You can’t score fantasy points if you’re not on the field.
That’s the simplistic but important basis of this new weekly article, where we’ll look at snap and route rates for every team – and what they mean for fantasy values going forward.
If you’re not familiar, snap rate is the percentage of a team’s offensive snaps a player was on the field for. Route rate is the percentage of a team’s drop backs a player was in a pass route.
Let’s get to the Week 1 data and fantasy takeaways.
Arizona Cardinals
RB snap rates:
James Conner - 72%
Eno Benjamin - 34%
Darrel Williams - 34%
Route rates:
James Conner - 63%
Eno Benjamin - 26%
Marquise Brown - 96%
Greg Dortch - 96%
A.J. Green - 72%
Andy Isabella - 33%
Zach Ertz - 63%
Takeaways:
Conner is the clear #1 RB; Benjamin the #2. Conner’s usage would have been higher if he hadn’t been pulled late in the blowout loss. Williams can be dropped.
Dortch likely stepped into the role WR Rondale Moore (hamstring) would have played. It’d be a strong role for Moore. Dortch is a desperation PPR option until Moore returns.
Ertz was likely limited due to his calf injury.
Atlanta Falcons
RB snap rates:
Cordarrelle Patterson - 65%
Avery Williams - 31%
Damien Williams - 13% (injured)
Route rates:
Cordarrelle Patterson - 54%
Avery Williams - 44%
Damien Williams - 13%
Drake London - 82%
Olamide Zaccheaus - 62%
Bryan Edwards - 46%
KhaDarel Hodge - 18%
Kyle Pitts - 72%
Parker Hesse - 31%
Takeaways:
It’s tough to know what Atlanta’s original plan was at RB because Damien Williams left with an injury in the 1st quarter. Rookie RB Tyler Allgeier was a healthy scratch.
Encouraging debut for London. On top of the 82% route rate, he registered a 21% target share.
We’d like to see a higher route rate for Pitts. He pass blocked on 7 plays after never topping 2 pass-blocking snaps in a game last year. Monitoring.
Baltimore Ravens
RB snap rates:
Kenyan Drake - 59%
Justice Hill - 20%
Mike Davis - 13%
Route rates:
Kenyan Drake - 43%
Justice Hill - 26%
Mike Davis - 14%
Rashod Bateman - 71%
Devin Duvernay - 51%
Demarcus Robinson - 51%
James Proche - 9%
Tylan Wallace - 6%
Mark Andrews - 94%
Isaiah Likely - 51%
Takeaways:
Drake is Baltimore’s clear top RB until J.K. Dobbins is ready.
Bateman’s route rate and 17% target share were disappointing. We’ll see if those marks improve in Week 2.
Despite his 2 TDs, Duvernay isn’t a viable fantasy play on that 51% route rate.
Elite usage for Mark Andrews, with the 94% route rate and a 23% target share.
Buffalo Bills
RB snap rates:
Devin Singletary - 59%
Zack Moss - 38%
James Cook - 5%
Route rates:
Devin Singletary - 47%
Zack Moss - 37%
James Cook - 0%
Gabriel Davis - 100%
Stefon Diggs - 79%
Isaiah McKenzie - 55%
Jamison Crowder - 32%
Dawson Knox - 66%
Takeaways:
Buffalo’s backfield didn’t supply much Week 1 fantasy production even without Cook really involved. The rookie’s role should grow throughout the season. QB Josh Allen handled both of the Bills’ carries inside the 10 in Week 1.
Davis saw just 16% of Buffalo’s targets, but the 100% route rate is super encouraging.
McKenzie and Crowder split #3 WR duties, leaving both guys untrustable in fantasy lineups.
Not a good start for Knox, with the 66% route rate and a 6.5% target share. He spent 7 snaps pass blocking, a mark he topped just once all last season.