Backfield Breakdown: Week 2 RB Usage Recap & Week 3 Waivers

This article is part of our Backfield Breakdown series.

There's no denying that the first two weeks of the fantasy season have been defined by wide receivers rather than running backs. We've seen some big games from RBs, but it was mostly different guys between Weeks 1 and 2.

Christian McCaffrey, James Robinson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and D'Andrew Swift are the only RBs to top 15 PPR points in both of the first two weeks. Of those four, only McCaffrey has played 60 percent of his team's snaps… and he barely got over 15 points both weeks, making him a disappointment (so far) for his draft slot.

Things change throughout the season, of course, and we saw it in Week 2 with Cam Akers and Dameon Pierce notably taking on much larger roles than they'd had in the season opener. Neither scored many points, though they were hardly alone in a week where lofty snap counts didn't equate to big-time fantasy points. McCaffrey, Leonard Fournette, Saquon Barkley, David Montgomery and Joe Mixon were the five backs to play more than three-quarters of their respective teams' offensive snaps… and none scored even 17 PPR points.

Following the usage will lead to success more often than not, but it does seem that many of the backs with safe, hefty workloads are stuck in unimpressive offenses. The Panthers, Bear and Giants we kind of knew about beforehand, while the Colts and Bucs are struggling to overcome injuries.

Usage Leaderboards

Week 2

Doesn't include MNF. GL Looks = Targets + Carries inside the 5-yard line

Full Season

Doesn't include MNF. GL Looks = Targets + Carries inside the 5-yard line

Week 2 Injury Report

Inactives

Elijah Mitchell (IR - knee)

Alvin Kamara (ribs)

 J.K. Dobbins (ACL)

Damien Williams (IR - ribs)

Brandon Bolden (hamstring)

Dontrell Hilliard (hamstring)

In-Game Injuries

James Conner left with an ankle injury.

Giovani Bernard suffered an ankle injury.      

Tyrion Davis-Price suffered a high-ankle sprain.

Week 2 Red-Zone Report

Inside the 5-Yard Line

Red Zone Looks

Week 3 Waivers & Sleepers

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

Waivers, Pt. 1 —Top Adds & Streamers

1. Raheem Mostert - 43% rostered
2. Eno Benjamin - 11%
3. Darrel Williams - 4%
4. Tyrion Davis-Price - 8%  Jordan Mason - 5%
5. Jerick McKinnon - 6%

Waivers, Pt. 2 — Bench Stashes & Sleepers

1. Rachaad White - 35%
2. Brian Robinson - 48%
3. Kenneth Gainwell - 46%
4. Jaylen Warren - 16%
5. Zack Moss - 17% 
6. Marlon Mack - 4%

Week 3 Drops & Benchings

Drop'em

Kenyan Drake

Mike Davis

D'Onta Foreman

Chuba Hubbard

Bench'em

Breece Hall

Rashaad Penny

Darrell Henderson

Jamaal Williams

Rex Burkhead

Nyheim Hines

Week 2 Game-by-Game Breakdowns

Chargers (24) at Chiefs (27) 

• Ekeler's snap share rose from 49% in Week 1 to 63% on Thursday, with the same number of carries (14) but six more targets (10-4).
  • His snap share in active games last year was 64.5%, FWIW.
  • Ekeler played at least half the snaps in each quarter Thursday, peaking at 71% in Q2 and 69% in Q4. In Week 1 his heaviest usage came in the first quarter, while the fourth quarter saw more Sony Michel with the Chargers nursing a lead. No such luck for the Chargers in Thursday's loss to KC.
• Michel played two of the three snaps inside the 5-yard line, including the lone carry (he didn't score). Ekeler got the other goal-line snap, after playing all four the previous week. 
  • So, Ekeler is now up to five snaps inside the 5 without a carry/target there yet (blame the brilliance of FB Zander Horvath, who has two short TDs in two weeks). Last year, Ekeler got the look on 17 of his 43 goal-line snaps (40%). 
• Through two weeks, Ekeler has 28 carries to Michel's 11 to Kelley's 8, while targets go 14 for Ekeler, four for Kelley and one for Michel. That gives Ekeler 42 of the team's 66 RB looks (64%) on 56% of the snaps.

• Edwards-Helaire started for a second straight week and saw a slightly larger workload — but only slightly — after getting seven carries and three targets on 39% snap share in the opener (with 48% snap share before Q4 of KC's blowout win).
• Pacheco played five snaps and took two carries for six yards, both in the second quarter. Remember that ten of his 12 carries the week before came in the fourth quarter... it seems we can only expect 2-3 touches per game for now, unless the Chiefs win by a ton.
• McKinnon played all three snaps inside the 5-yard line, including one carry (no TD). But he did have a nine-yard receiving TD before that, which was KC's only other snap inside the Chargers' 10-yard line.
• McKinnon played eight of 11 snaps in the fourth quarter, even though the Chiefs were winning, in part because Edwards-Helaire needed a breather after his 52-yard run. CEH only played three snaps in the final quarter but he got the ball on each play and picked up 68 total yards to help ice the game.
• Edwards-Helaire has put up 22.4 PPR points on 10 touches and 15.8 points on 12 touches through two weeks... obviously unsustainable on a per-touch basis, but it does give him a case to get more work moving forward. McKinnon, who scored the TD on Thursday, has only 65 total yards through two games.

Jets (31) at Browns (30) 

• Carter started for a second straight week. He's now played 60 and 61% of snaps and taken 17 carries for 83 yards and 12 catches for 67 yards on 14 targets. There haven't been any TDs or long plays, but the target/snap shares are better than expected.
• Hall, meanwhile, dropped from 45% snap share Week 1 to 27% in Week 2, but he did gain 50 yards on his seven carries and scored a 10-yard TD on his lone target. 
  • Hall had another catch (a screen) wiped out by a penalty, and ran well when he was able to get out of the backfield for a second straight week. He now has 17 carries for 83 yards and 13 carries for 73 yards (5.6 YPC) and seven catches for 48 yards and a TD on 10 targets.
• Johnson poached 13 snaps (and three targets), after only playing special teams the week before. He got snaps that most expected to go to Carter, while Carter perhaps got snaps that most expected to go to Hall. Regardless, Johnson's continued involvement in the two-minute offense isn't ideal for Carter/Hall managers.
• Having watched all of both Jets games, I've been impressed with Carter and Hall as runners. Both struggled in the passing game Week 1, which perhaps explains Johnson's Week 2 involvement, though Carter and Hall have the skills to excel in that regard.

• The snaps went slightly more in Chubb's favor after Hunt had a 56-53 snap share advantage Week 1, and the TDs really went for Chubb (3-0, after Hunt was 2-0 in the opener).
  • Chubb went 1-for-2 inside the 5-yard line and also had TDs from 7 and 12 yards out.
• Chubb has played all five of Cleveland's snaps inside the 5-yard line so far this year, and he's taken nine of 13 (69%) inside the 10.
  • Chubb has five carries inside the 10, while Hunt has one carry and one target.
  • Hunt does have one more red-zone snap (54 percent - 50 percent).

Buccaneers (20) at Saints (10) 

• Fournette managed only 65 yards on 24 carries and nine yards on four targets, but the 87% snap share was his largest yet in a Tampa uniform.
• Giovani Bernard left with an ankle injury after playing five snaps on special teams. He hasn't seen a snap on offense this year, with Fournette playing 88% of the third-down snaps.

• With Alvin Kamara (ribs) inactive, Ingram got the start and was the lead ballcarrier. He played 63% of snaps in the first quarter and 58% in the third quarter, while Jones got most of the playing time in the second and fourth quarters and obvious passing situations.
  • Ingram finished with a 10-2 lead in carries, while Jones had a 32-13 lead in pass snaps (but was targeted only twice. Jones saw a bit more playing time, but only because Ingram lost a fumble at the end of the third quarter/ the Saints trailed for most of the fourth quarter.
    • Prior to the final quarter, Ingram got 45% of snaps and Jones got 36% (with Ingram having a 12-3 advantage in touches). 
• Washington got three of his four snaps late in the third quarter, taking three carries for 15 yards on consecutive plays to bring the Saints to the red zone (where Ingram promptly lost a fumble on the next play).
  • Ingram didn't get another touch after the lost fumble, and played only four of 21 snaps in the final quarter.

Colts (0) at Jaguars (24) 

• Taylor was bottled up all day until he ripped off two gains of 21 on a second-half drive when the Colts were already down 21-0. 
  • The good news for Taylor's fantasy managers is that he continued getting snaps and touches into garbage time. Hines had a 5-1 edge in targets, but Taylor was actually on the field for nearly twice as many pass plays.
  • Taylor even played 74% of snaps in the fourth quarter. 
• Hines was targeted on three of Indy's first five snaps but saw only two passes and one carry the rest of the day. The Jags ended up dominating possession in a game where Indy didn't have its Nos. 1 and 3 receivers.

• Robinson started for a second straight week and again had more touches and more production than Etienne, who looked good when he had room to work.
  • J-Rob had a 37-yard TD in the second quarter but managed only 27 yards from his other 22 carries. Etienne also struggled on the ground (9-20-0) but caught each of his three targets for 33 yards.
• Etienne's snap share dropped from 51% in Week 1 to 37% in Week 2. The good news for his managers, at least in terms of snap count, is that the Jags probably won't spend much of the season nursing multi-score leads the way they did Sunday.
• Robinson got most of the fourth-quarter, clock-killing work, though Etienne took the final three carries to finish it out. In other words, Robinson had a 23-6 carry advantage at one point, with Etienne only having a 2-1 lead in targets.
  • Also note that Robinson played two more pass snaps than Etienne on Sunday, narrowing Etienne's lead in that department to 44-36 through two games.
    • Meanwhile, Robinson has a 34-13 lead in carries and 3-1 lead in touches inside the 5-yard line through two weeks.

Dolphins (42) at Ravens (38) 

• Mostert got the start after Edmonds started Week 1.
  • Compared to the previous week, Mostert saw more snaps (55 percent to 42 percent), carries (11-5) and targets (3-1) even though the Dolphins played from behind. He continued getting work in the second half, though Edmonds played more once the Dolphins were really in a hole (they ended up erasing a 35-14 deficit and scoring four TDs in the fourth quarter).
• Edmonds had a quiet afternoon until ripping off a 28-yard gain on the game-winning drive.

• Drake got more than half the snaps and RB touches in Week 1 but fell into an even, three-way split Week 2.
  • Hill mostly got hurry-up and third-down snaps, while Davis got the goal-line work (including two unsuccessful goal-line carries) and Drake got the carries between the 20s.
• J.K. Dobbins (knee) should be back Week 3 or 4 to lead this backfield.

Patriots (17) at Steelers (14) 

• Ty Montgomery (ankle) missed his first of at least four games, leaving Stevenson and Harris without a third man competing for touches (Strong was only on the field for kneel-downs).
• It was an odd split, with Harris getting six more carries and half as many pass snaps, even though both got playing time on third downs (Harris actually played four of the seven snaps on 3rd-and-long).
  • Both played at least 37% of snaps in each quarter until the fourth, when Stevenson got 73% and Harris only 27%.
• Stevenson played 58% of snaps on first down, 67% on second down and 61% on third down.
• Harris finished with 15-71-1 and 2-16-0, while Stevenson had 9-47-0 and 1-4-0.

• Harris didn't quite dominate snaps the way he did last year, but 20 touches and 71% snap share suggests no setbacks with the foot injury from Week 1.
• Harris played 71% of snaps on first down, 79% on second down and 60% on third down.
• Warren played five of six snaps on 3rd-and-long, and 12 of 52 snaps otherwise.
  • It makes sense to take Harris off the field for those plays if they aren't going to use him for 85+ percent of snaps the way they did last year. He's solid in the passing game, but not special... so far he's mostly caught a lot of dump-offs and screens, as opposed to someone like Austin Ekeler who can get open against man coverage and runs real routes.

Commanders (27) at Lions (36) 

• The snaps shifted more toward McKissic with the Commanders playing from behind after a Week 1 win (Gibson had a 65-39 snap share advantage in the opener, with a 14-3 lead in carries and 8-3 lead in targets).
  • McKissic caught each of his seven targets, but he played only five more pass snaps than Gibson, who got seven more pass snaps the week before. Gibson still has a slight advantage in targets (11-10) this year, with McKissic accounting for just 11.7% of the team total.
• Gibson got all three goal-line looks, and now has all four for the season. He's only scored once, however.

• Swift played through an ankle injury and looked excellent, but the Lions limited him to five carries and five targets on 51% snap share, while Williams did a lot of the grinding between the tackles.
  • Williams got the one goal-line carry, but Swift nonetheless scored the group's only TD, finding paydirt from 22 yards out on a screen pass where he fell to the ground while catching a deflected pass. He got up, then weaved his way into the end zone. Not bad. He also had a 50-yard run... that's how you get to 16.7 PPR points on seven touches.
• Swift played 37% of snaps on first down, 42% on second down and 85% on third down.
  • The week before, he'd played 59% of early down snaps and 94% of late-down snaps. The ankle injury seems to have impacted his role, and the Lions' lead may have been a factor as well.
• Reynolds took nine snaps and four touches (all on early downs) after not getting any snaps the week before. He played five of his snaps in the first half, so clearly it was part of the gameplan. That's obviously not ideal for Swift/Williams if it continues.

Panthers (16) at Giants (19) 

• McCaffrey was held in check apart from a 49-yard run in the fourth quarter, but the snap share is exactly what fantasy managers want to see.
  • He played 81% of snaps Week 1.
  • He finished with 15-102-0 and 4-26-0 in Sunday's loss.
• The Carolina offense looks worse than the stats suggest, though McCaffrey individually looks as spry as ever.

• Brightwell had a 14-yard run while lined up as the fullback in front of Barkley, who dominated backfield snaps but came nowhere close to repeating his huge Week 1.
  • Barkley ran well when he had room but finished with just 21-72-0 and 3-16-0.
  • The Giants had one play of more than 16 yards. Their offense got going in the second half, but with short throws for the most part and a few nice runs by Saquon.
• RB leaders in snap share through two weeks - McCaffrey (86.5), Barkley (83.3), Fournette (81.4), Dalvin Cook (77.4, MNF pending), Taylor (75.4), Mixon (74.3), David Montgomery (71.7).
  • Nobody else is at 70%.

Seahawks (7) at 49ers (27) 

• Walker returned from the summer knee surgery and forced a three-way timeshare with Penny and Homer.
  • Penny got the start and played seven of nine snaps in the first quarter, but it was a committee thereafter, and he didn't play at all in the fourth quarter.
  • Homer, the passing-down specialist, ended up with the most snaps in a game where the Seahawks trailed throughout.
  • This looks brutal for fantasy, though Walker or Penny may eventually emerge and cast the other aside (or injuries may do the same). Of course, whoever ends up ahead will still face the uphill battle of being an early down back on a team that trails often and doesn't have great blocking.
• Each of the three RBs saw either six or seven looks (carries + targets).

• Wilson got the start with Elijah Mitchell (knee) on IR, but Davis-Price was involved throughout, including four carries for 22 yards in the first quarter.
  • Both RBs played at least one-third of offensive snaps in each quarter, and they got one goal-line look apiece (neither scored).
• Davis-Price took only one third-down snap (out of 18). Wilson played 56%, and then the Niners used Kyle Juszczyk as the lone back a handful of times.
• Wilson had the better day statistically, taking 18 carries for 84 yards and two catches for 19 yards, while TDP had 14 carries for 33 yards and wasn't targeted on 11 pass snaps (the same number Wilson played).
• Trey Lance's season-ending ankle injury probably means the 49ers will throw more but also means the RBs won't face real carry competition from the QB position... except for Jimmy Garoppolo's 1-yard TD toward the end of Sunday's win.

Monday UPDATE: Davis-Price suffered a high ankle sprain and will miss at least a game or two (likely more). Fellow rookie Jordan Mason, an undrafted free agent, is the third RB on the roster. (Marlon Mack may soon be called up from the practice squad.)

Falcons (27) at Rams (31) 

• Patterson ran hard again, but the Rams held him to 41 yards on 10 carries nonetheless, and his lone target (the team's only RB target) bounced off his hands and into a defender's for an INT that was nearly returned for a TD.
  • Patterson has topped 55% snap share twice in two weeks, something he did only five times in 16 games last season. Fire him up as an RB2, even after this dud.
• Rookie fifth-round pick Tyler Allgeier replaced Damien Williams (IR - ribs) as the No. 2 back and took 10 carries for 30 yards.
• Patterson took 58% of snaps on first down, 48% on second down and 73% on third down.
• Williams played a couple snaps with Patterson also on the field, but the punt returner also stole some work in 12 personnel (seven snaps).
• Allgeier got six of his 10 carries and 10 of his 19 snaps in 22 personnel (one WR)

• Sean McVay provided a lesson in humility for those of us idiots who took Darrell Henderson victory laps after Week 1.
  • Henderson started again, but his snap share dropped by 26 percentage points after 82% in Week 1.
  • Cam Akers played fewer snaps than Henderson, yet finished with a 15-10 lead in carries and 3-0 lead in targets. An eight-yard TD run kind of saved Henderson's fantasy day, at least in standard leagues, but his value takes a hit with Akers' return to the offense in a meaningful role
    • Though it's worth noting that Henderson was more effective, with 4.7 YPC to Akers' 2.9. I think Akers looks fine, but Henderson looks better. Neither is special, so the Rams may continue to feel it out week by week.
• Both RBs played at least 40% of snaps through three quarters. Henderson then got 63% in the fourth, though Akers carried the ball on five of the six snaps he played.
• Henderson played 50% of snaps on first down, 55% on second down and 80% on third down.
  • If McVay sticks with these roles (he probably won't), Henderson should see most of the snaps when the Rams are in a close game or play from behind, while games like this past one likely would tilt more towards Akers.

Bengals (17) at Cowboys (20) 

• Mixon played only one of eight snaps on 3rd-and-long but dominated playing time in all other situations for a second straight week.
  • The Cowboys held him to 19-57-0 and 3-26-0 on four targets.
• Through two weeks, Mixon has played 92% of snaps on first down and 84% on second down.
  • He has 46 of Cincy's 48 RB carries and 13 of the 19 targets.
  • He's fourth among RBs in team carry share (78%) and sixth in snap share (74%).

• Elliott improved from 58% snap share in the opener to 67% in Week 2, but his 16 touches yielded only 49 yards, while Pollard took 13 touches for 98 yards and a TD.
• Through two games, Elliott has an 81-62 advantage in snaps and 25-15 edge in carries, while Pollard has a 9-4 target lead and the only goal-line touch (his one-yard TD against the Bengals on Sunday.
  • Elliott has played 59% of snaps on first down, 61% on second down and 54% on third down.
  • Pollard is at 44%, 54% and 46%, respectively. He's actually played fewer pass snaps than Elliott, though with more than twice as many targets.
• The Cowboys have run 14 snaps with two halfbacks on the field this year, allowing Zeke and Pollard to combine for 110% snap share through two games (62 Zeke, 48 Pollard)
  • The 48% share is an upgrade for Pollard, who played 35% of snaps in his active games last year.

Cardinals (29) at Raiders (23) - OT 

• Conner started and played 71% of snaps in the first half. He then hurt his ankle early in the third quarter and didn't play the rest of the game.
• Benjamin saw five snaps to Wiliams' three before halftime, with a 3-0 edge in touches (all carries).
• In the second half, with Conner out, Williams played 56% of snaps and Benjamin took 48%.
  • Benjamin took five carries for 15 yards and caught three of four targets for 20 yards.
  • Williams took eight carries for 59 yards and a goal-line TD, adding two catches for three yards on three targets. He had a 30-yard run on an option pitch.
• Benjamin played 64% of first-down snaps in the second half, with 48% on second down and only 11% on third down.
  • Benjamin may be the primary runner if Williams misses time, but it looks like a fairly even split in all likelihood.

• Jacobs dominated carries again, after getting 10 of 13 the previous week, and his snap share rose from 60% to 72% with the Raiders playing from ahead instead of behind.
  • The Cardinals held him to 69 yards on 19 carries (3.6 YPC), and he saw just one target for a second straight week.
• Abdullah replaced Brandon Bolden (hamstring) as the back for obvious passing situations. He was targeted once and didn't carry the ball at all.
• White got his first offensive snaps, and one carry, but it was a minimal role giving Jacobs a breather on a couple occasions.

Texans (9) at Broncos (16) 

• Pierce had the role most expected for Week 1, after playing only 29% of snaps in the opener (with 12 touches for 38 yards).
  • The rookie jumped to 62% snap share in Week 2, with all 15 of Houston's RB carries, taking them for 69 yards and adding one catch for eight yards. He couldn't convert his goal-line chance, however.
• Burkhead, meanwhile, saw 14 fewer carries and five fewer targets than the week before, with his snap share plummeting from 71% to 37%. He played a lot in the fourth quarter once Houston was in catch-up mode, but not much before that.
• Pierce played 74% of snaps through three quarters, then only 31% in the final quarter with Houston abandoning the run.

• Williams started again, and this time had a larger lead over Gordon for both snaps and touches, though the fantasy scoring gap was much narrower after Williams oddly caught 11 passes in the opener.
  • The Texans held Williams to 85 yards on 16 touches and no TDs on three goal-line chances, with Gordon contributing 53 yards on 11 touches.
• Through two weeks, Williams has an 85-50 snap advantage over Gordon and a 16-3 target advantage, while both have taken 22 carries.
  • Williams now has a 4-2 edge in goal-line chances.

Bears (10) at Packers (27) 

• Herbert's role was scaled back after he got 10 touches on 29% snap share in the opener.
  • The Week 2 split looked more like last year, with Montgomery thoroughly dominating playing time in all situations and only coming off the field from time to time.

• Jones had one of his uber-efficient games, with 15-132-1 and 3-38-1 in what essentially was an even split with Dillon for the second straight week.
  • Both backs played at least 39% of snaps in each quarter.
  • Dillon got the final three carries once it was garbage time. Before that, he and Jones had the same number of carries (15) and targets (3).
• Through two weeks, Jones has a 77-70 edge in snaps (60% - 54%), while Dillon is up 28-20 in carries and 9-8 in targets.
  • Probably worth noting that Jones has 75 more rushing yards on eight fewer carries. He's still impressive.

Titans (7) at Bills (41) 

• Haskins took over obvious passing situations with Dontrell Hilliard (hamstring) inactive.
• Haskins got 36% of snaps in the first half, but only one carry to Henry's eight.
  • Haskins got six of his nine carries in the fourth quarter.

• Cook loaded up on garbage-time work, with the fourth quarter account for 13 of his 18 snaps.
• Pre-Q4 stats: 

Vikings (7) at Eagles (24) 

• Cook played 82% of snaps through three quarters but essentially split 50/50 with Mattison in the fourth.

• Sanders benefited with Philly leading nearly all night, as he got 71% of the snaps and seven of the eight RB carries in the fourth quarter. Sanders finished with 20 touches for 86 yards on 53% of snaps, after 15 touches for 105 yards and a TD on 52% the week before. That probably makes Sanders a functional RB2, especially given how ugly the position is right now.
• Gainwell got 10 of 15 third-down snaps.
  • Sanders played 62% of first-down snaps and 63% of second-down snaps, similar to Week 1 (59% and 59%, respectively).