a locked-in RB1 the rest of the way.

TE: Evan Engram finally scored his first touchdown! He played his usual snap share and ran 42 of 47 routes which is nice. Hopefully, C.J. Beathard likes him because his schedule is tough.

New York Jets - 68 Snaps

WR: Garrett Wilson played every snap. The next highest was Xavier Gipson with 48 of 58. Maybe a DFS dart throw but it’s really just Wilson in real leagues.

RB: They said they wanted to mix the other back sin but Dalvin Cook fumbled early and only played 18 snaps. Breece Hall played 46.

TE: Another low route participation game for Tyler Conklin. He ran 28 of 44 routes. Don’t trust him.

Detroit Lions - 58 Snaps

WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown is the man with 46 snaps followed by Josh Reynolds with 46. Jameson Williams was in his field stretcher role with 33.

RB: David Montgomery got the bulk of the carries in a good game script so he played 36 snaps while Gibbs played 26. Negative game scripts favor Gibbs.

TE: Sam LaPorta led the pass catchers with 47 snaps. You start him every week.  

Green Bay Packers  - 64 Snaps

WR:  Christian Watson left with an injury. What we will likely see is Dontayvion Wicks pick up his role on the outside with Romeo Doubs opposite him and Jayden Reed in the slot. Wicks is a dart throw, the others are now a lot more appealing in real leagues.

RB: AJ Dillon got the bulk of the carries and split the pass work with Patrick Taylor. That’s how it will be until Aaron Jones gets back.

TE: Tucker Kraft played 61 of 64 snaps which is nice but they did ask him to block on 8 pass plays so he only ran 30 of 40 possible routes.

Carolina Panthers - 72 Snaps

WR: It’s still Adam Thielen and Jonathan Mingo playing the whole game but the targets shifted toward Mingo following the firing of the coaches. DJ Chark rotated with the other guys, don’t love that.  

RB: After Duce Staley has been fired it seems clear that his buddy Miles Sanders is on the backburner. Chuba Hubbard played 47 snaps to 23 for Miles.

TE: Hayden Hurst is apparently dealing with a scary issue that is affecting his memory so we might not see him again this year. Ian Thomas led in snaps but Stephen Sullivan led in routes. Tommy Tremble is dealing with a hip injury but he’s the best bet when he returns. Still not a good option either way.

New England Patriots - 63 Snaps

WR: No Demario Douglas or Kayshon Boute so we saw JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, and Tyquan Thornton all play 50+ snaps. If that’s the case again, they are all viable DFS showdown dart throws but not for real leagues.

RB: Rhamondre Stevenson suffered a high ankle sprain so it’s the Zeke show now. Expect some work for Ty Montgomery and maybe JaMycal Hasty after being signed.

TE: Hunter Henry ran 21 of 37 routes, and Mike Gesicki ran 12 of 37. Not cutting it.

Las Vegas Raiders

BYE

Los Angeles Rams - 63 Snaps

WR: Tutu Awell split with Demarcus Robinson so forget them. It’s Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua for fantasy options.

RB:  Kyren Williams is the man here 59 of 63 snaps. The next man up is Royce Freeman.

TE:  Tyler Higbee only ran 29 of 38 routes. Just not someone we trust.

Baltimore Ravens

BYE

New Orleans Saints - 67 Snaps

WR: As we predicted last week, AT Perry played split end, Chris Olave played flanker, and Lynn Bowden played slot. You can start Olave in redraft and throw DFS darts at the other two.

RB:  Alvin Kamara almost scored three touchdowns but we will take the two. You start him every week.

TE: Juwan Johnson threw down a goose egg here, he’s not to be trusted. Taysom Hill only ran 10 routes but you aren’t starting him for that, you are starting him for wildcat rushing TDs.

Seattle Seahawks - 69 Snaps

WR: DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on the outside, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the slot guy but he only played 46 of 69 snaps because they use some two tight end sets. He’s viable this week though as they will need to throw a lot in this matchup.

RB: With Kenneth Walker out, Zach Charbonnett is locked in. Tough matchup but at least he plays a lot.  

TE: Noah Fant led with 28 of 48 routes. You aren’t going to start that against the 49ers.

Pittsburgh Steelers - 61 Snaps

WR: George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Allen Robinson. This has been consistent for weeks.

RB: Najee Harris got 36 snaps to 26 for Jaylen Warren. They both play but it’s not a great matchup this week with New England.

TE: Pat Freiermuth ran 22 of 32 routes which is not ideal. It’s also not a good matchup. And the backup QB is in. I’d look elsewhere if you can.

Houston Texans - 68 Snaps

WR: We wondered who would play fewer snaps with everyone healthy but now we don’t have to worry as Tank Dell is done for the year. It will be Nico Collins at split end so the question is who plays more out of Robert Woods or Noah Brown. When Tank Dell missed Week 6, Woods played 39 snaps to 35 for Brown so it was close.

RB: Dameon Pierce got more carries but Singletary played pass downs so he played more snaps. Based on their schedule, expect a lot of Singletary.

TE: With Dalton Schultz out, Brevin Jordan took over his role. Wasn’t ideal usage at 51 of 68 snaps, 27 of 38 routes, and five pass block snaps. I wrote about why, with their schedule, I’m not interested in either.

Tennessee Titans - 85 Snaps

WR: Treylon Burks is on the outside looking in with 10 snaps. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ikhine-Ikhine (70), DeAndre Hopkins (65), and Chris Moore (59) led the way.  

RB: Derrick Henry scored twice again but left the game briefly with a concussion scare. Tyjae Spears played 57 of 85 snaps in his absence.

TE: There were 44 routes available and Chig ran 28. Not ideal but he gets a couple of looks every game.

Minnesota Vikings

BYE