Box Score Breakdown: Week 9 Snaps, Routes, Personnel and Usage

One note before we get started: the final five columns of each stat table look a bit different compared to earlier this season. Manually adjusting rate stats (to only include games a player suited up for) becomes more laborious with each passing week, and the more time I spend doing that the later the article gets posted. Instead of doing those manual adjustments, I'll show routes per game and snaps per game (rather than snap/route shares in active games). For targets and air yards, I'll still show the team shares, but without editing to exclude stats from the games a player missed.

If you're looking for target and air-yard shares that only include active games, you can find those updated every Tuesday on RotoWire's advanced receiving stats page. For the players that have missed games this year, we can still get a good picture of their usage/role from the stat tables below by looking at snaps/routes per game in combination with TPRR (targets per route run). And I'll still put especially strong numbers (relative to positional standards) in bold lettering.

Any RB/WR/TE with a target, carry or snap share of at least 15 percent is listed below. Any personnel grouping used on at least 10 percent of snaps is listed, in addition to rates for 11 and 12 personnel (by far the two most popular sets league-wide).

The final five columns of each stat table (written in italics) show numbers for the entire season. Bold lettering denotes especially strong marks (for playing time, targets or air yards) relative to positional standards. Green lettering denotes considerable increases in playing time and/or usage relative to past weeks. Red lettering denotes the opposite — a decreased role relative to prior games.

Texans (13) at Jets (21) 

Texans Personnel: 11 - 71% / 12 - 27%

75 Plays — 46 DBs — 15.0 aDOT — 11-of-31 for 191 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 8 sacks, 7 scrambles

• RB Joe Mixon's 55% snap share was a season low, apart from the Week 2 game he exited early, but it was largely a product of Dare Ogunbowale getting a bunch of hurry-up snaps late in the second quarter and again in the fourth. 
  • It also didn't help that the Texans had five 3rd-and-10+ plays before the final drive, followed by another four on the last series. 
  • Mixon played 75% of snaps before the final minute of the first quarter. Then in the second half he got 68% of snaps before the final drive.
  • Mixon got 24 of the 28 RB carries but none of the three targets, with 28% route share being his season low for a full game (though basically the same as his 29% share in a 41-21 win over the Patriots in Week 6). Generally speaking, there's risk he won't be on the field for many pass plays in games where a large share of Houston's pass attempts come in clear passing situations. Still, the usage and production remain in elite RB1 range, dominating ground work in an effective rushing attack. Mixon also looks the best he's ever looked from a non-fantasy standpoint, apart from maybe his first couple years in Cincinnati.
• WR Tank Dell had his best game of the year, leading the team in targets (nine) and air yards (123) while accounting for 66 percent of Houston's receiving yards.
  • WR Nico Collins (hamstring) may be back as soon as Week 10, but with Stefon Diggs (knee) out for the season there's plenty of room for Dell to see 6-8 targets per game.
• TE Dalton Schultz still hasn't scored double-digit PPR points in a game this year, despite seeing five or more targets in six games (out of nine). He's caught just 26 of 44 targets (59.1 percent) for 244 yards (9.4 YPT, 5.5 YPT), and without a single TD. 
  • Schultz had at least four TDs and a 64% catch rate each of the previous four seasons.
• LG Kenyon Green suffered a long-term shoulder injury, likely sending him to IR and potentially knocking him out for the rest of the season. The 2022 first-round bust was filling in at left guard for Jarrett Patterson, who is in concussion protocol.

Jets Personnel: 11 - 76% / 12 - 16%

55 Plays — 34 DBs — 5.8 aDOT — 22-of-32 for 211 yards — 3 TDs, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 0 scrambles

• RB Braelon Allen was semi-involved for a second straight week, after playing less than 20 percent of snaps in Jeff Ulbrich's first two games as head coach.
  • Breece Hall has scored just one TD in four games under Ulbrich, but while averaging 15.3 carries for 76.3 yards and 3.5 catches for 44.8 yards on 5.5 targets, i.e., solid RB1 numbers apart from the lack of touchdowns.
• WR Davante Adams left late in the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. He returned for the following drive and caught a 37-yard TD pass to ice the game with three minutes remaining.
  • WR Garrett Wilson was otherwise the star of the night, despite entering halftime with just two targets and nine yards (compared to Adams 4-25-0 line on eight targets before the break). Wilson's incredible TD catch (his second of the night) came with Adams sideline, but Wilson also drew eight targets that weren't during the brief interval when Adams was absent.
• Jets not named Wilson/Adams/Hall combined for seven targets.
• Rookie third-round pick Malachi Corley should've had a 19-yard TD run on the second touch of his career, but the highlight turned into a blooper when he dropped the ball prematurely in celebration and was charged with a lost fumble instead of a TD. Oops.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Tank Dell

Stock ⬇️:   TE Dalton Schultz

  Texans Injuries 🚑: DE Will Anderson (ankle - returned to game), LG Kenyon Green (shoulder)

  Jets Injuries 🚑: CB Michael Carter (back), LG John Simpson (groin), LG Jake Hanson (leg)         

Chargers (27) at Browns (10) 

Chargers Personnel: 11 - 57% / 12 - 5% / 21 - 18%

56 Plays — 34 DBs — 9.3 aDOT — 18-of-27 for 282 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 6 sacks, 1 scramble

• RB Kimani Vidal got three of the five RB carries in the first quarter, but the rookie gained just six yards and then took only two more carries (and six snaps) the rest of the game.
  • RB J.K. Dobbins took 80% of snaps and 14 of 16 RB opportunities after the first quarter, including TD runs of 16 and 7 yards.
  • Dobbins has six straight games with at least 65% snap share, 14 carries and two targets, averaging 16.5 carries for 59.0 yards (3.6 YPC) and 2.8 catches for 17.2 yards in that stretch (with two TDs). I still don't think he looks anything like the standout player he was before all the injuries, but he's been good enough, and his role is excellent.
• WR Quentin Johnston returned from a two-game absence and scored a 66-yard TD on a busted coverage in the first quarter, ultimately finishing with 4-188-1 on five targets and 70% route share.
  • Johnston has improved since his brutal rookie season, but there's also been a big element of luck, with at least three of his big plays this season occurring when he was left unguarded against a zone defense and didn't have to do much of anything besides catch the ball and run straight forward.
    • He also boosted his stats with a 26-yard reception on the final play of the first half — a lateral play that added nine yards to Joshua Palmer's total and 10 yards to Dobbins' while taking six yards from Ladd McConkey (the scoring of these plays has become a sore point for a lot of fantasy people after Jaylen Waddle lost 23 yards on the final snap of the Miami-Buffalo game).
• Will Dissly remained the lead TE even with Hayden Hurst back from a groin injury, getting 68% of snaps and 73% of routes but only three targets. It's probably worth holding on to Dissly if you picked him up in recent weeks.
• McConkey led the team with seven targets and handled his largest route share yet (94%), plus his second largest snap share (86%).
  • He has 6-8 targets in all but one game this year, including each of the last six.

Browns Personnel: 11 - 78% / 12 - 16%

76 Plays — 56 DBs — 8.7 aDOT — 26-of-46 for 235 yards — 1 TD, 3 INTs, 6 sacks, 4 scrambles

• RB Nick Chubb dropped to 36% snap share but got 15 of the 19 RB carries and 16 of the 23 RB opportunities.
  • Chubb got 48% of snaps and 14 of 17 RB opportunities before the fourth quarter, with Jerome Ford returning from a hamstring injury and getting a lot of playing time but not many touches.
  • Pierre Strong took every snap on the final drive and none before that, i.e., he wasn't part of the offense until garbage time with Ford back in the lineup.
• This was the third straight game in which Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore and David Njoku each drew at least six targets and the Browns attempted more than 40 passes. Here are receiving shares the past three games:
  • Tillman: 24% TS, 34% AYS
  • Njoku: 21% TS, 13% AYS
  • Moore: 20% TS, 22% AYS
  • Jeudy: 19% TS, 27% AYS
    • Tillman's performance has been extremely encouraging, of course, but take it with at least a small grain of salt, given how the target distribution has been rather flat between the top four options, and with all of them boosted by massive team passing volume. The Browns are a bad team with a lead back coming off an ACL tear, so the passing volume should remain elevated after a Week 10 bye, just not quite to this extent.
• Tillman had two catches for 30 yards and a TD on the final drive Sunday. Before that, he'd caught just four of nine targets for 45 yards.
• Njoku was pulled for the final drive, on which Jordan Akins saw three of his four targets. Prior to that, Njoku had taken 91% of snaps and drawn seven of the eight TE targets.
  • The starting WRs all played the final drive.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Quentin Johnston + TE Will Dissly  /   Browns WR Cedric Tillman

Stock ⬇️:   TE Hayden Hurst  /   QB Jameis Winston + RB Pierre Strong

  Chargers Injuries 🚑: WR Simi Fehoko (elbow), CB Ja'Sir Taylor (leg)    

Cowboys (21) at Falcons (27) 

Cowboys Personnel: 11 - 96% / 12 - 1%

74 Plays — 56 DBs — 6.4 aDOT — 31-of-50 for 248 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 3 sacks, 3 scrambles

• QB Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury late in the third quarter and missed the final quarter, during which the Cowboys ran a whopping 28 plays.
  • Seven players saw multiple targets from QB Cooper Rush, with CeeDee Lamb getting the most (five) despite missing a bunch of snaps with a shoulder injury.
• Lamb injured his shoulder with five and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter but reentered the game toward the end of the next drive and scored a two-point conversion.
  • Lamb has an AC joint injury and is scheduled for an MRI. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he's hopeful Lamb will play through the injury.
• Rico Dowdle's 73% snap share was easily a season high, and he took 18 of the 23 RB opportunities with Ezekiel Elliott a healthy scratch for the first time.
  • Dowdle had 107 total yards and a juggling TD catch, giving him three touchdown receptions in his last four appearances. He also has four straight games with at least 55 total yards and 11.5 PPR points, averaging 12.0 carries for 58.3 yards (4.9 YPC) and 3.3 catches for 26.0 yards and 0.75 TDs (on 3.8 targets) in that span.
  • Dalvin Cook got just two touches on 8% snap share.
• WR Jalen Brooks got four of his five targets on the final drive. KaVontae Turpin got three of his four targets on the final drive. Jalen Tolbert got three of his six targets on the final drive.
  • Before the last drive, there were just eight targets that didn't go to Lamb (12 tgts), Dowdle (5 tgts) or Jake Ferguson (9 tgts).
• DE Micah Parsons (ankle) is expected back for Week 10 against the Eagles.

Falcons Personnel: 11 - 91% / 12 - 5%

56 Plays — 26 DBs — 6.1 aDOT — 19-of-24 for 222 yards — 3 TDs, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 0 scrambles

• RB Bijan Robinson got 75% of snaps and 26 of the 32 RB opportunities, but Tyler Allgeier scored the TD, punching one in from six yards out after his teammates pushed a pile. The Falcons didn't have snaps inside the 5-yard line in this game, and Robinson got the only other inside-the-10 carry (losing two yards on a snap from the 9-yard line).
• WR Drake London injured his hip in the first quarter on a TD catch and missed the rest of the game, allowing KhaDarel Hodge to step in as a regular in three-wide formations (the Falcons still overwhelmingly went three-wide, rather than pivoting to more multi-TE stuff).
  • After London's injury, WR Darnell Mooney accounted for seven of the 18 targets, with Robinson getting five, Ray-Ray McCloud three, Hodge two and Pitts one.
  • Hodge and Mooney both played every snap on offense after London's departure.
  • Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Monday that London is day-to-day.
• TEs Kyle Pitts and Charlie Woerner split playing time about 50/50 for a second straight week, and while the routes were more in Pitts' favor this time (73%), he finished with just two targets and 11 yards, reflecting some of the concern mentioned last week (one of my quotes about Pitts and Mark Andrews: "the underlying usage creates some fear that it may be a blip rather than a true correction").

Stock ⬆️:   RB Rico Dowdle + QB Cooper Rush

Stock ⬇️:   TE Kyle Pitts

  Cowboys Injuries 🚑: QB Dak Prescott (hamstring), WR CeeDee Lamb (shoulder)

  Falcons Injuries 🚑: WR Drake London (hip), DT Grady Jarrett (Achilles)

Raiders (24) at Bengals (41) 

Raiders Personnel: 11 - 76% / 12 - 14%

59 Plays — 39 DBs — 7.7 aDOT — 21-of-33 for 198 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 5 sacks, 1 scramble

• Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was fired Monday morning.
• QB Desmond Ridder replaced Gardner Minshew with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
  • Ridder's first two drives were 3-and-outs. The third drive ate up five minutes while moving the ball just 31 yards before a turnover on downs. On the fourth drive he lost a fumble on the first snap. On the fifth drive, deep in garbage time, he led the Raiders 70 yards for a touchdown (with the help of a 27-yard DPI penalty).
  • Ridder took four sacks on 21 dropbacks and three for only 74 yards. Don't be fooled by the TD.
  • Coach Antonio Pierce said Monday that he hadn't decided between Minshew or Ridder as the Week 10 starter.
• RB Ameer Abdullah took 20 of 21 snaps (95%) in the fourth quarter. Before that, Alexander Mattison took at least half the snaps in each quarter (58% overall) and handled nine of the 16 RB opportunities (all carries).
  • Mattison's role was a bit less than in recent weeks, with Zamir White taking only seven snaps but getting carries on six of those, including two straight goal-line carries on the opening drive (the first was initially ruled a TD but overturned; the second was a TD).
    • Mattison got a carry from the 5-yard line on that drive, but on a 3rd-and-3 after White got one from the 6-yard line.
    • White got all six of his carries on the first two drives, then didn't play another snap the rest of the game. In other words, Antonio Pierce made good on his comments about getting White more involved, but then quickly changed his mind (or maybe it was a Getsy thing; either way, a new coordinator opens up new possibilities for the backfield and adds to concern about Mattison's role).
• The Raiders were already playing without C Andre James (ankle) and then lost three more O-linemen to ankle injuries during Sunday's game, including starting LT Kolton Miller and starting LG Cody Whitehair.
• The Raiders mostly used multi-TE formations in the first quarter but then ran 42 of 46 snaps from 11 personnel the rest of the game.
  • Ramel Keyton split the No. 3 WR role with DJ Turner, who had been handling it alone previously (and not seeing many targets, although he did score a TD in Week 8).
  • Keyton is a 24-year-old undrafted rookie out of Tennessee, where he had just 252 receiving yards prior to his age-22 season (and then caught 66 passes for 1,104 yards and 11 TDs over the final two years). He ran a 4.51 40 at his pro day, at 6-2, 191. In other words, there's nothing in the prospect profile to hint at NFL-starter potential.
• TE Brock Bowers scored a 22-yard TD deep in garbage time. Prior to the final drive, he had four catches for 23 yards on seven targets, which would've been just his second game below 40 yards.

Bengals Personnel: 11 - 39% / 12 - 42%

71 Plays — 41 DBs — 6.5 aDOT — 27-of-39 for 251 yards — 5 TDs, 1 INT, 1 sack, 1 scramble

• With Zack Moss (neck) inactive and out indefinitely, RB Chase Brown got each of the 32 RB opportunities while playing 79% of snaps. Brown was still in the game and getting carries with less than three minutes remaining and the Bengals up by 21 points, including an unsuccessful rush attempt from the Raiders' 1-yard line.
  • I don't care about running the score up, but doing it with your key players still in the game is foolishness. 
  • The Bengals traded a seventh-round pick for Khalil Herbert on Tuesday, adding new competition for Brown. It's not reason to panic, considering Brown is faster and has better pass-game skills, not to mention the huge benefit of team/scheme familiarity. Herbert has better vision and instincts running between the tackles, and probably better contact balance, but everything else seems to be in Brown's favor, including the all-important receiving skills.
• RBs Trayveon Williams and Kendall Milton both got some snaps, and not just in garbage time, but neither saw a carry or target.
• WR Jermaine Burton was a healthy scratch, reportedly due to missing a practice (just a few days after QB Joe Burrow told reporters Burton was earning a larger role). Trenton Irwin and Kendrick Pryor split the No. 3 WR role, and the Bengals used a lot of multi-TE sets.
  • Burrow was not happy with Burton. Really, not happy.
• TE Mike Gesicki got six targets on 60% route share and scored TDs from 11 and 47 yards out in the second half. The week before, he handled 58% route share and put up 7-73-0 on eight targets, ending a four-game streak with two or fewer targets (all games in which Tee Higgins played).
  • There's still a lot of potential for bust games, as Higgins may return soon, and even this past Sunday the Bengals used Gesicki on just 38% of snaps.
• Rookie TE Erick All re-tore the same ACL that he tore last season at Iowa.
  • Drew Sample got a lot more playing time as a result, with a TD reception among his four targets. Sample is mostly a blocker but should get a few targets here and there in the flats or near the end zone.

Stock ⬆️:   RB Chase Brown + TE Mike Gesicki

Stock ⬇️:   RB Alexander Mattison + WR DJ Turner  /  Bengals WR Jermaine Burton

  Raiders Injuries 🚑: TE Harrison Bryant (ankle), LT Kolton Miller (ankle), LG Cody Whitehair (ankle), OL Andrus Peat (ankle), CB Nate Hobbs (ankle)

  Bengals Injuries 🚑: TE Erick All (knee), DT B.J. Hill (ribs)

Commanders (27) at Giants (22) 

Commanders Personnel: 11 - 40% / 12 - 38% / 21 - 13%

60 Plays — 25 DBs — 6.4 aDOT — 15-of-22 for 209 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 0 sacks, 3 scrambles

• With RB Brian Robinson (hamstring) inactive, RB Austin Ekeler took 74% of snaps and 11 of 16 RB opportunities in the first half, netting 49 total yards and a TD.
  • Ekeler's usage declined drastically after halftime. He got 33% of snaps and two of five RB opps. in the third quarter, followed by 11% of snaps and two of 14 RB opps. in the fourth quarter.
  • Chris Rodriguez took just one snap in the first half but then got three carries in the third quarter and eight in the fourth, including five totes on the final drive to run out the clock. 
    • Rodriguez earned a role late last season as a rookie sixth-round pick, but he then hurt his ankle in late December and had spent most of this season on Washington's practice squad. He's stylistically similar to Robinson, and may be just as good of a player (don't think any of us here at RW are huge Robinson fans in terms of his real-life value, even if the usage has worked out well for fantasy at times).
• Ekeler ultimately took just 47% of snaps and 15 of the 35 RB opportunities in Robinson's absence.
• WR Noah Brown drew a team-high six targets on 73% route share, after seeing six targets (including the hail mary) on 85% route share the week before. He's still losing some snaps to Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus, but it's fair to say things are trending a bit more toward Brown recently.
• TE Zach Ertz had season lows for snap and route share, ending his recent hot streak. The reduced playing time may have just been a product of positive game-script / a run-heavy day for Washington's offense.
  • Ertz took 65% of snaps before the fourth quarter and then just two of 19 snaps in the fourth (11%).
• WR Terry McLaurin's six TDs are the most he's had in a season since his 2019 rookie year. He's also averaging less than seven targets per game for the first time since his debut season, but it's only slightly less volume (6.7 targets per game) with career-best efficiency (70% catch rate, 10.0 YPT) more than making up for it.

Giants Personnel: 11 - 73% / 12 - 22%

59 Plays — 29 DBs — 7.5 aDOT — 20-of-26 for 174 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 2 sacks, 1 scramble

• RB Tyrone Tracy was the clear lead back ahead of a healthy Devin Singletary for the third straight week, taking 69% of snaps and 17 of 24 RB opportunities.
• WR Malik Nabers saw one incomplete target in the first half. He then caught four of five targets for 27 yards on the opening drive of the second half, and added five more targets (and five more catches) before the end of the game, plus he drew a DPI penalty.
• WR Darius Slayton is in concussion protocol. He continued playing after taking a hard hit in the fourth quarter. 
• TE Theo Johnson handled a near-every-down role again and scored his first NFL touchdown late in the fourth quarter. 
  • His target rate per route remains low, and he had just one catch for one yard before the final drive Sunday, but Johnson has 30+ yards in four of his past five games and is up to 7.7 YPT for the season.
• WR Wan'Dale Robinson tied his season low with four targets and scored less than 8.0 PPR points for the first time this season. Robinson's past three games have been his three worst of the season for fantasy scoring.
  • His target share is slipping, but still above 25% for the season, giving him a chance to be one of the few WRs with so much volume and so little value.

Stock ⬆️:  Commanders RB Chris Rodriguez

Stock ⬇️:   WR Wan'Dale Robinson

  Giants Injuries 🚑: WR Darius Slayton (concussion), WR/RS Ihmir Smith-Marsette (concussion)

Patriots (17) at Titans (20) — OT

Patriots Personnel: 11 - 66% / 12 - 28%

65 Plays — 52 DBs — 7.1 aDOT — 29-of-41 for 206 yards — 1 TD, 2 INTs, 4 sacks, 7 scrambles

• RB Rhamondre Stevenson averaged just 1.6 YPC but got 72% of snaps and 15 of the 19 RB opportunities, scoring two TDs (including a reception on the final play of regulation.
  • Antonio Gibson lost a lot of the backup work to JaMycal Hasty for a second time in three weeks. Gibson can be dropped in a lot of leagues, as he might only be in a timeshare if Stevenson were to miss games again.
  • That's three straight games for Stevenson at 2.6 YPC or lower, dropping him to 3.8 for the year.
• QB Drake Maye has scrambled on 12.7% of dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the league (Jayden Daniels - 15.5%). Maye's 209 scramble yards are sixth most in the league, and he's averaging a league-high 1.32 scramble yards per dropback.
  • He'll presumably run less if/when he gets a better offensive line and improves his passing, but the early results are nonetheless highly encouraging for Maye's future fantasy value. He's more athletic than expected, with good speed and decent agility at 6-4, 223. The gunslinging style is fun to watch, but he's had some really bad snaps, including a game-ending interception chucking the ball downfield into double coverage on a first down
• WR Kayshon Boutte led the team in routes for a third straight week and air yards for a second straight week but caught just two of six targets for 18 yards.
• WR Kendrick Bourne had season highs for snaps (78%), routes (76%) and targets (six) en route to a 4-41-1 receiving line, while Ja'Lynn Polk barely played in his return from concussion protocol and K.J. Osborn was a health scratch.
• WR DeMario Douglas has 25 of the 120 targets (21%) from Maye, with TE Hunter Henry getting 23 (19%), Boutte drawing 15 (13%) and the rest split fairly evenly between a bunch of different players.
  • Douglas managed just 35 yards from nine targets Sunday, but he was wide-open on the one deep pass he saw, which would've been a 67-yard, game-tying TD with three minutes remaining if Maye hadn't overthrown it.

Titans Personnel: 11 - 62% / 12 - 26%

73 Plays — 36 DBs — 9.0 aDOT — 20-of-33 for 240 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 sack, 2 scrambles

• RB Tony Pollard had no issues with the foot injury that held him out or practice last week, reaching 80% snap share for a third straight game and taking 31 of the 36 RB opportunities en route to 154 total yards.
  • Pollard has been quietly fantastic this year, averaging 4.4 YPC in a brutal offense, with just three TDs from 757 scrimmage yards.
    • WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, meanwhile, has four touchdowns from 108 yards, scoring once in each of the past four games.
• NWI has topped 95% snap share and route share in back-to-back games since the DeAndre Hopkins trade. Tyler Boyd, on the other hand, dropped to 29% snap share and 44% route share Sunday, losing some of the WR3 snaps to return man Jha'Quan Jackson.
• TE Chigoziem Okonkwo had season highs for snap share (74%) and route share (79%) while finishing with either four or five targets for a third straight game.
  • Fellow tight end Josh Whyle dropped to season lows of 14% snap share and 9% route share.
• RB Tyjae Spears (hamstring) was a limited practice participant throughout Week 8 and then again last Wednesday, but the Titans then held him out Thursday and Friday, hinting at a setback (though not necessarily a major one). He's missed three games in a row and is in danger of additional missed time.
• C Lloyd Cushenberry is believed to have suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Kendrick Bourne  /   WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine + TE Chigoziem Okonkwo

Stock ⬇️:   WR Ja'Lynn Polk

  Titans Injuries 🚑: C Lloyd Cushenberry (ankle), S Quandre Diggs (foot)

Broncos (10) at Ravens (41) 

Broncos Personnel: 11 - 57% / 12 - 16% / 6OL - 15%

68 Plays — 42 DBs — 8.7 aDOT — 20-of-34 for 225 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 4 sacks, 4 scrambles

• The Broncos played their starters to the end, with Bo Nix taking every snap and Courtland Sutton piling up 53 yards on six targets in the fourth quarter.
  • However, they slowed things down on the final drive, giving Audric Estime five carries for 35 yards. Estime didn't have any carries or snaps before the final drive, with Javonte Williams getting 60% of snaps and 15 of the 23 RB opportunities up to that point (the rest of the snaps and touches went to Jaleel McLaughlin).
    • Tracy Wolfson reported Sunday morning that Estime would be more involved in the offense. We see a bunch of these reports about backup RBs every year, and it seems like the accuracy rate is about 20-30 percent (not counting situations in which the reporter is telling us about an injury-related adjustment or a "change" that already happened the previous week or two).
      • However... Sean Payton said Monday that he plans to use Estime more in the second half of the season.
• Sutton has back-to-back 100-yard games since his Week 7 goose egg at New Orleans. He also threw a TD pass to Nix on Sunday.
  • Sutton's target and air-yard shares remain near-elite, solidly in WR1 range, but he's averaging a career-low 7.3 YPT even after improvement the past two weeks. He and Nix have done well on deeper throws and quick passes, but the intermediate stuff has been an issue, with Sutton catching only nine of 25 targets for 174 yards on passes 10-to-19 yards downfield (a pair of drops hasn't helped).
• The WRs again rotated behind Sutton, with Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele all landing in the range of 38-49% snap share and 42-50% route share.
  • Marvin Mims played more than usual, getting 35% of snaps and 37% of routes but just two targets.
• TE Lucas Krull's role has been trending slightly down, with Adam Trautman picking up more of the receiving work lately (but not enough to warrant serious fantasy interest).

Ravens Personnel: 11 - 15% / 12 - 22% / 21 - 48%

54 Plays — 23 DBs — 8.3 aDOT — 16-of-19 for 280 yards — 3 TDs, 0 INT, 1 sack, 3 scrambles

• The Ravens pulled a lot of starters for the final two drives, except for leaving Derrick Henry in to top 100 yards.
• TE Mark Andrews dropped to 48% snap share, 50% route share and two targets, after getting 73% of snaps, 66% of routes and five targets in the previous game (all his highest marks since Week 2).
  • No. 3 TE Charlie Kolar and FB Patrick Ricard played more than usual, especially Ricard, who caught a short TD pass.
  • Andrews at least took 54% of snaps before the fourth quarter. Game script hurt him in this one with the Ravens nursing a multi-score lead for the entire second half.
• TE Isaiah Likely lost more work than Andrews, dropping to season lows of 31% snap share and 35% route share (after topping 50% for both numbers most of the year, and often reaching 70% route share).
• WR Rashod Bateman led the team with 17 routes in the first game with Diontae Johnson, who finished without a target on 16 snaps and four routes.
  • Johnson figures to take more playing time away from Bateman and/or Nelson Agholor in future weeks, but perhaps not as much as a lot of fantasy analysts seem to expect. Long story short, there's a reason the Ravens got Johnson so cheap, and the reason is that he's not that good of a real-life player (his flaws largely cancel out the value of his excellent route-running).
• WR Zay Flowers made the most of his 15 routes, putting up 5-127-2 on six targets.
  • He's up to 2.7 yards per route run, placing ninth among WRs with 100-plus routes. Over the first three weeks of the season, his aDOT was 6.9 and he produced 1.7 yards per route with a 29% TPRR. Over the past six games, his aDOT has been 11.4 and he's produced 3.3 yards per route with a 28% TPRR.
    • Todd Monken figured out how to best use Flowers, with more intermediate work and fewer quick passes. Flowers has caught 16 of 20 targets in the 10-19 yard range, after catching 13 of 19 last season. He still gets the occasional screen pass but 51% of his targets have come 10-plus yards downfield this year, up from 34% during his rookie season (and with an upward trend within 2024).

Stock ⬆️:   WR Zay Flowers

Stock ⬇️:   TE Isaiah Likely

Saints (22) at Panthers (23) 

Saints Personnel: 11 - 8% / 12 - 53% / 21 - 14% / 13 - 20%

74 Plays — 33 DBs — 6.7 aDOT — 18-of-32 for 236 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack, 0 scrambles

• WR Chris Olave suffered his second concussion of the season, fourth in three NFL seasons and fifth in five years (dating back to college). He also took a huge hit Week 8 but was able to clear concussion protocol.
  • Olave is out of the hospital, fortunately. It looked scary, and his track record of brain injuries suggests a long-term absence from football could be in order.
• RB Alvin Kamara got 78% of snaps and 38 of the 44 RB opportunities en route to 215 total yards. Jamaal Williams (groin) and Kendre Miller (IR - hamstring) both were out, leaving Jordan Mims as the No. 2 RB.
• WR Mason Tipton led the team with 88% route share but finished without a catch on three targets.
  • The Saints largely relied on one- and two-wide sets with Olave sidelined (in addition to Rashid Shaheed being out for the year and Bub Means recovering from a high-ankle sprain). They'll have easily the worst WR room in the league if Olave misses any time.
  • Cedrick Wilson was the No. 2 WR for much of the day but missed part of the game with a shoulder injury (returning eventually).
• TE Taysom Hill took nine touches for 60 yards and a TD, essentially functioning as the team's No. 2 weapon after Kamara.
  • Hill got 52% route share, which is much higher than usual for him and not far from Juwan Johnson's 70%.

Panthers Personnel: 11 - 66% / 12 - 16%

50 Plays — 29 DBs — 7.9 aDOT — 16-of-26 for 171 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sacks, 2 scrambles

• RB Chuba Hubbard scored two TDs and got 18 of the 22 RB opportunities on 78% snap share.
• Xavier Legette and David Moore were the full-time WRs, while Jalen Coker ceded a bunch of snaps to Jonathan Mingo.
  • Coker got 64% of snaps in 11 personnel and zero of 16 snaps otherwise. Not ideal. He handled 82% route share the previous game (59% in Week 9).
  • Legette is averaging just 6.0 YPT but has four of Carolina's 10 receiving TDs.
• TE Ja'Tavion Sanders saw his playing time crater Week 8 with Tommy Tremble back in action, but Tremble missed Week 9 with a back injury (his third absence the past four weeks), which opened the door for Sanders to get 84% of snaps, 67% route share and a 4-87-0 receiving line on five targets.
  • Sanders is now up to an 80% catch rate and 8.2 YPT for the season, with five or more targets in four of his past five games (the four games Tremble missed or barely played in). The Panthers would be wise to keep playing their rookie tight end a lot even if Tremble returns soon (and is a better blocker).
• Coach Dave Canales said Monday that he hasn't made a decision on his Week 10 starter at QB (against the Giants).
  • Canales also said he's optimistic about RB Jonathan Brooks making his NFL debut Week 10.

Stock ⬆️:   TE Taysom Hill  /   WR Xavier Legette + TE Ja'Tavion Sanders

Stock ⬇️:   WR Chris Olave + QB Derek Carr 

  Saints Injuries 🚑: WR Chris Olave (head), WR Cedrick Wilson (arm), C Lucas Patrick (leg)   

Dolphins (27) at Bills (30) 

Dolphins Personnel: 11 - 50% / 12 - 12% / 21 - 35%

60 Plays — 30 DBs — 4.6 aDOT — 25-of-28 for 231 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 1 sack, 1 scramble

• RB De'Von Achane took 68% of snaps and season-high 86% route share, with 20 of the 38 RB opportunities.
  • RB Raheem Mostert got just three more snaps and one more touch after losing a fumble on the opening drive of the second half, but Achane also had the advantage pre-halftime, taking 64% of snaps and nine of 18 RB opportunities. 
    • Jaylen Wright played two snaps in the first half, then took seven snaps and five carries in the second half with Mostert playing less.
    • Achane got 11 of the 17 RB touches after Mostert's lost fumble.
• Achane has scored 23.0, 29.5, 26.7 and 32.1 PPR points in Tua Tagovailoa's four starts this season.
• WR Jaylen Waddle added a new brand of frustration for fantasy managers, losing 23 yards on a lateral play on the final snap of the game. He scored the game-winning touchdown but saw just one target otherwise (also in the fourth quarter), dropping him to a 16% target share and 18% TPRR for the season.
  • I wouldn't want to start Waddle in Week 10 but also don't recommend dropping him. Three of the four games with Tua this season came against the Bills and Cardinals, whose defensive schemes emphasize taking away downfield passes and forcing QBs to target RBs, TEs or slot receivers. The Bills, in particular, excel at doing this, and have been a brutal matchup for WRs all year. Some of the Tua targets that have gone to RBs and TEs so far will shift toward the WRs in the second half of the season. Granted, that may help Hill more than Waddle, as it seems nearly all the easy/schemed stuff goes to Waddle and Achane these days. Waddle has to earn every bit of what he gets.
• WRs Odell Beckham and Malik Washington split the No. 3 role again.
• TE Jonnu Smith had season highs for snap share (68%) and route share (86%), with the latter being 15 percentage points clear of his previous high-water mark.
  • Smith has six or more targets in four straight games.

Bills Personnel: 11 - 47% / 12 - 20% / 13 - 10% / 6OL - 19%

59 Plays — 42 DBs — 3.7 aDOT — 25-of-39 for 235 yards — 3 TDs, 1 INT, 1 sack, 2 scrambles

• RB James Cook had 54% snap share and 16 of the 25 RB opportunities. He took 59% of the RB carries, after three straight games getting above 70%. That's no reason to panic, but it does show that Cook's dominance of the rushing work isn't quite a guarantee each week.
  • Ray Davis played just 14% of snaps but made the most of them, with his six touches including a 63-yard TD on a swing pass. He looks like one of the better backup RBs in the league, continuing to play well after the 23-touch, 152-yard cameo Week 6 when Cook was out against the Jets.
• WR Keon Coleman injured his wrist in the fourth quarter and is scheduled for testing Monday. He was unable to maintain his hot streak, seeing just two targets and a (successful) two-point conversion even though Amari Cooper was out with a wrist injury of his own.
  • Cooper is considered day-to-day.
• WR Khalil Shakir dropped to 47% snap share and 58% route share with the Bills using more multi-TE looks. He nonetheless drew seven targets, but it's a reminder that he still doesn't get much playing time outside of three-wide sets.
  • With Cooper out, Mack Hollins took on 69% snap share, 70% route share and five targets, with a 5-30-1 receiving line.
  • Shakir has seven or more targets in three straight games, after drawing six or fewer in each of his first five appearances this season. The volume will regress some, as will the efficiency, but he'll likely remain among the most efficient WRs per-target and can thus stay in WR3 range for fantasy.
• TE Dalton Kincaid drew 10 targets, after five straight games seeing either six or seven. He caught just four of them, for 32 yards, and still hasn't gone any higher than 52 yards or 13.1 PPR points in a game this season. His 59% catch rate (and 6.1 YPT) look especially bad relative to Shakir's incredible numbers as a low-aDOT receiver playing with Josh Allen.
  • It's not like Kincaid has dropped a lot of passes. I don't think he's a great player, but he's definitely not a bad one, and the poor efficiency has involved a lot of bad luck (it seems like Allen has thrown more bad passes to Kincaid than to every other pass catcher on the Bills combined).

Stock ⬆️:   RB De'Von Achane + TE Jonnu Smith

Stock ⬇️:   WR Jaylen Waddle

  Dolphins Injuries 🚑: FB Alec Ingold (calf) 

  Bills Injuries 🚑: WR Keon Coleman (wrist)

Jaguars (23) at Eagles (28) 

Jaguars Personnel: 11 - 69% / 12 - 24%

51 Plays — 35 DBs — 8.5 aDOT — 16-of-31 for 169 yards — 0 TD, 2 INTs, 2 sacks, 2 scrambles

• RB Travis Etienne returned from a hamstring injury and took 72% of snaps and five of seven RB opportunities in the first quarter, but he then played just 9% of snaps after halftime (with one carry for 16 yards).
  • RB Tank Bigsby got 68% of snaps and six of the nine RB opportunities in the second half, with D'Ernest Johnson taking 29% of snaps and three opps., including an ill-advised pass into the end zone that was intercepted to end the game.
  • Etienne dropped a pass into a defender's hands late in the second quarter and played just three more snaps the rest of the game.
• TE Evan Engram handled 88% route share and a team-high 10 targets. He's been targeted on a team-high 29% of routes this year and always seems to get big-time volume when Christian Kirk is out (which will be the case for the rest of the season).
• WR Brian Thomas handled career highs for snap share (90%) and route share (97%) despite last week's chest injury. He scored a two-point conversion but otherwise drew just four targets.
• WR Parker Washington got six targets and 90 air yards while taking 84% of snaps and 94% route share. Those numbers will probably decline if Gabe Davis (shoulder) returns soon, but it was encouraging usage nonetheless.
  • Austin Trammell was the No. 3 receiver and caught two of three targets for 40 yards. He also lost a fumble on a punt return.
• QB Trevor Lawrence mostly played well in the second half after getting completely shut down in the first half, but his end-zone interception on the final drive (down by five points) was as bad as it gets. Throwing a jump ball to third-string RB D'Ernest Johnson is bad enough, and the fact Lawrence made that decision on a first down from the 13-yard line with 1:42 remaining is absolutely brutal. Scoring slowly is better than scoring immediately in that situation — to leave the opponent with less time for a rebuttal drive. That's not to say you pass up a TD if the guy is wide open, but the time factor combined with the down (first) men it's one of the worst situations to force a difficult throw. (This is an especially sore point for me as a Ravens fan because of this playoff game, in which Joe Flacco decided 2nd-and-5 from the Patriots' 36-yard line with 1:46 remaining was hail-mary time).

Eagles Personnel: 11 - 68% / 12 - 12% / 13 - 10%

73 Plays — 35 DBs — 9.3 aDOT — 18-of-24 for 230 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 3 sacks, 9 scrambles

• WR A.J. Brown missed the second half with a knee injury. He initially was deemed questionable to return but then was ruled out about 45 minutes later.
  • Brown is considered day-to-day after an MRI on Monday.
• RB Saquon Barkley is so, so good. He had a sloppy fumble returned for a TD on a strange play, but otherwise he was absolutely dominant, taking 30 touches for 199 yards and two TDs.
  • Barkley reportedly dealt with back tightness during the game but is expected to be fine for Week 10 against Dallas.
• TE Grant Calcaterra handled a near-every-down role for the fourth straight week with Dallas Goedert (hamstring) still absent (and still not practicing).
• WRs Jahan Dotson and Johnny Wilson handled 59% snap share apiece with Brown sidelined in the second half. They combined for one target, a 36-yard catch by Dotson.
  • There were only seven targets after halftime and DeVonta Smith got five of them, including an incredible, 25-yard TD grab.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Parker Washington

Stock ⬇️:   RB Travis Etienne

  Jaguars Injuries 🚑: LG Cooper Hodges (leg) 

  Eagles Injuries 🚑: WR A.J. Brown (knee)

Bears (9) at Cardinals (29) 

Bears Personnel: 11 - 84% / 12 - 13%

70 Plays — 50 DBs — 9.7 aDOT — 22-of-41 for 217 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 6 sacks, 3 scrambles

• QB Caleb Williams suffered a seemingly minor ankle injury on the final drive of the game. Four other starters left early with injuries; three on the defensive side and RT Darnell Wright (knee).
  • Williams said he's "ok".
• RB D'Andre Swift got 63% of snaps, his smallest share since Week 3 and second smallest of the season, but he nonetheless took 22 of the 28 RB opportunities, including 22 of 26 before the final drive.
  • Swift also benefited from garbage time, to be fair, catching three passes for 14 yards on the second-to-last drive.
• WR Rome Odunze had nearly half the team's receiving yards on seven targets. He, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen all topped 100 air yards, but only Odunze actually hit any big plays.
• TE Cole Kmet finished without a target on 38 routes, dropping his TPRR to 15% for the season.
  • Kmet has five straight games with five or fewer targets (averaging 2.6 per game) since his 10-97-1 explosion Week 3.

Cardinals Personnel: 11 - 44% / 12 - 26% / 13 - 19%

57 Plays — 23 DBs — 6.8 aDOT — 13-of-20 for 154 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 3 sacks, 0 scrambles

• RB James Conner was on track for a huge day, but then he got banged up on a run down to the 1-yard line, which set up Trey Benson for the TD plunge. Conner returned to the game not long after and played most of the third quarter, but he didn't play any snaps in the fourth quarter with Arizona sitting on a big lead.
  • The Cardinals have been quick to pull Conner when they're winning or losing by a lot this year, which is smart for the team but bad for his fantasy managers.
• TE Trey McBride scored a rushing TD on an end-around and should've had another on a pass.
• WR Marvin Harrison lost a fumble on his first catch of the game and caught just one pass thereafter, but his five targets led the team on a day when the run game dominated volume.

Stock ⬆️:   WR Rome Odunze

Stock ⬇️:   TE Cole Kmet

  Bears Injuries 🚑: QB Caleb Williams (ankle), RT Darnell Wright (knee), CB Jaylon Jones (shoulder), CB Terell Smith (ankle), DT Andrew Billings (chest) 

  Cardinals Injuries 🚑: RB/KR DeeJay Dallas (shin) 

Rams (26) at Seahawks (20) — OT 

Rams Personnel: 11 - 72% / 12 - 26%

68 Plays — 44 DBs — 10.2 aDOT — 25-of-44 for 298 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 0 sacks, 0 scrambles

• WR Puka Nacua played 84% of snaps in the first half and caught one of 11 targets for four yards, handling a full workload after hurting his knee during practice Thursday. Nacua was then ejected for throwing a punch (kind of) at Seahawks LB Tyrel Dodson late in the second quarter.
  • Tyler Johnson and Tutu Atwell split playing time filling in for Nacua in the second half.
• Demarcus Robinson's two best games of the season have been the two games since Nacua and Cooper Kupp returned from injuries. Robinson has four TDs over the past two weeks, including the walk-off, game-winner from 39 yards out Sunday.
  • Kupp, meanwhile, put up 11-104-0 on 14 targets.
• TE Davis Allen go slightly more snaps and routes than Colby Parkinson, whose role had already declined in recent weeks.

Seahawks Personnel: 11 - 89% / 12 - 4%

74 Plays — 44 DBs — 11.0 aDOT — 21-of-34 for 363 yards — 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 7 sacks, 3 scrambles

• WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the leading fantasy scorer at all positions Week 9 and saw a league-high 259 air yards, repeatedly beating the Rams downfield from slot/inside alignments, including for a game-tying, 14-yard TD in the final minute.
  • I'd dismissed JSN as a solid-but-unspectacular player a few weeks earlier, and while this performance doesn't erase everything that happened previously, there's definitely a chance I was wrong and this is the start of a breakout. Now we have to see if Smith-Njigba can put up big numbers when DK Metcalf (knee) is playing and the Seahawks are facing a decent secondary.
  • Smith-Njigba put up the gargantuan stat line despite losing two catches and at least 70 yards on plays wiped out by penalties. He truly ran circles around the Rams secondary, the same way Jauan Jennings did earlier this season.
  • He took just six snaps from a perimeter alignment Sunday - a low number even by his standards.
• QB Geno Smith threw a pair of goal-line interceptions during the fourth quarter, with the first being returned over 100 yards for a TD. He had a chaotic afternoon, with the benefit from 363 passing yards and three TDs outweighed by three interceptions and seven sacks.
• RB Kenneth Walker took 76% of snaps and 28 of 33 RB opportunities, confirming that his reduced role the week before was a product of an illness and negative game script, nothing more.
• WR Jake Bobo was demoted to a timeshare with Cody White after handling the No. 3 WR role on his own the week before.

Stock ⬆️:   TE Davis Allen  /   WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba 

Stock ⬇️:   TE Colby Parkinson  /   WR Jake Bobo

  Rams Injuries 🚑: RT Rob Havenstein (ankle), CB Josh Wallace (leg)   

  Seahawks Injuries 🚑: RT George Fant (knee), S K'Von Wallace (ankle)

Lions (24) at Packers (14) 

Lions Personnel: 11 - 44% / 12 - 44%

55 Plays — 23 DBs — 3.7 aDOT — 18-of-22 for 145 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack, 0 scrambles