For most leagues, Week 17 was the last week of the fantasy football season. That means it’s the perfect time to look back at usage compared to our assumptions in the offseason. Where were we right? What can we learn? What trends will develop into longer-term items we can use in 2025? Going into next season, this year’s data will be all we have. What can it tell us about how to approach players nine months from now?
This week’s quick-and-dirty end-of-season version of the usage trends will look at some interesting snap counts, target counts, and rush share counts from the entire 2024 season for each NFL team. These would qualify as the surprising, interesting, or curious trends in usage that developed over the course of the last 17 weeks.
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 2024 season usage!
NFL 2024 Season Usage Trends
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Marvin Harrison Jr. played on almost 80% of snaps, which was to be expected. But wide receiver Michael Wilson played on 77.5% and is a name to keep stored for next season as a late-round receiver option.
ATLANTA FALCONS
This backfield is a timeshare no more. In the 2024 season, Bijan Robinson played on 77% of snaps while Tyler Allgeier played on just 25%. In their most important game of the season on Sunday night, it was 91% for Robinson and 13% for Allgeier.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Remember in the opening game of the season when we thought Isaiah Likely was going to overtake Mark Andrews? That didn’t exactly happen, but they both played 60% of snaps and Andrews only had eight more targets than Likely this year.
BUFFALO BILLS
No wide receiver or tight end played more than 70% of snaps and no wide receiver or tight end had more than 821 yards for Buffalo, yet they remain one of the deadliest offenses in football.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
While Jonathan Brooks’ re-injury certainly had something to do with it, Chuba Hubbard played 77% of Carolina’s running back snaps and had more than 1300 total yards and 11 touchdowns in just 15 games.
CHICAGO BEARS
Assuming Rome Odunze gets at least one target in Week 18, he will become the third wide receiver on the Bears to have at least 100 targets this season. No other player on the team has more than 53 right now (Cole Kmet).
CINCINNATI BENGALS
When Zack Moss went down in Week 8, Chase Brown rose to the occasion. He played no fewer than 80% of snaps and touched the ball at least 15 times every week since Week 9.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
Before the Browns’ Week 10 bye week, Jerry Jeudy had 33 receptions. Since that time, he has had 51 receptions. Three of his four touchdowns also came after the break with Jameis Winston under center.
DALLAS COWBOYS
After playing at least 50% of Dallas’ snaps just once in their first six weeks, Rico Dowdle played no fewer than 50% of their snaps in every game since Week 9.
DENVER BRONCOS
Courtland Sutton saw at least 60 targets more than any other player on the Broncos this season. However, he had only three red zone targets over the last five games of the fantasy season.
DETROIT LIONS
With six more targets, Jameson Williams will double the number of targets that he had in 2o23. It’s a big part of why Amon-Ra St. Brown (despite being a top-three wide receiver) right now has 40 fewer targets than he did in 2023.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
The Packers had seven players with at least 10 touches in the red zone this season (plus Dontayvion Wicks and Luke Musgrave just missed the cut). Will the lack of a true alpha weapon hurt them in the playoffs? It remains to be seen.
HOUSTON TEXANS
With all of the injuries to the wide receiver corps, only one wideout played more than 13 games this year (Tank Dell), and now he is slated to miss all of next season. C.J. Stroud regressed in year two and now faces the uncertainty of a season that might not have Dell or Stefon Diggs in 2025.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Despite the fact that they were all incredibly consistent (each scored between 121 and 130 half-PPR points this year), none of Michael Pittman, Alec Pierce, or Josh Downs finished as a top-36 wide receiver. In the games he played, Anthony Richardson also finished as the QB17 in points per game. Give this passing attack a downgrade next year.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Travis Etienne played 55% of snaps and scored 103 half-PPR points this year. Tank Bigsby played 38% and scored 115 points. These two were drafted 200 spots apart in 2024 drafts.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Brock Bowers finishes the season just 0.2 half-PPR points behind George Kittle for the tight end lead in 2024. Assuming a quarterback upgrade is coming, Bowers is the new tight end who will be drafted in the second round for years to come.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Despite just a 19.9% target share (45th among wide receivers), Ladd McConkey finished 14th in receiving yards with 960 despite missing one game. It’s because he had 330 yards after the catch and finished eighth in yards per route run.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
In the most important weeks of the fantasy season (weeks 14-17), Puka Nacua was the WR5 with 19.4 points per game. Cooper Kupp? WR66 with 6.3 and that’s just because he had 17.7 in Week 14. Kupp might not be draftable as a starter next year considering this development.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
De’Von Achane regressed from 7.3 yards per carry in 2023 to 4.8 yards per carry in 2024. Of course that was offset by his receptions jumping to 76 and scoring 11 total touchdowns. But look for the Dolphins to bring in another Raheem Mostert-type in 2025 to take some of the rushing work.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Despite being 30 years old, Aaron Jones saw his snap share jump from 50% in 2023 with Green Bay to 64% with Minnesota this year. He was 10th in carries and ninth in red zone touches among all running backs this season.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
How badly does this team need to use draft capital to pick up pass catchers? No one on the 2024 Patriots had more than 675 receiving yards or more than three touchdowns. Drake Maye showed plenty of promise, but he needs playmakers around him.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
With so many offensive injuries it’s hard to parse many takeaways. But at 29 years old, Alvin Kamara was eighth in snap share (73%), first in targets (89), 13th in rushing yards (950), and first in expected fantasy points per game (21.1).
NEW YORK GIANTS
As a rookie, Malik Nabers finished first in target share, third in air yards, fourth in deep targets, and fourth in receptions, but only 28th in red zone targets. All of that was with Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy Devito. Nabers could be a top-five pick if he has a competent quarterback around him.
NEW YORK JETS
Another player who might have a new quarterback (and a new team) next year is Garrett Wilson. Despite the dysfunction of Aaron Rodgers, Wilson was fourth in targets, seventh in receptions, and 11th in yards.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
It’s now clear that A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith should be considered the top wide receiver duo in the league, especially for their consistency. Both played between 86% and 89% of snaps. Smith had 89 targets while Brown had 97. They were one reception apart, and one touchdown apart all season (Brown had seven, Smith with eight).
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Beginning in Week 14, Jaylen Warren out-snapped Najee Harris every week through the end of the fantasy season. After the Steelers’ Week 9 bye week, Harris did not top 75 rushing yards in any game the rest of the season.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
After Brandon Aiyuk was lost in Week 8, Jauan Jennings played less than 91% of snaps just one time in a game and finished as the WR26 in PPR scoring in that span. He will make the landing softer if the team has to depart with Deebo Samuel this offseason.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Jaxon Smith-Njigba played more than 100 snaps over every other wide receiver for the Seahawks this season and had 33 more receptions than D.K. Metcalf, who was closest to him. JSN is a top-12 wide receiver now and will be selected in the top four rounds in 2025.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Rachaad White played over 100 more snaps than Bucky Irving in 2024, but Irving outscored him by 30 fantasy points. Expect Irving to have a much larger role in 2025 as his rushing ability develops.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Please get Calvin Ridley a new quarterback next year. He finished the year with a strong 941 yards on 115 targets. But he was first in unrealized air yards with 1,024 yards. His expected fantasy points per game were five points higher than what he actually produced.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Despite being 34th in target share (22.4%), Terry McLaurin was fifth in air yards as Jayden Daniels was accurate on deep throws to his favorite wide receiver. More targets next year could vault McLaurin into the upper echelon of receivers for fantasy football.
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