RADIO
Welcome to Week 3 of the fantasy football season. This article series takes the recent snap and touch history of skill players into account, and now that we have two weeks in the books there is a bit more of a sample to work with.
Week 2 saw a litter of players across the league see curious usage, and that is always worthy of a write-up. This piece takes a look at the snaps and touches from each week to break down what is or is not important for fantasy football moving forward.
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Running Back Snaps for Fantasy Football
Travis Etienne (37%), Jacksonville Jaguars
Etienne's snaps dropped as fast as his balls in the endzone. With James Robinson looking healthy, Etienne lost snaps in a game the Jaguars won handily. While this should change in games that are closer or Jacksonville trails, it is still a red flag for Etienne's managers who drafted him as their first or second RB.
Going forward, Etienne's an RB3/FLEX until we see a more consistent snap-share. Luckily, he has out-targeted and run more routes than Robinson while playing significantly fewer snaps. The path to fantasy success is not far off.
Breece Hall (27%), New York Jets
Hall is in a similar situation as Etienne where he lost snaps in Week 2 to the incumbent starting running back. While both should take over the role sooner than later, it is a nuisance worth taking action on. In matchups that seem bleak for the Jets, Hall can be benched until further notice despite a draft price in the top-40.
Derrick Henry (46%), Tennessee Titans
It is not often that King Henry sees a snap percentage this low, especially in a game where his backup/third-down back is out! Henry's awful showings to start the season are absolutely concerning after breaking his foot last year and disappointing upon return as well.
He should be ok moving forward as the Titans are unlikely to be blown out by 30 or more points but expectations for Henry should be lowered. He is not seeing targets and is being removed from the field more often in passing downs. Henry is more of a low-end RB1 rather than *the* RB1 in PPG as he was until his injury last season.
Rashaad Penny (41%), Seattle Seahawks
Rashaad Penny played 69% of the snaps in Week 1. That game was won by Seattle and did not feature Kenneth Walker, the Seahawks' 2nd Round pick this past offseason. While Walker's speedy return from hernia surgery is unfortunate for Penny managers, the split should continue to favor Penny unless he is injured or out-performed. Seattle views Walker as the future of this backfield but in a down year they have no incentive to heavily utilize him.
Game-script will absolutely come into play for this backfield as Travis Homer is involved for third-downs and two-minute drills. Nevertheless, Penny will lead and should see more than 50% of the snaps in games Seattle is not blown out. He is startable the next two weeks versus Atlanta and Detroit.
Wide Receivers Snaps for Fantasy Football
Josh Palmer (91%), Los Angeles Chargers
Palmer's snaps spiked to a career-high in Week 2 but that's only due to Keenan Allen's absence. Palmer is merely a corollary to Allen and Williams in this offense as he is nothing more than a marginal player who benefits from a deconstructed target share with one of them out.
There is no reason to believe that another missed game from Allen wouldn't result in a similar share of opportunities as last week however, with Justin Herbert's status in question, the offense is much less appealing. Palmer can be started in a pinch but is a floor play.
Allen Lazard (81%), Green Bay Packers
Lazard returned from injury in Week 2 and led the Packers in snaps. He scored the lone TD for any Packers' receiver this year and earned 3 targets. While we can forgive Lazard for a lack of general production in this game while returning from injury, the issue of poor target share has persisted throughout his career and was the issue surrounding his cost in drafts.
While Lazard is the de facto lead WR for Green Bay he could still be out-targeted by one of the Packers' two rookie WRs (Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs) or veteran Randall Cobb who has been a favorite of Rodgers' throughout their time together. Lazard is a dangerous player to start until we see consistent production or at least targets indicating that it is coming.
Russell Gage (66%), Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Russell Gage is not only failing to produce, but even with Chris Godwin absent from the lineup, he cannot play a full array of snaps. There has been an issue of health in the form of a sore hamstring and that is worth noting while not fully using as an excuse. Gage can be dropped in all shallower formats while only worth a hold in deeper full-PPR.
Garrett Wilson (61%), New York Jets
Garrett Wilson built on his solid Week 1 performance with a magnificent Week 2 outburst. 102 yards on 14 targets with two touchdowns is impressive whether you're a rookie or veteran. Wilson did this in a mere 61% of the snaps which was a jump from Week 1's 49%.
The expectation should be that Wilson's snaps continue to increase this week and moving forward as he flirts with the potential of starting across any and all fantasy lineups. For now, he is worthy of FLEX consideration.
Rashod Bateman (61%), Baltimore Ravens
Through two games, Rashod Bateman's amassed 167 yards and 2TD on just 6 catches. He is making the most of every target/catch while helping Baltimore sustain a potent air attack sans WR Marquise Brown. Bateman is doing this without playing more than 66% of the snaps in either game to start the year which is most impressive. He is a must-start fantasy option moving forward.
Tight Ends Snaps for Fantasy Football
Kyle Pitts (93%), Atlanta Falcons
Kyle Pitts is playing plenty yet not producing. The TE3 off of draft boards this offseason has managers panicking through two games. Of course, it may seem daunting to believe in a player on one of the league's worst offenses after a cold start, but given what Drake London has done through his first two career games, we can step back and realize maybe teams are putting more pressure on Pitts this year
Pitts is blocking much more than usual and that could be an issue. The Falcons are a curious offense given their lack of talented receiving personnel. This decision should make us question Arthur Smith's merit if it persists. Regardless, Pitts was drafted as your fantasy team's starter and should remain in that slot until it is blatantly obvious that cannot get it done this year.
Juwan Johnson (78%), New Orleans Saints
Juwan Johnson is an intriguing waiver wire TE that went under the radar all draft season. Johnson is playing as the "true" TE in New Orleans ahead of gadget Taysom Hill and actually seeing high-value targets downfield. He is 4th in targets just behind Jarvis Landry and playing over 70% of the snaps in both games thus far.
He has not done much for the sake of fantasy but in a Jameis Winston-led offense with even a moderate share of targets, Johnson can produce down the line. Consider him a worthwhile streamer that can be added in place of players like Noah Fant and Hunter Henry.
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