- Both Pittsburgh Steelers running backs shine: Pittsburgh has adjusted its running back rotation in recent weeks, allowing both running backs to help the team to a road win.
- Good news and bad news for AFC South rookies: Tennessee Titans tight end Gunnar Helm appears to be in line for a bigger role in the future, while Jaylin Noel has become a forgotten man in the Houston Texans wide receiver rotation.
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Estimated reading time: 18 minutes
Welcome to PFF’s NFL Usage and Production Report, your one-stop destination for the fantasy football usage you actually need. This hub collects snap counts, routes run, goals per route (TPRR), carry share, red zone usage, alignment, ADOT, time to throw, situational splits, fantasy points and more so you can quickly spot role changes and take action before your competition does. Use it for waiver decisions, buy-low/sell-high trades, rest-of-season (ROS) rankings context, dynasty saves, DFS builds, and prop research.
Below you will find the top 10 most crucial usage and production points. If you want more details on these top 10 players, or any other quarterback, running back, wide receiver or tight end in the league, head straight to the interactive tool below. It is the most comprehensive fantasy tool that provides information about how a player is used, his performance and how the defense responds. You can view by player, team or position, sort each column, filter by week and snaps, and switch between totals and percentages to see the full picture of everything you’re looking for. All information can also be found in the usual summary articles.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers embrace an interchangeable backfield
Jaylen Warren has played more third downs lately, while Kenneth Gainwell has played more on early downs.
Warren and Gainwell have been the Steelers’ two best running backs all season. Warren has played 52.6% of the offensive snaps in the games he has played, while Gainwell has played 47.3%. For most of the season, Warren was the early back, similar to Najee Harris in recent seasons, while Gainwell was the passing back and backup, similar to Warren in previous seasons.
For the second week in a row, the roles of the two running backs have blurred. Warren’s snap rate has dropped to 53.3% of early-down snaps after consistently playing more than 60%, but his snap rate on third downs has increased to 52.4% after consistently playing less than 25% of snaps in those situations. Gainwell played more this week as he took on the two-minute drill snaps as he has done most of the season.
Both running backs had great days. Warren ran 14 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while Gainwell caught five passes for 78 yards and a touchdown and ran another 50 yards on nine carries.
Gainwell is a free agent after this season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if there is mutual interest in a return. That wouldn’t be great for Warren’s fantasy value, or third-string prospect Kaleb Johnson, but that could be the best thing for the Steelers.
2. The New Orleans Saints are adjusting without their best running backs
Alvin Kamara missed the final month of the season, while Devin Neal landed on injured reserve earlier this week.
Kamara has not practiced in the past month due to knee and ankle injuries. Kendre Miller tore his ACL in Week 7 and Neal suffered a hamstring injury last week, ending his season. The Saints slowly began adding new running backs after each loss. Audric Estime and Evan Hull recently served as backups. Last week, when Neal suffered his injury, Estime and Hull split offensive snaps 50-50. Hull was a little more involved in the run game, and Estime was more involved as a receiver.
This week, the team turned to Estime mainly in terms of playing time. He continued the passing down as he did last week, but also doubled Hull’s playing time in early-down and short-yardage situations. However, the team mainly turned to Taysom Hill as their main runner. Hill lined up 16 snaps at running back, which was tied for his most snaps in his career. He ran the ball nine times while lining up at running back, which was his most runs from a running back position in his career.
Hill also took some snaps at the quarterback, leading to 12 carries for 42 yards. Estime and Hull each had five carries. Hill added four carries for 36 yards and threw a touchdown of 38 yards. Next week the Saints play the Tennessee Titans. Hill would be a risky play as there is a chance the Saints will change the strategy for that game. However, there’s also a chance he can stay involved for a while and add a rushing touchdown or two to his tally.
3. The Houston Texans adjust without Woody Marks
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