IDP Snap Counts: The Ultimate Week One Guide
Well that was great fun wasn’t it? After the long dark teatime of the soul that is the NFL off-season, the league is back with a bang. And I love it.
All season I’ll be summing up how snap counts can point us to the IDPs that will win us games and leagues this year. On individual weeks it’s tough to predict how plays will fall in IDP – very much so for big plays. But over the course of a full season, snap counts (when combined with player efficiency) are the best indicator of success. So the point of this column is to make it easy for you to know who are really the players to own rather than just looking at the box score without proper knowledge of who has the most opportunities to make plays.
This week I wanted to do a scoot around every team to give you an idea of who’s hot and who’s not. So without further ado let’s dive right in with the first 15 teams.
Atlanta Falcons
The big news here was De’Vondre Campbell was on the field for 47 snaps compared to Duke Riley’s 49. The Bears used a lot of two receiver sets so this might change against more modern three-wide teams, but it certainly shows the Falcons haven’t lost faith in Campbell. Deion Jones remains the stud to own at LB.
On the D line there’s a rotation going on with Brooks Reed, Adrian Clayborn, Grady Jarrett, Dontari Poe and Jack Crawford all exceeding 30 snaps. Takk McKinley was eased in with just 14 snaps – although he did very well with the limited opportunity.
In the secondary Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen remain full time starters. Neal had a quiet day but his usage shows he’s still a star. Be patient with him.
Arizona Cardinals
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Justin Bethel managed 69 snaps. Given how inferior he is to Patrick Peterson he is a priority player in CB-required leagues.
At linebacker with Deone Bucannon out, Karlos Dansby played 68 snaps with the rookie Haason Reddick managing 41 on his debut. That should go up as he gains trust. On the outside Chandler Jones and Markus Golden remain every-down starters with 71 and 54 snaps respectively.
The defensive line is not really one you want to use much for IDP purposes, but Frostee Rucker had the lion’s share of snaps with 44. No other lineman managed more than 26. Avoid all of these for now if you can.
Baltimore Ravens
This was a weird game because it was a blowout so take all learnings with a pinch of salt. The Ravens took their foot off the gas way before the end of the game.
CJ Mosley played in 61 snaps at middle linebacker. Next to him, Kamalei Correa had 27 with Patrick Onwuasor playing 20 too. I’m hoping in closer games they rotate far less than that. On the outside Terrell Suggs showed he’s still the man in possession with 49 snaps. After Zadarius Smith went down injured, Matt Judon gobbled up 52 snaps opposite him. Tyus Bowser only had 15 on his debut with Tim Williams inactive.
As expected Tony Jefferson and Eric Weddle locked down the safety spots with 61 and 60 snaps. They’ll very likely both do okay with neither being great. On the line, Brent Urban managed 50 snaps, Michael Pierce 38 and Brandon Williams 34. These are all better NFL players than IDPs whom you should avoid if possible.
Buffalo Bills
Preston Brown and Ramon Humber are the two every-down LBs and managed 58 and 57 snaps respectively. Lorenzo Alexander played Sam as expected and was on the field for just 25 snaps. If for some reason you still own him he’s droppable. I’d happily take a seventh round pick if you can get it.
At safety Jordan Poyer had a great game with both he and Micah Hyde playing 58 snaps. I still prefer Hyde for the season. Tre White led the corners in snaps with 58. As a rookie playing every snap he has every chance to have a very good season in CB-required leagues.
On the line, Jerry Hughes dominated with 46 snaps. Kyle Williams managed 43 at his senior age and Marcell Dareus 34. Shaq Lawson was given 37 but that could easily increase.
Carolina Panthers
Luke Kuechly is back to 100%. He and Thomas Davis both managed 57 snaps with Shaq Thompson only playing in base formations with 26.
Defensive end is a full-blown rotation. Mario Addison led the way with 36 but Charles Johnson, Julius Peppers and Wes Horton all played over 20 each. At tackle, Kawann Short managed 47 with Star Lotulelei just behind at 45. Short remains an excellent option and will have much better days.
In the secondary Kurt Coleman and Mike Adams are the every-down safeties with James Bradberry and Daryl Worley the cornerbacks. The corners are good starts in CB-required leagues given the scheme often puts them on an island.
Chicago Bears
The Bears are a strange defense. The front seven looks really good. The secondary… not so much. With that being said, they’re likely a good team for CB play. Marcus Cooper and Kyle Fuller led the way with 59 and 58 snaps respectively. Bryce Callahan is the slot man with just 31.
At linebacker, Danny Trevathan made a happy return with 42 snaps but Jerrell Freeman continues to be the top option with 56. Expect Trevathan to be up there sooner rather than later. Nick Kwiatkowski was on the field for just seven plays and is droppable. Leonard Floyd is going to be the best play on the outside and saw 55 snaps.
On the line, Akiem Hicks remains a player able to produce on high-volume and led the way with 49 snaps. Eddie Goldman is a sneaky option too with his 40. I like him a lot in DT-required leagues given his eligibility on MFL. Mitch Unrein and Jonathan Ballard trailed with just 31 and 21 snaps. They’re droppable.
I was expecting some rotation at safety but that proved not to be the case. Quintin Demps and rookie Eddie Jackson both played all 59 snaps. They move around a lot but Demps is my favourite option given Jackson’s history as a deeper safety in college.
Cincinnati Bengals
This is a great example of why not to follow just stats. Vincent Rey led the team with six solo tackles but was outsnapped 51 to 65 by Nick Vigil in Vontaze Burfict’s absence. Kevin Minter trailed with just 38 snaps showing a clear hierarchy of opportunity.
On the line there was a lot of rotation. Geno Atkins played 41, Pat Sims 30, Ryan Glasgow 26 and Andrew Billings 13. Atkins will need more dominance here to return to an elite option. At end Michael Johnson was concussed early but I suspect there would have been rotation anyway. Carlos Dunlap remains an every-down player with 55 snaps but Chris Smith and Jordan Willis both had over 20 snaps too.
Corner is always a good position in Cincinnati with Darqueze Dennard and Dre Kirkpatrick the top options on 65 snaps each. William Jackson and Josh Shaw are both seeing some time too. At safety Clayton Fejedelem filled in for Shawn Williams alongside George Iloka. As always this is a two-deep rotating shell where both players will make plays but not excel.
Cleveland Browns
I was so excited to watch this defense play, and it mostly lived up to it. They got eviscerated by Antonio brown several times, but it was certainly promising.
At tackle Trevon Coley led the way with 39 snaps. Danny Shelton had 23 but I expect those totals to flip as Shelton regains fitness. Or what approaches it for a 300lb man. Larry Ogunjobi put up good IDP snaps but played just 17 snaps. On the end Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib recorded 42 and 40 respectively. When Myles Garrett is fit they’ll rotate more.
At LB Christian Kirksey, Joe Schobert and Jamie Collins managed 60, 60 and 59 snaps. Collins was uncharacteristically quiet but I expect him to bounce back significantly over the season. This was already a scheme departure though as Gregg Williams did not like to use three LBs last season.
Jamar Taylor and Jason McCourty were the starting corners with Briean Boddy-Calhoun manning the slot. I think Taylor is an excellent start in CB-required leagues. Jabrill Peppers dominated safety snaps with 60. Derrick Kindred trailed on just 40. Peppers was used very disappointingly almost exclusively deep but he still made some plays and handled kick returns. I thought it was a good debut for him.
Dallas Cowboys
Let’s get straight to what you want to know shall we? Sean lee played 56 snaps. Jaylon Smith 36. Obviously that will rise if and when he proves he can handle it physically.
Jeff Heath and Byron Jones are holding the safety spots. They both played 56 snaps. Kavon Frazier was the third man with 18 snaps. Rookie Xavier Woods was only used on special teams.
On the D line this seems to be a full-blown rotation as we suspected. Maliek Collins led the way on the inside with 50 snaps and no-one else above 40. At end DeMarcus Lawrence (34), Benson Mayowa (29) and Taco Charlton (26) all had significant time.
Denver Broncos
Derek Wolfe managed 43 snaps as one starter. Australian sophomore Adam Gotsis is the other one as he reached 31. Rookie DeMarcus Walker was way behind with just six. Shelby Harris is the man on the inside to own as he reached 33 snaps. Domata Peko had 27 but we all know what he is – and it’s not a good IDP.
The most interesting thing here is the scheme change in the middle of the field. Brandon Marshall was the main inside LB with Todd Davis only getting 29 snaps. The other spot was taken by a combination of the safeties Justin Simmons and Will Parks who had 59 and 43 snaps each. Why TJ Ward wasn’t considered good enough to play nickel LB we will never know. At outside LB Shaq Barrett paced the team with 54 snaps. Von Miller of course is a rock-solid starter too and saw 53.
Detroit Lions
For some reason the IDP community seems to love Miles Killebrew. I don’t. I think he has poor instincts that slow him down. The Lions seem to have faith though and he saw 29 defensive snaps. That’s way behind the starting strong safety Tavon Wilson (who had 74), but interesting.
Further forward the Lions have promised Jarrad Davis would be the Mike starter since the draft and he was. He saw 75 snaps. Next on the list was Tahir Whitehead with 51. IDP legend Paul Worrilow managed just 12.
At end Anthony Zettel and Cornelius Washington set the pace with 46 and 40 snaps respectively. Ziggy Ansah had just 34. He’s coming back from injury, but he’s never seen high volume. On the interior Haloti Ngata (40), A’Shawn Robinson (39), Akeem Spence (35) and Jeremiah Ledbetter (33) all rotated. Move along. There’s nothing to see here.
Green Bay Packers
This was another interesting situation with big nickels becoming more prominent. Blake Martinez was the starting inside LB with 42 snaps. Jake Ryan and Joe Thomas had just five each. The slack was picked up by Morgan Burnett who played in the box even more than usual with his 49 snaps. The orthodox safeties were Haha Clinton-Dix and Kentrell Brice with 49 and 47 defensive snaps respectively.
On the D line, Mike Daniels had a great game with his 38 snaps. Kenny Clark was less effective with his 37. On the edge, Nick Perry saw 42 snaps with Clay Matthews on 43. Perry looks to still be playing as well as he did in 2016. Matthews has a decent chance of a bounce back season.
Houston Texans
This is still JJ Watt’s team. He managed 50 snaps on his return to fitness even with is much-publicised finger injury occurring. It’s a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ he gets back to elite status. On the other side (although they move around a lot), Jadaveon Clowney managed 53 fairly nondescript snaps with Whitney Mercilus on 55.
On the inside Bernardrick McKinney was on the field for 59 snaps. Brian Cushing started for 32 and after his injury Zach Cunningham hovered up 28. That’s a situation to watch going forwards. I hate Houston for safety purposes, but if you must know, Dre Hal saw 52 snaps with Corey Moore on 44.
Indianapolis Colts
Poor Colts. They were plain awful. After an off-season of speculation (I still miss Sean Spence) Jon Bostic led the way with 65. Antonio Morrison was just behind on 57. Both are decent depth. At OLB Jabaal Sheard and John Simon both managed over 50 snaps. I quite like Sheard to have a good season.
Jon Hankins dominated on the line with 53 snaps. Al Woods was second with just 38 but was very impressive in that time. At safety, Matthias Farley played 46 snaps and looked good. TJ Green managed 62 but is less exciting as an IDP. Malik Hooker saw just 30 snaps on his debut.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Ladies and gentleman; raise your glasses to Paul Posluszny. He was a great man but after he managed only eight snaps this week it very much seems like his IDP career is over. Of course the Jags blew the Texans away so maybe it’ll change in closer games, but it’s unlikely. Meanwhile Myles Jack (as well as Telvin Smith) saw 79 snaps and thrived. The future is here.
The other interesting part of the game was the rotation at end. Calais Campbell led the way with 63 snaps. Yannick Ngakoue managed 59 and Dante Fowler just 35. That’s right. Fowler trailed Ngakoue by over 20 snaps. I think that’s significant.
Kansas City Chiefs
For those in CB-required leagues this is an interesting team. Marcus Peters (81 snaps) had a very quiet game but he remains the top corner in the NFL at getting his hands on the ball. Terrance Mitchell wasn’t far behind with 74 snaps and looks to be a good IDP option.
At linebacker Andy Reid clearly trusts Derrick Johnson who saw 81 snaps against the Patriots. He looked ropy in a couple of mismatched snaps against running backs but held up pretty well. Ramik Wilson was the number two in the middle with just 25 snaps. Justin Houston (81) and Dee Ford (74) are the clear starters at OLB.
On the line Allen Bailey led Chris Jones by 65 to 48 snaps. Jones had a quiet day and Bailey a good one but that will mix up more as we see more games. Hold onto Jones. The big news is Eric Berry (70) being done for the year but all is not lost. Ron Parker (81) was playing in the box anyway and is the clear player to pick up for me. He’s going to have a solid year.
Los Angeles Chargers
Whew. This is going to be a fun defense. Melvin Ingram (60) and Joey Bosa (57) are start-every-week options at DE.
Jatavis Brown is one of my favourites to lead the league in tackles. He managed 14 this week from his 66 snaps. No other LB played more than 32 defensive snaps. At safety Jahleel Addae and Tre Boston are the clear starters with 67 snaps each. Addae had a quiet week, but keep the faith.
Los Angeles Rams
This was a really weird game for snap counts given the ineptitude of the Colts. Hold fire on all Rams for now. The top defensive backs all had really low totals. Trumaine Johnson had 35 and Nickell Robey-Coleman 32 at corner. Lamarcus Joyner 35 and Maurice Alexander 33 at safety.
At linebacker Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron had just 41 snaps each. I still think they’re both due significant regression but you can’t tell from this week. On the line it’s a rotation all around – at least until Aaron Donald is on the field again. In week one, no lineman played more than 32 snaps.
Minnesota Vikings
Anthony Barr has got a bad rap from some parts of the IDP community and he’s not the most efficient, but Mike Zimmer doesn’t agree. He managed 62 snaps this week to tie Eric Kendricks. Ben Gedeon played Sam and was way back on just 16.
At end Danielle Hunter leapt up to 53 snaps. Everson Griffen managed 50 but Brian Robison only had 38. The guard has changed. On the inside Tom Johnson had a slow day but his 45 snaps suggests that could change. Linval Joseph was next with 35.
At safety I was disappointed to not see Jayron Kearse log a single defensive snap. Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo are locked-in starters with 62 each.
New England Patriots
Trey Flowers was on the field for 69 defensive snaps. Only one other end managed more for the week. Behind him it’s a mess with no one on more than Lawrence Guy’s 26.
At linebacker Kyle Van Noy is clearly the man to own regardless of how good you think he is. He played 69 snaps as the Mike. Joining him in were at various times Jordan Richards (42), Patrick Chung (45) and Devin McCourty (68). #Belichick.
There was some good news at tackle with Malcom Brown pacing the unit on 49 snaps. Alan Branch managed 42 which is impressive for a man of his age and build.
New Orleans Saints
The cornerbacks. Oh the cornerbacks. My eyes still hurt from watching them. As it always seems to be, all Saints corners are decent starts given their inability to cover.
At linebacker AJ Klein managed 65 snaps. He was the obvious choice to be the top man there of course. Surprisingly Alex Anzalone played second fiddle with 48 snaps and looked excellent. His enemy is fragility.
Safety was also a surprise as Vonn Bell was restricted to just six defensive snaps. Kenny Vaccaro remains the top dog as his 65 snaps showed. Rookie Marcus Williams also had 65. On the D line you need to own Cameron Jordan (64) and Sheldon Rankins (58). Everyone else is an also-ran.
New York Giants
This is such a good unit to watch. So many players demand attention. Snacks Harrison is a personal favourite and he managed 47 huge snaps. Next to him was Dalvin Tomlinson with 44 snaps. He should be owned in DT-required leagues. At end Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul remain the every-down starters. They had 72 and 66 snaps respectively. Vernon led all ends this week.
At linebacker I was surprised to see BJ Goodson gobble up 73 snaps. Jonathan Casillas was next with 63. Traditionally the Giants rotate backers more but maybe this year they’ve settled. At safety Landon Collins remains elite and great fun. He had 74 snaps as did Darian Stewart who played the deep role.
New York Jets
This is going to be a long season isn’t it? The two rookie safeties dominated snaps there. Marcus Maye had 77 with Jamal Adams on 75.
Demario Davis was the dominant LB with 77 snaps. Daron lee trailed on ‘just’ 63. Jordan Jenkins and Josh Martin had 42 and 38 on the outside. At end Leonard Williams remains an elite player. He led the pack with 69 snaps just ahead of Muhammad Wilkerson’s 68. Kony Ealy impressed with his 43.
Oakland Raiders
Linebacker in Oakland was a hot topic. Bruce Irvin was top dog with 63 but is unlikely to be a productive IDP every week. Cory James was next with 60. Although he trailed Tyrell Adams (41 snaps) in tackles I’d rather own James going forwards. Hot rookie name Marquel Lee had just 21 defensive snaps. He looks like a role player.
On the line Khalil Mack remains incendiary. He played 64 snaps. Mario Edwards had just 34 and Denico Autry 28. Eddie Vanderdoes looks like a potential inside force and played 37 impressive snaps. At safety in Obi Melifonwu’s absence, Karl Joseph and Reggie Nelson both played all 64 snaps.
Philadelphia Eagles
The D line is going to be fantastic. Brandon Graham is enormously underrated in particular. He led the pack with 43 snaps. Vinny Curry (37), Derek Barnett (26) and Chris Long (26) also all saw significant time. Inside Fletcher Cox and Timmy Jernigan both saw a lot of time rushing the passer. They played 43 and 40 snaps.
At LB we all knew Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham were the starters. They had 63 snaps each. But behind them Mychal Kendricks saw 23 snaps. That’s not bad for him. Lots of people should be happy. At safety Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney Mcleod both played 63 snaps. But Corey Graham snuck in with 18 of his own.
Pittsburgh Steelers
How ‘bout that TJ Watt? He had an amazing debut, and his 62 snaps were very encouraging. We’ll see what happen when Bud Dupree is fit. Opposite him Anthony Chickillo played 62 too. On the inside Ryan Shazier (66) is the main man with Vince Williams (55) ensconced as the number two.
The Stephon Tuitt injury throws the line out but Tyson Alualu appears to be next man up. He had 54 snaps on Sunday. Cameron Heyward is the other starter of course and managed 52. Javon Hargrave is the starter at nose but the Steelers pull him a lot. He only played 25 snaps.
Sean Davis is clearly solidified as a starter and led the safeties with 66 snaps. Mike Mitchell played 44 and new signing JJ Wilcox 22.
Seattle Seahawks
Plenty of people have been leaping to add Shaq Griffen this week. With Jeremy Lane back that might be a bit premature (suspensions pending of course). On the line Michael Bennett (66), Cliff Avril (58), Frank Clark (46), Sheldon Richardson (54) and Jarran Reed (48) all played significant snaps. That is absurd depth. Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright remain every-week starters. They each played 82 snaps. Terence Garvin was way behind with 31.
San Francisco 49ers
This line is fascinating. DeForest Buckner has an amazing engine for a big man and played 53 snaps. Arik Armstead was just behind on 51 with rookie Solomon Thomas on 43. At linebacker the Reuben Foster injury spoilt things a little. NaVorro Bowman played 66 snaps with Ray-Ray Armstrong next up on 45. That will drop wen foster is fit of course. At safety Jaquiski Tartt surprised people with his 67 snaps but when Jimmie Ward is fit this will drop. Eric Reid also played 67 and is locked in as a starter.
Tennessee Titans
Plenty of us have had an eye on Jayon Brown as a future cover backer. I didn’t expect him to play 37 snaps this week. He trailed Wesley Woodyard (57) and Avery Williamson (43) but this was very encouraging. At safety Kevin Byard proved his worth with his impressive 66 snaps. Jonathan Cyprien got hurt but still managed 55 of his own. Adoree’ Jackson played 66 defensive snaps and is very likely to be this season’s Vernon Hargreaves. He needs to be owned in all leagues where corners are relevant.
Washington Redskins
Jonathan Allen led all linemen with his 42 snaps. Unfortunately he’s not going to be productive in this scheme. Matthew Ionnaidis was the next man up with 33 snaps. Avoid this situation. At linebacker Zach brown justified my faith in him with an excellent performance off 68 snaps. Mason Foster also played 68 snaps but is far less attractive as an IDP.
The safety situation looks like a car crash with Su’a Cravens missing. DJ Swearinger played 66 snaps and Deshazor Everett 67. Expect both to be heavily targeted going forwards.
Well that was an epic wasn’t it? Thanks for sticking with it. This column won’t be that long every week but I thought it was important in week one to give you all the edge you need. This is the best opportunity of the year to go out and make sure you’ve got the players who’ll give you enough edge to win your league.
I’ll be putting out a ton of snap content on my Twitter account so come find me at @TomDegenerate or tune into the Read and React podcast.
Good luck!
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