The first week of the fantasy football playoffs was a wild one to be sure. We had the highest-scoring game of the year (90 points between Buffalo and Detroit), more than a dozen players scored two touchdowns, and Lamar Jackson threw for five touchdowns in three quarters and wasn’t one of the top two quarterbacks on the week.
Week 16 promises to be just as crazy as we move into the second weekend of the fantasy football playoffs. How teams use their players as the end of the season approaches becomes more and more important. Usage is everything when we are trying to find those last micro-edges.
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 15 usage!
NFL Week 15 Usage Trends
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Trey McBride’s Unfortunate Record
Trey McBride broke Diontae Johnson’s record for most receptions in a season with no touchdowns. McBride now has 89 catches and three games left to avoid what is looking like a 100-catch, zero-touchdown season.
ATLANTA FALCONS
One Way to Not Let Kirk Cousins Beat You
The one way to ensure Kirk Cousins does minimal damage when he is out on the field is to take the ball out of his hands as much as possible. He threw just 17 times (and had a pick, of course), while the Falcons ran the ball 37 times in this game, leading to a much-needed win.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Lamar’s Incredible Efficiency
Lamar Jackson threw five touchdown passes on only 25 pass attempts. According to Stathead, five touchdown passes on 25 or fewer pass attempts has happened just 11 times since 2010. Lamar Jackson now has six of those.
BUFFALO BILLS
Cooper Crash
After 14 targets in Week 14, Amari Cooper had exactly zero in Week 15 despite his team scoring 48 points. He played about the same percentage of snaps as the previous three games, so this turn of events is quite shocking to happen in the fantasy playoffs.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
Hubbard/Coker Back in Full-Time Roles
With Jonathan Brooks and Miles Sanders out with injuries and Xavier Legette leaving very early with his own injury, it was bell-cow time for Chuba Hubbard and Jalen Coker. Both played over 88% of snaps and carried massive workloads.
CHICAGO BEARS
Keenan Allen Rejuvenated
After 14 targets, eight receptions, and a touchdown on Monday Night Football, Keenan Allen looks rejuvenated. He now has at least 13 targets in three of his last five games and has four touchdowns in his last four games as well.
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Chase Brown Somehow Plays More
Despite leading the NFL in running back snap and opportunity share, somehow Chase Brown got an even bigger workload against the Titans. He played 93% of snaps (a season-high), and touched the ball 28 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Ford Back on Top
With Nick Chubb going down with a broken foot, it will be Jerome Ford with the heavy workload for the Browns down the stretch. He played 58% of snaps compared to 10% for Pierre Strong on Sunday.
DALLAS COWBOYS
Dowdle Now Officially an RB1
Rico Dowdle played more than 70% of snaps for the third game in a row in Week 15. He also touched the ball 19 times for 141 total yards. All other running backs touched the ball four times.
DENVER BRONCOS
Don’t Play the Denver Tight End Game
The Denver Broncos threw two touchdowns to the tight end position on Sunday. The problem was, that they were to Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins. Those two, plus Lucas Krull, make up a three-headed mess at the position and none of them play more than 45% of snaps.
DETROIT LIONS
Full-Time Role for Gibbs Incoming
With David Montgomerynow out for the season, Jahmyr Gibbs is going to get a full-time role for the last two weeks of the fantasy playoffs. In games Montgomery missed last season, Gibbs saw 60%, 70%, and 87% of Detroit’s snaps.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
Doubs Plays WR Role Over Reed
With Romeo Doubs back from his concussion on Sunday night, he did not come into a part-time role or the WR3 for Green Bay. He immediately played 75% of snaps while Jayden Reed dropped to 59%. However, Reed still saw more targets (six to five), but Doubs came away with two touchdowns.
HOUSTON TEXANS
Schultz Forced Into Full-Time Job
Once Cade Stover was forced to miss this week’s game with a last-minute appendectomy, Dalton Schultz went into full-time tight end mode. He played 94% of snaps and saw four targets against Miami.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Taylor Gaffe Leads to Bench Time
Even though Jonathan Taylor was fully healthy, and the game against the Broncos was a close one throughout, his drop-the-ball-before-the-end-zone gaffe cost him playing time. Taylor played 68% of snaps, his lowest of the season in a healthy game.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Brenton Strange For the Win
With Evan Engram out for the season, Brenton Strange stepped up and played 82% of snaps, earning 11 targets along the way. He and Brian Thomas Jr. may be the only reliable pass-catchers for the Jaguars down the stretch.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Pacheco Step Back
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Sincerely Out of the Game
When Sincere McCormick left the Raiders’ game early with an ankle injury, it was Ameer Abdullah and Alexander Mattison back to their old tricks again. Both played more than 20 snaps. Abdullah had seven targets and three carries, while Mattison reversed it with three targets and seven carries.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Hello Kimani Vidal!
Goodbye Gus Edwards, and hello Kimani Vidal. Vidal exploded for 67% of snaps against the Buccaneers and had eight rush attempts and three targets. That kind of workload is not quite enough for a reliable spot on starting lineups, but he is worth watching.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Messy Tight End Room Gets Messier
A tight end room that already sees Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen, and Hunter Long seeing snaps and targets is about to add Tyler Higbee back to the mix. I would avoid this situation altogether for fantasy football.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
Malik Washington Steps Up
With Jaylen Waddle going down early with a knee injury, Malik Washington stepped up in snaps and opportunity. He played in 59% of snaps and caught five of six targets for 52 yards. He is a name to watch if Waddle misses time.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Three-Headed Viking
Sam Darnold threw the ball 35 times in this game. A full 3o of those targets went to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson. With Aaron Jones getting 20 touches in this game as well, this is one of the easiest teams to predict usage on a week-to-week basis.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
New England Moving to 11 Personnel
Not much changed for New England in terms of their running backs and wide receivers. But Austin Hooper and Hunter Henry are starting to play more at the same time. Henry played 80% of snaps while Hooper saw 61%. Both have been consistently fed with targets as well in the last four games.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Kendre Miller Should Start Warming Up
With Alvin Kamara leaving Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, Kendre Miller should be ready to be the next man up in the last couple of weeks of the year. Miller played 47% of snaps in this game, with Kamara leaving after 45%.
NEW YORK GIANTS
Nabers Seeing Usage, Finally Gets Production
Nabers had his fourth game in a row with at least nine targets, but this time the production came with the opportunity. After not having more than 79 yards in any of his last five games, Nabers had 82 yards and a touchdown against Baltimore.
NEW YORK JETS
Hall and Davis Split Time
With Breece Hall coming back from his one-week absence, he and Isaiah Davis split time equally in the game against Jacksonville. Braelon Allen was an afterthought, playing just 17% of snaps while the other two backs split the remaining snaps almost down the middle.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Very Narrow Passing Christmas Tree
Jalen Hurts proved he can lead the Eagles to a win when he passes the ball, and there is no question who his targets are going to be. Out of 31 total targets in the game, DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown saw 23 of them.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Austin and Jefferson Fill In
With George Pickens sidelined again, it was Calvin Austin and Van Jefferson filling in again. Both played exactly 81% of snaps, but Russell Wilson was unable to get either of them going all game.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Guerendo Puts Work Concerns to Rest
There was a little bit of concern that Isaac Guerendo would be limited or miss the Thursday night game, but he put all that to bed with 76% of snaps played and 20 total touches in the game.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
JSN the Alpha Now
With Tyler Lockett looking old and D.K. Metcalf inexplicably struggling, it is official now. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has become the new WR1 on this team. He played 95% of snaps this week and now has 21 more targets than Metcalf on the season.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Backs Back to Splitting Time
With Bucky Irving active for this game, it became a frustrating rotation between him and Rachaad White again. White played 51% of snaps while Irving played 44%. White walked away with the touchdown this week, but it might be Irving up again next week.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Calvin Ridley Concern
Any talk of Titans’ pass-catcher worry has to be taken with a grain of Will Levis-sized salt. But he has seen his snaps decrease for the third straight week and they were down to 73% this week. On Sunday he also broke a streak of nine straight games with at least six targets.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Dyami Brown Steps Up
With no Noah Brown and Zach Ertz leaving with an injury, Dyami Brown stepped up for Washington. He played 78% of snaps and saw four targets, turning it into three catches for 30 yards.
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 16 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!