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. Mike Evans returned in Week 15, and while he only played 55% of snaps, he ran a respectable 28 routes on 40 dropbacks and was dominant in his somewhat limited playing time, recording 12 targets (35.3% target share) and posting 6/132/0. Jalen McMillan returned as well and ran 20 routes in his season debut. Interestingly, Emeka Egbuka‘s playing time was cut down with both Evans and McMillan back; Egbuka ran just 25 routes on 40 dropbacks, though he still managed seven targets for a fine 20.6% share. Tez Johnson ran 10 routes, and Sterling Shepard didn’t play on offense.
2. With Cade Otton out, Payne Durham played the most snaps among Bucs TEs at 65%, but he was matched in routes by Devin Culp (12). Culp had the lone Tampa Bay tight end target.
3. Kyle Pitts has had 23%, 25%, 33%, and now 27% target shares over the past four weeks without Drake London. This week was his Mona Lisa, totaling 166 yards and three touchdowns on 12 targets. Just a monster role for Pitts sans London.
4. Dont’e Thornton returned after missing one game due to a concussion and was the clear WR4 for Las Vegas, playing only eight snaps. Tre Tucker (30 routes on 30 dropbacks), Tyler Lockett (26), and Jack Bech (24) all played extensively. Michael Mayer returned in Week 15 as well and only played eight snaps. Considering he had a big role pre-injury, it’s worth watching whether his role expands in Week 16, but it’s notable that he fully practiced on Thursday and Friday and didn’t carry an injury designation.
5. With Tee Higgins out and Cincinnati in negative game script, Mike Gesicki ran 33 routes on 44 dropbacks but earned only three targets on 39 attempts. Mitchell Tinsley, who ran a route on at least 62.5% of dropbacks in his two games as the WR3 earlier this season, ran just 18 routes, while Drew Sample (15) and Tanner Hudson (16) played fairly extensively. Andrei Iosivas predictably stepped into the WR2 role with 40 routes on 44 dropbacks, but he earned just one target.
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