IDP Snap Counts: Week Four
Hi everyone.
Before we get started – a quick word on why snap counts are important. I have a lot of comments telling me players were injured which is why they played less. I know that of course. Injuries are entirely public record and everyone knows about them almost instantly these days.
The reason I still think it’s important is simple – players who get injured tend to get injured more in the future. By spotting the trends and seeing who replacements are you can get a jump on your opponents. Players get hurt all the time so in IDP you always need to be looking for replacements. Hopefully this column helps you with that.
Arizona Cardinals
Deone Bucannon returned from injury with 42 snaps. I expect him to take more volume going forward from Karlos Dansby but bear in mind Bucannon is an injury risk. He has had more total concussions than Jordan Reed.
Markus Golden went down hurt this week and will miss the rest of the season. Kareem Martin is the next man up and might become relevant in big play leagues.
Atlanta Falcons
The defensive end position was a bit of a mess this week. Adrian Clayborn and Takk McKinley both lost over 20 snaps week on week whilst Brooks Reed and Derrick Shelby played correspondingly more. Clayborn has subsequently been put onto IR. One of Brooks Reed and Derrick Shelby is likely to get a decent workload alongside Takk going forward, at least until Vic Beasley is fit again.
It’s also clear by now that Duke Riley is a part time player whilst De’Vondre Campbell plays full time. Riley has played 146 snaps across four weeks whilst Campbell has seen 211.
Baltimore Ravens
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Brent Urban and Brandon Williams are both hurt on the line. This is one of the several reasons that the Ravens just don’t look very good. In their absence Bronson Kaufusi and Willie Henry should pick up more playing time, but I advise against them. Ravens linemen just don’t score that much.
At linebacker I was too enthusiastic about Patrick Onwuasor last week. In week four he and Kamalei Correa shared time again with 33 and 28 snaps respectively.
Buffalo Bills
After Ramon Humber went down, injured rookie Matt Milano stepped in with 32 snaps (Humber played 29. Preston Brown 75). Milano is a decent bet for those needing a short-term fix. It’s worth noting the team drafted Milano a round before trendy off-season name Tanner Vallejo.
Eddie Yarbrough played 54 snaps with Shaq Lawson out. I thought he had a decent game but Lawson should be fit again immediately.
Carolina Panthers
With Kurt Coleman injured for “several weeks” rookie Demetrious Cox played 38 snaps last week. He should be looking at a solid workload but is unlikely to be that efficient.
Julius Peppers continues to be excellent on limited snaps and recorded a sack again. He played 34 this week with Charles Johnson on 36. I still think Peppers isn’t a player I want to bet on each week but he’s been excellent so far.
Chicago Bears
Danny Trevathan played 55 snaps last week which was 27 more than any other inside linebacker. Of course he also received a suspension for that filthy hit. In his absence I expect Christian Jones to be the top Bears option. But I wouldn’t start him unless I was desperate.
At safety as we expected Adrian Amos played full-time (54 snaps) in Quinten Demps’ absence. This should continue for the time being.
Cincinnati Bengals
The big news was of course Vontaze Burfict’s return from suspension. He played 52 snaps and that’ll only go up in coming weeks. The player to miss out was Vincent Rey who saw just 15 snaps after averaging 59 in the first three weeks. Rey is droppable in most leagues. Nick Vigil played 64 snaps and remains a full-time starter.
After his huge game in week three, Carl Lawson played 40 snaps on the edge. In big-play leagues I think he’s a good option.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns finally generated a bit of pass rush. I’ve seen some interest in Emmanuel Ogbah flying around but I advise caution. Gregg Williams likes to rotate his ends. Over the last two weeks Ogbah (92 snaps), Nate Orchard (83) and Carl Nassib (89) have all seen similar volume and of course Myles Garrett’s return will only exacerbate that.
Dallas Cowboys
DeMarcus Lawrence has been utterly exceptional so far, but you should take a breath from a volume point of view. He’s played just 183 defensive snaps so far. 26 other ends have seen more time. It’s great Lawrence’s efficiency has been so high but it’s going to drop. It’s unfeasible for him to continue at such a hot pace for much longer.
With Sean Lee out at linebacker Jaylon Smith stepped up to play 69 snaps. Justin Durant was the second linebacker with just 48. Given Lee’s injury history Smith is an every-week start for me.
Denver Broncos
Will Parks has dropped to the clear third option at safety. He’s seen 57 snaps combined over the last two weeks. Justin Simmons and Darian Stewart have both played 111 over the same period. If you can sell parks now I’d be very tempted to move him on.
Demarcus Walker has been a cameo player so far as a rookie. He’s not played more than 10 snaps in a game so far.
Detroit Lions
Nick Bellore played 42 snaps this week to add to his 35 the week before. Tahir Whitehead was injured this week so Bellore is a viable flex option in deep leagues. Jalen Reeves-Maybin played just three snaps this week and owners will need to be patient.
Green Bay Packers
Kevin King has played 61 snaps in each of the last two weeks. He’s a full-time starter now and a viable starter in CB leagues.
At safety Haha Clinton Dix (60), Josh Jones (51), Kentrell Brice (45) and Morgan Burnett (65) all played significant snaps. They appear to like Jones as the most in-the-box player but tackles are going to be spread around them. This is a classic watch-out given those of us who snagged Jones would really like him to be really good. Don’t let your desire for him to be good cloud your judgement.
Houston Texans
Given the ease of their win over the Titans we can’t figure much out from this week. JJ Watt and Jadaveon Clowney were both excellent but with just 40 and 32 snaps respectively there just wasn’t much opportunity to post big stats. They’re both still every-week starters in almost all leagues.
Dylan Cole had a big play but played just 22 snaps. Please don’t start him this week.
Indianapolis Colts
Vontae Davis came back from injury to play 68 snaps. I like Rashaan Melvin even more with Davis back. Melvin also played 68 snaps as the clear number two corner.
Jon Bostic had a big day at inside linebacker. Given the volume he’s seeing this was always going to happen. He’s played 276 snaps now which ios only behind CJ Mosley and NaVorro Bowman.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Barry Church had a good statistical performance from his 70 snaps. He and Tashaun Gipson are the clear starters and should be given a little more respect in IDP leagues.
At end things were back to normal after the strange London game with Yannick Ngakoue (59) playing significantly more than Dante Fowler (30).
Kansas City Chiefs
Reggie Ragland is alive! He played the first 21 snaps of his career in very low-key debut for a player taken 41st overall just 18 months ago. For context Derrick Johnson and Daniel Sorenson both managed 50 snaps.
At end Chris Jones played 36 snaps this week. That seems to be the level the Chiefs like him at. What’s interesting is that Allen Bailey saw just 37. Bailey has been significantly ahead so far this season.
Los Angeles Chargers
Corey Liuget bounced back after a low week three with 50 snaps. He’s been quiet so far but I like Liuget. He’s played 150 defensive snaps so far (31st among DTs) even with a knock and of course he has two studs on the edge to take attention away from him.
At linebacker Hayes Pullard returned from injury to play 49 snaps. Jatavis Brown (68 this week) is the clear lead dog and has 158 snaps more than any other Chargers inside linebacker.
Los Angeles Rams
One of the reasons I thought Alec Ogletree would be heading for a down season is how much Wade Phillips has traditionally rotated his inside linebackers. Ogletree is 11th in the NFL for snaps at the position so far so that might make me look silly. He played 71 this week and has gone over 70 week every game barring the week one shellacking of the Colts. The other reason I don’t like him is he’s not a very good linebacker, so there’s that.
At safety with Lamarcus Joyner hurt Cody Davis played 58 snaps. Maurice Alexander also took a knock which led to John Johnson playing 29. Can you imagine having a name like John Johnson? Poor bloke. I used to work with a man called Thomas Thomas. He hated it.
Miami Dolphins
Lawrence Timmons walked straight into the team after his mysterious lost weekend in LA caused him a suspension. Timmons played 74 snaps this week which means he has the highest average weekly figure for LBs – shared with NaVorro Bowman. Kiko Alonso played 74 too. Roster darling Mike Hull saw just 25 snaps and is droppable.
Chase Allen has put up some decent numbers so far on the back of 12 solo tackles in three games but has played just 45 total defensive snaps. He’s not going to continue to produce on that volume.
Minnesota Vikings
Danielle Hunter finally rewarded his owners with a strong performance. As I’ve been saying in this column all along just trust in your starters. If they’re seeing snap volume and they’ve proved they’re a good pass rusher you can roll them out each week.
At safety Jayron Kearse saw his season debut with a solitary defensive snap. He’s not worth owning. I just like him.
New England Patriots
Kyle Van Noy continues to be an excellent starting option. He’s managed 268 snaps so far. The next best Patriots linebacker is Elandon Roberts with 135. Van Noy should be in your starting lineup.
At safety Devon McCourty continues to be used all over the formation and is a good start. Patrick Chung only played 34 snaps last week compared to McCourty’s 63. Chung is not startable right now.
New Orleans Saints
Plenty of people (myself included) started PJ Williams at corner but he only played one snap with Ken Crawley coming straight back into the team. It didn’t help of course that the Dolphins could barely manage a first down in London.
Alex Anzalone was limited to just three snaps. I’ve been worried about his frailty the whole time so sadly this isn’t surprising. Craig Robertson was the next man up. I’m not excited by him.
New York Jets
David Bass has had a sack in each of his last two weeks and people are adding him from waivers. But he’s only played 64 total defensive snaps. Jordan Jenkins is the top player in volume with 154 snaps. He has no sacks yet but I expect some sooner or later.
Kony Ealy has also picked up some big plays from DE but he’s a reserve player really. He’s played 60 fewer snaps than Muhammad Wilkerson and 70 fewer than Leonard Williams.
New York Giants
Giants linebackers. Ugh.
BJ Goodson was fit again this week and managed 45 snaps. Jonathan Casillas had 62, Devon Kennard 36, Keenan Robinson 20 and Calvin Munson just one. As I’ve said all year I want no part in this. If one of them blows up and Miss out so be it.
Oakland Raiders
Cory James played another 64 snaps this week and is the clear lead linebacker for the Raiders. Bruce Irvin is playing just as many snaps but just doesn’t accumulate stats. Rookie darling Marquel Lee has played just 82 defensive snaps for the season. Predictably Nicholas Morrow played just 34 snaps this week and failed to impress. He’s not worth owning.
Philadelphia Eagles
Rodney Mcleod was fit again and played 57 snaps at safety as did Malcolm Jenkins. Chris Maragos was relegated to bench duties again.
Brandon Graham has taken control of the end position and played 44 snaps this week to bring his season total to 171. Vinny Curry is next with 146 for the year but played just 30 this week.
Pittsburgh Steelers
At OLB TJ Watt played 67 snaps on his return to health. He and Bud Dupree (also 67 snaps) will be the full time starters for the time being. James Harrison has just 7 snaps so far in 2017.
Stephon Tuitt made a welcome return from injury. He’s a really good player and managed 56 snaps. That means the amount of Tyson Alualu we have to watch is much lower than it has been. He played just 14 this week.
Seattle Seahawks
Cliff Avril was hurt at end and managed just 11 snaps. In his absence Frank Clark played 40. His average weekly volume before this week has been 38. Marcus Smith played 27 which led to his big 1.5 sacks.
Sheldon Richardson played 38 snaps this week bringing his season’s total to 182. Only 12 other tackles have more snaps than that.
San Francisco 49ers
Solomon Thomas played an enormous 69 snaps this week. For context that’s the same number as Superman DeForest Buckner. If those two continue to play such high volumes they’ll be extremely productive.
NaVorro Bowman managed 83 snaps. He’s not playing as well as he once did but he does lead all LBs with 297 snaps so far. The volume makes him a top IDP play.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kendell Beckwith continues to make headlines in Kwon Alexander’s role. The 8- snaps he played last week helped of course too. That wont happen most weeks. Next to him and also on 80 snaps was Adarius Glanton in Lavonte David’s role. It’s noteworthy to me how little Glanton did with that much playing time.
Tennessee Titans
With Jon Cyprien hurt Kevin Byard continues to dominate at safety. He’s played 290 snaps so far which leads all safeties. Curtis Riley and DaNorris Searcy are sharing the other spot to little effect.
Wesley Woodyard saw an outrageous 79 snaps this week. Only four other LBs played more. Four solos and five assists was a fairly poor return on that.
Washington Redskins
Montae Nicholson has been okay at safety in the ansence of Su’a Cravens but that’s all. He had his playing time drop to just 46 snaps this week compared to DJ Swearinger’s 76. I’m avoiding this situation.
At LB Zach brown continues to be top dog and is having a fine season. He played 74 snaps this week. Martrell Spaight put up some stats but played just 43 snaps. I don’t want to have to start him.
That’s it for another week. As always keep your eyes on potential breakout players and avoid spike weeks. Chasing stats will end up in more mistakes than successes at this stage of the season.
Good luck everyone!
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