Fantasy Football Usage Report for Week 8

With how brutal Week 7 was for injuries, we need some positivity in our lives.

It's possible we can get that via the Miami Dolphins.

It looks like Tua Tagovailoa is trending toward a return this week from his concussion. It's always a bit unnerving with Tagovailoa as you fear for his health, but it sounds like this is what he wants, and he objectively brings a jolt of lightning back to an offense that has been a cross-off the past month.

Thus, we'll spend part of today's usage report doing a reset on that offense and trying to determine how we should view it for Tagovailoa's return. Then we'll dive into other noteworthy usages at the skill positions heading into Week 8.

All snap-rate and average depth of target (aDOT) data is via Next-Gen Stats unless noted otherwise. A "deep" target here is a target more than 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

Fantasy Football Running Back Usage

As always, we'll begin things with our running-back usage chart, laying out the workloads fantasy backs have gotten in their respective most relevant samples.

Some players will have multiple samples listed due to uncertainty around the health of their teammates.

Within the chart, "Adjusted Opportunities" is carries plus two times the player's target total as targets are worth twice as much as a carry for running backs in half-PPR scoring. The "RZ Share" is the percentage of team carries or targets the player has received inside the red zone. The players are sorted by their FanDuel salary on the Week 8 DFS main slate. Players not on the main slate are at the bottom of the chart. The Jacksonville Jaguars were omitted because we don't know what the distribution will look like once Travis Etienne returns from his hamstring injury.

Key Takeaways

• In his one full game with Tagovailoa, De'Von Achane had 10 carries, 7 targets, and 100 yards from scrimmage. Granted, Raheem Mostert got banged up early in that game, but Achane's snap rate with Mostert last week (57.4%) was higher than his mark in Week 1 (53.8%). To me, that makes Achane the biggest "buy" across all of fantasy football right now.
• Bijan Robinson is still splitting work with Tyler Allgeier, but he now has 100-plus yards from scrimmage in 4 of 7 games, including 2 straight. He also had six of nine red-zone chances Sunday, so it seems like things have leveled off in a good way.
• Todd Bowles was true to his word, playing all three of Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, and Sean Tucker at least 19% of the snaps on Monday night. White and Irving both came through due to passing volume, but it's still a split backfield on a team where offensive efficiency is now likely to decline. White and Irving are fringe starters as things currently stand.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver and Tight End Usage

Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle

Before his concussion, Tagovailoa had just 62 attempts and 59 targeted throws, so we're dealing with small samples. But here's where those 59 targets went.

In 4 full games without Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle's target share has risen to 20.4%, so I do think he'll stabilize and be a contributor, as well. We can confidently start him in season-long and use him in DFS at $5,900. But this is massive for Tyreek Hill.

Hill had 130 yards in Week 1; he has just 164 in 5 games since. He's firmly back to being one of fantasy's top receivers, and it'll be hard to avoid him at $7,600 in DFS.

As for Jonnu Smith, he has remained involved with an 18.5% target share in games without Tagovailoa. He actually had yardage, too, pumping out 62 and 96 in the past two games, respectively. He's a great streaming option with the potential to become an every-week starter, and -- as with all the other Dolphins -- you'll want him on your radar at $5,200 in DFS.

Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison

The Minnesota Vikings could be getting T.J. Hockenson off of IR this week, which would make some of this moot. But I did want to at least dig in on them now that we've got a four-game sample on Jordan Addison this year.

Across those four games, here's where the targets have gone.

We haven't gotten a ton of blowup outings out of Justin Jefferson yet as he has topped 100 yards just once, and that came in a game that Addison missed. This shows, though, that the building blocks for an eruption are there, so don't let him slip at all in your mind.

Addison's deep volume is attractive, and he showed Sunday he can cash in on those long balls, as well. We'll have to monitor his usage once Hockenson is back, but overall, there's enough here for us to be excited.

The Packers' Pass-Catchers

Trying to chase volume with the Green Bay Packers can be a fool's errand with how much things change week to week. But we're up to a five-game sample with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs active (omitting when Watson left early in Week 4), so it's worth at least taking a look.

Things are starting to condense a bit.

It's worth noting that Dontayvion Wicks left Week 6 early, and if you lop off that game, his target share increases to 15.5%. But the true headliner here is Doubs.

Doubs has traditionally been more of a vertical, clear-out guy who could create space underneath for Jayden Reed. But Doubs is up to 1.8 yards per route run this year from 1.4 in 2023. His 10 targets in Week 7 were the third-most he has earned in his career.

I'd still lean toward Reed because the team gets him rushing attempts, showing they want the ball in his hands. But the gap is closing, and I'm much higher on Doubs now than I was entering the year.

Red-Zone Usage

Joe Mixon

Joe Mixon has played three full games this year.

In those, the Houston Texans' skill players have had 33 carries or targets in the red zone. Mixon has accounted for 20 of those (60.6%).

Hot damn.

As you can see in the chart above, 40% is very good for a running back, and 45% is elite. Mixon even tops Kyren Williams (56.9%), who has scored in 150 straight games.

We don't have a buy-low window on Mixon as he has five combined touchdowns in those three games. But it's worth reiterating that he ain't going nowhere, and we should be inclined to view his hot start as being legit.

Chase Brown

As discussed in our Week 7 fantasy football recap, Chase Brown has officially overtaken Zack Moss as the Cincinnati Bengals' lead back. That's especially true in the red zone.

Brown's snaps have been trending up the past four games. In that span, his overall snap rate is 47.4%. That goes up to 63.0% in the red zone, and his red-zone usage share in that sample is a respectable 36.0%.

Over the past two games -- where Brown has outsnapped Moss straight up -- Brown has played all seven of the team's red-zone snaps.

Brown has struggled to rack up yardage, and this makes sense given the Bengals' injuries along the offensive line. But he's playing snaps, getting volume, and an underrated threat to score. There's still time to get him on your rosters before people realize how much his stock has risen.

Breece Hall

Breece Hall's stock has gotten a kick in the pants the past couple of games as both his usage and productivity have spiked.

His red-zone workload is the one lingering blemish.

Even in just those two games, Hall has a 27.8% red-zone share. That's a smidge better than his full-season mark of 25.9%, but it's not what you expect out of a back of his caliber.

It's not as if he's losing work to Braelon Allen, though. Hall's red-zone snap rate is 75.0%, which you'll happily take. They're just choosing to air it out once they're in close.

As Sharp Football's Rich Hribar noted on Twitter, 11 of the New York Jets' 15 touchdowns have come through the air, a rate that should regress a bit going forward. It's just worth noting that Hall does still have one flaw in his profile in case you're trying to gauge his value going forward.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.