Week 16 NFL Usage Report for Fantasy Football

If your fantasy football team has survived this far into the season, it likely means that you have made it to championship week. Even now, there are still important decisions that need to be made in your quest for your fantasy football championship, and I’ll try to assist you in the process with this week’s Usage Report.

AFC below. NFC will be added by Thursday.

Fantasy Football Usage Report Through Week 16

AFC East

Buffalo Bills: Amari Cooper Still Not Getting Enough Snaps

If you’ve held Amari Cooper throughout his Buffalo tenure thinking that things would get better, well, it sadly hasn’t. He’s still not getting enough snaps to be viable. In Week 16, he saw just 54% of the snaps (32), and was outsnapped by Mack Hollins, Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman. If you’ve had Cooper in your lineup, you should definitely explore some sort of alternative.

Miami Dolphins: Malik Washington Leads Dolphins WRs in Snaps

With Jaylen Waddle out due to a knee injury, we knew Malik Washington would see a big increase in snaps, but it was a bit surprising to see him lead the wide receivers and tight ends in snaps after seeing 87% of the snaps (snaps), which meant he saw more time on the field than both Tyreek Hill and Jonnu Smith. Unfortunately, he did not see as many targets as Hill and Smith, catching all 3 of his catchable targets for 28 yards. Waddle’s status for Week 17 is uncertain, but even if he sits out, I’m not sure if Washington is worth starting unless you’re in a super deep league.

New England Patriots: Antonio Gibson Outsnaps Rhamondre Stevenson

Antonio Gibson saw his highest snap rate of the season, seeing 59% of the snaps (43). He ended up getting 12 touches but was only able to get 36 total yards. You’re not going to be starting Gibson, so the question here is whether we continue to play Rhamondre Stevenson. That answer is, yes — absolutely. Stevenson continues to produce and will continue to get plenty of touches regardless of the opponent. In Week 17, they’re facing a Chargers team that has had a much tougher time defending the run this season.

New York Jets: Even in Meaningless Games, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams Dominate Usage

Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams are basically the only three startable Jets outside of Aaron Rodgers, and that continues to be the case even though the games are completely meaningless for the team. The biggest surprise is definitely Hall, who saw 77% of the snaps (53), which led to Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis combining for just 28% of the snaps (20). While you may be wary about playing the Jets’ big three with the remaining games being even more meaningless, I wouldn’t worry about it.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens: Derrick Henry Sees Highest Snap Rate of the Season

Derrick Henry saw more time on the field than usual after Justice Hill was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with a concussion. Henry’s 74% snap rate (46) was a season high. The only other option was Rasheen Ali, who had gotten his feet wet in Week 15 with 8 carries for 32 yards. But even with Hill out of the picture, Ali got just 1 carry for 2 yards. With the race for the AFC North as tight as ever, I would imagine Henry’s workload is likely going to be similar to what we saw in Week 16.

Cincinnati Bengals: Cowboys Game Might Have Been an Anomaly — Tee Higgins Is a Must Play

After a super disappointing game against the Cowboys, Tee Higgins has bounced back with two straight amazing weeks. This past week, he actually out-targeted Ja’Marr Chase and caught all 8 of his catchable targets for 58 yards and a touchdown. If there were question marks surrounding Higgins before, you can go ahead and throw them out the window.

Cleveland Browns: Dorian Thompson-Robinson Doesn’t Help the Fantasy Value of Any Receiver

Dorian Thompson-Robinson had a tough time getting anything going against the Bengals, and it hurt all of his receivers. If you have Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore or even David Njoku on your roster, you have to think twice before starting them in Week 17 against the Dolphins. DTR did suffer a calf injury, so it’ll be interesting to see if Jameis Winston gets another shot or if Bailey Zappe gets an opportunity. If Jameis is back, then you can play them with confidence; otherwise, I would be relentlessly searching for alternatives.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Might Be Panic Time When It Comes to Najee Harris

Najee Harris came off a season-low in snap rate in Week 15 and followed it up with yet another season-low in Week 16 when he saw just 28% of the snaps (17) while Jaylen Warren saw 67% (40). Considering it’s not going to get any easier this week when they face the Chiefs, I would definitely be concerned about starting Harris.

AFC South

Houston Texans: Tank Dell Role Unlikely to Be Filled by Either Xavier Hutchinson or Robert Woods

Tank Dell’s gruesome injury in Week 16 against the Chiefs was excruciating to watch. Nevertheless, we do have to analyze Dell’s absence for fantasy football purposes, and that begins with Xavier Hutchinson and Robert Woods. They both saw 58% of the snaps (34) and had very little impact in the game. It should be noted that John Metchie III was inactive for the game due to a shoulder injury, and the team also acquired Diontae Johnson after he was waived by the Ravens earlier in the week. Based on what we saw from Metchie prior to Nico Collins’ return from IR, and the fact that Johnson has only been a Texan for two days, I would imagine that Metchie is the best candidate to take over the majority of Dell’s snaps and targets.

Indianapolis Colts: Adonai Mitchell Outsnaps Josh Downs

While Josh Downs might get most of the fantasy love, we saw Adonai Mitchell see 89% of the snaps (55) against the Titans. The problem is that he only caught 1 ball on 1 catchable target for 36 yards. With Alec Pierce potentially coming back from his concussion, Mitchell still isn’t very playable, especially with Anthony Richardson as his QB.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Be Careful with Tank Bigsby

Tank Bigsby did out-touch Travis Etienne Jr. 13-11, and he did score a touchdown while Etienne did not. But he still only saw 28% of the snaps (19) while Etienne saw 52% (35). His production appears to be very touchdown dependent, and that’s extra risky when you’re playing for one of the worst teams in the league.

Tennessee Titans: Tyjae Spears Officially More Valuable Than Tony Pollard to End the Season

For the second week in a row, Tyjae Spears outsnapped Tony Pollard, and for the second week in a row, he finished with 2 touchdowns. He continues to be outstanding in the passing game, catching 9 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown over these last two games. The Titans are definitely giving Spears an extended look to close out the year. If you have some question marks at your RB2 or your flex, you should definitely take a look at your waiver wire to see if Spears is somehow still there.

AFC West

Denver Broncos: Don’t Get Fooled by Audric Estime’s Touchdown

With Jaleel McLaughlin inactive due to a quad injury, Audric Estime got a few more touches than he normally would. He ended his night with 9 rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown. The problem is, McLaughlin is likely going to be back this week, and with McLaughin in, you can’t really guarantee Estime more than 3 touches. Don’t waste a roster spot on Estime and look for other alternatives if necessary.

Kansas City Chiefs: Marquise Brown Makes Debut, Looks Outstanding

Marquise Brown was activated from IR and saw his first action of the season with 27% of the snaps (20). While he was outsnapped by four other Chiefs receivers, he finished with the second-most catches — catching 5 passes on 5 catchable targets for 45 yards. I don’t necessarily think he’s a great play this week against the Steelers, but if anything, he’s going to impact the others in the receiver’s room. DeAndre Hopkins and JuJu Smith-Schuster are the two fringe plays on the roster right now, and with Brown being so impactful in his debut, I’m not sure there’s many formats where I would feel comfortable starting them.

Las Vegas Raiders: Aidan O’Connell Loves Getting the Ball to RBs

Since Sincere McCormick is out of the picture, the Raiders went with a 50/50 split between Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah Both running backs were impactful, and that’s largely due to Aidan O’Connell’s heavy usage of his RBs in the passing game. They combined for 9 catches to 76 yards, which made them his second-favorite target outside of Brock Bowers In PPR formats, I think the circumstances really put both Mattison and Abdullah in a place where they could be viable flex options if you’re desperate.

Los Angeles Chargers: Gus Edwards Might Be the Only Playable RB in Week 17

Even though Kimani Vidal has seen a larger role leading up to the Thursday night game against the Broncos, it was Gus Edwards who led the running backs in snaps, seeing 46% of the snaps (30), while Vidal only saw 32% (21). The Chargers are also not giving Vidal many touches whenever he is on the field, while Edwards ended up seeing a season-high 15 touches for 71 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns. If anything, the goal line work appears to be locked in to Edwards, and that’s going to keep him relevant through the end of the season. (To be fair, keep an eye on J.K. Dobbins’ status.)

Check back Thursday for the NFC half of things.