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. Pregame reports indicated the Steelers wanted to get Roman Wilson more work. He caught both of his targets for 17 yards, but the meager production hid what was a greatly increased role. After Scotty Miller was Pittsburgh’s WR2 in Week 6, Wilson out-routed Miller 19-4 (35 dropbacks) on Thursday. Not fantasy-relevant, but the Michigan product is the WR2 now without Calvin Austin III.
2. Kaleb Johnson had six carries for 15 yards on 11 snaps in Week 6. On Thursday, he didn’t play an offensive snap. Jaylen Warren out-carried Kenneth Gainwell 16-3, and Warren out-routed him 17-15 too, but Gainwell mostly played in passing situations with 15 routes on 22 snaps. Warren ran well and should remain the clear RB1, but this backfield could be frustrating rest-of-season.
3. Samaje Perine had seven carries to Chase Brown‘s 11, continuing a trend of a tighter backfield split from recent weeks. Brown has 28 carries over the previous three games to Perine’s 17. However, PFF’s Nathan Jahnke noted that Brown still out-snapped Perine 40-9 on early downs with Perine handling the late-down snaps as usual.
4. Noah Fant caught all four of his targets for 44 yards, and he played 68% of snaps and ran 37 routes on 49 dropbacks with Mike Gesicki out. An expanded role for Fant, but he’s still not getting quite enough to be fantasy-relevant.
5. Tutu Atwell was off the injury report entering Week 7 but played just 10 snaps. He played some early and then was invisible the rest of the game. Without Tutu, Xavier Smith played 47% of snaps and ran 21 routes, and Konata Mumpfield played 40% of snaps with 10 routes. The Rams leaned into heavy personnel this week with a lead and without Puka Nacua, so while Jordan Whittington slid into the WR2 role as expected without Puka Nacua, he actually only played 60% of snaps (which led Rams WRs).
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