This is the most important week in fantasy football. We actually have two data points now and we can figure out patterns. Obviously more would be better but we also need to be quick on the wire so we can’t just wait until Week Seven - we have to act now. 

That’s what this article is all about - telling you what we can reasonably expect to happen based on the limited amount that has happened so far. all of my weekly fantasy rankings are based on this article and all of my waiver wire decisions as well. It is literally a review of every position for every team for each week. The next best thing to watch every single game.

 

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 Two

 

 

NFL Snap Count Breakdown for Week 2

49ers - 57 Snaps

WR: This team uses a fullback for a ton of snaps so there are really only two meaningful wide receiver roles. If Brandon Aiyuk is out, Jauan Jennings could be worth a DFS play but Aiyuk would need to miss significant time for anyone to be worth adding.

RB:  Christian McCaffrey played literally every snap which is crazy rare for a running back. Coach Shanahan did call that “a mistake” but I doubt Elijah Mitchell goes from not playing to meaningful snaps.

TE: George Kittle is who we thought he would be - he will have his moments and will have big games but there is more target competition. At least we know he will play a big share at 55 of 57 snaps.

 

Bears - 52 Snaps

WR: Darnell Mooney is dealing with a bruised knee but is expected to be back this week. It should be DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool. Mooney is actually the one running out of the slot this year with 77% of his snaps coming there.

RB:  D’Onta Foreman was a healthy scratch which gives us some clarity. Khalil Herbert still led in all phases and had 31 snaps to 22 for Roschon Johnson but the rookie has interesting long-term appeal.

 

TE: Cole Kmet played 97% of the snaps last week but that tumbled to 67% this week with no real explanation as to why. He was still targeted so we’ll have to monitor but he’s not as safe as we maybe thought.

 

Bengals - 60 Snaps

WR: Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd. Regardless of the QB situation, at least we know who the three WRs are. That is locked in.

RB:  Joe Mixon played all the meaningful snaps once again and he was relevant even though the team struggled. With all the RB injuries, you should have no trouble getting him into lineups.

TE: Much like Hayden Hurst, Irv Smith plays a decent role (46 of 60 snaps) but they have too many better pass-catchers. He needs an injury for us to trust him.

 

Bills - 78 Snaps

WR: Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis on the outside then a ton of two tight end sets. It’s not worth rostering the other wideouts unless someone gets hurt - none of them even played 50% of the snaps. Trent Sherfield was the closest with 32.

RB:  James Cook continues to get the bulk of the work but Latavius Murray and Damien Harris got the goal line work. Cook has zero carries inside the 5 while Josh Allen has and Latavius Murray and Damien Harris each have two. Other than that he’s looked awesome.

TE:  The usage for Dalton Kincaid was not as good as last week, unfortunately. Last week he played ~80% of the snaps and played 85% of his snaps at WR. This week he played 60% of the snaps and only 49% at WR. Not the direction we wanted to trend though the targets were there. Knox played 55 snaps to his 47 though they were often on the field at the same time.

 

Browns - 87 Snaps

WR: Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore, and Donovans Peoples-Jones are the three wide receivers who play a full role. And they mix and match in the slot - none of them played fewer than ~30% of their snaps there or more than 50%. Positionless football.

RB: We all know by now that Nick Chubb is out for the year. Expect Jerome Ford to start and get the early down work with Kareem Hunt skewing pass work. This week will be important for the future.

TE:  Better usage for David Njoku after blocking on 17.2% of his pass snaps last week. 48 routes run, only 2 pass block snaps. But 87 snaps is way above average so it’s concerning that he didn’t do more. The whole offense is concerning.

 

Buccaneers - 71 Snaps

WR: Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are the two full-time wideouts then mix and match the third WR with a second tight end. With 71 overall snaps, 35 for Trey Palmer and 32 for Deven Thompkins doesn’t give us anything to go with.

RB: Rachaad White is the man - 51 snaps for him with only 17 for Sean Tucker. Chase Edmonds left the game with an injury.

TE: Cade Otten once again played virtually the whole game though he was asked to block on a chunk of pass plays again (30 routes, 6 pass blocks). If Evans or Godwin were to go down, he would absolutely be on our radar.

 

Broncos - 66 Snaps

WR: Jerry Jeudy took his job back as expected so it was him and Sutton as the full-time dogs. Marvin Mims was quite impressive so we would love to see him get ramped up but he only played 16 snaps. No need to roster Brandon Johnson or Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

RB: Same split - Samaje Perine plays more pass down (28 to 15) while Javonte Williams gets most of the run work. Caps their ceilings.

TE: Greg Dulcich is the only tight end we would consider from this team, if and when he gets back. Adam Trautman blocked on 8 pass plays which is unacceptable.

 

Cardinals - 64 Snaps

WR: Big turn of events here as Michael Wilson, who led the team in snaps last week, played on 28 of 64 this week. Instead, they went for two tight end sets. Rondale Moore played 41 so Marquise Brown with his 60 of 64 snaps was the only true full-time receiver.

RB: James Conner the man. Keontay Ingram is the handcuff but he only played 10 snaps.

TE: Zach Ertz is leading this team in targets and playing a massive snap share. Trey McBride ran only 14 routes to 27 for Ertz so he needs a trade or injury.

 

Cowboys - 58 Snaps

WR: Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed don’t go in the slot so Ceedee Lamb stayed there for most of the day and feasted with 47 slot snaps. Michael Gallup played a full workload and Jalen Tolbert did as well in the Brandin Cook role.

RB:  Tony Pollard is the man here (56 snaps). Hunter Luepke (18), Rico Dowdle (18), and Deuce Vaughn (13) merely sprinkled in.

TE: Jake Ferguson once again ran fewer than 50% of the routes - maybe that will change but I’m warning fantasy gamers that they may be setting themselves up for disappointment thinking he will be Dalton Schultz. Luke Schoonmaker played 31 snaps and scored a TD, and Peyton Hendershot played 31 snaps and got a goal line carry.

 

Chargers - 68 Snaps

WR: Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are obviously locked in. Joshua Palmer (37) continues to play over rookie Quentin Johnson (10). In fact, Derius Davis played 11 snaps. QJ has work to do.

RB:  Austin Ekeler was out so Joshua Kelley ran into a brick wall in Tennessee. This week Kelley might be a better option against a less stout run defense.

TE: Gerald Everett actually played fewer snaps and ran fewer routes than Donald Parham. The team played 68 snaps and the snap counts were Parham - 34, Everett - 28, and Stone Smartt - 22. None of them are fantasy-relevant.

 

Chiefs - 67 Snaps

WR: There were 48 routes to run this week - Marquez Valdes-Scantling ran 42, Skyy Moore ran 33, Justin Watson ran 31, Kadarius Toney ran 19, and Rashee Rice ran 12. MVS is the only one playing a full share and he’s not super appealing.

RB:  Isaiah Pacheco is the man but he could be banged up here. We prefer Jerick McKinnon over Clyde Edwards-Helaire for his pass-catching ability.

TE: Travis Kelce is back and he’s the man. Noah Gray quietly always plays a pretty big snap share but he’s a DFS dart throw only and only when his price returns to normal.

 

Colts - 57 Snaps

WR: Michael Pittman and Alec Peirce, for the second week now, have played virtually every snap. Josh Downs played 43 of 57 so he comes out for two WR sets which makes sense for now as he’s the smaller of the three. Perhaps he will prove he is good enough to deserve to stay out there.

RB:  Zack Moss got every single touch and played 56 of 57 snaps so he’s a start until Jonathan Taylor gets back. 

TE: We said Kylen Granson was a DFS stab and he scored his first TD so congrats to him and congrats to us. Until Jelani Woods and Andrew Ogletree get back, Granson has some DFS appeal.

 

Commanders - 73 Snaps

WR: Jahan Dotson and Terry McLaurin are your outside WRs, Curtis Samuel comes in for three WR sets to play the slot. That makes Samuel more of a DFS dart throw than someone we trust.

RB: Brian Robinson looks awesome and he is more involved in the pass game than we thought although Antonio Gibson did get 32 pass snaps to 19 for Robinson this week.

TE: Logan Thomas left the game after taking a tough hit in the endzone. If he is out, Cole Turner has to be on our DFS radar.

 

Dolphins - 63 Snaps

WR: Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are the guys but Waddle is in concussion protocol. If he misses time we like Braxton Berrios.

RB:  Raheem Mostert continues to get the bulk of the work and be awesome. De’Von Achane played six snaps.

TE: Durham Smythe quietly leads all tight ends in route participation with 97%. The Pats were a brutal matchup but Smythe has appeal, especially in DFS, this week. If Waddle can’t go he might even be a redraft spot start.

 

Eagles - 77 Snaps

WR: DeVonta Smith and AJ brown. That’s it - no one else matters. If that changes, we will tell you. 

RB:  D’Andre Swfit showed up in a BIG way so the only question is whether Kenneth Gainwell can claw back some of that job or whether it’s the Swift show now.

TE: Dallas Goedert is exactly Dallas Goedert. He’s a “handcuff plus” where he has some standalone value but needs an injury to a WR to really have upside.

 

Falcons - 51 Snaps

WR: Drake London and Mack Hollins are the only two WRs that play because they use Kyle Pitts as a WR with Jonnu Smith inline often.

RB: Bijan Robinson is amazing. No doubt about that. Tyler Allgeier is still good though. So they will both get touches. No reason to only use one of them. But that isn’t stopping Bijan.

TE: Kyle Pitts continues to be the most frustrating man in fantasy football. He plays WR. He has not pass blocked one time. He runs high aDot routes. He even got endzone targets this week. Yet he just doesn’t produce. This week vs. the Lions without CJ Gardner Johnson might be the last straw.

 

Giants - 68 Snaps

WR:  Darius Slayton (56) and Isaiah Hodgins (51) are your outside guys, and Parris Campbell (45) is the slot WR. Jalin Hyatt was the most impressive despite only playing 14 snaps. An increase in snaps for him would likely come at the expense of Daniel Bellinger and Darius Slayton.

RB: Saquon Barkley might miss with an ankle injury so we’ll have to wait on that. Matt Breida is our best guess for the next man up.

TE: Darren Waller is dealing with a hamstring issue but he looked better this week and he led all pass catchers in routes run (40 for him vs. 37 for Slayton). Start him where you have him.

 

Jaguars - 66 Snaps

WR: The coach told us that Zay Jones (zone) and Christian (man) could trade off snaps/touches based on whether the team plays a lot of zone or man which is fairly annoying. Calvin Ridley, we can trust regardless. Monitor Zay Jones as he left the game with an injury.

RB: Travis Etienne looks awesome and once again dominated snaps with 48 vs. 12 for Tank Bigsby. This week vs. the Texans he is a top-five option.

TE: Evan Engram is about as safe of an option as you can get right now. Just wish they didn’t add Calvin Ridley as that does cap his ceiling a bit but you have to feel good about him in the lineup.

 

Jets - 48 Snaps

WR: Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard are the only guys playing more than 50% of the snaps. Allen Lazard without Aaron Rodgers just isn’t a viable option right now though.

RB: Nightmare situation here - Dalvin Cook (17), Breece Hall (16), and Micahel Carter (15) all split snaps. Just the worst-case scenario.

TE: Tyler Conklin played 41 of 47 snaps and ran 30 of 36 routes so he’s the guy but you really can’t play this guy with Zach Wilson at QB. Definitely not against the New England Patriots.

 

Lions - 66 Snaps

WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown might be dealing with turf toe so keep an eye on him. Josh Reynolds has been surprisingly solid and he’s playing about the same number of snaps as ARSB so he’s an option until Jameson Williams gets back.

RB: David Montgomery got banged up so we figured it would be wheels up for Jahmyr Gibbs but they immediately used Craig Reynolds in that Monty role. They also signed Bam Knight so it should still be some kind of split but it’s a boost to Gibbs regardless.

TE: Good news for Sam LaPorta - positive increase in his usage.

Packers - 50 Snaps

WR: Strange usage continues for the WRs here as no one really is playing the whole game. On 29 dropbacks, the leaders at WR were Romeo Doubs (23), Jayden Reed (18), and Dontayvion Wicks (17). When all is said and done the offense will be Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs on the outside with Jayden Reed in the slot.

RB: Whenever Aaron Jones is out, AJ Dillon is the boss. Patrick Taylor mixed in but only 11 snaps.

TE: Luke Musgrave tied Romeo Doubs for the lead in routes with 23 which is promising - they only ran 50 snaps though so not enough action.

 

Panthers - 60 Snaps

WR: We wondered what DJ Chark’s return would do and we got our answer - Terrace Marshall was the victim. Adam Thielen (52) and Jonathan Mingo (59) played the full snaps while DJ Chark (37) and Terrace Marshall (22) split.

RB: The setup now is Miles Sanders gets the run work while they split the pass work fairly evenly (21 to 20 Sanders over Chuba Hubbard). But Sanders has not been effective so who knows what happens next.

TE: Hayden Hurst once again did not play a full snap share - only 33 of 60 snaps and 25 of 42 routes. Hard to trust that.

 

Patriots - 74 Snaps

WR: DeVante Parker played every single snap in his first game back but has a terrible matchup with the Jets corners this week. JuJu Smith-Schuster (44) and Kendrick Bourne (38) are your best bet for fantasy football this week as they mix into the slot but Parker intrigues us long-term.

RB: Rhamondre Steveson (54) took a bigger lead on snaps over Ezekiel Elliott (22) though Zeke will remain involved.

TE: Mike Gesicki essentially played WR and he played 53 of 74 snaps this week (51 at WR). So he is a sneaky DFS play vs. the Jets this week since their corners do not go into the slot. Hunter Henry has been rock solid as well as the actual tight end so just start him where you have been.

Raiders - 40 Snaps

WR: Davante Adams is my number one trade target right now given the gamescripts for the Raiders so far - only 54 total dropbacks which is HALF of what the Texans have so far. Jakobi Meyers is a guy who should be rostered as well. The rest we can forget about for now.

RB:  Josh Jacobs is the man and better game scripts are coming. Only 40 offensive plays is crazy low.

TE:  Austin Hooper played 17 snaps, and Michael Mayer played 16. There is no tight end here.

 

Rams - 80 Snaps

WR: Puka Nacua continues to DOMINATE so he’s a must start. Tutu Atwell played 75 of 80 snaps so he’s a consideration as well, Van Jefferson only played three fewer snaps than Nacua’s 66 so those are your three WRs until Cooper Kupp gets back.

RB:  With Cam Akers a healthy scratch it was the FULL Kyren Williams show. 76 of 80 snaps. And he looked good too. Get him in lineups.

TE: Tyler Higbee is out there but he can’t be trusted from week to week. DFS dart throws only but he’s often expensive too.

 

Ravens - 64 Snaps

WR: Odell Beckham left with an injury which immediately elevated Rashod Bateman opposite Zay Flowers. This is kind of concerning for Bateman for the long term because maybe his lack of snaps was not related to the lingering foot issue as we expected. If Beckham is out, both are worth a look but Flowers is obviously the preferred option right now.

RB:  Justice Hill got the work in space with Gus Edwards in short yardage. Justice Hill could be out this week so they elevated Kenyan Drake.

TE: Mark Andrews is back and he is the man. Praise be.

 

Saints - 77 Snaps

WR: Chris Olave and Michael Thomas continue to be the full-time guys with Rashid Shaheed (38) being the part-time field stretcher. Shaheed is making the most of his opportunities but still has a capped ceiling for now.

 

RB: Jamaal Williams is now hurt so it’s Tony Jones and Kendre Miller, if he’s good to go. Alvin Kamara will be back next week anyway.

 

TE: Juwan Johnson is playing a decent amount (62 snaps) but the WRs are so good right now he’s on the back burner. Needs an injury.

 

Seahawks - 71 Snaps

WR: DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are your split end and flanker, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the slot guy who comes out for two WR sets.

RB: Kenneth Walker is the man here (43 snaps) - Zach Charbonnett (19) at least played more snaps than DeeJay Dallas (9) this week as they were even last week.

TE: These guys all rotate and no one is to be trusted. Out of 49 pass plays, Fant (21), Dissly (18), and Parkinson (17) all ran below 50% routes.

 

Steelers - 54 Snaps

WR: With Diontae Johnson out it was Allen Robinson (47), George Pickens (46), and Calvin Austin (41). Should be that way until Johnson gets back.

RB: Najee Harris (31) continues to get the high-leverage snaps but Jaylen Warren (23) has looked more explosive. I don’t see a full changing of the guard but it could be a split.

TE: Pat Freiermuth’s 28 routes tied Calvin Austin and were only behind the 30 for George Pickens but the QB play makes it hard to trust him. He’ll have better games but there also might be better options out there.

 

Texans - 84 Snaps

WR: This team is due for some regression as they aren’t going to play 80+ snaps every week. Nico Collins, Robert Woods, and Tank Dell all played big snap shares so they will continue to play a lot of snaps but the targets won’t always be this plentiful.

RB: Even with Mike Boone out, Dameon Pierce (38) split snaps with Devin Singletary (30). He’s an RB2 at best.

TE: Dalton Schultz is out there running around just like last week which is promising for potential usage down the road. Only 2 pass block snaps, 40 routes. We just need CJ Stroud to look his way. And play better.

 

Titans - 65 Snaps

WR: DeAndre Hopkins is still clearly a little nicked up as he is coming out at times but a lot of those are run pays as his 23 routes were right there with Nick Westbrook-Ihkine (24) and Treylon Burks (20). No one else matters besides those three.

RB: Derrick Henry is the man still (46 snaps) - Tyjae Spears went back to more of a backup role (24). 

TE: Chig Okonwko played more snaps than any wide receiver and ran 19 routes which is nice but he really needs an injury to DeAndre Hopkins or Burks to get the volume we need.

 

Vikings - 58 Snaps

WR: Justin Jefferson is obviously a star - he played every snap. The question is when Jordan Addison (40) will overtake KJ Osborn (56). It might not even matter in the grand scheme of things but would be nice for fantasy.

RB: Alexander Mattison continues to get the work and should continue despite this tough matchup with the Eagles. Ty Chandler only played 7 snaps.

TE: You have to be happy about what you are getting from TJ Hockenson. Even if Addison emerged, the use of Josh Oliver and C.J. Ham consolidated the targets among the top dogs.