Snap Count Observations: Transactions to Make for Week 6 (Fantasy Football)
Atlanta Falcons
Ray-Ray McCloud 98%
McCloud is an extremely available player (95% available), but a player you should be monitoring. McCloud played essentially every snap in Week 5, and he is averaging 90% of snaps on the year. Plus, this week, he saw nine targets for 66 yards. Of course, this was a barn burner game where Kirk Cousins threw for over 500 yards, so all numbers look a bit inflated. But still, the opportunity for McCloud is there.
He doesn’t see as many targets as Drake London or Darnell Mooney, but he’s out there a lot on a team that is starting to put things together offensively.
I don’t advocate you pick him up yet, but he could become something quasi-interesting, especially if you play in a deep league.
Conclusion: Keep an eye on Ray-Ray McCloud.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Travis Etienne 38%; Tank Bigsby 40%
The vibes around Travis Etienne are not good at the moment. He has not been spectacular all season, the team is losing a lot of games, and Tank Bigsby has shown flashes as a runner. These vibes continued for Etienne in Week 5 (except the Jags won).
Bigsby was, by far, the better runner on the day. Etienne salvaged his day with six receptions, but nothing about his performance was exciting. Meanwhile, almost everything Bigsby did was exciting, including in the passing game. Bigsby caught only one pass, but he took it for 28 yards, while Etienne could only manage 43 total yards on six catches. Bigsby was also the player scoring the touchdowns, and eventually, he played more snaps than Etienne.
The game was crazy, with the Jaguars and Colts combining for 41 points in the fourth quarter alone. Notably, Bigsby played far more in the second half, as the Jaguars essentially faded out Etienne’s usage. This is very notable as you’d expect Etienne to be involved heavily in a shootout-type game.
This is exactly the type of situation where a changing of the guard can happen. A coach in the hot seat needs to try some unconventional stuff, which might include deemphasizing a first-round running back. Also, don’t forget that Etienne was selected during Urban Meyer’s tenure, while Bigsby was a selection made by current coach, Doug Pederson. I would not be surprised at all to see Bigsby take over this backfield (if he hasn’t already done so).
Etienne isn’t showing anything on film that suggests he should keep his job as RB1. If anything, all the tape suggests that it is Bigsby who is more exciting, better for the team, and deserving of more usage.
Conclusion: Pick up Tank Bigsby.
New England Patriots
Rhamondre Stevenson 47%; Antonio Gibson 47%
True to his word, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo started Antonio Gibson in response to Stevenson’s fumbling issues. But, Gibson did not become the Patriots’ RB1. Instead, it was an exact 50-50 split in playing time, but more importantly, Stevenson still saw significantly more opportunities. Gibson got a mere six carries and one target, while Stevenson saw 12 and four, respectively. Stevenson also was more efficient and scored a touchdown.
The public “demotion” appears to be nothing more than a bit of attention-grabbing punishment for Rhamondre to get his head right. I guess it worked since Stevenson didn’t fumble and played okay.
Even so, the Patriots’ offense is still very bad. Plus it’s only a matter of time until the rookie QB takes over for Brissett, which might make the offense even worse.
Conclusion: You can go back to ignoring Antonio Gibson. Stevenson is fine as a low-end RB2/flex due to workload.
Dallas Cowboys
Rico Dowdle 50%; Ezekiel Elliott 30%
You’d probably be surprised to learn that Rico Dowdle only had 50% of the snaps given his box score (20 for 87 on the ground and two for 27 with a touchdown through the air). Dowdle played 38 snaps and saw the ball on 22 of them. That’s fantastic usage in limited playing time.
The fact remains that Dallas is very much a pass-to-win team. Consider that the Cowboys played 20% of the snaps without any running back on the field. That said, Dowdle has scored through the air in two straight weeks. So, who cares how he gets the fantasy points, right?
Dowdle has become the clear backfield leader, as he should be. His numbers still aren’t jaw-dropping, but the fact remains that he’s a backfield leader on a very good offense. Also, while his efficiency numbers aren’t spectacular (4.35 yards/carry), they were still pretty good against a very good Pittsburgh defense, so maybe I shouldn’t be negging his efficiency.
Dowdle is moving into the playable category, but just probably not next week against Detroit, who arguably has the best run defense in the NFL right now. He would be a great trade target next week after Detroit likely shuts him down.
Conclusion: Dowdle is approaching reliable starting territory.
Green Bay Packers
Malik Heath 76%
Malik Heath is your Romeo Doubs replacement, not just in terms of depth chart but also in utilization. The Packers more or less ran the same offense as before, but with Heath filling in for Doubs, while Doubs pouts about his role on the team.
You can file this under “a piece of trivia” because Heath didn’t appear to be very good. Honestly, this is probably good news because the Packers became far more concentrated, with almost all the offense going through Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed, and Tucker Kraft. All of these players are more attractive without Doubs around.
Conclusion: Feel great if you have one of Wicks, Kraft, or Reed. Heath is not worth picking up.
New York Giants
Tyrone Tracy 62%; Eric Gray 36%’
Without Devin Singletary dominating the backfield, the Giants started Eric Gray. And then he had a brutal fumble on the goal line that was returned for a touchdown by Seattle. It was almost exclusively Tyrone Tracy‘s time after that.
Tracy was dynamic in his chance to shine (18 carries for 129 yards) against a team that was just gashed by the Lions last week on Monday Night Football. The Seahawks are missing a ton of defensive linemen and appear to be a defense to target with running backs (Next week, they play San Francisco – giddy up, Jordan Mason).
Eric Gray started the game and caught three passes on the opening drive. Clearly, the Giants were trying to involve Gray to help offset missing their alpha receiver, Malik Nabers. Also, that dual threat ability is closer to what Devin Singletary has been for the Giants. But, once Gray fumbled in such a costly manner, the Giants stopped trusting him and let Tracy have a go.
Tracy was an interesting prospect and looked pretty good in the preseason. He might have earned himself more playing time, but I tend to think that the Giants will go right back to Singletary, given the extreme trust they have in him. Also, I am more of a believer that the Seahawks just can’t stop anyone at the moment than I am that the Giants’ offense suddenly transformed into a strong running game simply by substituting the rookie.
Conclusion: Tracy is a pickup if Devin Singletary remains sidelined. Don’t expect another performance like this one against a stronger run defense.
Cleveland Browns
Jerome Ford 58%; D’Onta Foreman 34%
Jerome Ford still leads the backfield in playing time by a significant margin, but the running back opportunities were an even split (nine carries for each). Ford saw two more targets (three to one), but he did absolutely nothing with those extra chances (two total receiving yards). In fact, Foreman outgained Ford through the air on just a single catch (18 receiving yards).
The point of all this is that Jerome Ford’s days of being playable might be over. He plays on the worst offense in the league, and Nick Chubb’s 21-day window already opened. Ford’s best asset was his ability to catch out of the backfield, but it looks like that ability may have been inflated mostly due to Joe Flacco being a much, much, much better quarterback than Deshaun Watson.
Conclusion: Jerome Ford is nearing Dumpsville. If not this week, very soon.