Fantasy Takeaways from Week 14 Usage

Arizona Cardinals
RB snap rates:
James Conner - 95%
Keaontay Ingram - 12%
Corey Clement - 4%
Route rates:
James Conner - 76%
Keaontay Ingram - 14%
Corey Clement - 5%
Marquise Brown - 95%
DeAndre Hopkins - 88%
A.J. Green - 69%
Robbie Anderson - 36%
Greg Dortch - 5%
Trey McBride - 58%
Stephen Anderson - 12%
Maxx Williams - 9%
Takeaways:
- More workhorse usage for Conner, who tallied 15 carries and 7 targets despite briefly leaving the game with an upper-body injury.
- The Cardinals opted to play a combination of Green and Anderson over Dortch. Brown operated as the primary slot receiver (60% of his snaps in the slot).
- McBride’s route rate was scaled back coming out of the bye week. He’s not a viable Week 15 fantasy play.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had a Week 14 bye.
Baltimore Ravens
RB snap rates:
J.K. Dobbins - 43%
Gus Edwards - 34%
Kenyan Drake - 18%
Justice Hill - 3%
Route rates:
J.K. Dobbins - 35%
Kenyan Drake - 26%
Gus Edwards - 9%
Justice Hill - 0%
Demarcus Robinson - 74%
Devin Duvernay - 61%
DeSean Jackson - 35%
James Proche - 17%
Mark Andrews - 96%
Isaiah Likely - 48%
Josh Oliver - 30%
Takeaways:
- Dobbins handled 15 of 29 RB carries (52%) in his return from knee trouble. Consider him a RB3 for now – and we’ll see if his share of the backfield work grows.
- Andrews registered a 35% target share, but that meant just 6 targets on a day when the Ravens found themselves down to their 3rd-string QB and threw just 17 passes.
Buffalo Bills
RB snap rates:
Devin Singletary - 49%
James Cook - 41%
Nyheim Hines - 17%
Routes rates:
Devin Singletary - 43%
James Cook - 35%
Nyheim Hines - 16%
Gabriel Davis - 95%
Stefon Diggs - 92%
Isaiah McKenzie - 73%
Khalil Shakir - 14%
John Brown - 3%
Dawson Knox - 89%
Quintin Morris - 19%
Takeaways:
- The Bills again deployed a 2.5-man committee backfield. Opportunities:
- Singletary - 8 carries, 2 targets
- Cook - 4 carries, 1 target
- Hines - 1 carry, 1 target
- Knox’s strong recent route rates translated to a team-high 7 targets (26% share) in this one.
Carolina Panthers
RB snap rates:
D’Onta Foreman - 48%
Chuba Hubbard - 32%
Raheem Blackshear - 19%
Routes rates:
Raheem Blackshear - 28%
D’Onta Foreman - 24%
Chuba Hubbard - 21%
D.J. Moore - 100%
Terrace Marshall - 86%
Shi Smith - 38%
Laviska Shenault - 28%
Ian Thomas - 41%
Tommy Tremble - 38%
Stephen Sullivan - 31%
Takeaways:
- The Panthers have racked up an absurd 80 RB carries over their past 2 games. Here’s how those carries have been distributed:
- Foreman - 56%
- Hubbard - 39%
- Blackshear - 5%
Chicago Bears
The Bears had a Week 14 bye.
Cincinnati Bengals
RB snap rates:
Joe Mixon - 58%
Samaje Perine - 43%
Trayveon Williams - 3%
Route rates:
Samaje Perine - 50%
Joe Mixon - 43%
Trayveon Williams - 2%
Ja’Marr Chase - 100%
Trenton Irwin - 93%
Trent Taylor - 89%
Tee Higgins - 2% (injured)
Tyler Boyd - 2% (injured)
Mitchell Wilcox - 68%
Devin Asiasi - 20%
Takeaways:
- This was Mixon’s lowest snap rate in a healthy game this season. He’d been hovering in the low 70% range. Mixon still handled 14 of 19 RB carries (74%) but garnered just 2 of 8 RB targets (25%). If this usage holds, he’ll be more of a high-end RB2 the rest of the way.
Cleveland Browns
RB snap rates:
Nick Chubb - 63%
Kareem Hunt - 39%
Route rates:
Nick Chubb - 49%
Kareem Hunt - 33%
Donovan Peoples-Jones - 100%
Amari Cooper - 90%
David Bell - 78%
Michael Woods - 12%
Demetric Felton - 8%
David Njoku - 90%
Harrison Bryant - 12%
Pharaoh Brown - 2%
Takeaways:
- Cooper aggravated his hip injury on the 1st play of this game. He ran his normal allotment of routes but finished with just 2 catches on 7 targets for 42 yards. We’ll keep a close eye on his practice participation this week.
- Peoples-Jones led Cleveland with 12 targets for a big 29% share.
- Njoku was a full-go in his return from a knee injury, posting a 90% route rate, 21% target share and 7-59-1 line. He’s a potential top-5 TE the rest of the way.
Dallas Cowboys
RB snap rates:
Tony Pollard - 58%
Ezekiel Elliott - 49%
Route rates:
Tony Pollard - 60%
Ezekiel Elliott - 33%
CeeDee Lamb - 100%
Michael Gallup - 81%
Noah Brown - 81%
James Washington - 17%
Dalton Schultz - 88%
Sean McKeon - 5%
Jake Ferguson - 2% (injured)
Peyton Hendershot - 2%
Takeaways:
- Pollard and Elliott continue to split work almost right down the middle. Over the last 4 weeks:
- Pollard - 152 snaps, 55 carries, 16 targets
- Elliott - 132 snaps, 63 carries, 10 targets
- Cowboys WR/TE targets over the last 4 weeks:
- Lamb - 29 (22.5% share)
- Gallup - 25 (19.4%)
- Schultz - 25 (19.4%)
- Brown - 10 (7.8%)
Denver Broncos
RB snap rates:
Latavius Murray - 53%
Marlon Mack - 31%
Mike Boone - 15% (injured)
Route rates:
Latavius Murray - 43%
Marlon Mack - 23%
Mike Boone - 9% (injured)
Kendall Hinton - 88%
Jerry Jeudy - 82%
Brandon Johnson - 71%
Jalen Virgil - 14%
Montrell Washington - 5%
Greg Dulcich - 73%
Eric Saubert - 21%
Eric Tomlinson - 18%
Albert Okwuegbunam - 4%
Takeaways:
- Boone’s likely season-ending ankle injury should turn this into a 2-man backfield. We’ll see if Mack’s 66-yard receiving score in the loss to Kansas City earns him more playing time going forward.
- Dulcich managed just 3 catches for 42 yards but posted another strong route rate and target share (18%).
- Albert O sighting!
Detroit Lions
RB snap rates:
Jamaal Williams - 37%
D’Andre Swift - 35%
Justin Jackson - 30%
Route rates:
D’Andre Swift - 41%
Justin Jackson - 29%
Jamaal Williams - 17%
Amon-Ra St. Brown - 90%
D.J. Chark - 90%
Josh Reynolds - 68%
Jameson Williams - 15%
Kalif Raymond - 15%
Shane Zylstra - 37%
Brock Wright - 34%
James Mitchell - 15%
Takeaways:
- Swift's per game averages when on the injury report this season (8 games):
- 5.1 carries
- 4.5 targets
- 42.8 total yards
- Swift's averages when off the injury report (2 games):
- 14.5 carries
- 4.5 targets
- 143.0 total yards
- Jameson Williams still isn’t playing nearly enough to be a viable fantasy starter.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers had a Week 14 bye.
Houston Texans
RB snap rates:
Dameon Pierce - 55% (injured)
Dare Ogunbowale - 27%
Eno Benjamin - 12%
Rex Burkhead - 8%
Route rates:
Dare Ogunbowale - 37%
Dameon Pierce - 20% (injured)
Eno Benjamin - 7%
Rex Burkhead - 7%
Chris Moore - 93%
Phillip Dorsett - 93%
Amari Rodgers - 70%
Jalen Camp - 7%
Jordan Akins - 73%
Teagan Quitoriano - 43%
Brevin Jordan - 10%
O.J. Howard - 3%
Takeaways:
- Pierce is expected to miss at least 1 game with his ankle injury; Benjamin was released on Tuesday. That leaves Houston with Ogunbowale, Burkhead and potentially Royce Freeman and/or Gerrid Doaks in the backfield. Hopefully you can avoid the situation, but Ogunbowale looks like the best fantasy play of the bunch because he’s the best bet for passing-game work.
- A 93% route rate and ludicrous 41% target share puts Moore on the radar in deeper leagues for as long as WRs Nico Collins and Brandin Cooks are out.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts had a Week 14 bye.
Jacksonville Jaguars
RB snap rates:
Travis Etienne - 75%
JaMycal Hasty - 25%
Route rates:
Travis Etienne - 59%
JaMycal Hasty - 15%
Christian Kirk - 100%
Zay Jones - 93%
Marvin Jones - 61%
Jamal Agnew - 15%
Evan Engram - 83%
Chris Manhertz - 13%
Dan Arnold - 11%
Takeaways:
- Etienne didn’t see a single target on 42 Trevor Lawrence pass attempts. His route rate remained solid, though, so Etienne still projects for 2-3 targets per game going forward.
- Zay Jones has tallied double-digit targets in 3 of his last 4 games. He’s seen 28% of Jaguars targets over that span and ranks 6th among all WRs in targets over the last 5 weeks, despite a bye week in there.
- Engram has been registering high-end route rates all season and mixing in big target games. So, while we couldn’t have predicted this, it wasn’t shocking to see him turn in a huge fantasy outing.
Kansas City Chiefs
RB snap rates:
Jerick McKinnon - 57%
Isiah Pacheco - 43%
Route rates:
Jerick McKinnon - 55%
Isiah Pacheco - 27%
JuJu Smith-Schuster - 86%
Marquez Valdes-Scantling - 75%
Justin Watson - 70%
Skyy Moore - 25%
Travis Kelce - 82%
Noah Gray - 45%
Jody Fortson - 7%
Takeaways:
- McKinnon has averaged 5.2 targets and 3.8 catches over his last 5 games. He’s now added 14 carries over his last 2. Most intriguing is that McKinnon has 3 carries and 4 targets from inside the opponent’s 10-yard line over the past 5 weeks.
- Pacheco has 10 carries and 0 targets inside the 10-yard line over that same span.
- Smith-Schuster got back to full playing time in Week 13. He got back to big volume – 11 targets for a 26% share – in this one.
Las Vegas Raiders
RB snap rates:
Josh Jacobs - 83%
Ameer Abdullah - 13%
Zamir White - 5%
Brandon Bolden - 2%
Route rates:
Josh Jacobs - 68%
Ameer Abdullah - 32%
Brandon Bolden - 4%
Zamir White - 0%
Davante Adams - 100%
Mack Hollins - 96%
Keelan Cole - 64%
D.J. Turner - 8%
Foster Moreau - 96%
Takeaways:
- Moreau’s elite route rates keep him on the fantasy radar if TE Darren Waller remains out, but he’s now averaged just 3.6 targets on an 11% target share over the past 5 weeks.
Los Angeles Chargers
RB snap rates:
Austin Ekeler - 59%
Joshua Kelley - 40%
Isaiah Spiller - 3%
Route rates:
Austin Ekeler - 41%
Joshua Kelley - 34%
Isaiah Spiller - 0%
Keenan Allen - 91%
Josh Palmer - 81%
Mike Williams - 72%
DeAndre Carter - 16%
Gerald Everett - 67%
Tre McKitty - 24%
Stone Smartt - 3%
Takeaways:
- Williams’ big game came on an underwhelming 72% route rate and 12% target share, but I’d expect both marks to rise as he puts that ankle injury further behind him.
Los Angeles Rams
RB snap rates:
Cam Akers - 42%
Kyren Williams - 30%
Malcolm Brown - 28%
Route rates:
Malcolm Brown - 32%
Cam Akers - 27%
Kyren Williams - 20%
Van Jefferson - 100%
Ben Skowronek - 86%
Tutu Atwell - 66%
Austin Trammell - 20%
Brandon Powell - 14%
Tyler Higbee - 70%
Brycen Hopkins - 7%
Takeaways:
- The Rams devolved into a 3-man committee backfield on Thursday night, with Brown leading in routes. Opportunities:
- Akers - 12 carries, 1 target
- Williams - 3 carries, 2 targets
- Brown - 1 carry, 2 targets
- WR target shares from QB Baker Mayfield:
- Atwell - 26%
- Skowronek - 23%
- Jefferson - 11%
- Trammell - 6%
- Powell - 6%
Miami Dolphins
RB snap rates:
Raheem Mostert - 73%
Jeff Wilson - 16% (injured)
Salvon Ahmed - 10%
Route rates:
Raheem Mostert - 71%
Jeff Wilson - 11% (injured)
Salvon Ahmed - 11%
Jaylen Waddle - 86%
Tyreek Hill - 77%
Trent Sherfield - 63%
Cedrick Wilson - 31%
Freddie Swain - 14%
Mike Gesicki - 54%
Durham Smythe - 29%
Takeaways:
- Mostert dominated playing time in Miami’s backfield after Wilson’s injury and handled 9 of 10 RB carries.
Minnesota Vikings
RB snap rates:
Dalvin Cook - 85%
Alexander Mattison - 15%
Route rates:
Dalvin Cook - 48%
Alexander Mattison - 17%
Justin Jefferson - 96%
Adam Thielen - 92%
K.J. Osborn - 79%
Jalen Reagor - 13%
T.J. Hockenson - 88%
Johnny Mundt - 8%
Takeaways:
- After a midseason spike in targets, Cook has averaged just 2.8 on an 8% share over the last 4 weeks.
New England Patriots
RB snap rates:
Kevin Harris - 49%
Pierre Strong - 32%
Rhamondre Stevenson - 22% (injured)
Route rates:
Kevin Harris - 38%
Pierre Strong - 23%
Rhamondre Stevenson - 21% (injured)
Tyquan Thornton - 97%
Nelson Agholor - 97%
Kendrick Bourne - 72%
Marcus Jones - 15%
DeVante Parker - 10% (injured)
Hunter Henry - 59%
Jonnu Smith - 33%
Takeaways:
- Strong had the bigger outing, but the playing time suggests that Harris is the better Week 15 fantasy play if Stevenson and RB Damien Harris miss.
- Thornton and Agholor will be intriguing Week 15 fliers vs. the Raiders if Parker and WR Jakobi Meyers are out with their concussions.
- After 3 straight weeks with route rates in the mid-70s, Henry dipped to 59% in this one and registered just a 9% target share.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints had a Week 14 bye.
New York Giants
RB snap rates:
Matt Breida - 36%
Gary Brightwell - 33%
Saquon Barkley - 31%
Route rates:
Matt Breida - 40%
Gary Brightwell - 36%
Saquon Barkley - 16%
Richie James - 93% (injured)
Isaiah Hodgins - 89%
Darius Slayton - 78%
Kenny Golladay - 20%
Marcus Johnson - 11%
Daniel Bellinger - 58% (injured)
Nick Vannett - 38%
Chris Myarick - 9%
Takeaways:
- Barkley was clearly limited by his neck injury. We’ll need to keep a close eye on his practice participation this week.
- The Giants curiously used James more on the outside (36%), which led to a lower route rate for Slayton. That, of course, might be a moot point for Week 15 with James now in concussion protocol.
New York Jets
RB snap rates:
Michael Carter - 50%
Zonovan Knight - 47%
Route rates:
Michael Carter - 55%
Zonovan Knight - 29%
Garrett Wilson - 100%
Elijah Moore - 92%
Denzel Mims - 69%
Braxton Berrios - 24%
Corey Davis - 12% (injured)
Tyler Conklin - 71%
C.J. Uzomah - 24%
Takeaways:
- The Jets deployed just a 2-man backfield committee, with James Robinson scratched and Ty Johnson playing 0 offensive snaps. Knight was the lead ball carrier, handling 17 of 22 RB carries (77%), while Carter led in routes and out-targeted Knight 6 to 2.
- Moore remained New York’s primary slot receiver (66% snaps in the slot) in this one and led the team with 10 targets (21% share). He deserves WR3 consideration in Week 15, especially if Davis misses with his concussion.
Philadelphia Eagles
RB snap rates:
Miles Sanders - 66%
Kenneth Gainwell - 18%
Boston Scott - 18%
Route rates:
Miles Sanders - 47%
Kenneth Gainwell - 24%
Boston Scott - 11%
A.J. Brown - 100%
DeVonta Smith - 97%
Quez Watkins - 66%
Zach Pascal - 21%
Jack Stoll - 55%
Grant Calcaterra - 39%
Tyree Jackson - 8%
Takeaways:
- Eagles WR targets over the past 4 weeks:
- Smith - 34 (27.2% share)
- Brown - 29 (23.2%)
- Watkins - 18 (14.4%)
Pittsburgh Steelers
RB snap rates:
Najee Harris - 56%
Jaylen Warren - 40%
Benny Snell - 4%
Route rates:
Najee Harris - 43%
Jaylen Warren - 38%
Benny Snell - 0%
Diontae Johnson - 95%
George Pickens - 92%
Steven Sims - 51%
Gunner Olszewski - 30%
Miles Boykin - 8%
Pat Freiermuth - 57%
Zach Gentry - 30%
Connor Heyward - 16%
Takeaways:
- It was back to the status quo in Pittsburgh’s backfield, with Harris handling most of the early-down work (12 of 17 RB carries) and Warren mixing in on passing downs (matched Harris with 3 targets).
- Johnson was targeted on 8 of QB Mitchell Trubisky’s 30 passes – good for a 27% target share. Johnson saw a 32% target share from Trubisky over the first 3 games of the season.
- Pickens saw just 3 targets in this one, giving him 5 targets over his last 2 games and an average of only 4.0 targets over his last 6.
- Freiermuth’s route rate was in the mid-50s for the 2nd straight week. He’s still managed a decent 11 targets on a strong 19% target share across those 2 games.
San Francisco 49ers
RB snap rates:
Christian McCaffrey - 70%
Jordan Mason - 30%
Route rates:
Christian McCaffrey - 79%
Jordan Mason - 4%
Brandon Aiyuk - 89%
Deebo Samuel - 54% (injured)
Jauan Jennings - 54%
Ray-Ray McCloud - 43%
Danny Gray - 11%
George Kittle - 89%
Tyler Kroft - 11%
Takeaways:
- Six of Mason’s 11 carries came with the 49ers nursing a 35-7 lead in the 4th quarter. Prior to that, McCaffrey out-carried Mason 14 to 5 and out-targeted him 3 to 0.
- Kittle disappointed in the box score again but at least saw a 22% target share. The problem in this one was that San Francisco threw it just 23 times.
Seattle Seahawks
RB snap rates:
Travis Homer - 91%
Tony Jones - 9%
Route rates:
Travis Homer - 65%
Tony Jones - 5%
Tyler Lockett - 98%
D.K. Metcalf - 95%
Marquise Goodwin - 79%
Dareke Young - 5%
Laquon Treadwell - 5%
Noah Fant - 42%
Will Dissly - 26%
Colby Parkinson - 23%
Takeaways:
- Big swing and a miss for Adam Schefter, who reported Sunday morning that Jones was expected to get the start in Seattle’s backfield. Of course, getting us off Homer was a blessing. All of those snaps and routes resulted in just 34 scoreless yards.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
RB snap rates:
Rachaad White - 53%
Leonard Fournette - 47%
Route rates:
Leonard Fournette - 48%
Rachaad White - 38%
Chris Godwin - 91%
Mike Evans - 88%
Julio Jones - 69%
Russell Gage - 40%
Scotty Miller - 14%
Cade Otton - 55%
Cameron Brate - 38%
Ko Kieft - 2%
Takeaways:
- Fournette, playing through a foot injury, didn’t do much in the 2nd half of this blowout loss. At halftime, Fournette had 3 carries and 2 targets to White’s 5 carries and 2 targets. White looks like the slightly better bet for carries going forward, with Fournette the slightly better bet for targets.
Tennessee Titans
RB snap rates:
Derrick Henry - 75%
Dontrell Hilliard - 13% (injured)
Julius Chestnut - 10%
Route rates:
Derrick Henry - 48%
Dontrell Hilliard - 16% (injured)
Julius Chestnut - 12%
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine - 96%
Robert Woods - 88%
Chris Conley - 52%
Racey McMath - 38%
Austin Hooper - 62%
Chig Okonkwo - 50%
Geoff Swaim - 2%
Takeaways:
- Henry saw a big bump in snap rate and a smaller bump in route rate from where he’d been the previous few weeks. Hilliard’s absence likely played a part in that. Hilliard has already been ruled out for Week 15.
- Okonkwo remained a part-time player but drew 6 targets on his 25 routes (24%). He remains a risk/reward fantasy play going forward.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders had a Week 14 bye.
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