We’re going to get a lot of stuff wrong, but sifting through usage metrics can help us work through what matters and what doesn’t. That’s the goal of this article: to break down the most actionable takeaways from each week in a concise, numbers-filled format and work through what’s important. Let’s get right to it:
1. Cole Kmet played 97% of snaps on Sunday, a season-high mark (93% in Week 10 was his next-closest snap share). Gerald Everett played fewer snaps than Marcedes Lewis. It remains to be seen whether new OC Thomas Brown can transform the Chicago passing game enough for Kmet to be fantasy-viable, but it appears the Everett experiment died alongside Shane Waldron‘s job security.
2. Roschon Johnson had 10 carries to D’Andre Swift‘s 14, but PFF’s Nathan Jahnke noted that Swift still out-snapped Johnson 37-9 on early downs, and Johnson’s carries were simply because the Bears had a lot of short-yardage opportunity. This does signal Swift does not have the goal-line role under the new OC, but he is still the clear early-down back.
3. With Sam LaPorta out, Brock Wright ran 20 routes on 37 dropbacks, Shane Zylstra ran 12, and James Mitchell ran six. None of these TEs are fantasy-relevant, but it seems like Wright is the preferred option as expected.
4. With Tank Bigsby out, Travis Etienne out-carried D’Ernest Johnson 12-2 and ran 22 routes on 31 Mac Jones dropbacks. The Jaguars lost 52-6 and mustered just 170 yards of total offense, so it’s impossible to be excited about any RB here with Jones under center, but they have a bye in Week 12 and likely get Trevor Lawrence back afterward. Of course, that means Bigsby will have plenty of time to heal up, too, but now at least we know that ETN can step into a mostly workhorse role if Bigsby misses further time. ETN was the snaps leader in all situations (via Jahnke) with a 21-7 advantage on early downs and 5-2 on third downs (3-3 in the 2-minute drill).
5. One week after not playing a snap, Kendrick Bourne returned to the WR3 role, running 23 routes (WR4 Ja’Lynn Polk ran 17) and leading the team in receiving with five catches for 70 yards and a score. Week 10 will likely end up being an aberration, but it serves as a reminder of the volatility in this NE receiving corps.
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