Snap Count Observations: Transactions for Week 3 (Fantasy Football)
Welcome back to the second article in this series for the 2026 season! If you are new to this column, we look for playing-time trends to help with waiver wire transactions, start/sit decisions, and everything in between. We are already seeing some telling playing-time trends, so we will not waste too much ink on the introduction. Let’s dive straight into the data.
Minnesota Vikings
Aaron Jones Sr. (81%); Jordan Mason (Injured Reserve) We entered the season expecting Jordan Mason to take over as the RB1A, and in Week 1, Jordan Mason out-touched Aaron Jones Sr. However, Wednesday’s news that Mason fractured his thumb and landed on Injured Reserve completely flipped the script. With Mason sidelined for at least four weeks, Jones immediately assumed a massive workhorse role in Week 2 against the Bears. The veteran RB thrived with the backfield to himself, despite his age, turning 23 carries into a rugged 105 rushing yards in a soggy, low-scoring division battle. While he surprisingly failed to record a target from backup QB Carson Wentz, Jones led the backfield with a healthy 46% route rate and was the clear engine keeping an otherwise inconsistent Minnesota offense moving. He briefly left the game with a minor knee tweak in the fourth quarter, but he quickly returned to finish the game. Jones has immediate low-end RB1 upside as the undisputed focal point of this offense over the next month or longer.
Conclusion: Injury fears will remain on this player with a long injury history, but he should be in your lineup so long as he starts for the Vikings.
Denver Broncos
Jonah Coleman (54% after injury); J.K. Dobbins (46% before injury); RJ Harvey (Inactive)
What a difference a week makes. After playing a mere three offensive snaps in the opener, rookie Jonah Coleman was gifted the Broncos’ backfield in Week 2. With RJ Harvey already ruled out due to a hamstring issue, the door swung open for Coleman when J.K. Dobbins exited in the second half with a hamstring injury of his own. Coleman’s numbers do not jump off the page, but he did score a TD, and he had a little more burst than we previously saw from the aging Dobbins.
Coleman finished the game out-snapping Dobbins 25 to 21 and out-touching him despite the late entry. He paced the backfield with 39 rushing yards, caught all three of his targets for 19 yards, and punched in a three-yard TD in the fourth quarter to help secure the win. While early Monday reports suggest Dobbins’ injury is not severe, the improvement to the offense was notable.
Conclusion: Dobbins is probably close to dumpsville, and Coleman is a high-priority waiver add. He looks like he will have the backfield mostly to himself for a few weeks. Do not blow your FAAB on this guy, but be aggressive.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Green Bay Packers
Kaleb Johnson (27%); MarShawn Lloyd (27%); Chris Brooks (46%) If you are looking for clarity in the Green Bay backfield while Josh Jacobs works through his legal issues, you will not find it in Week 2. No Packer was particularly effective on the ground, and it was actually journeyman Chris Brooks who led the backfield in playing time, playing 46% of the snaps primarily as Matt LaFleur’s trusted pass-blocker. Despite being on the field, he added very little to the offense in his six touches for 26 total yards.
Kaleb Johnson handled eight carries for 32 yards, including the first Packers touch in overtime. However, both Johnson and Lloyd put the ball on the ground, with Lloyd’s being recovered by the other team. MarShawn Lloyd caught a six-yard TD screen early on, but he vanished after committing his costly, fourth-quarter fumble. No RB looks fully trusted by this coaching staff right now, and no Packer RB looks particularly effective either.
The good news? Insiders believe that Jacobs could be back as early as Week 5 once the NFL clears his suspension review, with time on the NFI list counting as time toward any suspension. With a murky committee in place for the next couple of weeks, there is absolutely no reason to chase anyone in this backfield on the waiver wire.
Conclusion: Avoid the Green Bay committee; Chris Brooks is a snap-share mirage, and Josh Jacobs will reclaim his kingdom soon.
New Orleans Saints
Travis Etienne (54%); Alvin Kamara (29%)
The New Orleans backfield has quickly devolved into a full-fledged headache. After missing the season opener, Alvin Kamara returned from a knee injury to make his 2026 debut, throwing an immediate wrench into any hopes of a consolidated workhorse role. His return completely pushed sophomore Kendre Miller out of the rotation, leaving Miller as a healthy scratch on Sunday. Kamara didn’t play a ton, but still got more opportunity than big-money free agent Travis Etienne Jr.
Kamara paced the backfield with nine carries to Etienne’s eight, but neither found any running room against a stout Ravens front, combining for a miserable 40 rushing yards. While Kamara rescued his fantasy day by being the primary target-earner out of the backfield (catching five of six targets), Etienne’s fantasy utility plummeted off a cliff. Despite signing a $52 million contract this offseason, Etienne was treated as just another guy in the rotation, catching both of his targets for six empty yards. As long as this offense funnels heavily through Chris Olave, Etienne looks like a completely non-useful fantasy asset who is utterly dependent on TD efficiency to crack your starting lineup.
Conclusion: Sell Travis Etienne Jr. if you still can.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Cleveland Browns
Denzel Boston (93%)
It is time to officially sound the breakout alarm for rookie second-rounder Denzel Boston. After scoring a 46-yard garbage-time TD in the opener, Boston exploded in Week 2. He looks like a certified stud, pacing the Browns’ aerial attack with five receptions for 95 yards. The highlight of the game came in the third quarter when he caught an intermediate pass from Deshaun Watson, hit a defender with a nasty spin move to break two tackles, and sprinted 55 yards into the end zone. Through two weeks, Boston has cemented himself as the clear WR1 in this offense.
The most encouraging takeaway for Boston’s long-term fantasy outlook is that QB Deshaun Watson actually looked functional on Sunday. Following a brutal opener, Watson bounced back against the Buccaneers by playing hyper-efficient football. He completed 24 of his 30 pass attempts for 238 yards and two scores. Most importantly, he didn’t throw an INT. If Watson can simply maintain this level of baseline competency, Boston’s 6’4″ frame and tackle-breaking ability give him weekly WR2 upside.
Conclusion: Denzel Boston is a waiver wire priority. He has already secured the top spot in Cleveland’s target pecking order, and if Cleveland has competent QB play, then this talented rookie deserves to be rostered.