Week 1 Fantasy Football Snap & Target Report: Tyjae Spears, Elijah Moore, Ezekiel Elliott, Javonte Williams

One of the most important things to consider in fantasy football is, of course, who to start week to week. It absolutely has a bearing on your results … for instance, I kept Kendrick Bourne on my bench this week for some inexplicable reason. All he did was find the field on 91.2% of snaps, which was 15th among WRs, and be one of five players to catch two TD passes. It cost me the week in the league I have him in.

The importance of studying the snaps and targets players are getting is immeasurable. Of course, until Week 1 is played, there is no way of completely knowing. In the case of Bourne, I love his talent but knew he was in HC Bill Belichick’s doghouse last season and had an awful year. He played in the fewest snaps since his rookie season, only getting 441 for the whole year. And he was only targeted 48 times all year, catching 35 passes and one lonely TD. On Sunday, he was on the field for 73 snaps and was targeted 11 times with six catches. Let's look at some other key situations we gained insight into in Week 1.

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Week Fantasy Football 1 Snap & Target Report

Travis Etienne vs. Tank Bigsby

In Week 1 there were only three RBs in the entire league who were on the field for 80% or more of their team's offensive snaps: San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey, Arizona’s James Conner, and Jacksonville’s Travis Etienne. Coming off an abbreviated preseason with only three games and starters who played minimally, this much of a workload this early in hot playing conditions could hurt these players down the line and should be monitored. 

In the case of Etienne, Jacksonville picked up RB Tank Bigsby in the draft. In Week 1, he played 21.4% of the snaps and scored a TD, as did Etienne. As the season progresses, I can see Bigsby’s playing time increasing, with the two RBs splitting the time 60%/40%, with Etienne still maintaining the higher share of the time.

Josh Jacobs

Another surprising data point is how much Josh Jacobs saw the field. He was fourth among RBs in snaps, just under 80%. In 47 snaps, he rushed the ball 19 times for only 48 yards, and he caught two passes for another 23 yards. For a guy who basically came in off the street following a holdout, playing nearly 80% of the snaps and being involved in 44.7% of the team's offensive plays that he was in the game was a lot to ask for.

Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Ezekiel Elliott

Another thing to watch, especially in the early going, is to see what the breakdown is on teams with multiple RBs or WRs. For instance, it was interesting to see New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson snag 72.5% of the snaps, while Ezekiel Elliott only saw the field 35% of the time. Stevenson was very ineffective, only gaining 25 yards on 12 rushes. However, he did have six catches on six targets out of the backfield. Elliott only rushed the ball seven times but did average 4.1 yards per carry.

Javonte Williams vs. Samaje Perine

I am shocked that Denver teammates Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine had identical snap shares. They each were on the field for 45.3% of snaps. Overall, Perine had a more productive day. He had fewer rushes than Williams, eight to 13, and didn’t have as many rushing yards, 41 to 52. But when including the four catches they each had, Perine outgained Williams 78 yards to 57 yards. Williams feels like the No. 1 RB, but HC Sean Payton wants to win, and if Perine gives him a better chance, look for his playing time to increase.

Derrick Henry vs. Tyjae Spears

The biggest shocker is developing in Tennessee, where Derrick Henry’s snap count was 47.6% while rookie Tyjae Spears’ was 54%. And it wasn’t like Henry wasn’t productive. He had 15 rushes for 63 yards and another 56 yards receiving on two catches. Although Spears was on the field more, the production still heavily came from Henry. Spears only rushed the ball three times for a solid 27 yards. He was targeted four times out of the backfield with only one catch. The one and only blueprint for the Titans is to get the ball to Henry as much as possible, and him being on the field under 50% of the time isn’t going to cut it.

Donovan Peoples-Jones vs. Elijah Moore vs. Amari Cooper

One of the more interesting nuggets came out of Cleveland, where WR Donovan Peoples-Jones had the highest snap count among the team’s receivers, at 89.2%. Amari Cooper missed some time with an injury and was only on the field for 62.2% of snaps, while Elijah Moore had a 69% snap count. However, DPJ had the fewest targets of the group, with just two, while the other two WRs tied at seven.  

Puka Nacua

The Rams may have the steal in this year’s draft with WR Puka Nacua. The 22-year-old rookie was on the field for 77.8% of snaps but had the most targets of any WR this week, with 15, and caught 10 passes for 119 yards.

Zay Flowers

If it wasn’t for the performance of Nacua, everyone would be talking about Baltimore rookie WR Zay Flowers. He was on the field for 84.4% of Baltimore’s offensive snaps and was targeted 10 times with nine catches for 78 yards. Of all receivers who were targeted a minimum of 10 times, only Flowers, Justin Jefferson, Chris Olave, and Jakobi Meyers caught at least 75% of their targets. By the way, Jefferson caught nine of his 12 targets for 150 yards, and he was on the field for 98.3% of Minnesota’s snaps. He’s Justin Jefferson. Nothing else needs to be said.

Chris Olave vs. Michael Thomas

Olave is becoming a superstar in this league. On Sunday, he caught eight out of 10 targets for 112 yards. As the No.1 WR for the Saints, he needs to be on the field more than 78.5% of snaps. The team still has Michael Thomas, but this is Olave’s team. It is a fantastic problem to have with two fantastic receivers, but only one can be No.1. Thomas actually did have more snaps, but he had fewer targets, catches and yards.

Jakobi Meyers

Myers caught nine of his 10 targets, for 81 yards and two TD passes. And although he was on the field for less than 80% of the team’s snaps (thanks to exiting early with a concussion) and 10% less than No.1 WR Davante Adams, he completely outperformed him. He was targeted more, he had more catches and yards, and he found the end zone twice. I doubt Myers will supplant Adams as the top WR in Las Vegas, but WRs are known to be divas at times. If this trend continues, don’t be surprised if Adams starts to chirp. With that said, I’d expect a big game out of Adams this week.

Aaron Rodgers

And finally, the most impactful and heart-wrenching snap count of the week … Aaron Rodgers only played four snaps in Week 1 and four snaps in the 2023-24 NFL season. And possibly the last four snaps of his long and storied career. It is such a shame that he is lost to the Jets. It was going to be so much fun to see how far he could take that talented group of players. At least in the short term, it is Zach Wilson’s job. He passed the first test Monday Night, coming back against the Bills. Maybe an offseason with Rodgers has helped his maturity. If he can string a few wins together, maybe the job will stay his and he’ll be able to take the team on a deep playoff run. Still, it would have been fun to see Rodgers do it.