- The Houston Texans turn to their rookies: Running back Woody Marks and wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel all played more snaps than usual this week, leading to more production by each player.
- More teams turn to backup running backs for help: The Los Angeles Rams, Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers all started using their backup running backs more often than in past weeks.
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Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes
Welcome to PFF’s NFL Usage and Production Report—your one-stop for the fantasy football utilization you actually need. This hub pulls together snap counts, routes run, targets per route run (TPRR), carry share, red-zone usage, alignment, ADOT, time to throw, situational splits, fantasy points and so much more, so you can quickly spot role changes and act before your league does. Use it for waiver wire decisions, buy-low/sell-high trades, rest-of-season (ROS) rankings context, dynasty stashes, DFS builds, and prop research.
Below you’ll find the top 10 most crucial usage and production takeaways. If you want more details on these top 10 players, or any other quarterback, running back, wide receiver or tight end in the league, you can jump into the interactive tool right below. It’s the most comprehensive fantasy tool, providing information on how a player is utilized, their performance, and how the defense responds to them. You can view by player, team or position, sort any column, filter by week and snaps, and switch between totals and percentages to see the full picture on anything you’re looking for. You’ll also find all of the information found in the usual recap articles.
1. Woody Marks takes over the Houston Texans’ backfield
Marks played over 80% of the offensive snaps after playing less than 50% last week.
Marks had the most offensive snaps among the Texans running backs heading into this week at 232 of a possible 545, but that was only a 42.6% snap rate. Nick Chubb had played over 50% of the offensive snaps on early downs, while Dare Ogunbowale played over 50% on third downs, but Marks has been the most well-rounded. The Texans had typically kept Chubb and Marks close in snaps at the start of the game, and generally, they went with the hot hand if one of the two was playing well.
Marks started the game, marking his first NFL start. He took every snap on the first drive, as well as starting the second drive. This makes it clear this change was intentional heading into this game, rather than anything game script or hot hand related. Marks not only played 80.8% of the early-down snaps, but 70% on third downs. Ogunobwale had played at least 50% of the third-down snaps in each of the previous three weeks.
Marks ran 14 times for 63 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 18 yards. Chubb played very well in his limited time, finishing with five carries for 47 yards and a five-yard catch.
Marks will be much more deserving of consideration for fantasy starting lineups going forward, especially next week against the Tennessee Titans. Chubb should remain on fantasy rosters at least one or two more weeks, especially as the Texans have a decent schedule for running backs, making Chubb a decent handcuff option.
2. Los Angeles Rams‘ backfield turns into a two-back committee
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