NFL Week 1 Usage Trends: Fantasy Football Notes for All 32 Teams

Fantasy football is back for 2025, and so are the worries about playing time, usage, and roles. After just one week’s worth of games, can we know that what we saw on the field this weekend is the same thing we will see for 18 weeks? That’s unlikely, but interesting trends are already emerging after just one game per team.

This weekly piece will look at those trends and make recommendations for players who might be worth rostering or starting in our fantasy lineups. For Week 1, we will dive into some ambiguous situations that developed in the offseason to see how different roles played out.

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 1 usage!

NFL Week 1 Usage Trends

ARIZONA CARDINALS

Trey Benson Levels Up

ATLANTA FALCONS

Drake London Still the Target Share King

Even though he left for the last couple of drives of the game, Drake London still managed to see 15 targets and a 35.7% target share. This kept the target train running after London saw 39 targets in three Michael Penix Jr. starts in 2024.

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Zay Flowers Target Share

The one thing that was keeping Zay Flowers from moving into elite status was a healthy, elite-level target share. If Sunday night’s fantasy-points bonanza was any indication, Flowers might be getting what we have all been hoping for. Flowers had a 47% target share Sunday night, second-highest in the entire league.

BUFFALO BILLS

Keon Colemand Breakout Incoming

Keon Coleman played on a team-high 88% of snaps (no other player besides Josh Allen had more than 71%) and drew 11 targets. He finished the game with eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. Coleman is the WR1 the Bills have been desperate for since Stefon Diggs left, and this is the beginning of a season where he finishes as top 24 at the position.

CAROLINA PANTHERS

Wide Receiver Usage as Expected

The wide receiver usage for the new-look offense for Carolina was about what everyone expected. Rookie Tetairoa McMillan played the most snaps, followed by Xavier Legette and then Hunter Renfrow. The targets matched that, with McMillan going for nine, Legette with seven, and six for Renfrow. Tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders only finished the game with three looks his way.

CHICAGO BEARS

Rome Odunze Assumes WR1 Role

Rome Odunze was Caleb Williams’ favorite target on Monday night, drawing eight looks, which was the most on the team. D.J Moore saw just five, but also had three rush attempts. Rookie Colston Loveland had just two targets in his debut. Odunze also played more snaps than anyone not named Caleb Williams.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Chase Brown is the Bell Cow

I wouldn’t say there was concern that Chase Brown would get a full workload this season, more like a curiosity this offseason. He put those concerns to rest with a 75% snap share, 21 rush attempts, and three targets against the Cleveland Browns. As long as he stays healthy, Brown should have enough work to make him an easy RB1 this season.

CLEVELAND BROWNS

Dylan Sampson Gets the Work (For Now…)

Rookie running back Dylan Sampson wasn’t efficient at all, but he did get the majority of the running back work against Cincinnati on Sunday. He doubled up Jerome Ford in rush attempts (12 to six) and had eight targets to Ford’s one. There is a dark cloud over this for Sampson, however, as fellow rookie Quinshon Judkins is now signed and ready to make his debut as soon as Week 2.

DALLAS COWBOYS

Running Back Clarity for the ‘Boys

It’s really hard to make an offensive impact when you are inactive and not on the field. So Jaydon Blue truthers are going to have to wait for another week to see how the Cowboys decide to handle their running backs. On Thursday, they gave 77% of snaps and 17 total touches to Javonte Williams. Williams also got three of the Cowboys’ six touches in the red zone.

DENVER BRONCOS

Backfield Split Favors J.K. Dobbins

J.K. Dobbins was favored in usage by about a two-to-one ratio on Sunday. Dobbins got the rushing touchdown, but rookie R.J. Harvey was much more efficient with 70 rushing yards on six attempts. Two other running backs also worked in the rotation, but right now it looks like Dobbins is the favorite for most offensive packages, with Harvey being in for change of pace.

DETROIT LIONS

Jahmyr Gibbs’ Massive but Inefficient Workload

Jahmyr Gibbs set a record on Sunday, but it’s not the kind you want. His 31 receiving yards on 10 receptions were the lowest all-time for someone with 10 catches. He did get 66% of the snaps with David Montgomery back and healthy, so hopefully, better days are ahead for this new offense without Ben Johnson leading the way.

GREEN BAY PACKERS

Wide Receiver Targets

Five pass-catchers had between two and five targets for Green Bay on Sunday, continuing a trend of flat distribution that carries back to the beginning of 2024. Romeo Doubs led all wide receivers with a 71% snap share. The silver lining might be the touchdowns and 92% of snaps for Tucker Kraft. He is headed for a breakout season.

HOUSTON TEXANS

Running Back Distribution

With Joe Mixon out, there was a major question about how this running back room would divide touches in Week 1. Nick Chubb was in on 51% of plays, while Woody Marks and Dameon Pierce both saw just 11% of snaps. Dare Ogunbowale came out of the special teams room to soak up 27% of snaps and four touches, just to complicate things further.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Tyler Warren is Already a Must-Start

Over 73% of the snaps, nine targets, and 76 yards. That’s how rookie tight end Tyler Warren starts his NFL career. Daniel Jones found him early and often, and he even had two red zone targets in his debut. If Daniel Jones keeps playing like he did in Week 1, Tyler Warren will be a no-doubt TE1 at season’s end.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Three-Headed Running Back Monster Down to Two

With the trade of Tank Bigsby to Philadelphia on Monday night, the Jaguars running back room just got a lot more clarity. Bigsby played just 20% of snaps Sunday and had only five touches. Travis Etienne (19 touches) clearly leads this backfield now, but the team thinks enough of rookie Bhayshul Tuten to move him into the primary backup/change of pace back.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Wide Receiver Next Man Up

Without Xavier Worthy or Rashee Rice in the weeks ahead, it’s going to be next man up for the Kansas City Chiefs. And it appears you have to go to Hollywood to find him. Hollywood Brown had a whopping 16 targets for 10 receptions and 99 yards in Brazil and is now competing with the likes of Juju Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton for targets. Considering Travis Kelce only saw four targets in this game, it’s clear Patrick Mahomes plans to force-feed Brown as long as he needs to.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

Ashton Jeanty Massive Workload

Rookie Ashton Jeanty had 21 touches on Sunday, and all other running backs combined for three for the Raiders. The efficiency for Jeanty was horrific on Sunday, but the team is not going to give up on him, and this much work this early in the season means better days are ahead.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

Running Backs

With Najee Harris officially back on the active roster, the question was how much work would he steal from Omarion Hampton? The answer for Week 1 was “not much,” as Harris played just 18% of snaps and had two touches compared to 17 for Hampton. However, Coach Harbaugh said after the game that Harris was limited to 12 snaps in this game, so expect a bigger workload going forward.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

Puka Nacua and Davante Adams Can Co-Exist

It looks like the Puka Nacua and Davante Adams coexistence is going to work just fine. Nacua saw 11 targets, and Adams had eight. The other players on the Rams combined for nine targets. Kyren Williams is going to carry the rock, Nacua and Adams get the targets. This is an easy offense to figure out.

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Throw This One in the Trash

I’m not exactly sure what to make of this awful performance from the Miami Dolphins. They scored eight points in garbage time, but were otherwise shut out. Five players had between four and six targets. Jaylen Waddle got injured in the game. Tyreek Hill was seen pouting on the sideline. The only silver lining is De’Von Achane scored and played on 73% of snaps.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Backfield Looks to be a Timeshare

The 50/50 speculation for this Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason backfiled appears to be right on the money. Jones had eight carries and three targets. Mason had 15 carries and one target. Mason looks to be the pure between-the-20s rusher, while Jones gets the goal-line and the third downs.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Running Back Rookie Has to Wait

TreVeyon Henderson will have to wait at least a little while longer to take over as the main man in New England. Rhamondre Stevenson out-snapped him 65% to 35%, but it was Henderson who was much more efficient. Henderson finished with 5.4 yards per carry (2.1 for Stevenson), and he had 24 receiving yards on six targets.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Juwan Johnson is a Waiver Add

In what could be an offense that is trailing in just about every game all season, Juwan Johnson showed he should be on fantasy rosters right now. He caught eight of 11 targets for 78 yards and saw two red zone targets. More importantly, he did not come off the field, playing 99% of snaps against Arizona.

NEW YORK GIANTS

Running Back Mess

Tyrone Tracy dominated the snaps among running backs with 74% in this game, but none of the three backs on this roster (including Devin Singletary and rookie Cam Skattebo) could get anything going against the Washington front seven. Tracy and Singletary combined for 33 rushing yards while Skattebo couldn’t even get in positive territory and finished with minus three.

NEW YORK JETS

So Much for the Demise of Breece Hall

There was a lot of speculation about this backfield in the offseason, wondering if Braelon Allen would eat into Breece Hall’s workload. Hall sent some cryptic tweets. It was a whole big thing. Well, Hall was the big thing on Sunday as he ran for 107 yards on 19 carries and added 38 receiving yards. Allen had nine rushing yards (but did score once!).

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Passing Volume Problems

The Philadelphia Eagles only had 23 total passing attempts on Thursday night compared to 38 rushing attempts. This is going to be a common theme again this year, so days like last week, where A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith bust might be more common than we hope for. They combined for four targets while tight end Dallas Goedert had seven by himself.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Kaleb Johnson Buried

Anyone hoping Kaleb Johnson would get his shot to prove he should be the RB1 in Pittsburgh was severely disappointed this week. He played on just two snaps and had one touch. Both Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell had strong usage, and Johnson appears to be the odd man out at this point in the season.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

Who Gets the Targets Now?

With Juaun Jennings and George Kittle now set to miss some time with injuries, and Brandon Aiyuk already out for the first six weeks, where will the targets go in San Francisco? Christian McCaffrey and Ricky Pearsall are universally rostered, so they can’t help our teams. Get ready to bid on Jake Tonges and Russell Gage Jr. in waivers this week. But really, this is just a massive boon for McCaffrey and Pearsall.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Charbonnet Runs Past Walker

Not many people would have predicted that Zach Chabonnet would outsnap Kenneth Walker III 58% to 40% in this game, but Charbonnet clearly looked like the better back. He had 47 rushing yards to Walker’s 20, and was given the goal-line work, scoring the one rushing touchdown. Not to be outdone, Jaxon Smith-Njigba led all receivers with a 53% target share this weekend.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Emeka Egbuka Already Looking Like a Star

Although six targets is a relatively low number, it’s clear that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers like Emeka Egbuka in big spots, and he scored two touchdowns in his debut. Mike Evans still led the team in targets, but Egbuka was at 16 yards per reception, while Evans was just at 10.

TENNESSEE TITANS

Tony Pollard’s High-Volume, Low-Efficiency Day

No Tyjae Spears meant Tony Pollard got 89% of snaps on Sunday. But the Denver Broncos defense shut him down for just 60 rushing yards on 18 attempts. Pollard had one target, but mostly looked out of sync in Cam Ward’s first NFL game. The volume for Pollard should cover up a multitude of sins, but the efficiency must improve going forward.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS

Bill Croskey-Merritt is as Advertised

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 2 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!