Week 13 was the wonderful, delicious, full Thanksgiving plate of games in between the much lighter appetizer and dessert of Weeks 12 and 14. Both of those weeks have six important teams on bye weeks, throwing a wrench into the plans of those trying to make the fantasy football postseason. Each game and each week is absolutely critical now, so dissecting the Week 13 usage might be the most important week of the year with so many tough decisions to make with six teams on bye.
In addition to a full slate of NFL games in the penultimate week before the fantasy football playoffs, Week 13 provided a number of unique and interesting usage notes for players as we approach the fantasy football postseason.
This weekly piece will look at an interesting usage note for each team during every NFL week. If you have interesting usage notes, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter/X (@CableBoxScore) and let me know. Let’s dive into the NFL Week 13 usage!
NFL Week 13 Usage Trends
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Cardinals Make Good on Harrison Promise
The Cardinals committed that they were going to “get Marvin Harrison going” this week, and they were right. His 12 targets were the highest of the season. Harrison finished with five catches for 60 yards and a touchdown, not producing more because Kyler Murray was under pressure by Minnesota all game long.
ATLANTA FALCONS
Robinson Is Now a Bell Cow
Bijan Robinson had 10 carries in the first quarter alone and ended the game against the LA Chargers with 32 total touches on 75% of snaps played. For context, in five of Robinson’s first six games, he had 16 total carries. With Kirk Cousins’ struggles, this offense now revolves around Robinson.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Rashod Bateman Replacement.
After Rashod Bateman left with an injury, it was Tylan Wallace who stepped up and played 56% of snaps. Not to be seen anywhere? Diontae Johnson and Devontez Walker, neither of whom played a single snap.
BUFFALO BILLS
Khalil Shakir Stands Out
Targets in a blizzard may not be worth tracking or predictive of the future, but Khalil Shakir (seven targets) had more than twice as many targets than any other player on the Bills in the Sunday game. His 73 targets are double anyone else on the team not named Dalton Kincaid.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
Jonathan Brooks Stairstep
Jonathan Brooks moved up from 8% of snaps in Week 12 to 21% of snaps in Week 13. He had a very efficient 41 yards on nine total touches.
CHICAGO BEARS
Rome Odunze Running as Clear WR3
After 24 total targets for Keenan Allen and D.J. Moore and just six for Rome Odunze in Week 13, it’s clear who are the favorites in this new version of the Chicago Bears offense. Odunze has proved very inconsistent through the first 13 weeks of the season.
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Red Zone Clear Role
In the shootout with Pittsburgh, it became very clear who Joe Burrow wanted to get the ball in the red zone, and the players won’t surprise you. Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase combined for five red zone opportunities while the rest of the team had just four.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Jerry Jeudy Found His Man
Of all the insane stats from Jerry Jeudy coming out of Monday Night Football, this one perhaps is the best. According to Patrick Daugherty, 14.1% of Jerry Jeudy’s career receiving yardage has come in the five games since Jameis Winston was named the starter. Jeudy has almost been in the league for five full seasons.
DALLAS COWBOYS
Dowdle is Emerging as an RB1
For just the second time this season, Rico Dowdle played more than 70% of snaps. The results against the Giants were 25 touches, 123 yards, and a touchdown. If the Cowboys want any hope of salvaging their season, they need to keep feeding Dowdle over all other running backs.
DENVER BRONCOS
Jaleel McLaughlin Now the Main Man
After a game where Javonte Williams ran four times for a total of 1 yard, it became clear that the Broncos were turning to Jaleel McLaughlin for the majority of the work. After it was clear Williams didn’t have it again, McLaughlin handled most of the second-half work. We will need to see if this is a trend that continues after Denver’s bye week in Week 14.
DETROIT LIONS
Back to Normal
There is never much deviation in the usage of Detroit Lions players unless they have an injury. That’s why we saw David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs go back to a 54%/46% split in the backfield after Gibbs handled 67% on Thanksgiving when Montgomery got hurt.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Kraft For the Cheese
With no Romeo Doubs in the game against Miami, Tucker Kraft led Green Bay in targets (seven) and even saw a red zone target. The result was a very strong six catches for 78 yards in the Packers win.
HOUSTON TEXANS
Three-Headed Offensive Monster
Just how much do the Texans rely on Nico Collins, Joe Mixon, and Dalton Schultz? In the game against Jacksonville, those three combined for 37 touches. Every other player on the team combined for five.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Adonai Mitchell Plays But Box Score Won’t Show It
With Josh Downs taking a seat due to injury, Adonai Mitchell stepped up with 60% of snaps played but did not record a catch on his two targets. At some point, he might put things together, but so far Mitchell looks to be incredibly inconsistent.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Pick Up Parker Washington
With no Gabe Davis or Christian Kirk, it was the perfect spot for Parker Washington to get a ton of usage. He played 80% of snaps and grabbed six balls for 103 yards and a touchdown.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Pacheco Slow Role
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Sincere-ly Confused
After dominating touches and snaps last week, the Raiders apparently believed that Ameer Abdullah needed some help. Enter Sincere McCormick who played 38% of snaps and touched the ball 14 times for 65 yards.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
New Running Back Roles
With no J.K. Dobbins, the running back snap breakdown looked like this: Gus Edwards (52%), Kimani Vidal (26%), and Hassan Haskins (15%). However, no running back touched the ball more than seven times in a sloppy game that was dominated by defense.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Blake Corum Gets His Shot
The big usage story of the week is Blake Corum playing 32% of the snaps for the Rams on Sunday. He had not played more than 19% in any game this year, and that was in a blowout. This was a one-score game against the Saints throughout. Kyren Williams still got 16 touches for 113 yards and a touchdown, but Corum had eight rushes for 41 yards, or about the same as his last five games combined.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Jonnu Smith Explosion
Jonnu Smith now has 11 targets in back-to-back games. He finished the game against Green Bay with 10 catches for 113 yards. His 74 targets now trail only Tyreek Hill (82) on this team.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Justin Jefferson Disappears
Two fumbles caused Aaron Jones to get just 53% of snaps against Arizona on Sunday. C.J. Ham and Cam Akers both had about 30% of snaps when Jones was off the field. A late touchdown saved Jones’ fantasy day, but otherwise, he touched the ball just eight times for 28 yards.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Rhamondre Back to the Workhorse
One week after entering into a 50/50 split in snaps with Antonio Gibson, Rhamondre Stevenson played on 78% of snaps and touched the ball 21 times for 94 yards. In games the Patriots are winning or tied, they are feeding Stevenson as much as possible.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Juwan Johnson Steps Up
After four games of fewer than 65% of snaps, Juwan Johnson saw 70% in Week 13, especially filling in after Taysom Hill left with an injury. With Hill gone for the year, expect more days like this where Johnson plays most of the snaps and gets around seven targets.
NEW YORK GIANTS
Malik Nabers Get the Grease For the Wheel
After talking to the press about his role in the offense, Nabers saw his usage spike in Week 13. He had 13 targets which led to eight catches for 69 yards. He does have to contend with Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito the rest of the season, so maybe temper expectations on future touchdowns.
NEW YORK JETS
Hall Passed by Others?
Despite playing 62% of the Jets’ snaps, Breece Hall had just 12 total touches for 60 yards, including zero receptions, while losing a fumble. The other running backs on the roster for New York combined for 11 touches for 59 yards and a touchdown. The playing time has been there for Hall, but the efficiency has not.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Hurts Not Asked to do Much
There were 32 rush attempts by the Eagles in the game against Baltimore on Sunday, compared to just 11 completed passes. With how dominant Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts have been on the ground, the Eagles might start to enter historical territory for this century with how little they throw the ball.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The Muth is Back
After a stretch of about six disappointing games for Pat Freiermuth, he finally reemerged on Sunday. He played 67% of snaps, led the team in targets with seven, and caught six balls for 68 yards and a touchdown.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Isaac Guerendo Time
Isaac Guerendo has played more than 23% of snaps just once this season, but he is going to be the RB1 for this team for the rest of the season with both Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason put on IR. He touched the ball five times for 22 yards and a touchdown in the snow game, and will likely see 15-18 touches per game moving forward.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Lockett On the Way Down
Week 13 was the fourth game in a row that Tyler Lockett’s snaps have decreased. After playing 89% in Week 9, he was down to 47% in Week 13. That corresponds with Jaxon Smith-Njigba playing over 77% of snaps for the 11th time in 12 games.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Bucky Superman Efficiency
While the discrepancy in touches (Bucky Irving: 28, Rachaad White: 12) might make it seem like Irving took over the majority of snaps, that actually is not the case. Both running backs played about 54% of snaps, but Irving was far more efficient and explosive on all of his touches, even while injuring a hip during the game.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is Inevitable
Nick Westbrook, after two touchdowns, has eight in his last eight games. While that stat in and of itself is wild, what’s crazier is the fact that NWI only has 20 total receptions in that span. While it’s a great story, surely it has to end at some point, right? Right?
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Brian Robinson a Lot With a Little
The Commanders sure don’t want Brian Robinson Jr. to get a full workhorse load of snaps in a game. He only played 475 in a game where Austin Ekeler was hurt. Maybe it’s for the best since Robinson has looked fresh down the stretch and ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on just 16 rush attempts in Week 13.
Data Sources: Pro Football Focus, NFL Next Gen Stats, Football Guys Snap Summary, FTN Air Yards, Pro Football Reference, Team Rankings, Fantasy Points Data Suite
Make sure to check out all of our Week 14 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!