Fantasy Football Snap & Target Report Week 3: De'Von Achane, Zach Charbonnet, Adam Thielen

Now that three weeks are in the books, some patterns are emerging on NFL teams regarding playing time, whether because of ineffectiveness or injury. After next week, nearly a quarter of the season is over, and teams will have a better handle on their rosters. A recent trend in the league has been to play starters less in the preseason and use the first few weeks as an extension of that, especially over the last few years with the advent of 17 regular season games and only three preseason games. Let's take a look at how things are shaping up across the league.

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Fantasy Football Snap & Target Report

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Snap & Target Report

The Kansas City Chiefs have a plethora of offensive options, but after TE Travis Kelce, it’s wide open from week to week as to who gets the touches.

Over the first two weeks of the year, Edwards-Helaire only had 10 total touches. On Sunday he had 16. In 23 snaps, he matched fellow RB Isiah Pacheco’s 15 rushes. He had 55 rushing yards and added a TD. Other than Kelce, he is the only player on the Chiefs' roster with over 1,000 total yards in a season, gaining 1,100 total yards in 2020, his rookie year.

De’Von Achane Snap & Target Report

Another team with an abundance of offensive weapons is the Miami Dolphins. On a day when the team scored 70 points, analyzing the numbers is difficult because they are all skewed.

Still, Achane has gone from no touches in Week 1, to two touches in Week 2, to 22 touches on Sunday. He played 30 snaps and had 18 rushes for 203 yards and two TDs. He also added four catches for another 30 yards and two more TDs. On a normal team, those numbers would supplant the starter, but not on this team. On the Dolphins, he’s still the No. 4 option behind Tyreek Hill, Raheem Mostert, and Jaylen Waddle. To put it in perspective, going into Sunday, Mostert was on the field for 73.1% of snaps, while Achance saw the field 4.6% of the time. I have a feeling Achane will start to see the field more, but he may not pass Mostert.

Najee Harris Snap & Target Report

The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for their pounding ground game, and Najee's production has gone up each week. He went from only eight touches in Week 1 to 11 touches in Week 2 to 19 touches this past week. He was on the field for 31 snaps and gained 65 yards. He’s only on pace to gain about 800 rushing yards, but he’s gained over 1,000 in each of his first two seasons and is definitely the Steelers' workhorse. He hasn’t scored a TD yet but has seven in each of his first two years.

Kenneth Walker vs. Zach Charbonnet Snap & Target Report

The Seattle Seahawks have had a solid running game since Marshawn Lynch, and currently have a two-headed monster in Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. And as their running game excels, it will open up opportunities for the passing game.

Heading into Sunday, Walker was clearly the No. 1 RB in Seattle. He had a 61.8% to 25.2% edge over Charbonnet in snaps. But on Sunday, the snaps were far closer, 38 to 32. Walker has increased his touches each week, going from 16 to 18 to 21. He had 18 rushes for 97 yards and two TDs on Sunday. He’s on pace to have 1,570 total yards this year.

Walker is still clearly the top RB in Seattle, but Charbonnet is proving to be a very serviceable backup. In Week 1, he only had three touches, which doubled to six in Week 2. And on Sunday, he had nine rushes for 46 yards. If Walker ever falls to injury, Charbonnet seems like he’ll be able to swoop in to take over RB1 duties.

D.K. Metcalf Snap & Target Report

Metcalf hasn’t been his normal explosive self. Going into Sunday, he did lead all Seattle WRs in snap percentage at 87.8%, but he was only targeted a total of 11 times. Although that only increased slightly on Sunday, to eight, his production did increase. He had six catches for 112 yards on Sunday, which nearly doubled his output of 122 yards in his first two games. He also only has one TD so far this season through three games. 

Zack Moss Snap & Target Report

Moss was on the field for 64 of the Colts' 84 snaps on Sunday, which was up from his 56 snaps in Week 2. His touches also increased, from 22 to 32. He had 30 rushes for 122 yards and added two catches for 23 yards and a TD reception. 

Jahmyr Gibbs Snap & Target Report

Gibbs’ production has increased each week. He went from nine touches to 14 to 18 this Sunday with David Montgomery sidelined. He’s been on the field more each week as well, going from 19 snaps to 32, to 42 this Sunday. He had the lion's share of rushes on Sunday, gaining 80 yards on 17 rushes for an average of 4.7 yards per carry. 

Ja'Marr Chase Snap & Target Report

The Cincinnati Bengals were at DEFCON 5 heading into Monday Night. The status of Joe Burrow was in doubt, and the offense was sputtering badly. Ja'Marr Chase was sniping about his lack of production, and a loss could have put the team into a deep spiral.

Even though Chase was on the field for 97.4% of all snaps in the first two weeks of the season, which was fourth among WRs, his production was pedestrian, especially by his standards. He was only targeted a total of 17 times before Monday; he only had 10 catches and 70 receiving yards. But he was on the field for 74 snaps and hooked up with Burrow for 12 catches on 15 targets and 141 yards on Monday. Although he still doesn’t have a TD catch yet this year, Monday’s performance was encouraging, and he’ll no doubt threaten double -igit TDs again.

A.J. Brown Snap & Target Report

Another WR who can be vocal if he doesn’t get his touches is A.J. Brown on the Eagles. 

In the first two weeks of the season, he was targeted a total of 16 times. On Monday, he was targeted 14 times, catching nine passes for 131 yards. Although he, like Chase, still hasn’t found the end zone, with added emphasis on finding them the ball, it won’t be long before they each score. Between Brown, Chase, and Metcalf, the three only have one TD through three games this season. By the end of the season, their numbers will be there, so look for some explosive games going forward.

Adam Thielen Snap & Target Report

The Carolina Panthers offense looked completely different without Bryce Young. The team relied much more on the passing attack. Backup Andy Dalton threw the ball 58 times with 34 completions and two TDs. He completed passes to 10 receivers, led by Thielen. Before Sunday, Thielen was on the field for 88.3% of snaps, and that increased slightly to 92%. On Sunday, he was targeted 14 times, catching 11 passes for 145 yards and a TD. He accounted for 35.8% of the team’s total yards.