Fantasy Football Snap & Target Report Week 2: Najee Harris/Jaylen Warren, Javonte Williams/Jaleel McLaughlin, Colts Pass Catchers and More
Morgan takes a look at some of the most important usage numbers for fantasy football coming out of Week 2.
Week 2 is in the books, so now we can start looking over some interesting numbers on the FantasySP Target, Touch, Snap and Redzone Leaders pages.
Let’s break down some interesting breakdowns from team’s backfields and pass catcher groups.
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Patriots Backfield
Rhamondre Stevenson led the backfield, but Antonio Gibson also made an impact in a secondary role.
Stevenson played 49 snaps, getting 23 total touches. He rushed 21 times for 81 yards and a score, while adding nine receiving yards on two catches and five targets.
Gibson played just 16 snaps, but got 12 touches. He rushed 11 times for 96 yards, while adding in a seven-yard reception on his lone catch and target.
Stevenson had five less touches in week 2 than in week 1, while Gibson got five more touches. Both guys were still good fantasy players this week, and showed they are both decent options in all formats.
Jets Backfield
Breece Hall led the Jets’ backfield in week 2, but Braelon Allen was also pretty involved.
Hall played 41 snaps and got 21 touches. He rushed 14 times for 62 yards, while adding 52 yards and a score on seven receptions and eight targets.
Allen was on the field for 20 snaps, getting nine touches. He rushed seven times for 33 yards and a touchdown, while adding 23 receiving yards and a score on two catches and four targets.
Hall got 21 touches in both weeks 1 and 2, but Allen went from two to nine touches from week 1 to 2. It’s worth monitoring going forward, but it’s hard to imagine Hall ever losing his workhorse role unless he’s injured. We’ll see if Allen can remain efficient with his few touches he gets per week.
Steelers Backfield
Pittsburgh’s backfield was more of a split one in week 2.
Najee Harris got 18 touches across 30 snaps, while Jaylen Warren got 11 touches across 32 snaps.
Harris rushed for 69 yards on 17 attempts and added a five-yard reception on two targets. Warren rushed nine times for 42 yards, while adding 19 receiving yards on two catches and targets.
Harris went from 21 to 18 touches from week 1 to 2, while Warren jumped from four to 11 touches - Warren was banged up in week 1, so week 2 is more what we expected coming into the season. Both backs are on the start/sit line moving forward.
Browns Backfield
Jerome Ford was the perceived workhorse with Nick Chubb out, but D'Onta Foreman was the team’s lead back in week 2.
Foreman played 27 snaps, getting 15 touches. Ford was on the field for 32 snaps, finishing with eight touches.
Foreman rushed 14 times for 42 yards, while adding a nine-yard reception. Ford had 64 rushing yards on seven carries and no yards on a catch and two targets.
Ford saw his touches drop from 18 in week 1, and now Foreman (who didn’t get any touches in week 1) looks like the best fantasy option for week 3. Both are starting options in standard leagues, but now in a committee and on a lackluster offense, neither are great options.
Broncos Backfield
Javonte Williams dominated the snaps in the Denver backfield this week. He got 16 touches on 40 snaps played, rushing 11 times for just 17 yards, but adding 48 receiving yards on five catches and targets.
Jaleel McLaughlin played 17 snaps and only had three touches. He rushed three times for six yards and wasn’t targeted in the pass game.
The touch totals from week 1 to 2 flipped (and then some), so this is a RB situation I’m staying away from in standard leagues. Williams and McLaughlin remain solid deep league starting options.
Cowboys Backfield
Three Dallas backs played 10 or more snaps in week 2.
Rico Dowdle had 30 snaps in the team’s blowout loss, while Ezekiel Elliott finished with 28 snaps. Deuce Vaughn played 10 snaps. Dowdle had 11 touches (seven rushes, 30 rushing yards; four receptions, five targets, 29 receiving yards), while Elliott had eight (six rushes, 16 rushing yards, two catches, three targets, 16 receiving yards) and Vaughn had five touches (four rushes, 11 rushing yards, one catch and target, six receiving yards).
It wasn’t a great game to utilize a backfield in, and the Dallas backfield is one to avoid in standard leagues anyways. Dowdle and Vaughn got more touches this week, while Elliott’s touches went down. None of them are really good starting options in any leagues.
Commanders Backfield
Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler each got a good amount of playing time, logging 43 and 31 snaps, respectively.
Robinson had 18 touches, rushing 17 times for 133 yards and adding a three-yard catch on his three targets. Ekeler rushed eight times for 38 yards and had 47 receiving yards on three grabs and targets.
Each RB got more touches in week 2, and both were solid fantasy options in PPR formats. They won’t play the Giants’ defense every week, but in the right matchups, both can be starting options in all league types.
Vikings Backfield
Aaron Jones led the Vikings’ backfield in touches (14) and snaps (33), but Ty Chandler also played a significant role, getting 10 touches across 19 snaps.
Jones rushed nine times for 32 yards and added 36 receiving yards on five catches and six targets. Chandler rushed 10 times for 82 yards and was not targeted in the passing game.
This seems like a 60/40ish split backfield in Jones’ favor through two weeks. Both are capable of big weeks, but limit each other’s ceilings. This is definitely a situation to monitor.
Browns Pass Catchers
With David Njoku out, Elijah Moore, Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy all had six or more targets.
Moore had six grabs on eight targets, going for just 44 yards though. Cooper had 11 yards on his three grabs across eight targets. Jeudy went for 73 yards on five grabs and six targets.
All three guys have six or more targets in the first two weeks of action, but nobody has really stood out. Njoku will only complicate matters.
Right now though, all the Browns’ pass catchers are right on the start/sit line, but are better deep league options until someone steps up.
Colts Pass Catchers
Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman had seven targets each in week 2.
Pierce went for 56 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Pittman had just 21 yards on three catches.
Adonai Mitchell had five targets in week 1 and four in week 2. Don’t forget about Josh Downs, who is nearing a return.
The Colts’ wideout room has some good depth, but with nobody stepping up yet, it’s hard to trust any of them with a starting spot in standard leagues. Fantasy owners will likely lean toward playing Pittman, but through two weeks, I’d say he’s lost his must-start status.
Jaguars Pass Catchers
Jacksonville’s pass catcher room is similar to Indy’s.
Gabe Davis had seven targets in week 2, but just three catches for 43 yards. Tight end Brenton Strange (filling in for the injured Evan Engram) had six targets, three catches and 65 yards.
Brian Thomas led the team with 94 yards, getting there on two grabs and four targets. Christian Kirk caught one pass that lost a yard across three targets.
The team has had some solid fantasy outings from WR and TE across the first two weeks, but nobody has really established themself as the lead pass catcher.
With that in mind, my advice would be to avoid the Jaguars in standard leagues. They are all pretty solid or better deep league options.
Falcons Pass Catchers
A similar situation is happening in Atlanta.
In week 2, Darnell Mooney and Drake London each scored a touchdown across seven targets. Mooney had 88 yards on three grabs, while London went for 54 yards on six catches.
Ray-Ray McCloud went for 42 yards on three receptions and five targets. Tight end Kyle Pitts had 20 yards on three grabs and four targets.
McCloud actually leads the team with 12 targets on the season, but it’s the other three who have scored. London and Pitts are starters in a bunch of leagues every week, but there’s also some consistency issues with both, especially Pitts.
Mooney and McCloud have emerged as good deep league threats, with Mooney also likely to get some standard league starts this coming week.
Throwing in back Bijan Robinson means it’s unlikely all four of the pass catchers put up decent numbers every week. They’ll be frustrating to roster this season, but their upside beats a lot of the other pass catcher breakdowns we just went over.
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