Week 2 IDP Hits: What You Need to Know About Week 1 Playing Time

Snap Data That Affects Your Fantasy Plans

Week 1 starts to reveal a lot of things, but the most important might be the truth about so many summer injury situations.

Is that veteran player actually hurt? Or were he and the team just playing cautious to get his body set for a full season, knowing that he really didn’t need all that practice time?

We found out after the Rams’ opener, for example, that Myles Garrett’s knee was in worse shape than apparently even he wanted to believe.

We also get the elusive truth on many defensive depth charts around the league. In some cases, even the starters on the team website don’t align with who’s in the actual lineup.

That’s why this first edition of IDP Hits for the season takes a long trip through the league, highlighting key playing-time notes from nearly every team.

Arizona Cardinals: Gibbens Goes Nearly Full Time

LB Mack Wilson played every snap in the opener, with LB Jack Gibbens joining for 54 of 55 snaps. No other non-edge LB saw the field.

The tackle production for both guys was limited, but the Cardinals totaled just 48 tackles on a surprisingly weak offensive day for the Chargers offense.

Neither guy presents big upside, but there’s room for both to prove relevant for deeper leagues. We’ll see how Week 1’s biggest surprise defense proceeds.

Atlanta Falcons: Rookie Starts Right Away

Rookie LB Kendal Daniels joined LB Divine Deablo in the Week 1 starting lineup.

That didn’t translate to much statistically in the loss at Pittsburgh. He collected just 1 solo and 4 total tackles. And Daniels played a mere 67% of the defensive snaps. He entered the game managing an Achilles’ issue that limited his Thursday practice each of the past two weeks but didn’t land him on the final injury report either week.

We’ll see if the playing time climbs as the season progresses, and it’ll need to if he’s to approach fantasy relevance in 2026.

Even if Daniels doesn’t reach that, though, he’s interesting for dynasty. He racked up 31.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 5 INTs, and 16 passes defensed over his four college campaigns.

Buffalo Bills: We’ll See if This Vet Can Hold

Dorian Williams has held down the No. 2 LB role through Buffalo’s first two games, but he has done so at limited snap shares just like in previous starting opportunities.

He declined from 67% in the opener to 57% Thursday night against the Lions.

Rookie LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr didn’t take advantage yet, though he did climb slightly from 8% in Week 1 to 12% against the Lions. I’ll be watching for more significant shifts there, because I like Elarms-Orr’s upside.

Baltimore Ravens: Simpson, Green Stay Meh

LB Teddye Buchanan is set to miss his second straight game as he continues to work back from last season’s ACL tear.

Trenton Simpson figures to take his place again. He played just 59% of the defensive snaps and supplied only 4 tackles (3 solo). Simpson remains a disappointment.

Speaking of disappointment, second-year Edge Mike Green played just 31% of snaps in the win over the Colts, working behind Trey Hendrickson and Tavius Robinson at the position. He did play more snaps than rookie Edge Zion Young, but Green doesn’t seem on track to make much IDP impact in 2026.

He should get a boost for Week 2, at least, if Hendrickson misses the game. Hendrickson’s questionable with a finger injury that limited him to just one limited practice this week.

Carolina Panthers: Veteran LB Gets Lots of Time

LB Bobby Okereke played 88% of the snaps in his Panthers debut last Sunday. That beat the playing time for last year’s rotating No. 2 LBs in Carolina, who hung out in the 65-80% range. In fact, only four Panthers defenders reached 90% snap shares for the season:

• CB Michael Jackson
• S Nick Scott
• S Tre’von Moehrig
• CB Jaycee Horn

Okereke supplied a modest 6 tackles (3 solo) against the Bears, adding a forced fumble. We’ll see both whether his playing time stays that high (Chicago logged 39 rushing attempts vs. 29 passes) and whether the stat production picks up.

For now, Okereke’s more “watch list” guy for most IDP leagues than pickup.

Chicago Bears: Start This Rookie

Rookie S Dillon Thieneman played every snap in his Bears debut and tied CB Tyrique Stevenson for the team lead with 6 solo tackles in the win over the Panthers. He added a QB hit and defensed a pass.

Thieneman split time primarily between the box (23 snaps, per Pro Football Focus) and aligning deep (37), with a few slot snaps (7) mixed in.

That versatility plus the anticipated full playing time make him a weekly starting option already. This week’s matchup with Carson Wentz only adds upside.

Cincinnati Bengals: Stay Wary of Knight

LB Demetrius Knight delivered the second-largest fantasy score among Week 1 LBs (depending on your format), but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should grab him and start him in Week 2.

Knight tallied a solid 7 tackles (5 solo) in Cincinnati’s win over the Bucs. But more than half of his fantasy production came via the first-quarter fumble he returned 27 yards for a TD. That’s obviously not the kind of play he’s likely to repeat.

Knight did play 89% of the defensive snaps, a high enough level to keep him fantasy-viable. But it’s worth remembering that he opened his rookie year with 10 tackles (8 solo) and a pass defensed before letting that playing time and production waver the rest of the way.

Knight finished the year with just a 73% snap share and barely inside LB3 territory in fantasy points per game.

The former second-round pick might be ready to improve on that and help your lineup this year, but I’ll need to see more from a guy who arrived with an iffy prospect profile. Knight produced good numbers over his final two college seasons, but that came at ages 23 and 24 and after four quiet years at Georgia Tech.

Cleveland Browns: Second-Rounder Plays Minimal Role

Rookie S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren played just 14% of the defensive snaps in his debut. Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman each played every snap as the starting safeties. Myles Harden operated as the third corner.

McNeil-Warren carries long-term IDP upside, with some potential to play both of those positions. But he doesn’t appear close to making an impact yet.

Dallas Cowboys: Top Pick Gets Intriguing Run

First-round rookie Caleb Downs ran third among Cowboys defenders in playing time in last Sunday’s loss to the Giants at an 88% snap share, trailing only CB DaRon Bland and S Jalen Thompson.

He spent 56% of his time at slot CB, easily leading the team there, according to Pro Football Focus. Downs spent another 28% of his snaps in the box.

That’s a valuable combo of roles, putting him nearer to the ball than playing a deep safety spot would. Malik Hooker’s arm fracture shouldn’t hurt either. Hooker played just 12 snaps against the Giants before leaving the game.

Downs posted 8 tackles (4 solo), a sack, and a forced fumble in the opener. The Cowboys’ continued issues at LB (DeMarvion Overshown injury) won’t hurt the tackle opportunities.

Denver Broncos: Less Time Good for Allen?

DL Zach Allen played 61% of the snaps in Monday night’s loss at Kansas City. That’s not a notable snap share for many D-linemen, but Allen had just three games with smaller shares last season.

He certainly played effectively, racking up 2 sacks among 3 total QB hits and 5 total tackles in a lopsided loss.

Perhaps a shift to less playing time can help Allen rebound a tackle total that tumbled from 61 in 2024 to just 38 last season. That included a dip from 15 TFLs in 2024 to just 4, his fewest since his 2019 rookie campaign.

Detroit Lions: Raise the Barnes

LB Devin White “started” each of the Lions’ first two games, but he has logged snap shares of just 20% and 45% so far.

His name recognition remains way ahead of his on-field (or fantasy) value.

LB Derrick Barnes, on the other hand, has opened with snap shares of 86% and 100%, plus sacks in both games.

That Week 1 share aligned with his playing time from last year, while Thursday night’s full outing marked just the fourth time in his six-year career that Barnes hit 100% -- with all of those coming since last November.

Barnes looks ready to become more of a fantasy factor with Alex Anzalone gone to Tampa Bay.

Green Bay Packers: Is it Time?

DL Lukas Van Ness played the largest snap share of his career in the Week 1 loss to Minnesota (66.2%). That follows the previous two high shares closing out last season and might finally signal this 2024 first-round pick stepping up.

He supplied a sack among 4 solo tackles in the contest, and we’ll get to see what he can do against the Jets in Week 2 after Van Ness cleared the concussion protocol ahead of Sunday.

Van Ness hit the league with an elite 97th-percentile speed score among edge players, rocking a 4.58-second 40 at 6’5 and 272 pounds. That followed an intriguing but brief career at Iowa (two years of action after a redshirt season).

Van Ness went quiet through his first three years, including a 2025 ruined by a foot injury. But he’s still just 25 and will be interesting to watch.

Indianapolis Colts: What the LB?

The injury-marred offseason for CJ Allen set up a shaky LB situation for the Colts, which I touched on just before the season. Here’s how things looked in Week 1:

It shows you just how much Allen missed with calf and hamstring injuries that draft classmate Boettcher played ahead of him. And Carlies’ empty stat line says plenty about his outlook.

Davis-Gaither’s more place-filler than answer, but he can be OK for tackle leagues as long as Allen remains sidelined. And the second-round pick clearly has a ways to climb.

Third-round rookie S A.J. Haulcy, meanwhile, played 67 of the 68 defensive snaps and contributed 7 tackles (4 solo) in the loss to the Ravens, despite dealing with an ankle injury late in August.

Haulcy’s an upside stash or guy to watch, depending on the depth of your league.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Hunter Ain’t Full-Time Anywhere

Everyone else focuses on Travis Hunter’s offensive role, but we’re here for the other side.

You might already know that Hunter barely played on offense (four snaps) in Week 1. He also played just 57% on defense. Hunter officially started, but he trailed Montaric Brown (75%) and Jarrian Jones (73%) in playing time.

Jacksonville pulled starters late in the lopsided win over Cleveland, which skewed everyone’s snap shares. (S Antonio Johnson led the D at 88%.) But it wouldn’t be surprising to see usage continue along these lines, as Jacksonville tries to avoid overloading Hunter.

Kansas City Chiefs: What to Beware of with Sneed

CB L’Jarius Sneed tallied a team-high 8 tackles -- including 5 more solos than any teammate -- in the Monday night win over the Broncos.

Sneed operated as the slot corner in his return from Tennessee to the team that drafted him. He played 90% of the snaps, ranking third among Chiefs CBs.

Sneed should remain the No. 3 even if rookie Mansoor Delane returns from his shoulder injury. Sneed hit the field ahead of Kristian Fulton in that opener. The slot role, however, could mean variable snap shares. So don’t trust him too much.

Las Vegas Raiders: Rookie Can’t Get Off the Field

Rookie S Treydan Stukes started and played every snap of the Week 1 victory over Miami, supplying 5 tackles (4 solo) and an INT.

Stukes replaced Isaiah Pola-Mao from last year’s defense, starting next to Jeremy Chinn. That meant primarily running from the FS spot. According to PFF, Stukes played 46 snaps there vs. just seven in the box and two at corner spots. Chinn, meanwhile, played 28 snaps at deep safety, 23 in the box, and four at slot corner.

Chinn remains the better fantasy bet going forward, but Stukes bears watching after landing early in the second round of the draft.

Los Angeles Rams: Should You Grab Donald?

The Rams plan to return DL Aaron Donald to the field this Monday night against the Giants.

“That’s the plan,” Donald said Friday, per Nate Atkins of The Athletic. “That’s all of our plan. We’ll have a conversation to figure it out, but I’m feeling really good. I feel a lot better now that I have more practices under my belt as opposed to one.”

Atkins added that Donald “has been ramping up into football shape,” and we can’t forget that the guy is 35 and hasn’t played since 2023. Even Donald’s last two NFL seasons included a mere 13 sacks across 27 games.

Let’s see how much he plays and what the production looks like before we consider Donald a real IDP option.

Miami Dolphins: Rookie Leads, Safeties Revealed

Rookie LB Jacob Rodriguez played every snap in Week 1, joining CB Chris Johnson as the only Dolphins to do so. (LB Jordyn Brooks played 67 of 68 snaps as well.)

Rodriguez racked up a game-high 14 tackles (5 solo) but added no peripheral stats. We’ll take that playing time and tackle lead for now, and he retains cross-category scoring potential.

Behind the LBs, Zayne Anderson and Michael Taaffe ran as the starting safeties. We’ll have to see about their playing time, though. Only four Dolphins defenders reached 80% snap shares in the loss to the Raiders. (CB Jason Marshall joined Rodriguez, Johnson, and Brooks.)

Minnesota Vikings: Smith Comes Along Slowly

S Harrison Smith played just 38% of the snaps after re-joining the Vikings shortly before the start of the season. That seems likely to rise.

Josh Metellus led Vikings safeties at 100% playing time in the win over the Packers. Theo Jackson checked in next at the position with just a 63% snap share. Jacob Thomas added 15%.

So bet on Smith climbing as he works back into football shape. Don’t be in a hurry to seek IDP value in the 37-year-old, though. Smith finished last season outside the top 90 DBs in fantasy points per game.

New England Patriots: Elliss Might be Rising

LB Christian Elliss played a surprising 98% of the snaps in the Week 1 loss to Seattle. Why’s that surprising? Because he’s been in the league since 2021, and it’s just the fourth time he has ever reached 80% playing time in a game.

The other three games:

• Week 18 last season, with lead LB Robert Spillane inactive
• Week 15 last season, with Spillane inactive
• Week 8 of 2024

That season found Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai opening as the top two LBs. Bentley went down for the season in Week 2. Raekwon McMillan took over his spot, and then quickly displayed that he shouldn’t keep it. (New England waived him in November.) Tavai finished that season as the Pats’ leading tackler and picked up a back injury in that Week 8 contest.

Elliss’ playing time picked up over the second half of that year but then remained limited last year after Spillane arrived to lead the corps. Elliss played just 56.7% of the snaps across his 15 games.

He hasn’t shown particularly exciting production potential, but Elliss did collect tackles efficiently over the past two season. He narrowly trailed Spillane in solo tackles per snap but led him in total tackles per snap.

If Elliss continues his elevated playing time this season, he could prove helpful for tackle-friendly IDP leagues. I boosted his playing-time projection for Week 2, though I need to see more before pushing that further.

Week 1 matched New England up against a run-favoring Seattle offense that lost QB Sam Darnold early.

New Orleans Saints: Werner Gains No Ground, Sanker Loses Some

LB Pete Werner remains a Saints starter, but he only mustered a 52% snap share in the Week 1 OT loss at Detroit.

That lines up with the 53.5% playing time he saw over the final 12 games of last season, which marked a dip from his first five weeks and previous campaigns.

If Werner stays there, then Kaden Elliss will be the only New Orleans LB worth our attention.

Second-year LB Danny Stutsman played 34% in the opener, a number he reached in just the final three games of his rookie season. We’ll see whether he pushes Werner any further.

S Jonas Sanker racked up a team-high 10 tackles (7 solo) for the game but did so on just 66% playing time. So it was just the New Orleans offense that benefited from unusually high play volume. Beware of that playing-time level for Sanker going forward.

New York Giants: Reese’s Subtly Positive Debut

No. 5 overall pick Arvell Reese played every snap in the win over the Cowboys, spending 19% of those snaps at an edge spot.

Reese logged just five pass rushes and one pressure (a QB hit) to go with 5 solo tackles, one of those for a loss. That’s a decent tackle tally, though, when the Giants combined for only 42 as a team.

Reese makes for an interesting fantasy option, especially where he qualifies as a DL. I have him starting there in my lone CBS league.

New York Jets: Rookie Edge Paces Group

Edge David Bailey played a team-high 70% of the defensive snaps in his debut. He also contributed 4 solo tackles and a sack among 4 total pressures in an upside matchup with the Titans.

We’ll see how Bailey fares in less favorable spots. We’ll also have to see whether that playing time comes down when Joseph Ossai returns from his foot injury. But we won’t have to see this week, because the Jets have ruled Ossai out again after he missed every day of practice.

That Bailey beat Will McDonald in playing time by 20 percentage points in Week 1 bodes well.

Philadelphia Eagles: Campbell Goes Near-Full

LB Jihaad Campbell had an interesting rookie season that opened with him playing nearly full time before the return of Nakobe Dean knocked him to irrelevance.

Campbell played 67 of the 70 defensive snaps in last Sunday’s win over Washington, though. He ranked second on the team with 9 tackles (5 solo) and registered the team’s only sack. His seven pass rushes tied for 14th-most among non-edge LBs in Week 1.

DC Vic Fangio doesn’t tend to blitz a tone, but that could remain a key value area for Campbell, who got some edge time in his college days.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Herbig Alters Edge Deployment

The Steelers told us in June that they planned to keep Edge Nick Herbig heavily involved by giving him a four-year, $100 million extension. They proved it in Week 1 by lining his playing time up with incumbents T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith:

• Highsmith 68% snap share
• Herbig 65%
• Watt 63%

That marked a significant dip for Watt, who played 82% or more of the snaps each of the previous four seasons. Highsmith was already trending in this direction, though. His full-season snap shares looked like this over the previous four years:

• 2022: 88.4%
• 2023: 80.6%
• 2024: 74.4%
• 2025: 71.8%

Watt and Highsmith each delivered a pair of sacks in a nice matchup with Cooper Rush and the Falcons. That obviously won’t occur every week, and Watt’s tackle floor will come down. But the decrease in playing time could also help him stay fresher through his age-32 season.

Herbig went quiet in Week 1 but should also find relevance in sack/pressure-friendly IDP leagues. Don’t be surprised if that starts this week against New England.

Drake Maye has taken 3+ sacks in five straight games and eight of the past 10, including last year’s playoffs. 

San Francisco 49ers: Greenlaw Still Not All the Way Back

LB Dre Greenlaw played just 66% of the snaps in his return to the 49ers. That might have been impacted by the Rams pulling starters for their final possession, a 10-play span that accounted for 16.4% of San Francisco’s total defensive snaps.

If Greenlaw settles into 80% playing time or higher going forward, he could prove usable for IDP lineups. But his 1-solo, 5-assist performance in Week 1 makes it easier to watch what Week 2 produces rather than start the veteran.

Greenlaw never made it all the way back from his offseason quad injury in his lone Denver campaign last year. He tallied 120+ tackles in each of his past two 49ers seasons, though.

Seattle Seahawks: This LB Deserves a Look

LB Drake Thomas played every snap in the Week 1 win over the Patriots. He reached that level just once all last season and hit 90% playing time on only two other occasions.

We’ll see whether that holds, but there’s reason to believe his playing time will climb from the 77.4% over his 14 starts last season. Seattle extended Thomas for two years at $4 million per year back in March. That’s not enough to guarantee anything, but it marked a nice bump from his rookie deal.

Thomas landed outside the top 40 LBs in fantasy points per game last year, but he showed some cross-category scoring potential. Thomas ranked second among Seahawks with 10 tackles for loss and tallied 3.5 sacks and 8 passes defensed.

He showed that potential in college as well, racking up 42 TFLs, 16.5 sacks, 7 PDs, and 3 INTs across his final three seasons at N.C. State.

Don’t be surprised if Thomas lands among the position’s top 30 for the season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Rookie LB Commands Attention

I hit LB Josiah Trotter in this week’s waiver-wire article, but he’s worth mentioning here as well.

The second-round rookie played 91% of the defensive snaps in his debut, trailing LB Alex Anzalone by six total snaps and ranking fifth among Bucs defenders in playing time. He turned that into 10 tackles (3 solo), 2 TFLs, 1 sack, and an INT.

That breadth of production makes him worth strong lineup consideration for an upside matchup with the Browns this Sunday. And it might mean Trotter will immediately enter weekly-starter territory.

Tennessee Titans: First-Rounder Fails to Excite

First-round Edge Keldric Faulk ran fourth among Titans edges in the opener, playing just 28% of the snaps.

He trailed Jermaine Johnson (61%), Jacob Martin (45%), and Oluwafemi Oladejo (31%).

Faulk arrives with an iffy prospect profile after supplying just 5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in his final season at Auburn. Teammate Keyron Crawford -- a third-round pick by the Raiders -- beat Faulk 43-30 in pressures, despite getting 240 pass-rush opportunities to Faulk’s 316.

We’ll see where this one goes, but I’m  not particularly interested in Faulk for any fantasy format.

Washington Commanders: Safety Switch Makes Little Impact

Former special-teams maven Jeremy Reaves replaced Quan Martin in the starting lineup for the Week 1 loss to Philadelphia.

Reaves played every snap while supplying just 4 tackles (2 solo). Washington collected only 48 total tackles and 26 solos as a team, though.

We’ll see about Reaves’ production going forward, but he ran as the primary deep safety next to former Colt Nick Cross, who’s coming off two straight years of strong tackle production.

Don’t bet on big numbers from Reaves.

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