For most leagues, there is just one week left in the fantasy football season. That means one week left to get the important and tough lineup decisions right. For every Josh Allen (a dud but everyone started him), there is a Tyjae Spears. Spears, the nominal backup, played more snaps and ran more routes than Tony Pollard. Could we have seen his massive fantasy day incoming? What types of players fit that mold for Week 17?
The quick-and-dirty Christmas version of the usage trends this week will look at some interesting snap counts, target counts, and rush share counts from each NFL team. There is no more important week to pay attention to usage than the championship week and these metrics are valuable as tie-breakers when making tough lineup decisions.
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 16 usage!
NFL Week 16 Usage Trends
ARIZONA CARDINALS
James Conner should return from a knee injury in Week 16, but if he doesn’t, Michael Carter had six carries in his absence. No other running back logged a carry (Greg Dortch had one).
ATLANTA FALCONS
Kyle Pitts was fifth on the team in routes run and had the same number of targets as tight end Charlie Woerner.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
After Justice Hill left with an injury on Saturday, it was Derrick Henry all the time, including with two targets in the passing game. Third-stringer Rasheen Ali saw nine snaps and carried the ball one time.
BUFFALO BILLS
Dalton Kincaid saw the most targets in this one, even though it was only seven on the day. Prized rookie Keon Coleman and trade asset Amari Cooper saw just two targets each in this game.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
Chuba Hubbard had 30 combined opportunities on Sunday while the rest of the skill players had a combined 25 opportunities. This guy is doing Christian McCaffrey-type stuff.
CHICAGO BEARS
After one big game, Rome Odunze was back to being the third wheel behind Keenan Allen and D.J. Moore. Odunze had just seven targets compared to 11 for Allen and 10 for Moore.
CINCINNATI BENGALS
Chase Brown had 18 carries in this game against Cleveland, including several inside the 10-yard line. All other Cincinnati players combined for just one rushing attempt.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
David Njoku played through injury and amassed 10 targets on Sunday. That number was more than any two Cleveland players combined. He should be back to full strength for Week 17.
DALLAS COWBOYS
CeeDee Lamb missing some of Monday Night Football with his shoulder injury meant someone had to step up. That someone was Jake Ferguson who saw nine targets. Besides Lamb and Ferguson, no other player had more than three targets.
DENVER BRONCOS
Javonte Williams somehow saw 11 targets in the Thursday Night Football game. He had as many as six in two games this year, but he never got anywhere close to 11 in a game.
DETROIT LIONS
In David Montgomery’s absence, Jahmyr Gibbs had 28 total opportunities, which was almost half of the Lions’ total (62). He also spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench because of the blowout against Chicago.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
What happens when Green Bay wins a game 34-0? The stud wide receivers combined for just 13 targets among four players and they deferred to the running game (39 carries) all night.
HOUSTON TEXANS
Tank Dell had a horrific knee injury just when his season was starting to turn around and he was showing the promise he had as a rookie before a different leg injury ended his season. Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson stepped up into his role, but the Texans get John Metchie III back Diontae Johnson was claimed on waivers. Basically, it’s the Nico Collins show now.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
The Colts beat the Titans by a score of 38-30 with Anthony Richardson throwing the ball just 11 times. Meanwhile, the Colts rushed the ball 48 times and are clearly going to ride with the formula that leads to wins for this team.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Brian Thomas Jr. had 13 more targets in this game, while every other Jaguars wide receiver and running back combined for 13 total. Thomas has become their entire offense over the last three weeks.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Alexander Mattison had 18 opportunities and was very efficient against the Jaguars in Week 16. His six targets were second only to Brock Bowers who continued to dominate with 13 looks his way.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
With Gus Edwards playing more and playing well. Kimani Vidal crashed back down to earth with just 32% of snaps played. This comes after he played 67% of snaps in Week 15.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Cooper Kupp busted for the second week in a row during the most important fantasy football weeks of the year. His three targets in this game led to just one catch. This was one week after putting up a donut on Thursday Night Football.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
With Jaylen Waddle out, it wasn’t Jonnu Smith or Malik Washington who got the ball most often. It was De’Von Achane. He had 24 opportunities, including eight targets in the passing game.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
In a must-win game for Minnesota, Aaron Jones was back to being a bell-cow running back for them. He had 23 total opportunities for the Vikings while Cam Akers and C.J. Ham had just two total.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Almost half of Drake Maye’s targets (32 total) went to Hunter Henry (eight targets) and Kayshon Boutte (seven targets). They are the primary weapons in this passing game with everyone else fighting for scraps.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
While Kendre Miller played for an injured Alvin Kamara, he had just eight carries and two targets as the game got out of hand in a hurry for the Saints. This is becoming a team where you can not trust any fantasy asset in lineups for the championship.
NEW YORK GIANTS
The New York Giants had 36 total passes thrown in this game and 26 of them went to Wan’Dale Robinson (12 targets) and Malik Nabers (14). Get these a quarterback with the number one pick in the draft and they could both be fantasy stars next year.
NEW YORK JETS
Breece Hall appeared to be back to his old self with 20 total opportunities against the LA Rams. He ran 32 routes and saw six targets in this game.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for 22 targets in this game, mostly with Kenny Pickett in for Jalen Hurts. Every other player on the roster combined for just two targets.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Jaylen Warren played more than double the snaps of Najee Harris (40 to 17), and had 17 opportunities to just 10 for Harris.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Without Isaac Guerendo, the San Francisco 49ers named Patrick Taylor their starting running back. However, he rushed only eight times while Deebo Samuel rushed five times and the 49ers prioritized the passing game.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
If there was any doubt about who the WR1 was in Seattle, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has put those to bed. After another 12 targets on Sunday, he now leads the Seahawks in targets on the season by 26 over D.K. Metcalf.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
In the Bucky Irving-Rachaad White battle, Irving won this round in Week 16. Irving saw 19 total opportunities while White had just 11 (including only three rush attempts).
TENNESSEE TITANS
Chig Okonkwo had another 10 targets in this game and no other tight end has more than his 21 over the last two weeks. He and Mason Rudolph have something special cooking and should continue to be a force in Week 17.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Partially because the Eagles’ defense was focused on stopping Terry McLaurin, Olamide Zaccheus led the team in targets with eight on Sunday. He also ran 32 routes which trailed only McLaurin and Zach Ertz.
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 17 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!