Say whaaat!!! The Dolphins dropped 70 points on the Broncos this past week. If you had one of Raheem Mostert, Tyreek Hill and De'Von Achane you most likely dominated your opponent this week. Their Week 3 is going to skew the 2023 Fantasy Football Usage Report data for them, so we won't talk about them much, but just know if Achane is out there he is a top priority on waivers.
With maybe the exception of the Dolphins who used a lot of backups, we are starting to see real trends in the NFL now that we are three weeks in.
Still things change quickly and you need to be aware of these changes. That is where this Usage Report comes in. I'm looking back at not just last week's usage, but how it has evolved over the course of the season to see if we can be ahead of the rest of your league-mates. Make those trades or wavier pickups for league winners before they see it coming. Trade off those losing value as well.
2023 Fantasy Football Week 3 Usage Report
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Running Backs
Philadelphia Eagles
After D'Andre Swift's Week 2 performance, I was very interested to see how things would play out when Kenneth Gainwell was healthy.
Well what we got was a pretty even split in workload and snap counts. Swift took more in all categories (snaps, carries, routes run) but not by much. A closer look though and this was actually more Swift than it looks in the overall usage stats, this is due to Gainwell seeing eight carries on the final drive of the game when they were running out the clock.
I interpret this as Swift being the running back you want to start in Philly, but if you have Gainwell, I wouldn't cut just yet. They clearly value him and he is the handcuff to Swift.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The story has not changed much for this backfield, but it feels like on Twitter people think it has a lot.
Snap count and rushing attempt percentages have stayed the same each game, with Najee Harris in the lead on both, especially rushing attempts. Now the one thing that swung in Jaylen Warren's favor this week was routes run and targets. Shockingly Harris did not see a single target and saw his routes run drop by 17% (six fewer routes run). The number of routes run has actually dropped by six for two consecutive weeks. That is a trend I'm paying attention to because if he can't stay involved in the passing game then he is going to struggle to return even RB2 value most weeks in this offense.
This doesn't mean though that Warren is some type of league-winning player you need to rush out a trade for. Warren's yards-per-carry is actually worse. Again its the work in the passing game making him slightly more valuable right now.
Seattle Seahawks
Is this the start of the Zach Charbonnet coming-out party? OK maybe a bit premature there, but he did see his snap percentage rise from 28% in Week 2 to 44 % in Week 3. He took a much larger share of the workload too. 27% of the carries and 42% of routes run, compared to 18% and 22% the week prior.
Kenneth Walker III still saw more work and dominated on the stat sheet, thanks to two touchdowns. Walker will still have plenty of good games, but if somehow Charbonnet is available in your leagues, he is a must-stash player. I might even try to go trade for him as I expect his role to only grow as the season continues.
Other Running Backs
- Ravens: No Justice Hill, Gus Edwards suffered a concussion - Melvin Gordon was the next man up for them. Not interested in him, but I'm sure some of you are desperate for RB help.
- Bears: Roschon Johnson is seeing more and more work each week. Khalil Herbert is still seeing more work, but it feels like only a matter of time before this flips.
- Browns: First game with no Nick Chubb and a resigned Kareem Hunt. I expected Jerome Ford to see more work than he got. Only 55% of snaps (Hunt saw 21%). They also got a lot of people involved in the rushing game with not just Hunt, but Pierre Strong, Elijah Moore and of course Deshaun Watson.
- Lions: Jahmyr Gibbs saw his highest workload of the season without David Montgomery. Receiving 57% of the rushing attempts and on the field for almost 60%. Still running a lot of routes, just not getting targeted. Oh, Craig Reynolds can be dropped if you took a chance on him.
- Jaguars: This is still Travis Etienne's backfield, even though Tank Bigsby scored.
- Chiefs: Oh boy. Three-headed monster in Week 3, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire getting involved. Jerick McKinnon was utilized in the redzone and thrived like he did last season.
- Patriots: Ezekiel Elliott saw a season-high 16 rushes, only three less than Rhamondre Stevenson. Stevenson isn't quite getting the workload we expect in the passing game, only three targets each of the last two games, to make up for that. Beware.
- Titans: Game-scripted out of the again. Derrick Henry saw less work than Tajae Spears again. Ugh!
- Commanders: Finally a negative game script and as predicted Antonio Gibson was on the field a lot more than Brian Robinson. Robinson is much better at this point, but this is going to happen and will limit upside in PPR formats.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Jacksonville Jaguars
After a dominant Week 1 from Calvin Ridley, we've seen him basically disappear on the stat sheet.
Usage stats say he is still heavily involved so I have faith he can have a great season. But what I am starting to think is maybe it won't be as consistent as we hoped after Week 1. There are too many other weapons on this team, Christian Kirk, Zay Jones (when healthy), Evan Engram and Travis Etienne.
Doesn't help this offense is struggling right now overall. They have scored just 26 total points in the last two weeks, including a 17 point performance again the Texans, bleh.
One quick note on Engram. I know it hasn't been flashy, but he is currently TE5 in half-PPR formats, thanks to having the third-most targets for TE.
Los Angeles Chargers
I'll start with the good news. Keenan Allen is a beast and has been as good, if not better than he was at the end of 2022. If you bought in then enjoy.
Bad news. Mike Williams is done for the season. Now we get to figure out where those targets will go. The big debate right now is Josh Palmer or Quentin Johnston. If you look at usage rates so far this season it is easily Palmer for me. He was already involved in the offense and to me is the new clear No. 2 target for Justin Herbert.
This doesn't mean Johnston won't get his. I think he is very talented, but he moves into the No. 3 spot in this offense. The good news for him is this team runs a lot of three-wide sets so he should be on the field plenty moving forward. The safer waiver pickup is Palmer, the upside pick is Johnston.
Carolina Panthers
Adam Thielen and DJ Chark both balled out this past week. Both had route percentages of over 90% and were heavily targeted. Chark 19% and Thielen at 26%.
Thielen was the one who benefited the most catching 11 of his 14 targets for 145 yards and a touchdown. Chark found the endzone as well but only caught four for 45.
This might be a prime spot to sell high as this was with backup quarterback Andy Dalton and when Bryce Young returns, I'm not sure we see this type of ceiling game from either.
Other Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Falcons: Ugly game from Desmond Ridder. Drake London only saw three catchable passes. Kyle Pitts finally did something, although still not great, catching 5-of-9.
- Bears: This is not going to be a pretty season for the Bears passing game... Hate to say it, but I told you so. D.J. Moore has only seen six targets each of the last two games. Just too much running and the targets are bad. Even though DJM should have caught a dime dropped by Fields.
- Broncos: Five words. Get Marvin Mims the ball.
- Lions: Did anybody see Josh Reynolds on the milk carton after this week. Yikes! Was still on the field a lot, just not targeted. Don't panic.
- Texans: Tank Dell is taking over. Ran more routes than Nico Collins and had a great game for a second time in a row.
- Chiefs: I'm sorry I ever recommended Kadarius Toney. Officially OK to drop him.
- Rams: They struggled in Week 3. Puka Nacua had his streak of double-digit targets and receptions snapped. Still though he saw nine so its not all bad.
- Raiders: Vintage Davante Adams game with 20 targets. WOW! Jakobi Meyers, despite being overshadowed in this game still heavily involved with 12 targets.
- Eagles: Made it a point to get A.J. Brown the ball with 13 targets. DeVonta Smith saw just five, but that is actually the second time he has done that despite outshining AJB so far this season in fantasy points. I really don't think we need to worry about either. Despite what you read on Twitter.
- 49ers: We saw just how good Deebo Samuel can be without Brandon Aiyuk in the lineup. Deebo saw 12 targets. He took those 12 for 129 yards and a touchdown. Aiyuk should be back soon, so maybe this is a great time to sell high?
Hope the 2023 Fantasy Football Week 3 Usage Report was helpful. Don't miss out on the rest of the great Fantasy Football content here at Fantasy Six Pack!
