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Top 10 Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 2 Usage

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Playing time and touches are the backbone of fantasy scoring. 

Chasing one-week box scores can be dangerous. Investing in players who are on the field and getting the football is more reliable.

That’s why we study playing time and usage every week during the season. It can give us a tangible edge in start/sit decisions, waiver moves, and trades.

Here are the top 10 takeaways from Week 2 usage:

1. Don’t Panic On Sam LaPorta

Jared Goff threw 55 times for 307 yards in the Week 2 loss to the Bucs. LaPorta caught two passes for 13 yards. That followed a pedestrian 4-45-0 line in the opener. LaPorta is sitting 16th among TEs in PPR points through two weeks.

Fantasy owners should be worried but not panicked. LaPorta's playing time is right where it was last year. The problem is that the targets haven't been there. His target share is less than half of what it was in 2023. His targets per game have sunk from 7.1 to 4.0.

LaPorta's volume will undoubtedly climb from here. Will it reach 2023 level? I'd bet against it. WR Jameson Williams has emerged as an integral piece of this passing game, alongside WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, RB Jahmyr Gibbs, and LaPorta. That's a lot of mouths to feed.

LaPorta will have big games and still likely finish as a top-five fantasy TE. I just don't expect him to pay off his ADP.

2. Jonathan Taylor Loses Passing-Down Snaps

In one of the stupidest coaching decisions of Week 2, Shane Steichen said he pulled Taylor for Trey Sermon in the fourth quarter because his team was passing in catch-up mode.

That's the same Trey Sermon who caught just 48 balls across four college seasons and owns seven career NFL receptions.

Taylor isn't an elite receiver and has struggled in times in pass protection. But he's caught 80% of his career targets and averaged 7.9 yards per catch. I'd use that guy in passing situations -- but that's just me.

Taylor's Week 2 passing-down usage was a big departure from Week 1, when he registered an 88% route rate. We'll see what Week 3 brings on that front.

You were never drafting Taylor for big receiving production. But if he continues losing the majority of passing-down snaps, his fantasy ceiling and floor will suffer.

3. Kyle Pitts Not Drawing Targets

Kyle Pitts is running out of excuses. He's getting strong playing time this season. QB Kirk Cousins bounced back from a rough Week 1 for a nice Week 2. Yet Pitts has just six catches on seven targets for 46 yards through two weeks.

The culprit? His targets per route is way down. Here's where that number sat in his first three NFL seasons:

• 2021 - 0.21
• 2022 - 0.27
• 2023 - 0.18

Pitts' current targets-per-route mark ranks 26th among 44 qualifying TEs.

Of course, we're looking at a two-game sample and a metric that can swing drastically on an extra target or two. I'd bet on Pitts' volume rising going forward -- and still like his chances of top-8 fantasy production this season.

But if he doesn't start drawing more targets soon, the "bust" whispers will only get louder.

4. Isaiah Likely Loses Playing Time

How did the Ravens reward Likely for his huge Week 1? By slashing his playing time in Week 2. Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, and Nelson Agholor ran more routes than Likely.

The Ravens, despite losing to the Raiders, led for much of this game. But they still threw 34 passes on a 57% pass rate. So I'm not blaming game script.

This might wind up as a situation where Likely's playing time varies from week to week based on Baltimore's game plan. That would make him a very tricky player to project on a weekly basis.

5. Buy Chris Olave

Olave hasn't gotten in on the fun yet in New Orleans. Despite the Saints scoring 91 points through two games, Olave has yet to find the end zone. He ranks 52nd among WRs in PPR points.

But after a quiet Week 1, Olave posted massive usage numbers in Week 2:

• 37.5% target share
• 56% air yards share

I still believe he's the Saints' clear No. 1 WR. And QB Derek Carr will certainly start throwing more than the 19.5 attempts per game he's averaged so far.

With this Klint Kubiak offense looking like one of 2024's biggest surprises, Olave should push for WR1 production this season. He's the best buy-low in fantasy football right now.

6. Steelers Backfield Turns Into Committee

After Harris dominated work in the opener, Week 2 looked a lot like how we projected this backfield to look before the season.

Snaps were split almost down the middle between Harris and Warren, with Harris handling more of the early-down work and Warren playing more in passing situations.

If that continues -- and I think it will -- expect to find both of these guys in RB3 territory in the rankings most weeks.

7. The Jaxon Smith-Njigba Breakout Is Real

Those are some beautiful numbers!

The route rate, target share, and air-yards share were all career highs. Smith-Njigba topped a 10.6-yard average target depth only three times all last season.

As we surmised would be the case in our WR Sleepers article this summer, Smith-Njigba is playing a much more fantasy-friendly role under new OC Ryan Grubb. He's already seen three targets 20+ yards downfield this season after totaling 11 in 17 games last year.

Smith-Njigba is looking like a weekly WR3 with the potential to climb even higher.

8. Zack Moss Tightens Grip On Backfield Lead

Moss' snap rate spiked from 65% in the opener to 82% in Week 2. Only two RBs (Saquon Barkley and Zach Charbonnet) played a bigger percentage of snaps last week.

Moss tripled up Brown in carries for the second straight week, out-carrying him 12 to 4 in the win over the Chiefs. Moss' route rate even climbed from Week 1, while Brown's plummeted.

He hasn't delivered in the box score yet. But if this usage continues -- and the Bengals offense gets rolling -- Moss will have RB2-level fantasy upside. He's a nice buy-low target this week.

9. Rico Dowdle Leads Three-Man Backfield

The good news for Dowdle: He led Cowboys RBs in snaps, carries, and targets in Week 2.

The bad news: The Cowboys turned this into a three-man backfield, with Vaughn mixing in for 14% of the snaps and four carries.

None of these guys have played well enough yet to earn a bigger role. Elliott and Dowdle rank 36th and 37th, respectively, among 40 RBs in NFL Next Gen Stats' rush yards over expected per attempt.

Don't be surprised if RB Dalvin Cook gets a shot very soon, although I don't think he's the answer either.

The Cowboys backfield is a total avoid in fantasy lineups right now.

10. Javonte Takes Control Of Broncos Backfield

After surprising usage in Denver's backfield in the opener, Williams was the clear leader in Week 2. He out-carried McLaughlin 11 to 3 and out-targeted him 5 to 0.

Week 3 will help us figure out whether things are trending in Williams' direction -- or if this backfield will vary from game to game. The latter would be a nightmare, especially considering how bad this Broncos offense has been.

But, if Williams continues getting his Week 2 usage, he can at least be a low-upside fantasy starter.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.