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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. Tough Time To Be A First-Round Rookie RB

Jeanty and Hampton disappointed in the box score in their debuts -- but they at least played strong roles.

Their production fell flat again in Week 2. And both guys played considerably less.

Jeanty lost snaps to ... *checks notes* ... Zamir White and Dylan Laube?! After leading Vegas' backfield in every scenario in the opener, the rookie played just two of 12 third downs and ceded all 12 snaps in the two-minute drill to Laube.

Jeanty still controlled early-down work and handled 11 of 13 RB carries. But that's less beneficial when you're averaging just 2.7 yards per carry.

Jeanty's efficiency will improve. But it'll be nearly impossible for him to pay off ADP if he continues losing most of the passing-down work. We'll see where that goes in coming weeks, but I'm viewing Jeanty as more of a high-end RB2 for now.

Hampton's playing time was a bit better than Jeanty's -- but still down from Week 1. He was notably out-touched 8 to 0 by Najee Harris in the fourth quarter. Hampton's only contribution in that final frame was a botched handoff from QB Justin Herbert that resulted in a lost fumble.

Like Jeanty, Hampton is struggling to get going on the ground, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry. I'm more concerned about Hampton than Jeanty going forward because Harris is a bigger threat than Zamir White or Dylan Laube.

I wouldn't go selling low on Hampton right now. But he's looking a poor bet to pay off his ADP. Consider him a lower-end RB2 going forward.

2. Chalk One Up For The Little Guys: De’Von Achane Is A Workhorse

I blew this one. I almost included a note on Achane in Week 1 Usage Takeaways. But Miami’s offense was so bad that I didn’t want to highlight any positives from it.

Achane dominated the backfield work in that game, though, playing a career-high 88% of the offensive snaps before the Dolphins pulled starters in garbage time.

Achane set a new career high with a 94% snap rate in Week 2. The 92% route rate was also a career high. To put those numbers in perspective, Kyren Williams led all RBs last year with an 87% snap rate, while Christian McCaffrey led with a 68% route rate.

And that 31.2% target share? Just as absurd. Only three RBs hit a 30% target share in a game all last season.

Achane won't get this much work all year. (At least, I hope he doesn't.) But he's the best thing going for the Miami offense right now.

If he stays healthy, Achane will finish as a top-5 PPR RB, with upside to the very top of the position.

3. Did Cam Skattebo Take Over The Giants Backfield?

Skattebo was involved early in Week 2, getting a carry on the Giants' third play from scrimmage. By the end of the game, he was operating as the clear lead back. In the second half and overtime, Skattebo out-snapped Tracy 19 to 11.

He was also New York's most effective runner, averaging 4.1 yards per carry with a TD on his 11 totes. Tracy mustered just 3.0 yards per carry. Through two games, Skattebo is beating Tracy in:

• Yards after contact per attempt (2.77 to 2.53)
• Missed tackles forced per attempt (0.23 to 0.07)
• Pro Football Focus rushing grade (79.3 to 72.2)

HC Brian Daboll said in his post-game press conference that this could be a hot-hand situation going forward:

“Just game by game. I thought Cam Skattebo was running hard. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Tyrone Tracy, and he did a good job on our kickoff returns. I think we’ve got three guys we think we can use, and if we think one is running pretty good or feeling it, we’ll give it to him. If not, we’ll kind of use all three of them. But we have confidence in all three of those guys.”

Consider this a wait-and-see situation for now, especially with a tough Week 3 matchup against the Chiefs. But my money is on Skattebo leading Giants RBs in snaps, touches, and fantasy points the rest of the way.

4. Multiple Problems For TreVeyon Henderson

The Patriots decided Gibson needed more work in Week 2. That came at the expense of Henderson, who sank from a 34% snap rate and 28% carry share in the opener.

That’s problem No. 1. 

Problem No. 2? Henderson was abysmal in pass protection in Week 2. He gave up a sack and was flagged for holding twice. The tape:

This TreVeyon Henderson tape is brutal. Pass pro considered huge strength coming out of college. You want to see a player of his pedigree have their usage tick upward as season goes on, but I think he’s gonna lose snaps because of this.

pic.twitter.com/6L9EYXGqJH

— John Zannis (@John_Zannis) September 15, 2025

We'll see if that performance impacts his role on passing downs going forward. But he needs significantly more early-down snaps and carries before we can trust him in fantasy lineups.

Henderson should certainly stay stashed on fantasy rosters -- and might even be a buy-low this week. But in the short term, he belongs on fantasy benches.

5. Jets Dud Masks Breece Hall’s Growing Role

Putting aside the fact that the Jets laid a massive turd in Week 2, Hall's usage got a nice bump.

While his carry share dipped a tad, his share of RB carries grew from 70% to 83%. And, most encouragingly, his route rate climbed. If Hall can capture a significant chunk of the passing-down snaps, he should easily finish second on this team in targets. He's already at a 15.9% target share through two games, despite an underwhelming 39% route rate.

At this point, the Jets' offense is a much bigger roadblock for Hall than his role. If the offense can be competent, Hall shouldn't have a problem scoring as a top-20 fantasy RB.

6. Ken Walker Makes A Case For More Work

Seattle's backfield usage didn't noticeably change from Week 1. Walker's snap rate and route rate actually declined a tad in Week 2.

What did change from the opener was the production. Walker was a beast in the win over Pittsburgh, taking his 13 carries for 105 yards and a score. He forced four missed tackles and averaged 4.69 yards after contact per attempt, according to Pro Football Focus. Charbonnet? Zero missed tackles forced and 2.0 yards after contact per attempt.

HC Mike Macdonald said afterward that he wants to stick with the committee attack going forward.

"I’m pleased with how we’re rotating the guys. It’s hard to project how the games are gonna play out. … We’re playing the long game, as well. I think it’s a balance we’re hitting right now. We want both guys to go the whole year, we need both backs to be effective, great backs for us. I think they’re both playing at a high level.”

I'll buy Charbonnet staying involved considering how much the Seahawks want to run the ball -- and Walker's injury history. But it'd be coaching malpractice if Walker doesn't take over as the leader of this committee after his Week 2 showing.

We'll keep monitoring this backfield, but I'm now treating Walker as a low-end RB2 and Charbonnet as a low-end RB3.

7. Are The Rams Serious About Reducing Kyren Williams’ Snaps? (Like, Actually Serious?)

Williams dipped below a 79% snap rate just once all last season. He played 81% of the snaps in the opener. But that fell to 69% in Week 2.

This wasn't a pure backfield rotation. Instead, Corum got three series all to himself. One of those happened to be a long, 10-play drive. And another found Corum punching in a score from the one-yard line.

Is this what we should expect from the Rams backfield going forward? HC Sean McVay says yes.

#Rams HC Sean McVay on the ideal split between Kyren Williams and Blake Corum:

“I think what you’re looking for is something around a 65/35 ratio for those guys. I think you want Kyren playing about two-thirds of the time, and Blake playing the other third.” pic.twitter.com/4vR3rJxpDY

— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) September 16, 2025

Getting just two-thirds of the snaps would be an impactful change for Williams. He's never been the most efficient runner and has never been a big producer in the passing game. He relies on rushing volume and TDs.

We'll see if McVay sticks to that plan of getting Corum about a third of the snaps. If he does, Williams will downgrade to mid-range RB2 status.

8. Your Weekly Travis Hunter Update

Hunter's Week 1 role was awesome. Week 2? Not so much.

The rookie continued to play exclusively in three-WR sets, but he ceded some of that work to WR Parker Washington vs. the Bengals. And, after running 71% of his routes from the slot in Week 1, that rate sank to 52% in Week 2.

Hunter's decreased role on offense was likely a direct result of his role on defense growing. After playing just six defensive snaps in the opener, Hunter played 43 in Week 2. He played the final 30 defensive snaps of the game, after CB Jarrian Jones exited with a back injury.

Jones' status might be key in projecting Hunter's Week 3 role. This ebb and flow of offensive playing time figures to continue throughout the season, though, and will make Hunter a tough weekly projection.

It'd also be nice to see Hunter run some more routes downfield. He's sitting on a 6.5-yard average target depth -- seventh lowest among 85 WRs with 5+ targets.

9. Shhhh ... Kyle Pitts Might Be Happening

I almost didn't include this note -- because I don't want to jinx it. But Pitts' usage has been awesome through two weeks. Here's where he ranks among TEs:

• 4th in route rate 
• 6th in target share 
• 12th in expected PPR points per game

Pitts has parlayed that volume into 10.3 PPR points per game, which ranks 13th among TEs. And he's looked good doing it. He sits fifth among 33 qualifying TEs in both Pro Football Focus' receiving grades and Fantasy Points Data's Separation Score.

In short, this is the best usage and performance we've seen from Pitts since his 2021 rookie year. So, despite the fact that he was a constant letdown over the following three seasons, I'm buying Pitts as at least a low-end TE1 going forward. And considering the state of the position, he has upside into the top six.

10. About That Cardinals Backfield ...

I wrote last week: "James Conner Is Still Arizona's Clear Lead Back."

Let's amend that to: "James Conner Is Still Arizona's Lead Back."

The veteran continued to control early-down snaps and carries in Week 2. He played 71% of Arizona's early-down snaps and handled 79% of the RB carries (up from 60% in Week 1).

But Benson dominated passing-down work. He played 100% of the long-down-and-distance snaps and 100% of the two-minute-drill snaps. That led to a career-high 55% route rate. Conner's 41% route rate was well below his 55% in 15 healthy games last year.

Conner's rushing projection remains solid, but losing passing-down work is a tangible blow to his fantasy value. Remember that a target is worth about 2.5 times more than a carry in PPR leagues.

Consider Conner a low-end RB2 going forward. Benson is working his way toward flex consideration, especially when we get into the bye weeks.

Next Up

Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups: Should You Trust Troy Franklin?

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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 in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.