Box Score Breakdown: Snaps, Routes and Air Yards from Week 1

If you're new here, welcome! If you're not, you'll notice a few changes. The past few years I split weekly recaps into two articles, posting Backfield Breakdown (for RBs) on Mondays and Target Breakdown (for WRs and TEs) on Tuesdays. This year I'm going with a new method, one I test drove last season after Week 18 and the wild-card round.

You'll now find advanced box scores for all three positions (RB/WR/TE) posted every Monday morning/afternoon. That's what this right here is. It might not be quite as detailed as the Backfield Breakdowns we used to have every Monday, but it'll be up on the site faster and you won't have to wait until Tuesday for numbers on wide receivers and tight ends. You'll also notice a couple new additions, like personnel grouping stats for each team as well as overall passing/dropback stats.

Then, come Tuesday, I'll post another article (or possibly two) going into more details on key trends, injuries, role changes, etc., with advanced stats table displayed position-by-position (rather than team-by-team) and comparing a player's usage rates for the week to those for the season as a whole. The last part, of course, isn't relevant for Week 1, but we can more than make up for it with analysis of all that's changed since last season.

The Tuesday follow-up articles are where you'll find more in-depth stats for each position, including goal-line/red-zone work and some performance-based metrics (in addition to usage stats). I'll also provide my initial waiver-targets list for the following week at RB, WR and TE.

Before we get started, I should warn you that numbers for stuff like routes and dropbacks tend to vary a bit depending on what stat provider one uses. If you compare the numbers below to Pro Football Focus, for example, you'll notice that PFF has larger values for nearly everyone. That's because PFF includes plays that don't go down as official snaps — mostly those wiped out by penalties — and classifies QB scrambles under QB dropbacks. The numbers you'll see below for dropbacks don't include plays that ended in scrambles, so I'll try to make note of unusual cases in which a high/low rate of QB scrambling might've had a significant impact on receiving usage stats.

Last but not least, there are a few acronyms you'll probably want to know (and may already) before diving into the article. If you're more of a skimmer, like me, hopefully you appreciate that the key observations for each team are in bold below. 

Vocab/Index

DB = QB dropbacks = pass attempts + sacks

Rts = Routes Run

aDOT = Average Depth of Target

AY = Air Yards

LDD = Long Down & Distance - e.g. 2nd-and-14, 3rd-and-7

GLL = Carries + Targets from inside opponent's 5-yard line

Personnel Groupings

11= 1 RB / 1 TE / 3 WR

12= 1 RB / 2 TE / 2 WR

21= 2 RB / 1 TE / 2 WR

13 = 1 RB / 3 TE / 1 WR

01 = 0 RB / 1 TE / 4 WR

And now, here are your usage-rate/advanced-stat box scores from every Week 1 contest besides MNF. Any RB/WR/TE with a touch, carry or snap share of at least 10 percent is listed below. And 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).

Lions (21) at Chiefs (20) 

Lions Passing: 36 DB — 22-of-35 for 253 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack

Lions Personnel: 11 - 57% / 12 - 15% / 21 - 15% 

• Jahmyr Gibbs didn't play much but at least got the ball on nine of his 19 snaps. We knew we weren't drafting him for Week 1 production, but personally I was hoping he'd start off with around half or a bit less, not one-fourth.
  • David Montgomery, meanwhile, played 78% of snaps, ran nearly twice as many routes as Gibbs and scored an eight-yard TD. The Lions didn't have any carries inside the 5, but Monty had a 4-1 advantage over Gibbs in red-zone totes.
• The snap share for Sam LaPorta is exactly what people who drafted him wanted to see, though he did a bit more pass blocking than they'd like.
  • LaPorta took 93% of snaps in 11 personnel and 73% in 12 personnel but only 46% in 21 personnel.
• Josh Reynolds was the No. 2 WR, picked up a first down on each of his four catches (including one long gain), finished second on the Lions in targets and surprisingly led the team in percentage of routes run from the slot (57%), a bit higher than Amon-Ra St. Brown's 46%.
• Marvin Jones was the No. 3 receiver, ahead of Kalif Raymond, but the Lions should probably reevaluate that one. Jones did nothing for the Jaguars last year and was invisible in this game apart from losing a fumble. He's too slow now, and you can take him out of a game with 1-on-1 press coverage. The Chiefs pressed Jones on over half his routes Thursday, continuing the veteran's upward trend in facing press coverage (which has corresponded with a downward trend in league-wide usage).

Chiefs Passing: 39 DB — 21-of-39 for 226 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 0 sacks

Chiefs Personnel: 11 - 73% / 12 - 18% / 13 - 10% 

• Clyde Edwards-Helaire started but ended up playing fewer snaps than both Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon.
  • McKinnon made a tough catch to convert a first down at one point. Other than that, the KC running backs added no value to the offense, and arguably subtracted some. McKinnon is strictly a pass catcher, Pacheco needs good blocking to function and CEH lacks the speed or explosiveness to take full advantage when he does get good blocking.
    • I think Edwards-Helaire is the least bad option here, but it's what the KC coaches think that matters and everything points to McKinnon retaining a role and Pacheco getting more shots as the lead runner.
• Pacheco ran two more routes than McKinnon and caught each of his four targets for 41 yards. While his vision as a runner remains a problem, Pacheco is strong and fast and can remain relevant if he continues to improve the pass-game skills.
• With Travis Kelce (knee) inactive, Noah Gray easily led the KC skill players in snap share (87%), tied for the most targets (five) and broke a bunch of tackles to pick up extra yards on his three catches (for 31 yards). So, naturally, No. 2 Blake Bell poached a short TD for one of his three targets.
  • Blake Bell got more playing time (40%) than all the Chiefs' wide receivers besides MVS and Moore.
• The Chiefs had two WRs play 60-some-percent of snaps (MVS, Skyy Moore) and then four in the range of 26-to-37 percent (Richie James, Rashee Rice, Justin Watson, Kadarius Toney).
  • Toney and Rice both saw five targets on 10 routes, both took one carry for a loss of yardage and ultimately combined for three drops. The difference being that Rice also made a couple big plays, including a TD, while Toney finished with zero total yards and kind of cost the Chiefs the game... in addition to missing out on two or three should-have-been first downs, one of his drops went for a pick-six.
• Gray led the team at 87% route share, with MVS next at 72% and then Moore at 59%.
  • Nobody else was above 41%.

Stock ⬆️: WR Rashee Rice / WR Josh Reynolds

Stock ⬇️: WR Kadarius Toney / RB Jahmyr Gibbs (temporarily)

Cardinals (16) at Commanders (20) 

Cardinals Passing:  DB — 21-of-30 for 132 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 3 sacks

Cardinals Personnel: 11 - 66% / 12 - 21%  

• Isn't it kind of weird that the Cardinals threw so many short passes but didn't play Greg Dortch at all and only had Rondale Moore as the No. 3 WR?
• Also interesting is the obviously rebuilding team giving 78% of snaps to a 32-year-old TE in his first game back from an ACL tear (Zach Ertz) while a 2022 second-round pick at TE (Trey McBride) played only  36%.

Commanders Passing: 37 DB — 19-of-31 for 202 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 6 sacks

Commanders Personnel: 11 - 72% / 12 - 22% 

• 37% snap share suggests it isn't quite as bleak for Antonio Gibson as the traditional box score suggests, but it's certainly not looking good after Robinson ran the same number of routes and got six times as many carries.
• Brian Robinson got 76% of the RB carries, 59% of the snaps and two of the three targets, though he still needed a seven-yard receiving score to save his fantasy day and averaged 3.1 YPC.
• Terry McLaurin led the skill players in snaps after battling turf toe. But he was targeted only four times, and Dotson actually was on the field for more pass plays and saw more targets.
• Logan Thomas led the team in targets and ran only one fewer route than Samuel, whose efficient day (six touches for 60 yards) made him the fantasy high-scorer among Washington WR/TEs.

Stock ⬆️: RB Brian Robinson / TE Logan Thomas

Stock ⬇️: RB Antonio Gibson / TE Trey McBride

Texans (9) at Ravens (25) 

Note: I attended this game, so you'll get a couple extra observations. The downside being that I wasn't able to watch other 1 ET games and still need to go back and do that via gamepass, after which I'll add some additional notes to this article.

Texans Passing: 46 DB — 28-of-41 for 242 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 5 sacks

Texans Personnel: 11 - 69% / 12 - 28% 

• Dameon Pierce was the starter and lead back, but he ceded 39% of the RB carries to Devin Singletary and basically all the LDD work to Boone.
  • Pierce got some playing time in fourth-quarter catchup mode, but in the two-minute drill at the end of the second quarter I noticed that he didn't have his helmet on and wasn't standing with the other offensive players ready to be subbed in, whereas Singletary was right there ready to go in for Boone if needed.
• Dalton Schultz led the team in snaps and routes but was targeted only four times. 
• Tank Dell was a heavily used No. 4 WR in his NFL debut, rather than being the No. 3. Brown had the same number of targets and far more snaps/routes.
  • Dell took a lot of routes/snaps away from starters Robert Woods and Nico Collins, though they combined for 12 catches with C.J. Stroud surprisingly chucking 41 passes in his NFL debut.
    • The passing volume wasn't just game-script based. The Texans threw a bunch from the jump, and they trailed by only one point at halftime. Stroud looked pretty good for a rookie playing his first game without much help — Houston had two O-line starters out injured in addition to the lousy WR group — and really only had one close call for possible interceptions.

Ravens Passing: 26 DB — 17-of-22 for 169 yards — 0 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks

Ravens Personnel: 11 - 45% / 12 - 14% / 21 - 14% / 20 - 24%

• The two fantasy headlines here are rather obvious.
  1. J.K. Dobbins (Achilles) is done for the season.
  2. Zay Flowers saw seven more targets than any other Raven and had 46% of the team's receiving yards. He was off the field for only one pass play, took 83% of snaps overall and was frequently put in motion pre-snap.

• Odell Beckham drew two DPI flags downfield, in addition to his three official targets. 
  • He struggled to separate and faced a ton of press coverage; doesn't necessarily mean it'll be the case all year, but don't be shocked if he ends up making his living on contested catches, DPIs, veteran savvy, etc. That's a problem for fantasy, of course, if he isn't getting open, especially when Flowers not only is getting open but also getting a bunch of easy touches schemed up for him.
• Baltimore was the only team to really use 20 personnel this week, but it's misleading given that the second "RB" was actually 300-pound FB Patrick Ricard, who played over half his snaps as an inline tight end with Mark Andrews (quad) kept inactive.
  • Isaiah Likely was targeted just once, but with snap and route shares north of 70 percent he'll remain streamable next week if Andrews isn't ready to face the Bengals (he should be ready, FWIW). 
  • Charlie Kolar didn't play much as the No. 2 TE and committed a brutal drop on his lone target.
• In addition to Dobbins, the Ravens lost three other starters — all high-quality starters — to injuries that will require MRIs. Blindside protector Ronnie Stanley (knee) looked to escape with a day-to-day or week-to-week type injury, but Williams and Linderbaum look like IR candidates (minimum of four missed games).
• Dobbins played 79% of snaps in the first half, with Hill getting four (14%) and Edwards two (7%).
  • Hill then had a 7-4 snap advantage over Edwards in the third quarter, scoring two goal-line TDs in the process, but it was Gus the Bus who took over late with six carries for 16 yards in the final frame.
    • Hill and Edwards split snaps 50/50 in that fourth quarter, so I still favor Hill for more touches Week 2 in Cincinnati. And with Edwards part of the appeal is supposed to be goal-line carries, which can't be assumed after Hill scored two shorties Sunday.

Stock ⬆️: WR Zay Flowers / RBs Justice Hill, Gus Edwards & Keaton Mitchell

Stock ⬇️: RB Dameon Pierce

Injury 🚑: RB J.K. Dobbins (Achilles) / S Marcus Williams (pec) / OT Ronnie Stanley (knee) / C Tyler Linderbaum (ankle/knee) / S Jalen Pitre (chest) / RT George Fant

49ers (30) at Steelers (7) 

49ers Passing: 32 DB — 19-of-29 for 220 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 3 sacks

49ers Personnel: 11 - 33% / 12 - 6% / 21 - 48% 

• Apart from the huge stat line, it's a good sign for Christian McCaffrey's future fantasy production that he took 85% of snaps and 22 carries in a game that saw the 49ers bamboozle their opponent early and maintain a huge lead. It's the type of game script in which many figured we'd see more Elijah Mitchell.
  • If we redraft today, CMac is my 1.01. He got 17 of the team's 22 carries through three quarters Sunday, while Mitchell had three and Samuel two.
• Deebo Samuel played 96% of snaps before the fourth quarter, with Brandon Aiyuk and McCaffrey at 91% and George Kittle at 76%.
  • Remember that Kittle was listed as questionable with a groin injury.
  • Whatever the WR equivalent of a perfect passer rating is, our guy Aiyuk just did it with his 8-of-8 for 129 and 2 receiving line... on the road... in Pittsburgh. Not bad.

Steelers Passing: 51 DB — 31-of-46 for 232 yards — 1 TD, 2 INTs, 5 sacks

Steelers Personnel: 11 - 84% / 12 - 16% 

• Diontae Johnson injured his hamstring on his first snap of the second half, a 26-yard catch, and didn't return to the game.
  • Robinson played 97% of snaps after halftime, with Pickens at 94% and Austin at 83%.
• Pat Freiermuth hurt his chest but returned to the game, playing 86% of snaps in the first half and only 23% after halftime.
• The split for Najee Harris was better than the final numbers suggest. 
  • Najee took 64% of snaps in the first half and 61% through three quarters. He didn't play at all in the fourth.
  • Jaylen Warren got 7 of 11 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, with Harris taking three and Anthony McFarland one.

Stock ⬆️: RB Christian McCaffrey / WR Brandon Aiyuk / WR Allen Robinson / WR Calvin Austin

Stock ⬇️: RB Elijah Mitchell

Injury 🚑: WR Diontae Johnson (hammy) / TE Pat Freiermuth (chest) / RT Chukwuma Okorafor

Panthers (10) at Falcons (24) 

Panthers Passing: 40 DB — 20-of-38  for 146 yards — 1 TD, 2 INTs, 2 sacks

Panthers Personnel: 11 - 88% / 12 - 7% 

• The backfield rotation was a bit odd, with Chuba Hubbard dominating third downs but Miles Sanders getting a bunch of the hurry-up work. 
  • Sanders took 69% of fourth-quarter snaps and saw five of his six targets in the final frame.
    • It was a more even split beforehand, with Sanders holding only a 26-22 snap advantage and 13-8 carry advantage over Hubbard through three quarters (Hubbard had a 2-1 target edge before the fourth).
    • Sanders took 63% of early down snaps before the fourth quarter, with Hubbard getting 27% and the Panthers using no RB a few times.
    • Sanders lost a fumble and generally struggled to gain yards, while Hubbard ran for nearly as much yardage on half as many carries.
• Hayden Hurst took only 51% of snaps but handled 68% route share. He was the only Panther with a decent receiving line.
• Mingo, Thielen and Marshall all saw at least 86% of snaps and 90% of routes, without topping six targets or 23 yards. Each of the three caught two passes. 
  • (DJ Chark was inactive with a hamstring injury and may be back Week 2)

Falcons Passing: 22 DB — 15-of-18  for 115 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 4 sacks

Falcons Personnel: 11 - 19% / 12 - 23% / 21 - 27% / 22 - 10% /

• I've always leaned toward viewing Arthur Smith as a deranged genius rather than merely deranged, though it's a fine line and not necessarily one you want to flirt with. He's certainly not bound by convention, which makes for an interesting team... or at least as interesting as is possible with Desmond Ridder at QB.
  • Smith was way behind the rest of the league in 11 usage, and used five different groupings on at least 10% of snaps (BAL was the only other team to reach double digits for four groupings, and a good chunk of the league basically only uses 11 or 12 and maybe a heavy short-yardage package).
• Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson both played 74% of snaps before the fourth quarter. 
  • In the final frame, dominated by Atlanta's defense, nine of the 14 offensive snaps were carries for Allgeier, with Robinson on the field for only six plays and Pitts for only five.
• On the one hand, a debut with 16 touches for 83 yards and a TD on 65% snap share sounds highly encouraging, by most standards.
  • On the other, Robinson was a first-round fantasy pick and his backfield mate (Allgeier) got 54% of snaps, scored twice and had a few more touches (18 for 94 yards).
• Tyler Allgeier played all three of Atlanta's snaps inside the Carolina 5-yard line and took three carries for seven yards and two TDs.
  • Robinson was also on the field for one of those snaps.
  • All three plays were in the fourth quarter, with Allgeier's goal-line TDs breaking it open after the final frame started at 10-10.
• Drake London started his season with a goose egg, drawing only one target on a team-high 20 routes.
  • The silver lining here for Atlanta pass catchers, especially Pitts, who played only 60% of snaps overall but ran a route on 86% of dropbacks.
  • No. 3 in routes? Robinson, at a shocking 82% share (you rarely see that from an RB, though it's more common in a game like this with very few dropbacks).
• London and Mack Hollins were the only WRs to play double-digit snaps.

Stock ⬆️: RB Tyler Allgeier

Stock ⬇️: WR Drake London / RB Miles Sanders

Injury 🚑: CB Jaycee Horn (hamstring)

Bengals (3) at Browns (24) 

Bengals Passing: 34 DB — 14-of-32 for 82 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks

Bengals Personnel: 11 - 74% / 12 - 9% / 10 - 13% 

• Uh... guys?
• Trayveon Williams was the No. 2 back, playing 29% of snaps before the fourth quarter to Evans' 11%.
  • Mixon got 62% before Q4 and handled 11 of the 15 RB carries and all five of the RB targets.
  • Rookie fifth-round pick Chase Brown was a healthy scratch.
  • It's hard to get excited about Williams, a fifth-year pro who has played a lot of special teams and not much offense. This might just be a full-blown committee if Mixon misses time.
• Irv Smith's role/usage was similar to Hurst's from last year. That's not a bad thing, as Hurst was startable as a low-end TE1 for a chunk of last year, and Smith is probably a bit better of a player (or at least was before his knee injuries... and he's only 25).

Browns Passing: 32 DB — 16-of-29 for 154 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 3 sacks

Browns Personnel: 11 - 63% / 12 - 3% / 13 - 18%

• The Browns were able to rest some guys late, which impacted final snap shares.
• Prior to the fourth quarter, snap shares were: DPJ (88%), Moore (82%), Njoku (77%), Cooper (75%), Chubb (57%), Ford (29%).
• Chubb had 16 of the 20 RB carries through three quarters and all four of the RB targets, despite playing only a bit over half the snaps.
  • The ball went to him on 20 of Chubb's 32 snaps, while Ford got the ball on four of his 16.
  • Ford took six of the nine snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long before Q4.
  • Ford took 11 carries for 22 yards in the fourth quarter.
• Peoples-Jones actually played the most snaps but was targeted only twice, while Moore and Cooper played a bit less but each saw seven targets.
  • DPJ picked up a couple extra snaps in one-wide stuff but also led the group in 11 personnel snap share, with the 11 numbers being very similar to the overall numbers for all relevant players.

Stock ⬆️: RB Trayveon Williams / WR Elijah Moore

Stock ⬇️: Bengals fans

Injury 🚑: RT Jack Conklin (ACL tear)

Buccaneers (20) at Vikings (17) 

Bucs Passing: 35 DB — 21-of-34 for 173 yards — 2 TDs, 0 INT, 1 sack

Bucs Personnel: 11 - 50% / 12 - 32% / 13 - 12% 

• Cade Otton did a bunch of pass blocking and thus finished only third on the team in routes and tied for third in targets, but the TE's 97% snap share offers some hope for production moving forward.
• Rachaad White's 79% snap share placed fifth among all RBs in Week 1.
  • Tucker and Edmonds split playing time behind him, with Tucker seeing the ball on seven of his 10 snaps and Edmonds getting it on only two of his eight.
  • White did nothing with his touches, but neither did his backups.
  • White played 15 of 17 snaps on third down.
• Trey Palmer got only 34% of snaps overall but 68% in 11 personnel, while Deven Thompkins took 41% in 11.
  • That's not enough playing time for the rookie to be fantasy relevant, but it's a start, especially with one of his three targets going for a TD.
  • Palmer took 19 of his 23 snaps from the slot.
• Chris Godwin played only 34% of his snaps in the slot. He's good outside but at his best in the slot, so this isn't what us repeat Godwin drafters wanted to see . I do kind of think it was baked into ADP... or maybe something else was over-Bakered in.

Vikings Passing: 46 DB — 33-of-44  for 344 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 2 sacks

Vikings Personnel: 11 - 56% / 12 - 13% / 21 - 22%  

• Jordan Addison debuted with 4-61-1 despite running 12 fewer routes than K.J. Osborn, who handled 91% snap share and 94% route share.
• Mattison played nearly three-fourths of the snaps and got 15 opportunities compared to Ty Chandler's four.
• The Vikes now play a Thursday road game against the defending NFC champs, after three of their more important players got banged up Sunday in a tight loss to Tampa. Rough start there, kids.

Stock ⬆️: TE Cade Otton

Stock ⬇️: WR Chris Godwin (HODL)

Injury 🚑: LT Christian Darrisaw (ankle) / C Garrett Bradbury / DE Marcus Davenport (ankle) / LB Lavonte David (concussion) / DL Calijah Kancey (calf)

Titans (15) at Saints (16) 

Titans Passing: 37 DB — 16-of-34  for 198 yards — 0 TD, 3 INT, 3 sacks

Titans Personnel: 11 - 64% / 12 - 24% / 21 - 12% 

• This certainly isn't your grandfather's Titans offense. Three WRs played at least three-fourths of the snaps, including Treylon Burks with a team-high 92% (and 92% route share as well).
  • It was DeAndre Hopkins, though, who saw the targets... two of which were intercepted en route to a modest 7-65-0 receiving line.
• Tyjae Spears played five more snaps than Derrick Henry, who needed a long gain on a catch to save his fantasy day.
  • Henry played only 25% of snaps in 11 personnel, compared to 63% for Spears.
  • Even if we only look at the first half... Henry and Spears both were at 55% snap share, albeit with Henry holding a 10-0 advantage in carries and each of them seeing two targets.
• Chigoziem Okonkwo had the snap and route shares fantasy drafters were hoping to see, yet finished with a goose egg and two targets from 28 routes. Don't give up after one week... maybe after three.
• The Titans lost two starting DBs to injuries and face the Chargers next week. Not ideal.

Saints Passing: 37 DB — 23-of-33  for 305 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 4 sacks

Saints Personnel: 11 - 56% / 12 - 22% 

• Jamaal Williams was a workhorse, just not an efficient one. Keep in mind that Tennessee has three beasts on the D-line and allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league next year, i.e., Williams can still be started for two more weeks until AK returns.
• Jimmy Graham ran one route, while Juwan Johnson ran 30. As many predicted, the former Saints great turned current Saints player isn't a real threat for a big role at this point.
• Rashid Shaheed was a distant third to MT and Olave for snap/route share but made the most of his six targets and also took two carries. Dude can play, simply put. At some point the Saints might want to consider using a ton of 11 personnel if they can actually keep all three of these wide receivers healthy (Thomas being the main challenge).
• Look at Michael Thomas, leading the team's skill players in both snaps and routes.
• How did the Saints nearly lose a game where they got 262 yards from their receivers, won the turnover battle and held the opposing QB to 5.8 YPA?

Stock ⬆️: WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine / RB Jamaal Williams

Stock ⬇️: RB Derrick Henry

Injury 🚑: S Amani Hooker (concussion) / CB Kristian Fulton

Jaguars (31) at Colts (21) 

Jaguars Passing: 34 DB — 24-of-32  for 241 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 2 sacks

Jaguars Personnel: 11 - 55% / 12 - 28% / 13 - 13%

• Tank Bigsby vultured a touchdown, but Etienne scored one from distance, drew five targets and took 18 carries while handling the fourth-largest snap share of any RB.
  • It's a win for Etienne overall, but the bad part is also important... Bigsby played both of the team's snaps inside the 5-yard line and carried the ball on both of them (one for a TD). A lack of goal-line work might restrict Etienne to low-end RB1 territory even if he continues playing three-fourths of snaps.
• Calvin Ridley's Jags debut went about how everyone expected it would.
  • The surprise? Christian Kirk getting shut down, and running 10 fewer routes than Zay Jones, who put up 5-55-1.
• In 12 personnel, Jones played 21 of 21 snaps while Ridley took 15, Engram got nine and Kirk played five.
  • In 13 personnel, Jones played five of nine and Ridley took the other four.
• Kirk played 37 of the 38 snaps in 11 personnel but just five of the remaining 32 snaps.

Colts Passing: 43 DB — 24-of-39  for 223 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 4 sacks

Colts Personnel: 11 - 78% / 12 - 19% 

• The Colts, like the Texans, didn't waste any time babying their rookie QB. Anthony Richardson took 17 dropbacks and six carries on 31 first-half snaps.
• Deon Jackson played 90% of snaps in the first half and caught three passes for 33 yards, but he was getting stuffed on the ground (eight carries for 18 yards) and then played less after halftime (59% in Q3, 54% in Q4).
  • Jackson lost two fumbles, which makes it impossible to overlook his lack of success on the ground. The Colts are better off with Zack Moss (arm) and hope to have him next week.
  • Evan Hull left with a knee injury, which meant Jake Funk was the No. 2 RB by the end of the game (and he actually played a bunch of snaps and took three touches for 22 yards).
• The Colts used 11 personnel on more than three-fourths of their snaps, and No. 3 WR Josh Downs handled 77% route share in his NFL debut and saw the second most targets on the team.
  • Alec Pierce played a little more but managed only one catch for five yards on three targets.
• TE was a three-man rotation, though Kylen Granson's 77% route share offers some promise (it would be more promising if he were a better player)).

Stock ⬆️: RB Travis Etienne / RB Jake Funk / Josh Downs

Stock ⬇️: WR Christian Kirk

Injury 🚑: RB Evan Hull (knee) / RG Brandon Scherff (ankle)

Packers (38) at Bears (20) 

Packers Passing: 28 DB — 15-of-27  for 245 yards — 3 TDs, 0 INT, 1 sack

Packers Personnel: 11 - 57% / 12 - 25% / 13 - 10% 

• Luke Musgrave and QB Jordan Love both had nice games but almost did a lot more. The first-year TE was wide open for a long gain, possibly a TD, but it didn't work out due to some combination of Love overthrowing the ball and Musgrave pulling up short on his route or taking the wrong angle.
  • Musgrave led the Green Bay skill players in both snap and route share. Even with the team using an extremely deep rotation, that's great news.
  • Musgrave took 93% of snaps before the fourth quarter, while no other Packers skill player was above 62% (Jones).
• Aaron Jones was too good for his own good, injuring his hamstring at the end of a long touchdown. It didn't look awful but also didn't look great.
  • No. 3 back Patrick Taylor got five carries, but only in Q4. He didn't play before that.
  • Jones played 75% of snaps pre-halftime, compared to 39% for Dillon.
• Did anyone predict Dontayvion Wicks would lead the Packers WRs in Week 1 snaps? Even with Christian Watson inactive and Romeo Doubs limited due to hamstring injuries, that's a surprise.
  • I would've guessed Jayden Reed or even Malik Heath before I guessed Wicks.
    • The rookie fifth-round pick finished without a catch on two targets, while Reed and Doubs saw five targets apiece.
• Doubs played only 48% of snaps and with 64% route share but scored a pair of TDs in the red zone.
• Green Bay had seven players with multiple targets but none with more than five.

Bears Passing: 41 DB — 24-of-37  for 216 yards — 1 TD, 1 INT, 4 sacks

Bears Personnel: 11 - 83% / 12 - 4% / 21 - 10% 

• The backfield was a full-blown committee with each of Herbert, Johnson and Foreman seeing between 30 and 37 percent of snaps with 8-to-14 opportunities.
  • Roschon Johnson finished with the most snaps, routes and targets of the three, plus he had the best day on the ground with a 5-20-1 rushing line.
  • Johnson got only six snaps (19%) and no touches before halftime, before seeing 12 opportunities on 20 snaps (55%) in the second half.
  • Herbert played only 20% of snaps after the break, though he did get the ball on five of those eight plays.
• The RBs combined for 15 targets, while DJ Moore got two. Not sure there's a better stat to describe how poorly things went for Chicago.
• Mooney scored a TD and handled a full workload with 85% route share in his first game back from last year's season-ending leg/ankle injury.
  • Claypool wasn't far behind in snap/route share but finished with a goose egg on two targets.

Stock ⬆️: TE Luke Musgrave / RB AJ Dillon / RB Roschon Johnson / WR Dontayvion Wicks

Stock ⬇️: RB Khalil Herbert

Injury 🚑: RB Aaron Jones (hamstring) / CB Kyler Gordon (hand)

Dolphins (26) at Chargers (34) 

Dolphins Passing: 45 DB — 28-of-45 for 466 yards — 3 TDs, 1 INT, 0 sacks

Dolphins Personnel: 11 - 55% / 12 - 0% / 21 - 42% 

• Smythe was the only skill-position player in the NFL to take all of his team's Week 1 snaps.
  • Not only that, Smythe saw the second most targets on the team and ran more routes than both Hill and Waddle.
  • Smythe's routes, of course, don't require quite as much exertion as Hill/Waddle's.
• Much like most of last year, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle lagged behind other top WRs in terms of snap/route shares, making up for it by seeing targets on a huge share of targets on the routes they run — at least in Hill's case this past Sunday — and posting elite per-target efficiency.
  • The idea of having elite WRs run fewer routes but exert more energy per route... is not really otherwise seen in the NFL. I think Kevin Stefanski is flirting with it with Amari Cooper in Cleveland, but mostly we just see top guys rarely leaving the field unless they're hurt or exhausted. The Dolphins intentionally take Hill and Waddle off when they could stay on, which prevents exhaustion and allows them to run most of their routes at 100 percent speed/intensity.
• Raheem Mostert took 72% of snaps and 12 of the 18 RB opportunities, with Salvon Ahmed handling 29% and the other six looks. 
  • Rookie third-round pick De'Von Achane was a healthy scratch, while undrafted rookie Chris Brooks was active to play special teams (nine snaps, plus one on offense).

Chargers Passing: 36 DB — 23-of-33 for 228 yards — 1 TD, 0  INT, 3 sacks

Chargers Personnel: 11 - 71% / 12 - 22% 

• Joshua Kelley took 37% of snaps through Q3, with 9-53-0 rushing and a target. 
  • In Q4, he got 78% and added 7-38-1.
• Austin Ekeler had a huge game despite Kelley's big day, in part because the Chargers had some long drives and a lot of snaps overall.
  • Ekeler split the carries 50/50 with Kelley, including Q4, and finished second on the team with four targets.
    • The usage rates are a bit below Ekeler's norm, which is perhaps obscured by the Chargers' large number of snaps, but it's also perhaps true that the lofty snap count pushed his rate of snaps down a bit. And he played 63% in the first three quarters. So really, what are we even talking about?
• Quentin Johnston was merely the No. 4 receiver, getting about half as many routes as Joshua Palmer.
  • It was the least encouraging debut among the four WRs taken in the first round of April's NFL Draft.

Stock ⬆️: RB Raheem Mostert / TE Durham Smythe / RB Joshua Kelley

Stock ⬇️: WR Quentin Johnston / RB Isaiah Spiller (healthy scratch)

Injury 🚑: RB Austin Ekeler (ankle)

Eagles (25) at Patriots (20) 

Eagles Passing: 36 DB — 22-of-33 for 170 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 3 sacks

Eagles Personnel: 11 - 84% / 12 - 7% 

• Kenneth Gainwell got the start and played at least 46% of snaps in each quarter.
  • KG accounted for 18 of Philly's 23 RB opportunities and 62% of the snaps.
  • Swift ran only two fewer routes, however, so there's at least soooome desire to get him involved in the pass game.
  • Rashaad Penny? Healthy scratch. Behind Gainwell, Swift and Boston Scott.
  • Gainwell played 73% of snaps on first down, 54% on second down and 55% on third down.
• So much for Olamide Zaccheaus taking the No. 3 role from Quez Watkins. Not that it comes with many targets, but Watkins did run 27 routes Sunday.

Patriots Passing: 56 DB — 35-of-54 for 316 yards — 3 TDs, 1 INT, 2 sacks

Patriots Personnel: 11 - 64% / 12 - 14% / 21 - 12%

• Kendrick Bourne went from darling in 2021 to doghouse in 2022 and might be back to darling in 2023. 
  • Bourne led the Patriots skill players in snaps, routes and targets — by a wide margin in each case — and scored a pair of touchdowns.
• Kayshon Boutte mostly filled in for DeVante Parker (knee) and got more snaps and routes than JuJu Smith-Schuster, who handled only 53% snap share and 46% route share... yikes.
• Hunter Henry had a nice day, playing 78% of snaps, scoring a TD and making a one-handed grab to convert a fourth down.
  • Mike Gesicki was at 41% snap share and 41% route share. He was targeted only three times but did catch them all.
• Rhamondre Stevenson only had an 18-14 advantage over Ezekiel Elliott in opportunities despite playing more than twice as many snaps.
  • Stevenson got 74% of snaps, Elliott took 35%. They combined for 19-54-0 and 11-78-0.

Stock ⬆️: RB Kenneth Gainwell / WR Kendrick Bourne

Stock ⬇️: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster / RBs D'Andre Swift & Rashaad Penny (scratch)

Injury 🚑: RB Kenneth Gainwell (ribs) / LB Nakobe Dean (foot) / CB James Bradberry (concussion)

Rams (30) at Seahawks (13) 

Rams Passing: 38 DB — 24-of-38  for 334 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks

Rams Personnel: 11 - 79% / 12 - 19% 

• The Seahawks might want to try a Puka Shell defense instead of a Cover 2 Shell the next time these teams play. Or maybe just good ol' fashioned Cover TuTu.
• Puka Nacua tied Tyreek Hill for the Week 1 target lead in his NFL debut, putting up 10-119-0 while handling 77% snap share and 90% route share.
  • Nacua ran 74% of his routes on the perimeter, more than both Atwell (59%) and Jefferson (44%).
• He was obviously overshadowed by Nacua and Tutu Atwell (see above), but Van Jefferson did technically see more snaps and the same number of routes as those two en route to his measly little 4-24-0 receiving line.
• Atwell was in motion for 13 of his 34 routes and was pressed on just one of them. You can't accuse the Rams of being oblivious to his tiny stature by NFL standards... except for on draft day.
  • The only other players that ran double-digit routes after being in motion at the snap were Christian McCaffrey, Noah Gray and Tyreek Hill. That's a really, really strange list.

Seahawks Passing: 28 DB — 16-of-26 for 112 yards — 1 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks

Seahawks Personnel: 11 - 54% / 12 - 26%

• It was a discouraging debut for Zach Charbonnet, who shared backup work with Dallas and ultimately got only three touches for 11 yards in an embarrassing performance for Seattle.
• The Seahawks lost both starting OTs to injuries, but only for the final 15 or so snaps. Their downslide started before that.
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba let a pass slip through his hands and lost a few routes to fellow rookie Jake Bobo, but JSN at least managed 68% route share... much better than QJ.

Stock ⬆️: RB Kyren Williams / WRs Puka Nacua & Tutu Atwell

Stock ⬇️: RB Cam Akers / TE Noah Fant

Injury 🚑: LT Charles Cross (toe) / RT Abraham Lucas (knee)

Raiders (17) at Broncos (16) 

Raiders Passing: 26 DB — 20-of-26 for 200 yards — 2 TDs, 1 INT, 0 sacks

Raiders Personnel: 11 - 36% / 12 - 29% 

• Jakobi Meyers had an Adams-like day until a huge hit sent him to concussion protocol late in the second half.
  • Meyers missed time last December with a concussion but prior to that didn't have a reported track record of brain/head injuries in the NFL.
• The Broncos shut Josh Jacobs down, but 80% snap share and 22 opportunities show Jacobs' role is the same as it was last year.
• Michael Mayer mostly played in multi-TE sets, handling only 28% of snaps in 11 personnel while Hooper got the other 72%.
• Hunter Renfrow played only 41% of the snaps in 11 personnel, and overall he got the same number of snaps and targets as Kristian Wilkerson
  • Adams and Meyers played 96% and 93%, respectively. The primary variable was changing if Renfrow, Wilkerson or DeAndre Carter was the third receiver. In other words, Renfrow can be dropped nearly everywhere.

Broncos Passing: 36 DB — 27-of-34  for 177 yards — 2 TD, 0 INT, 2 sacks

Broncos Personnel: 11 - 50% / 12 - 34% 

• Javonte Williams got 13 of the 21 RB carries and six of the 11 targets while playing 48% of snaps.
  • Williams took 12 of 16 snaps (75%) in the first quarter, then only four of 20 (20%) in the second. After that, he was at 50% in the third quarter and 43% in the fourth.
• Greg Dulcich played 58% of snaps in the first half before exiting with a leg injury.
  • Adam Trautman played 86% of snaps after halftime, up from 61% in the first half.
• Courtland Sutton scored a TD but was otherwise surprisingly quiet with only five targets and 32 yards on 30 routes. Jerry Jeudy (hamstring) was inactive but could be ready as soon as Week 2.
• Lil'Jordan Humphrey was called up from the practice squad and ended up being the No. 2 WR, with 71% of snaps and 67% of routes. He was targeted twice and scored a TD.
  • Marvin Mims, meanwhile, essentially was the No. 4 WR, getting 24% of snaps, 28% of routes and 2-9-0 on two targets.

Stock ⬆️: RB Javonte Williams

Stock ⬇️: WR Marvin Mims / WR Hunter Renfrow / RB Samaje Perine

Injury 🚑: WR Jakobi Meyers (concussion) / TE Greg Dulcich (leg) / S Trevon Moehrig (thumb)

Cowboys (40) at Giants (0) 

Cowboys Passing: 25 DB — 13-of-25 for 143 yards — 0 TD, 0 INT, 0 sacks

Cowboys Personnel: 11 - 53% / 12 - 16% / 13 - 16%

• A pair of early D/ST touchdowns created the nightmare scenario for Dallas pass catchers, allowing the Giants to eat up most of the possession early while also succumbing to a huge deficit that led to the Cowboys running a lot once they did have the ball more.
• Tony Pollard took 74% of snaps before the fourth quarter, with Dowdle at 19% and Vaughn not playing at all.
• Jake Ferguson played a lot, but his snap share was actually lower before the fourth quarter (70%) and he lost a few snaps/routes to Hendershot in clear passing situations (Dallas didn't have a ton of those).
  • Ferguson finished with 60% of snaps in 11 personnel, compared to 33% for Hendershot.
  • Ferguson led the team in targets but had as many catches as drops (two apiece).

Giants Passing: 37 DB — 17-of-30  for 110 yards — 0 TD, 2 INTs, 7 sacks

Giants Personnel: 11 - 52% / 12 - 42% 

• Darren Waller barely played after halftime, but he led the New York skill players with 89% snap share in the first half and saw five of the team's 12 targets before the break.
  • Waller was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. He looked 100 percent healthy, to me.
  • He accounted for 36 of the team's 43 receiving yards in the first half.
• Saquon Barkley had the team's second largest snap share in the first half - 87%.
  • After that, it was Isaiah Hodgins at 76%, Daniel Bellinger at 73%, Darius Slayton at 70% and Parris Campbell at 51%.
• Campbell, Hyatt and Cager all played more in the fourth quarter of this blowout, while Waller, Barkley, Slayton and Hodgins played less.
• Parris Campbell took 97% of snaps in 11 personnel and 33% in 12 personnel.
  • In other words, Campbell had the No. 3 receiver role, though it came with more routes and targets than Isaiah Hodgins got because he had to share the No. 2 role with rookie Jalin Hyatt.

Stock ⬆️: RB Tony Pollard / TE Darren Waller

Stock ⬇️: RB Deuce Vaughn / WR Parris Campbell

Injury 🚑: LT Andrew Thomas (hamstring)

Bills (16) at Jets (23)

Jets Passing: 25 DB — 14-of-22  for 140 yards — 1 TD, 1 INTs, 3 sacks

Jets Personnel: 11 - 40% / 12 - 23% / 21 - 11% / 13 - 19% 

• Breece Hall finished with 147 total yards on 17 snaps, boosted by an 80-yard run that might've been a 96-yard TD if he weren't in his first game back from ACL surgery. Even then, Hall made it clear he's already in better form than Dalvin Cook, whose 13 carries and 49% snap share yielded 33 rushing yards. Cook did look decent in the passing game, at least, with 3-26-0.
• Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard and Tyler Conklin all took huge value hits with the season-ending injury for Aaron Rodgers.
  • I'd also argue it hurts Hall and Cook a bunch, though in their cases it's less of a certainty that Rodgers' absence is a terrible thing, as the Jets might be able to stay in the wild-card hunt with an extremely run-heavy offense if their defense keeps playing the way it did last year and Monday night.
• Walk-off punt return is one of the swaggiest things a human can do. It's somewhere between levitating/flying and marrying Shakira.

Bills Passing: 46 DB — 29-of-41  for 236 yards — 1 TD, 3 INTs, 5 sacks

Bills Personnel: 11 - 25% / 12 - 63% 

• The Bills have been an 11-heavy team for years but led the league in 12 usage Week 1, both in terms of rate (63%) and total snaps (43).
  • That's obviously to facilitate the acquisition of rookie TE Dalton Kincaid, who was targeted on four of 32 routes and finished with 4-26-0.
  • Dawson Knox actually ran two more routes than Kincaid and saw the same number of targets, so he's still alive as a fantasy asset. The question is what the Bills do if they continue to struggle from 12 personnel... though they were even worse from 11 Monday night, averaging only 4.2 yards per snap three-wide.
• James Cook took 60% of the snaps and 18 of the 25 RB opportunities (72%).
  • Latavius Murray had a slightly larger role than Damien Harris off the bench.
• Khalil Shakir barely played. Harty and Sherfield both got more snaps, and Kincaid was the No. 3 receiver for practical purposes.

Stock ⬆️: TE Dalton Kincaid

Stock ⬇️: Jets offense / RB Damien Harris / WR Khalil Shakir

Injury 🚑: QB Aaron Rodgers (Achilles)