IDP Snap Counts: Week 11
Hi everyone.
I thought it was a slightly unusual week in the NFL last weekend. Maybe that was just the strangeness of the Raiders playing the Pats in Mexico – and the Raiders bizarre lack of preparation for the game.
I’ve referred over the season to high and low weekly team snap totals. Now, I’ve built a tool that will calculate those so we can bring some more science to the process of working out which teams are getting more or less volume – and which teams are good or bad to play against.
Arizona Cardinals
Well first up – Budda Baker. Last week I wrote “unlikely to instantly be a superstar”. Turns out that’s exactly what he is in the IDP world. He’s been snapped up long ago in all leagues but if you’ve got him you should be in for a fun ride. He played 70 snaps this week just gone and had an otherworldly stat line. He’ll be a full time starter from here on out.
On the edge it’s interesting this week that Kareem Martin (30) out-snapped Haason Reddick. Reddick has not impressed out there given his size, but I still really like him for 2018 onwards when he can play inside again.
Atlanta Falcons
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It’s worth noting the two tackles both played high snaps. Dontari Poe managed 59 and Grady Jarrett 53. In terms of average snaps per active week, these two are fifth and sixth respectively for tackles so far. Grady Jarrett has not been efficient this season but then again he wasn’t last year either. Everyone remembers his three-sack Super Bowl but not his unimpressive regular season, as a pass-rusher at least.
Baltimore Ravens
Tim Williams made his first appearance since week five with 19 snaps as the Ravens crushed the Packers. It wasn’t just a case of giving the young players a runout though as Terrell Suggs led all OLBs with 48 snaps. Matt Judon played just 38 but finished with 2.0 sacks, six solos and an assist. As we’ve said before, please don’t go chasing his production. He’s not a particularly reliable player on a weekly basis.
Buffalo Bills
Micah Hyde took a knock in this one and managed just 46 snaps (compared to Jordan Poyer’s 74). Trae Elston stepped in to play 28. He’s backed up both starting safeties now this season.
Rookie LB Matt Milano played 25 snaps, which is encouraging. Preston Brown hit 69 and Ramon Humber 50, but Lorenzo Alexander just 37. Milano is going to have a role going forward I think. They clearly like him.
Carolina Panthers
Plenty of people have been disappointed by Kawann Short this season. He hasn’t put up big numbers with just four sacks but he’s been hampered by playing time. He’s way down at 21st in terms of DT snaps so far. In 2016 he finished fourth in snaps with 771, compared to this year’s current total of just 419.
Chicago Bears
Christian Jones (55) and Nick Kwiatkowski (54) both played starter-level LB snaps this week with Danny Trevathan out. For most of this season, there’s been one LB way out in front per week. Maybe John Fox is mixing things up given it’s his last few games in the job?
Cincinnati Bengals
DB was the interesting thing this week in Cincinnati. Shawn Williams returned to fitness at safety and played 74 snaps after a one week absence. Clayton Fejdelem saw just 8 snaps as a result.
At corner the Bengals brought some much-needed clarity. They’ve been using five corners every week for most of the season but this week only Darqueze Bennard (81), Dre Kirkpatrick (75) and Josh Shaw (65) saw the field with significant time. William Jackson and Pacman Jones both missed the game.
Cleveland Browns
At DE, Myles Garrett had a big week in terms of playing time. He saw 60 snaps with the next DE (Carl Nassib) on just 42. Emmanuel Ogbah played 29 but is now out for the year with an injury. Nate Orchard played 32 snap too.
At LB James Burgess came in pretty much as a direct replacement for Jamie Collins and did really well. There’ll be a rush to pick him up but please note the Browns as a team saw 858 snaps this week. The only time they’ve played more in 2017 was the game in London against the Vikings. The season average (not including those two games) has been 689 snaps so last week was very high. Compounding that is the fact they play the Bengals next week whose opponents receive the lowest average IDP snaps per week in the NFL. It’s likely that all Browns players will see a drop in laying time and performance next week.
Dallas Cowboys
Xavier Woods started at safety this week with Jeff Heath out (and not very good). Woods played 64 snaps which was the same as Byron Jones. I think he’s got every chance to hold the job going forwards.
At LB Justin Durant came in to play 25 snaps, Damien Wilson saw 27, Jaylon Smith 36 and Anthony Hitchens 49. It’s clear the only LB the Cowboys trust to play every down is Sean Lee.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos have now lost six straight and look a shadow of their recent selves. But still they’re not really adjusting their defense in the blithe hope it’ll somehow get better. The only significant change this week was Zaire Anderson missing out with Todd Davis firmly back in his three-quarters LB role. Davis played 36 snaps this week.
Detroit Lions
Cornelius Washington came back at DE this week and played 45 snaps. Jacquies Smith lost out and did not play. Anthony Zettel led the unit with 55. It’s been a mess all year but if this situation holds Zettel and Washington are both good starts. Ziggy Ansah missed another game and did not play. I’ve no idea why people still think he’s good but I keep getting asked.
Green Bay Packers
Kevin King did not play this week as the Packers CB roundabout continues to churn. It’s been a huge issue for them this year. With King out Josh Hawkins played 28 snaps with Damarious Randall (45) and Davon house (58) as the top options.
Clay Matthews hurt himself and played just 13 snaps. In his absence young options Kyler Fackrell (34) and rookie Vince Biegel (16) received a bump in playing time.
Houston Texans
Joel Heath returned to the team with 15 snaps on the line. But to be honest, the only lineman I’d even consider is DJ Reader who played 34 snaps. No-one else is on the field enough.
At LB Jadaveon Clowney had another big week from his 52 snaps. He’s fifth on the season amongst OLBs with 548 snaps.
Indianapolis Colts
Bye week.
Jacksonville Jaguars
There were no major changes for the Jaguars. Dante Fowler is yet to play 40 or more snaps in a single game. Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell have both done that in eight separate games. You should have sold Fowler already.
Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs corner is a mess but a beneficial one in IDP terms. Kenneth Acker managed just two snaps this week with Steven Nelson playing opposite Marcus Peters. Phillip Gaines came back into contention with 29 snaps. Terrance Mitchell played just two. We know there’s good here but it’s too tough trying to figure it out weekly at the moment.
Derrick Johnson played just 35 snaps at linebacker. Remember at the start of the season we though Andy Reid would push him until his 40-year-old body broke? It looks like that might be happening. Reggie Ragland led the team with 47 snaps and Kevin Pierre-Louis played 34. Until this clears up there are likely better options elsewhere.
Los Angeles Chargers
This was a weird week because the Chargers absolutely rinsed the Bills and used the opportunity to spread snap around. It was also a low-volume week with the team playing over 200 fewer defensive snaps than last week.
Both starting DEs (Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram) played just 40 snaps with Jerry Attaochu on the field for 32 downs.
Jatavis Brown was wrapped up in cotton wool and only asked to play 18 snaps at LB. Kylke Emmanuel played 20 and Korey Toomer 15. Denzel Perryman led the unit with 44 as he continues his return and rehab.
Safety Adrian Phillips played 55 snaps ahead of Jahleel Addae who had just 51. Rookie Rayshawn Jenkins had his biggest week yet with 18 snaps.
Going forward you can pretty much put this week down to being odd and start the options you normally would in week 12.
Los Angeles Rams
DE Aaron Donald played 70 snaps this week. That was just the 13th time any DE has hit 70 this season. And of those 13, 6 were by Giants DEs. Donald has only played 498 snaps for the season so this week was 14% of his season so far.
Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron both played 78 snaps at LB which explains the big statistical output. Robert Quinn returned after illness at OLB and played 58 snaps. After ten games, Connor Barwin has out-snapped Quinn by 150 snaps and is the better play.
As you can tell, the whole team played a lot as the Vikings controlled the ball and the clock. Things aren’t likely to decrease much next week against the Saints.
Miami Dolphins
With Rey Maualuga released after an arrest, Chase Allen stepped into the third LB spot with 30 snaps. Stephone Anthony also played 12 – his first as a Dolphin. It’s possible Mike Hull comes back to play but worth noting he hasn’t taken a snap on defense since week four even though he’s been playing special teams. If you’re desperate enough to need a part-time LB, I’d add Allen.
At safety Reshad Jones was again partnered by TJ Mcdonald with Michael Thomas nowhere to be seen. Some have claimed McDonald is taking tackles away from Jones. I subscribe to the theory but I haven’t seen that happen yet. Jones has had more tackles in the two games since McDonald has played than he had in the two prior games.
Minnesota Vikings
This week Brian Robison missed out at DE whilst Everson Griffen returned. Griffen played 45 snaps with Danielle Hunter on 37. Stephen Weatherly filled in with 28 to make up the deficit.
Because the game was such a blowout, the Vikes spread some LB snaps around with Ben Gedeon (15) and Emmanuel Lamur (13) both getting some playing time. It’s always smart for playoff teams to rest players if they can at this stage of the season.
At safety Jayron Kearse filled in for Harrison Smith on 11 snaps. Zimmer clearly likes Kearse as a project. I’d love to see him get a real shot some time.
New England Patriots
Kyle Van Noy continues to play on the edge. I hope you traded him when you had he chance. In the middle, David Harris (28) and Elandon Roberts (39) again shared a role which makes neither startable for us. Marquis Flowers (32) and Trevor Reilly (13) also got time at LB in an easy win over the Raiders.
Cassius March played just 2 DE snaps and has since been released. Regular readers know that I have not been impressed by him all season. Deatrich Wise played 45 snaps opposite Trey Flowers (68) and is an intriguing hold.
New Orleans Saints
AJ Klein missed the game hurt at LB. Craig Robertson played 69 snaps in his absence but was ineffective. Manti Te’o saw 49 snaps and Michael mauti 30. Honestly I don’t want any of them in my teams. Just find another option.
DE Alex Okafor played 50 snaps but hurt himself and will miss the season. David Onyemata (29) and rookie Trey Hendrickson (28) have been duelling of playing time but I far prefer Hendrickson. He’s a very good add for me this week.
At safety with Kenny Vaccaro missing out again, Vonn Bell played 69 snaps to leads the team. Excluding week one, Bell has averaged 47 snaps per game across the season now.
New York Jets
Bye week.
New York Giants
Olivier Vernon returned to the team with 62 snaps at DE. Jason Pierre-Paul played 71. JPP has played 69 more snaps than any other DE in the NFL this year. That’s a 12% advantage over the second best option for volume.
Calvin Munson led the team in LB snaps this week with 69. Only once this season has the same LB led the team in snaps as the week before (BJ Goodson in weeks five and six).
Oakland Raiders
This was just a weird week. The raiders struggled on defense with the altitude in Mexico City and several players missed time due to it. It turns out preparing for a high altitude game at sea-level and flying up the night before isn’t a good idea. Who knew? Not Ken Norton apparently, as the team sacked their defensive coordinator after the game.
I was bullish about NaVorro Bowman prior to the game given I thought he’d be on the field a lot, but he managed just 51 snaps in the end. That still led all LBs with Cory James on 44 and Bruce Irvin on 46.
Obi Melifonwu started the game at corner but was one of those affected by altitude and only played 26 snaps. 21 of those were spent at corner. We always thought he’d be moved around a bit but there was also a strong possibility of teams seeing him as a corner. Allegedly the Seahawks only considered him there for example. It’s not time to panic but he’s not off to a great start.
Philadelphia Eagles
Ronald Darby returned at cornerback for his first playing time since week one. He managed 63 snaps opposite Jalen Mills. Patrick Robinson played third wheel with 43. If anything this makes Mills more attractive in IDP terms. Continue starting him as you have been doing.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Joe Haden missed out at corner completely this week which meant Cody Sensebaugh played 64 snaps opposite Artie Burns.
Tyler Makatevich played two snaps at inside LB this week. He’s played in nine separate games on defense but only totalled 17 snaps. In six games he’s played a single snap. He’s a useful special teamer so I understand keeping him on the roster but why bother giving him any time on defense?
Mike Mitchell missed this game through injury with Robert Golden playing 65 snaps as a full-time player. He’s not really worth adding although he did have 4 solos and an INT.
Seattle Seahawks
As predicted the Seahawks took a big hit in terms of weekly volume. In week ten they played 880 snaps and in week eleven just 682. That’s about 10-15 fewer snaps per player week on week.
A few players bucked the trend however: Jeremy Lane played 61 snaps at corner. It was his biggest week since week three. Byron Maxwell also returned to the team at corner and played 59 snaps. Frank Clark added 15 snaps this week to play 45. That led to the release of Dwight Freeney. Dion Jordan played 19 snaps. Terence Garvin played 38 snaps at LB. That was the first time he’s seen more than 6 since week one. Earl Thomas returned from injury to play 62 snaps. Delano Hill failed to see the field at all.
San Francisco 49ers
K’Waun Williams returned to the team at corner after two weeks out. He played 44 snaps as the third CB behind Ahkello Witherspoon and Dontae Johnson (both 66).
Elvis Dumervil had his heaviest week of the season with 37 snaps at DE.
At safety Adrian Colbert was fit enough to play opposite Eric Reid. They both saw the field for 66 snaps.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vernon Hargreaves missed this week through injury. As we’ve pointed out before he’s only playing slot corner volumes anyway. In his absence Brent Grimes (64) and Ryan Smith (60) continued as the top options with Robert McClain (47) in sub packages.
Ryan Russell led the team in DE snaps for the first time with 45. Robert Ayers was just behind on 43. I don’t think either are particularly appealing and I expect the Bucs to totally retool their pass rush in the offseason but if you’re desperate these two are at least on the field.
Tennessee Titans
This was a big week for all Titans as they played 836 team snaps up from 561 last week. Four players (Adoree Jackson, Logan Ryan, Wesley Woodyard and Kevin Byard) played over 70 snaps. Woodyard has now played over 70 snaps in three of his last four games. Not too bad for an old guy.
Washington Redskins
Matt Ionnaidis returned at DE to play 55 snaps. I like him as an NFL player but there’s no point having him on your roster for IDP purposes.
Martrell Spaight played 71 snaps at inside LB. If you need an LB3/4 type feel free to pick him up but I’m ignoring him. Will Compton missed out and is now on IR.
I hope you have another great week and your IDP teams are dominating your leagues. Good luck everyone!
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