


NBA
We learn new information every week as the ever-changing Fantasy landscape at the running back position reshapes itself. There are many specific usage stats that affect a running back's Fantasy projection, and outside of a few players, we see those underlying backfield usage metrics fluctuate throughout the course of a season. And the first two weeks of the season present us with a flood of new data to make sense of.
Each week, SportsLine's Fantasy expert Jacob Gibbs will examine all of this new information and provide a data-driven deep-dive into Sunday's games to offer a better understanding of what we learned and how it will impact the Fantasy outlook of specific teams and players.
Here, we'll look at the leaderboards in several key metrics around running back usage, then share our look as whose stock is falling after this weekend's action. That includes Jets rookie Breece Hall, whose "debut was a mixed bag and was followed by an even worse game from a usage standpoint," according to Gibbs.
If you have questions about any stats, players, or situations covered or not covered in this article, feel free to reach out to Gibbs on Twitter.
Snap rate
86% - Dalvin Cook in the first half of Monday's blowout loss
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 20, 2022
63% - Derrick Henry in the first half of Monday's blowout loss
No stat correlates more closely with Fantasy scoring at the RB position than snap rate.
Route involvement rate
81% - Dalvin Cook in the first half of Monday's blowout loss 👀
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 20, 2022
36% - Derrick Henry in the first half of Monday's blowout loss. Those hoping for a bigger receiving role with Hilliard out were disappointed. Rookie Hassan Haskins had a 50% route involvement rate in the first half.
A player's route involvement rate simply represents the percentage of the team's total dropbacks on which that player ran a route. So, the running backs listed above ran a route on at least half of their team's dropbacks. Running routes is the first step towards drawing targets, which is key to unlocking Fantasy upside at the RB position.
Red zone usage
RBs who were on the field for 100% of their team's red zone snaps in Week 2:
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 20, 2022
Jonathan Taylor, David Montgomery, Christian McCaffrey, Jerick McKinnon
Other notable rates:
88% - James Robinson
86% - Darrel Williams, Saquon Barkley, Javonte Williams
80% - Cordarrelle Patterson
Week 2 red zone touch count:
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 20, 2022
6 - Nick Chubb
4 - Austin Ekeler, Antonio Gibson, David Montgomery, Jeff Wilson
3 - Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson, Jerick McKinnon, James Robinson, Jamaal Williams, Dameon Pierce, Leonard Fournette, Cordarrell Patterson
Let's dig deeper into the full data on Week 2 usage rates.
Which star seems to be falling off? And what do you need to know about how running backs were used in the passing game this past week? ... Join SportsLine here to see Jacob Gibbs' Running Back Usage Report, all from one of the nation's most accurate experts as graded by FantasyPros!