Snap Count Observations: Week 5
Snaps lead to opportunity, opportunity leads to production, production leads to fantasy points, and fantasy points lead to #FootClanTitles (not the dark side!). Let’s get into some interesting snap count situations from Week 5.
Saints RBs – Mark Ingram 55% / Alvin Kamara 47%
Mark Ingram returned to the Saints active roster from a four-game suspension this week. And boy, did he do that in spectacular fashion. Ingram touched the ball 18 times for a combined 73 yards and two touchdowns against the Redskins. The Ingram/Kamara backfield will still be a dangerous running back tandem… the question now will be how much Kamara touches the ball? In this game, Kamara only logged 6 rushes and 4 targets for three receptions. Granted, the game script was heavily in Ingram’s favor with the Saints very much in the lead. Kamara owners shouldn’t panic yet, as he will still be heavily involved in the passing game in closer games. If I were you, I’d turn down those bye week trade offers!
Saints WRs – Michael Thomas 77% / Tre’Quan Smith 67% / Cameron Meredith 45%
On the subject of the Saints, I think many will be curious about the ancillary wide receivers going forward. In Week 5, Tre’Quan Smith posted a huge stat line of three receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns. The only issue here is that Smith only had three targets on the evening. Meredith himself had a good night as well, catching all five of his targets for 71 yards. The main reason that Meredith’s snap counts are so low is that he’s manning slot duties. Two wide receiver sets will involve Thomas and Smith for the most part. I still think that Thomas is the main target hog here and that the last two weeks were outliers. After the Saints’ bye, I’d expect Meredith to have more consistent targets over Smith.
Ravens RBs – Javorius (Buck) Allen 57% / Alex Collins 31%
Sigh. I can tell you this is exactly what Collins owners are saying right now. Allen has averaged 6.8 rushing attempts, 5.4 targets and 4.2 receptions per game so far this season. Not to mention he seems to come in on goal line plays to steal the touchdowns from Collins. The situation is getting messy and deciding which one is worth starting each week is a gambler’s game. Collins himself hasn’t looked outstanding through five weeks, although Week 5 he did rush for 4.92 yards per carry. This was promising because he hadn’t cleared 4.0 YPC in the first four weeks. Kenneth Dixon is also eligible for return in Week 11. So, in my opinion, it might be time to sell Ravens RBs for someone with a better end-of-season schedule.
Patriots WRs – Chris Hogan 91% / Julian Edelman 70% / Phillip Dorsett 61% / Josh Gordon 26%
As expected, Edelman jumped right back into the gameplan following his four-game suspension to start the season. Edelman caught seven of nine targets for 57 yards and returned two punts for 20 yards. Right out the gates, Edelman has returned to being a top-flight PPR option based on his rapport with Tom Brady. Another intriguing piece of information here is that Gordon only played 18 snaps Thursday night against the Colts. Flash landed two receptions for 50 yards and a huge touchdown — It was Brady’s 500th passing touchdown. I still think that Hogan is a buy-low target if the price is right, but we will need to watch how Gordon slowly transitions into this offense with Edelman back in uniform.
Seahawks WRs – Doug Baldwin 88% / Tyler Lockett 87% / David Moore 52%
With this being Baldwin’s second game back after his injury hiatus, I figured we should take a look the Seahawks wideouts. Baldwin had a very disappointing game against the Rams — he only caught his sole target for a whopping one yard. However, he’s back to leading the team in wide receiver snaps. From 2011-2017, Doug Baldwin averages 3.4 more PPR points per game in the second half of the season.
Baldwin should be getting back to full strength soon. Try reaching out to the Baldwin owner to feel out a trade.