AFC IDP Snap Counts: Week Five

With five games in the bank, we’ve really got a great idea of what teams want to do now. The small sample size is less of an issue, and we can infer preferences by looking at established patterns.

That’s great for assessing assets already on rosters, but as always there’s a handful of big changes and waiver targets who emerged this week.

Baltimore Ravens – 69 snaps

There were no major changes this week for the Ravens. Patrick Queen (50) continues to be the top LB, but he’s not a full-time player, and that hurts his productivity and value.

Safety DeShon Elliott was out again which led Brandon Stephens (69) to again play next to Chuck Clark (69).

Buffalo Bills – 86 snaps

The Bills had averaged just 58 snaps per week before this game. So, this blew it right open.

LB Tremaine Edmunds (86) was partnered by A.J. Klein (56) with Matt Milano out. You’ll notice that Klein only played two thirds of the game. Safety Siran Neal (33) actually played mostly in the box. Clearly the Bills wanted to reduce the opportunity for Patrick Mahomes to dissect Klein.

Cornerback Taron Johnson (85) celebrated his new contract with a return to action and double-digit tackles.

Safety Jordan Poyer (86) also returned with Jaquan Johnson only playing special teams.

The Bills continue to rotate heavily on the edge. Jerry Hughes (54) played most of the game, but another five edges played between 28 and 36 snaps.

Cincinnati Bengals – 64 snaps

There were changes in the secondary. Chidobe Awuzie (57) returned at corner, with Eli Apple (28) and Trae Waynes (43) both losing snaps. Awuzie and Apple both seemed to pick up injuries too so pay attention to their status next week.

Safety Jessie Bates also returned to the team with 64 snaps. Brandon Wilson lost his spot.

Cleveland Browns – 75 snaps

LB Anthony Walker played for the first time since week one. He saw just 55 snaps but may get back to a full-time role soon. It’s hard to trust him as a starter in week six though.

Rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (68) had a bit of a volume breakthrough. He’d seen just 101 combined snaps in the previous four games.

DE Jadeveon Clowney missed this game. Takkarist McKinley (43), Joe Jackson (34) and Ifeadi Odenigbo (16) picked up his snaps.

At safety John Johnson and Ronnie Harrison (both 75) were the starters again, with Grant Delpit (23) seeing little action. Delpit’s IDP career is on life support.

Denver Broncos – 65 snaps

There were no significant changes this week for the Broncos. This defense is settled and good.

Houston Texans – 64 snaps

LB Zach Cunningham (33) returned after a week out to play around half the game with Christian Kirksey and Kamu Grugier-Hill (both 63) ahead of him. It was likely easing him back in, but we’ve already seen lots of evidence that Cunningham is not guaranteed a full-time job anymore.

Lineman Charles Omenihu missed this game. Jordan Jenkins (30) and Jonathan Greenard (34) picked up his playing time.

Indianapolis Colts – 73 snaps

Safety Khari Willis (19) returned in this game but saw limited action. Andrew Sendejo (47) played most of the game next to deep safety Julian Blackmon (70). George Odum (10) saw a little bit of action too.

Kwity Paye again missed out. He’s played just 89 snaps so far. Some defenders played more than that in week one. Kemoko Turay (31) continues to see edge action, but he’s just never going to be a high-volume player. He just has not got the skillset.

Jacksonville Jaguars – 64 snaps

LB Myles Jack (34) hurt his back in this game and missed nearly half of it. Note that he also had the green dot removed from him too. He’s a big-name player, but he’s playing badly, as he has done for a good part of his career. Damien Wilson (55) is also a poor player and unlikely to take Jack’s full-time role long-term but don’t assume you can trust Jack for 2022 and beyond. Shaquille Quarterman (18) was the next LB up.

Rookie corner Tyson Campbell missed this game, so Chris Claybrooks (41) came back into the line-up. Nevin Lawson (21) also made his debut.

Kansas City Chiefs – 57 snaps

This defense is horrible. In NFL and IDP terms.

At LB Willie Gay (25) made his much-awaited season debut. It simply muddied the waters further. Anthoy Hitchens (47), Nick Bolton (43) and Ben Niemann (15) were all still involved. If you were waiting for Gay to solve all your problems, you’re probably going to be very disappointed.

Corner is a problem. Charvarius Ward is still out, DeAndre Baker played just one snap and Mike Hughes just 18. So, Rashad Fenton (55) partnered L’Jarius Sneed (57).

Star linemen Chris Jones also missed the game. Frank Clark (47) returned but clearly it didn’t help much.

Las Vegas Raiders – 64 snaps

No major changes for the Raiders this week. The LB situation has settled a bit though. Cory Littleton (56) and Denzel Perryman (52) remain not-quite-full-time players, but at least we know what they are.

Perryman remains astonishingly efficient. He’s currently 28th in LB snaps but leads the position in tackles.

Los Angeles Chargers – 75 snaps

LB Kenneth Murray missed his second game in a row. Kyzir White (53) and Drue Tranquill (54) both played around two thirds of snaps which really helps no one.

Safety Derwin James (72) played 34 snaps in the box (the most on a game for him this season) and turned it into a huge fantasy day.

Corner Chris Harris (34) played for the first time since week one. Asante Samuel Jr. (29) and Tevaughn Campbell (42) both saw limited action with Michael Davis (71) the only full-time player.

Miami Dolphins – 74 snaps

DT Raekwon Davis (39) returned to action after three weeks out. John Jenkins lost his spot.

Corner Byron Jones (62) seemed fully fit again after missing half of last week. Justin Coleman saw just 12 snaps.

At safety it was all change. Young guns Jevon Holland (72) and Brandon Jones (55) dominated playing time with vets Jason McCourty (27) and Eric Rowe (22) seeing their snaps slashed.

Notably, edge Jaelan Phillips (57) played a lot more this week too. He’d played just 118 snaps before this game in four weeks.

New England Patriots – 59 snaps

The biggest change this week for the Patriots was a negative one. Neither LB even hit 40 snaps this week. Ja’Whaun Bentley (37) and Dont’a Hightower (38) just are not viable fantasy options in most leagues.

Corner Jalen Mills missed the game, so Joejuan Williams (35) stepped up.

New York Jets – 78 snaps

The Jets have played 178 snaps in their past two games (average is just under 67 per game) and flown across the Atlantic and back. That’s a heavy workload.

Volume obviously dropped, as did production with the miserly London stat crew, but ratios remained similar. The only real change was cornerback Brandin Echols (59) picking up playing time from Michael Carter (44).

Pittsburgh Steelers – 60 snaps

LB Devin Bush injured his leg and played just 25 snaps. Joe Schobert led the team with just 49, and Robert Spillane came in to play 24. Yuck.

Corner Cameron Sutton missed this game, so James Pierre (59) was elevated to starter levels.

Tennessee Titans – 71 snaps

The Titans have used 33 different defenders already in 2021 as they seek to turn this defense around.

Amazingly David Long (71) is comfortably the only reliable LB on this team right now. Jayon Smith has gone onto IR, and Rashaan Evans (33) was hurt in this game after playing abysmally. Rookie Monty Rice (12) is the obvious next man up, but he also left the game injured. There might be opportunity here for a deep sleeper.

Good luck everyone!

AFC IDP Snap Counts: Week Five