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Top 10 Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 3 Usage

1. Mark Andrews … WTF?

Andrews posted a big, fat goose egg in the Week 3 win over the Cowboys.

But the news gets much worse.

Andrews ran six pass routes. SIX!

Five Ravens ran more:

• WR Zay Flowers
• WR Rashod Bateman
• RB Justice Hill
• TE Isaiah Likely
• WR Nelson Agholor

HC John Harbaugh said after the game that Andrews' playing time was a result of the team using “big personnel” groupings as part of their run-heavy approach.

"It's probably going to be a part of the game plan each week – and a lot of it is how the game goes, too," Harbaugh said. "But Mark did what he was asked to do in the game – it just turned out that way."

That shouldn't make Andrews owners feel any better. He'll have games with more routes going forward. But the fact that this is his floor knocks him out of must-start territory. Disappointing for a guy who was drafted as a top-5 TE.

2. J.K. Dobbins Extends Backfield Lead

Dobbins had his worst fantasy outing of the season in the Week 3 loss to the Steelers. But it was his most encouraging outing from a usage perspective.

Dobbins registered season highs in both snap rate and carry share. He out-snapped RB Gus Edwards 30 to 16 and out-carried him 15 to three.

Dobbins also continued to control passing-down work and posted a season-high 15% target share.

If he can hold on to this level of usage, Dobbins will be a weekly RB2 with RB1 upside.

3. Jonathan Taylor Plays Passing Downs Again

I wrote last week about Taylor getting pulled in fourth-quarter comeback mode for RB Trey Sermon. There was no such problem in Week 3. Taylor's 91% route rate was a career high.

It's certainly worth noting that the Colts played with the lead for most of this one. We'll need to see what Taylor's route participation looks like the next time he faces negative game script.

But I'm betting HC Shane Steichen has wised up and will continue playing Taylor on most passing downs. He turned his only catch vs. the Bears into a big 25-yard gain.

With this type of usage, Taylor is a locked-in top-6 RB going forward.

4. Dolphins WRs Are In Trouble

Nothing good came out of the Dolphins' first game without QB Tua Tagovailoa. They scored three points. Hill finished with 40 scoreless yards. Waddle mustered just 26.

And their usage wasn't even strong.

I'd expect both guys to see more targets going forward. But the average target depths are concerning. For perspective, Hill had an 11.3-yard aDOT last year, while Waddle was at 10.4.

There was very little intermediate or deep passing from Miami in the Week 3 loss in Seattle. That allowed to Seahawks to play closer to the line of scrimmage and take away the run-after-catch opportunities that Hill and Waddle usually feast on.

We'll see who's under center for the Dolphins in Week 4, but I don't expect the QB play to be much better.

Hill looks like a WR2 right now, while Waddle is just barely hanging on to WR3 status. Both guys will need to bust long plays to pay off.

5. Carson Steele Leads Chiefs Backfield

This backfield went pretty much how we projected: Steele handling early downs and Perine playing in obvious passing situations.

Per Pro Football Focus, 33 of Steele's 46 snaps came on early downs. Perine out-snapped Steele four to one on third down and played all six snaps in the two-minute drill.

Most encouraging for Steele is that he played two of the three goal-line snaps and 10 of the 13 short-yardage snaps.

If this usage sticks, Steele will have a shot at RB2 value -- particularly in half-PPR and non-PPR leagues.

I'm just not confident that it will. Perine is still settling into the offense, Kareem Hunt was just elevated to the active roster, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire is eligible to return in Week 5. That's a lot of bullets for Steele to dodge.

If you can get top-25ish RB value for Steele in a trade, I'd pull the trigger.

6. Bucky Irving’s Ascent Continues

For the first time this season, Irving out-carried RB Rachaad White nine to six in Week 3. The rookie was again the more effective back, ripping off 70 rushing yards to White's 17.

Through three games, Irving leads White in:

• Yards per carry (6.2 to 2.1)
• Yards after contact per attempt (4.0 to 2.2)
• Missed tackles forced per attempt (0.28 to 0.13)
• Rush yards over expected per attempt (-0.09 to -1.49)
• Pro Football Focus rushing grade (68.4 to 52.6)

While Irving's snap rate hasn't climbed yet, he's getting the ball more often when he's out there. And HC Todd Bowles said Monday that Irving "has definitely earned more reps."

Irving already looks like a low-end RB3, with the upside to climb higher if his carry share continues to grow.

7. D’Andre Swift Loses Work

These were season lows for Swift in snap rate, carry share, and route rate. Johnson stole significant work in the passing game, playing 67% of the third-down snaps and 77% of the two-minute snaps. Swift had previously controlled that work. He also lost goal-line snaps to both Johnson and Herbert vs. the Colts.

Swift has been the worst runner in the league through three weeks, averaging 1.8 yards per carry and ranking dead last among 50 qualifying RBs in NFL Next Gen Stats' rush yards over expected per attempt. And now he's rightfully losing work.

Most of Johnson's work came in passing situations. He only played four early-down snaps. But he averaged 3.8 yards per carry on his eight carries -- which looks Hall-of-Fame worthy compared to Swift's production.

Johnson is worth a roster spot in fantasy leagues of 12+ teams in case his role grows further. Even Herbert might be worth stashing in case the Bears give him a crack at early-down duties.

As for Swift, it's probably too late to sell. But he should be parked on fantasy benches if at all possible.

8. Cole Kmet Comes Alive

Kmet played behind TE Gerald Everett throughout the preseason and in Week 1. But he jumped Everett in routes in Week 2 and widened that gap in Week 3 (73% to 30%).

Kmet capitalized on the playing-time boost with a big 10-97-1 line on 11 targets. 

He certainly benefitted from:

1. Keenan Allen's absence
2. 52 Caleb Williams pass attempts

But if Kmet can maintain a route rate in the 70s, he'll be in the low-end TE1 mix. He ranks 10th among 83 TEs in Pro Football Focus receiving grade through three weeks -- after ranking seventh out of 45 last year.

9. RIP Zamir White

Week 3 was the spot for White. His Raiders were significant home favorites against a Carolina run defense that looked like the worst in the league through two weeks.

White responded with 34 scoreless yards.

Game-script wound up working against him -- but that remains a primary concern for White, who has seen very little passing-game usage in two of three games.

He's also been inefficient as a runner, averaging just 3.2 yards per carry (including 3.4 against that bad Panthers run defense). Plus, he's losing goal-line work to RB Alexander Mattison, who's out-carried White two to 0 inside the five-yard line.

There's nothing to like about White's usage profile right now. He belongs planted on fantasy benches until further notice – and he’s droppable in shallow leagues.

10. Broncos Backfield Gets Even Grosser

HC Sean Payton just can't help himself. The guy loves three-man committee backfields.

And we can't blame him considering how ineffective Williams and McLaughlin have been.

It's certainly worth noting that seven of Badie's nine carries came on the final two possessions of a 26-7 Broncos win. But he also gave the Broncos their most effective running of the season, averaging 7.8 yards per carry. So it wouldn't be surprising if he mixes in earlier in Week 4.

Badie is worth a wait-and-see stash in deep fantasy leagues, although I'm not very optimistic about this Denver ground game getting going.

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.