Backfield Breakdown: Week 1 RB Usage Recap & Week 2 Waivers

The first weekend of the season was brutal for high-profile injuries, including one starting running back who spent much of last year banged up. Elijah Mitchell's upcoming absence makes Jeff Wilson the likely top waiver add for Week 2, but that's hardly the only key takeaway from the weekend.

Darrell Henderson looks like a potential gem of a late-round pick, and Saquon Barkley might be back to his old self again. Elsewhere, we see signs of trouble for Austin Ekeler and Aaron Jones, though both could easily bounce back in a hurry.

Week 1 Usage Leaderboard

GL Looks = Targets + Carries inside the 5-yard line

Week 1 Injury Report

Inactives

J.K. Dobbins (knee)

Kenneth Walker (hernia)

In-Game Injuries

Najee Harris missed overtime with a foot injury.

Elijah Mitchell left in the second quarter with an MCL injury.

Alvin Kamara played through a rib injury.

Damien Williams missed most of the game with a rib injury, but did return briefly.

Kyren Williams was placed on IR after suffering a high ankle sprain on special teams.

Ty Montgomery (undisclosed) was placed on IR on Tuesday.

Week 2 Waivers & Sleepers

Picking from players rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo Leagues.

Waivers, Pt. 1 —Top Adds & Streamers

1. Jeff Wilson - 19%
2. Jaylen Warren - 5%
3. Rex Burkhead - 14%
4. Jamaal Williams - 48%
5. Kenyan Drake - 12%

Waivers, Pt. 2 — Bench Stashes & Sleepers

1. Rachaad White - 38%
2. Khalil Herbert - 41%
3. Kenneth Gainwell - 48%
4. Isiah Pacheco - 31%
5. Eno Benjamin - 8%
6. Zack Moss - 6%
7. Jordan Mason - 1%

Week 2 Drops & Benchings

Drop'em

Mike Davis

Tyler Allgeier

Darrel Williams

Ronald Jones

Bench'em

Dameon Pierce

Cam Akers

Raheem Mostert

Week 1 Game-by-Game Breakdowns

Bills (31) at Rams (10) 

• Singletary started, as expected, with Moss second into the game and working well ahead of Cook as the No. 2 back.
  • Cook played one snap in the first half and lost a fumble on it. He then got one snap in the third quarter and one in the fourth, finishing with just the one look.
• Singletary played both snaps inside the 5-yard line and all four snaps inside the 10, but didn't see any carries or targets on those plays. It's still the Josh Allen show, and this might be an elite offense but it ain't elite for backfield production and doesn't have much reason to try to be, even after reaching to take a fourth-round RB prospect late in Round 2 (shots fired).
• Singletary played 76% of snaps in the first quarter, then 46-55% in each subsequent quarter.
• Singletary played 65% of snaps on first down, 44% on second and 60% on third. There was no clear delineation between him and Moss in terms of early/late-down preference, though Singletary did get six of eight snaps on third/fourth downs with more than three yards needed for a conversion.
  • In other words, don't make too much of Moss' 6-2 edge in targets. 

• Henderson got the start and dominated work throughout the night, with Akers mixing in on a few drives. Reports this summer had both getting first-team work, and while Henderson's involvement wasn't a surprise, the extent of his workload dominance certainly was.
  • It's one of the key fantasy takeaways from Week 1, ICYMI, though he was held to 13-47-0 rushing and 5-26-0 receiving.
• Henderson finished with an 82/18 snap advantage and an even larger touch advantage - 13/3 on carries and 5/0 on targets.
• Henderson played both snaps inside the 10, including the one snap inside the five (a pass). He did get a carry inside the 10.
• Henderson took 79% of snaps on first down, 82% on second down and 88% on third/fourth down.

Browns (26) at Panthers (24) 

• Chubb played 61% of snaps in the first half but only 44% in the second. 
• Hunt scored two TDs, one on a catch. He and Chubb played one snap apiece inside Carolina's 5-yard line.
• Chubb finished with 22-141-0 rushing, while Hunt had 11-46-1 plus 4-24-1 receiving.

• McCaffrey dominated RB snaps and scored a TD but managed only 14 touches and 57 yards, partially because Cleveland held a nearly 2:1 advantage in time of possession.

Patriots (7) at Dolphins (20) 

• Montgomery came back from the preseason ankle injury and had a significant role. He played 26% of snaps through three quarters, then got 64% in the fourth with New England down by 2-3 scores.
  • At the end of Q3, snap shares were 48% for Harris, 26% for Stevenson and 26% for Montgomery. Harris had eight carries and three targets, Stevenson seven and two, Montgomery one and three.
• The Pats didn't run any plays inside Miami's 5-yard line. Montgomery scored on a six-yard catch in the third quarter.

• Miami didn't run any plays inside the Patriots' 10-yard line. Mostert played all six red-zone snaps, but four came on the final drive, including a pair of kneel-downs.
• Edmonds played at least 55 percent of snaps in each quarter and at one point had 12 carries to Mostert's two before Mostert got the final three carries of the game.
• Edmonds played 60% of snaps on first down, 58% on second down and 80% on third down.

Ravens (24) at Jets (9) 

• Drake was the starter and lead runner, and also the only Baltimore back to play more than two snaps on third down.
  • Drake got 11 of the 15 RB carries and one of the three targets. Drake finished with only 46 total yards in a game where Baltimore ran just 53 plays.

• Carter started and had the better game (10-60-0 rushing, 7-40-0 receiving), but Hall surprisingly led the team in targets and played nearly as many pass snaps in a game where QB Joe Flacco kept taking his checkdown.
  • Hall lost a fumble at the beginning of the fourth quarter but nonetheless played 46% of  snaps (and saw four more targets) in the final frame.
• Carter played 71% of third-down snaps, so he may have a larger route/target advantage if/when the Jets play closer games. Of course, Hall might see more carries in that scenario.

Steelers (23) at Bengals (20) - OT

• Harris missed overtime with a foot injury, after playing 77% of snaps in regulation.
  • Warren played every snap in overtime, after getting only 17% in regulation. 
  • No. 3 back Benny Snell only played special teams.
• Harris scored a one-yard receiving TD but otherwise had a brutal game (10 carries for 23 yards, two catches for three yards) despite playing such a large share of the snaps.

• Same deal as last year, with Perine taking most of the third downs (78%) and subbing in occasionally on early downs.
  • Mixon played 89% of first-down snaps and 79% of second-down snaps. He finished with 27-82-0 rushing and 7-63-0 a career-high nine targets in a game where the Bengals ran 94 plays (about 50% more than normal for a non-OT game).

49ers (10) at Bears (19) 

• Mitchell played 83% of snaps in the first quarter before leaving with an MCL injury in the second quarter.
• Wilson took 77% of snaps in the second half, albeit without much production in a rain-soaked game where the entire Niners offense struggled. The Niners also used FB Kyle Juszczyk as the lone back on some plays.

• Herbert outgained Montgomery on the ground putting up 9-45-1 to Monty's miserly 17-26-0. 
  • It's more work than Herbert saw last year when Montgomery was healthy, but the latter had a 2:1 advantage in touches still, and it's possible the gap would be wider in conditions better suited to passing. Herbert has a strong case for touches, though, dating back to his solid showing as a rookie last year.

Eagles (38) at Lions (35) 

• Sanders started and scored a one-yard TD in the second quarter (his first TD since 2020) en route to 13-96-1 and 2-9-0 receiving. It was a diverse rushing game much like last season, however, with Jalen Hurts putting up 17-90-1 and both Gainwell and Scott staying involved.
  • Hurts, Scott and Gainwell also scored short rushing TDs.
  • Sanders got five of the 10 snaps inside the 5-yard line and three of the five RB carries.

• Williams scored a pair of one-yard TDs, while Swift scored from seven yards out and took his 18 touches for 175 yards.
  • Williams played four of five snaps inside the 5-yard line and had a 3-0 edge over Swift in carries inside the 5.
• Swift played 59% of early down snaps and 94% of third/fourth-down snaps.

Colts (20) at Texans (20) - OT 

• Taylor played 86% of snaps on first down, 70% on second down and 60% on third down.
  • He ran for 31-161-1 and caught four of seven targets for 14 yards.
  • Hines had only three carries for four yards but caught each of his six targets for 50 yards.

• Pierce got the start and played five of Houston's six snaps in the first quarter, but Burkhead got more snaps and touches in each of the final three quarters.
  • Bad news for Pierce drafters, especially given that the game script seemingly should've been more favorable for Pierce (Houston never trailed by more than three points and led by seven-plus for much of the afternoon).
• Houston didn't have any snaps inside the 10-yard line, and Burkhead played the lone red-zone snap (a 16-yard TD pass to TE O.J. Howard).

Coach Lovie Smith said the Texans plan to get Pierce more involved in the future.

Saints (27) at Falcons (26) 

• Ingram and Kamara played two red-zone snaps apiece, with Kamara taking the only snap inside the five (a pass play).
• The Saints spent the entire second half trailing until the final 20 seconds. It was a rough start to the year for both Kamara and Ingram, though both topped 4.0 YPC (Ingram lost a fumble too). And Taysom Hill took four carries for 81 yards and a TD, outrushing the rest of the team combined.

• Patterson got the start, dominated carries, saw the most pass snaps (barely) and played both goal-line snaps, with a rushing TD from five yards out.
• Rookie fifth-round pick Tyler Allgeier was a healthy scratch, and Damien Williams missed a large chunk of the game with a rib injury, allowing 2021 fifth-round pick Avery Williams to get 31% of snaps (but only three touches compared to Patterson's 25).
  • The injury likely helped Patterson, considering Williams got 41% of snaps and two carries in the first quarter. Williams missed most of the second and third quarters, and didn't get any carries or targets when he returned in the fourth.

Jaguars (22) at Commanders (28) 

• Robinson started his first game back from an Achilles tear, scoring both of Jacksonville's TDs while taking well over half the carries. He finished with 12 touches for 69 yards and the two scores, while Etienne had four carries for 47 yards and two catches for 18 yards.
• Etienne took more than half his snaps in the second quarter, including eight snaps in a two-minute drill right before halftime.

• Gibson started and took 14 carries for 58 yards and seven catches for 72 yards.
  • He didn't score any TDs but did play both goal-line snaps, including a carry.
  • Gibson got seven more pass snaps and five more targets than McKissic, who played only 22% of first-down snaps and 39% of second-down snaps.
    • McKissic played 91% of snaps on third down.

Packers (7) at Vikings (23) 

• Despite playing from behind, Dillon got nearly as many snaps as Jones and saw more carries and targets (plus a 2-0 lead in goal-line carries, including a TD).
• Dillon played 57% of snaps on first down (Jones: 60%), 40% on second down (Jones: 70%) and 56% on third down (Jones: 44%). Not quite the breakdown we'd expect, especially with the Packers mostly trailing. Could this be a true 50/50 split this year? 

• Cook took 20 carries for 90 yards and three catches for 18 yards, with the workload looking quite similar to what he typically got under the old coaching staff.
  • He reached 77% snap share in five of 13 games last year.

Giants (21) at Titans (20) 

• Barkley did it all in this one, with a 68-yard run, a short TD and six catches. 
  • He played 85% of snaps on first down, 76% on second down and 90% on third down.
  • He took each of the Giants' three snaps inside the 5-yard line, with two being Barkley carries.

• Henry had his usual dominance of the rushing workload but was held to 21 carries for 82 yards.
• Hilliard had the best fantasy day thanks to a pair of receiving scores, but he took just four snaps that weren't on third down, while Haskins mixed in behind Henry some on early downs (and never got the ball).

Chiefs (44) at Cardinals (21) 

• The stats above are deceiving, as Pacheco got 10 of his 12 carries and 12 of his 16 snaps in the fourth quarter of a blowout.
• Edwards-Helaire had a pair of receiving TDs to make up for his modest volume, while Pacheco had a three-yard rushing TD midway through the fourth quarter with KC already up by three TDs.
• This is what the split looked like before the fourth quarter:

Pre-Q4 KC Backfield Stats

• Conner played 84% of snaps through three quarters, though with only seven carries to Benjamin's three.
• Benjamin took 55% of fourth-quarter snaps.
• Conner got the only goal-line snap and punched in a two-yard touchdown.

Raiders (19) at Chargers (24) 

• The Raiders had 43 dropbacks and 13 carries in this one, though Jacobs at least was efficient with his limited chances (10-57-0 and one catch for 16 yards) on top of playing more than half the snaps.
• Rookie Zamir White only played special teams, while Bolden spelled Jacobs (mostly on passing downs) before leaving with a hamstring injury late in the third quarter.
• Jacobs played 78% of first-down snaps and 75% of second-down snaps but didn't get a single third-down snap.
• Abdullah played only three snaps before the fourth quarter, then saw four snaps in the fourth with Bolden unavailable.

• Ekleer got the start but didn't play more than 64% of snaps in any quarter (no less than 42% either). 
• The 49% snap share would've been Ekeler's second worst in a healthy game last season (he played 65% of snaps in his 16 active games).
• Ekeler played 43% of snaps on first down, 46% on second down and 64% on third down.
  • Kelley and Michel both saw playing time on all downs, subbing in about equally throughout the game.

Buccaneers (19) at Cowboys (3) 

• Fournette took 21 carries for 127 yards and two catches for 10 yards, while White managed only 21 yards from eight touches.
  • Ke'Shawn Vaughn was a healthy scratch. Giovani Bernard only played special teams.
• Fournette reached 76% snap share four times last season and scored at least 16.9 PPR points each time.
• Fournette played 79% of snaps on first down, 70% on second down and 79% on third down.

• In terms of touches, this was similar to the split last season, but with Pollard getting more snaps. Neither was productive on a dominant day for Tampa's defense... a day that ended with QB Dak Prescott injured and the outlook for all of Dallas' offense diminished.
• Elliott played 68% of snaps on first down, 59% on second down and 44% on third down.
  • The Cowboys, like the Packers, used two-RB formations at least a handful of times.

Broncos (16) at Seahawks (17) 

• Williams started and saw a team-high 12 targets, but Gordon actually took five more carries and two of the three goal-line looks. 
• Williams played 70% of snaps on first down, 50% on second down and 50% on third down.
  • The two split third downs, but Williams handled the two-minute drills, which accounted for five of his catches. 
• Williams finished with 7-43-0 rushing and 11-65-0 on 12 targets. He lost a fumble in the third quarter.
• Gordon had 12-58-0 rushing and 2-14-0 receiving. He also lost a fumble in the third quarter.

Sports bettors enjoyed this one if they had the Seahawks or the under. Click here if you are looking for NFL Week 2 picks.

• With Kenneth Walker (hernia) inactive, Penny took 83% of snaps on first down and 89% on second down, essentially ceding only third downs to Homer, who saw just one carry and no targets (the Seahawks mostly like him for his blocking).
  • Penny took 12 carries for 60 yards and two catches for seven yards. The Seahawks ran only 49 plays in this one.