Fantasy Football Usage Report: Key metrics and trends about the utilization of NFL players for use in Week 16

When making adjustments to how we perceive players in fantasy, it's important to consider how a player is utilized within their offense. Opportunity is what drives fantasy production after all. Talent can only carry a player so far.

No matter how gifted we believe a player is, if they're playing a secondary role in the offense, they will have a hard time producing fantasy points. It sounds simple, but the players who are on the field and see more touches are set up best to contribute to your fantasy team. Monitoring usage trends will keep you informed on which players are (or will be) in the best position to accumulate fantasy points.

For most NFL fans and fantasy players, reviewing the data on player usage is far too difficult and time-consuming. But there's no need to look any further. We've got you covered with the Sporting News Usage Report, where we'll take you through some of the most significant trends regarding player usage and discuss how it will impact players' fantasy values.

WEEK 16 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kickers

Fantasy Football Week 15 Usage Report: Biggest running back utilization trends

James Conner, Arizona Cardinals

At this point, James Conner is the last man standing in the Arizona backfield. Emari Demercado was placed on IR last week, and Trey Benson went down in Week 15 with an ankle injury. The lack of depth has led to Conner taking on a significant role in the Arizona offense. He's now cleared a 70 percent snap share in two straight weeks while handling the bulk of the rushing work and virtually all of the receiving work.

If Benson misses any time moving forward, we could see Conner push for an 80-percent snap share in the final weeks of the fantasy season. With the Panthers and Rams on the schedule to close out the fantasy playoffs, Conner could be an absolute smash as a bell cow back. Conner could easily be one of the "guys you need" in this crucial stretch of games.

Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

Over the last few weeks, it appeared that Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby had settled into defined roles. Snaps would be split fairly evenly with Bigsby being the early-down thumper and Etienne taking some rushing work while being the primary receiving back. There was a switch-up in Week 15... again... with Etienne returning to a clear 1A role. He maintained heavy usage as a receiver and expanded upon his snap share and rush share.

Even with a larger workload, Etienne was underwhelming in fantasy, scoring 12.5 PPR points for an RB22 finish on the week. If Etienne is able to hold on to this workload, he could continue to produce as a low-end RB2, but there is minimal upside as a piece of an offense led by Mac Jones.

MORE FANTASY: WEEK 16 WAIVER WIRE & FAAB RECOMMENDATIONS

Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers

Like Conner, Chuba Hubbard saw an expanded role last week as a result of injuries to other running backs. Miles Sanders and Jonathon Brooks are on IR, while Raheem Blackshear did not play due to a chest injury. Hubbard played 94 percent of the snaps, his 2nd-highest mark of the season, and dominated the backfield in every capacity. The key issue hindering Hubbard from having a productive day was Bryce Young generating four turnovers and leading the team to just 235 yards of offense.

Even if Blackshear is able to return this week, expect to see Hubbard out there for upwards of 80 percent of the snaps. The Panthers have shown they're comfortable with Hubbard playing the vast majority of snaps, allowing him to crest an 80-percent snap share in seven games this season. Even with the Panthers' offense being incredibly inconsistent, Hubbard is still an RB2 option with this sort of role.

Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

As many speculated, the Chiefs seem to be waiting until the NFL playoffs to fully unleash Isiah Pacheco. In his three games since returning from IR, Pacheco has not yet played more than 48 percent of snaps. His 37-percent snap share is in line with what we've seen in recent weeks, but his 37-percent rush attempt share is a slight dip. Ultimately, the biggest takeaway here is that this is very much a committee and likely won't change until the Chiefs are playing for all of the marbles.

With Pacheco splitting reps with Kareem Hunt and ceding receiving work to Samaje Perine, it's hard to feel comfortable with him in your lineup. When the hope is that a player will get a dozen carries and draw a target or two, there's not much to get excited about. When it comes to Pacheco, you'll have to see him in a featured role before you can insert him into your starting lineup. Unfortunately, we might not see that day during the fantasy season.

Fantasy Football Week 15 Usage Report: Biggest wide receiver and tight end utilization trends

Davante Adams, New York Jets

Davante Adams is back in business, commanding targets at an elite rate and making spectacular sideline grabs in the process. Adams drew a 40-percent target share in this one, his highest mark of the season and second time hitting 30 percent in the last three weeks. It almost appears as if Adams and Aaron Rodgers want to prove they still have it and that they're capable of leading a potent offense even in the latter stages of their career.

Regardless of the motives, this type of usage isn't something that we can look past. The mind-meld narrative was widely discussed following the Adams trade, but it didn't really come to fruition until after the Jets' Week 12 bye. Since then, Adams has been the WR4 in targets per game and WR1 in PPR points per game. Given these recent trends, Adams is a player that every fantasy manager would love to have on rosters right now.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks

The current version of the Seattle offense flows through Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The second-year receiver put on quite a show last week, earning 36 percent of the targets while primarily operating out of the slot. Even though his aDOT has typically been very shallow (4.8 yards in Week 15), Smith-Njigba is seeing enough volume to continue delivering meaningful production.

It will be quite interesting to see what JSN's role looks like if Sam Howell takes over at quarterback this week. Considering a good chunk of Smith-Njigba's production comes on designed targets and quick hitters, it's fair to expect him to maintain a reasonable floor. Even if Howell is under center, it's hard to pass up on a receiver who saw 12 targets last week and has cracked double-digits three times in his last six games.

Amari Cooper, Buffalo Bills

It's been quite an interesting 2-game stretch for Amari Cooper. After drawing a target on 58 percent of his routes in Week 14, Cooper was completely blanked last week. The return of Keon Coleman also caused Cooper's route participation to tank to 41 percent after seeing it hover around 50-60 percent in the last month. There's not a whole lot to say about this other than... not great!

The Bills already had a messy WR rotation before Coleman returned; he's now made things even worse and has pushed Cooper into a role where he may not be relevant in fantasy. There aren't many receivers on the planet Earth who could be consistent fantasy producers while running fewer than 50 percent of the routes. If Amari Cooper is on your roster, consider him off-limits for the rest of the season. Dropping him for a handcuff running back isn't a bad idea either.

Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Bills

Unsurprisingly, Jerry Jeudy put on a show without Cedric Tillman and David Njoku in the lineup. His 41-percent target share was the highest mark for a Browns' receiver this season and the 12th-highest for any receiver on the year. He also joined the 40-40 club (40 percent air yards share and 40 percent target share), something that has only been done 16 times this season.

Unfortunately for Jeudy, the future outlook is grim. The Browns have opted to go with Dorian Thompson-Robinson in Week 16 and likely for the rest of the year. In limited action last year, DTR was atrocious.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson among 64 QBs with 125+ dropbacks in 2023-24:

EPA per dropback: -0.284 (62nd)
Completion percentage over expected: -12.8% (63rd)
Passer rating: 42.6 (64th)
Pass TD rate: 0.7% (64th)
INT rate: 4.8% (62nd)
Yards per attempt: 3.7 (64th) https://t.co/M1sxq7rJMS

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) December 17, 2024

Even in a premium matchup with the Bengals, it's going to be difficult to start anyone in the Cleveland offense.