All season long, I’ll be looking back at the week to see how we can best leverage what took place on the field at the running back position to our advantage. This weekly article will hone in on weekly snap shares and highlight a few players who could benefit from their team putting them on the field more in the coming weeks.
Week 14 was a Zero RB truther’s dream come true, as several backup running backs turned in productive outings leading up to the fantasy playoffs starting in Week 15. Among these players was Ezekiel Elliott, who dashed all fantasy expectations in last week’s outing against the Steelers when he (sort of) turned back the clock to finish as the No. 1 running back in all of fantasy.
More on that in a moment.
In addition to Elliott, a handful of other backups saw large enough workloads to insert themselves into the conversation heading into next week’s opening round of the fantasy playoffs.
I highlight a few of them in this week’s Snap Report.
As always, below are some players whose performances and situations stood out this past week, and at the end of the article is a table of every player to see 20 percent or more of their team’s snaps in Week 14.
NOTE: Snaps and route data courtesy of FantasyPoints.com and PFF.com.
Ezekiel Elliott (NE)
An overall RB1 finish for Ezekiel Elliott wasn’t on my Week 14 fantasy BINGO card. Take one look back at my Week 13 Snap Report, and you’ll see I had relatively low expectations for the veteran running back despite his impending workload.
As far as his efforts on the ground go, things went as expected. Elliott rushed 22 times for 68 scoreless yards. His 3.1 YPC was on par with what we’ve come to expect from him on the ground, but the elite PPR scam he pulled off in last week’s contest caught everybody by surprise.
Elliott stepped in to lead the Patriots with eight targets and seven receptions, both topping Rhamondre Stevenson’s highs in any game this season. The work Elliott saw through the air accounted for 74.8 percent of his fantasy points, and his 90.9 percent snap share was second only to Kyren Williams.
It was an impressive workload for Elliott, as the Patriots fully leaned into the veteran back. In 12 games this season, Stevenson never saw more than a 78 percent snap share. Elliott’s Week 14 outing marked just the sixth time since 2022 that a Patriots running back played on 80 percent or more of the snaps.
It was announced last week that Stevenson would miss several weeks with a high-ankle sprain. The absurdly high usage we saw from Elliott last week puts him on the fantasy radar as a potential league-winner in PPR leagues.
It won’t be easy to trust Elliott as far as the running game goes, but another high-end pass-catching day could again be on tap for the Chiefs in Week 15. The Chiefs currently sit as 9.5-point road favorites on BetMGM, meaning the Patriots should be point-chasing for much of the afternoon — although you probably don’t need me to tell you that.
Kansas City has allowed the ninth-most fantasy points per game to running backs over the last five weeks (23.4) and the 14th-most receptions per game (4.6). What we saw from Zeke is hard to ignore. He feels like a near must-start in the opening week of the fantasy playoffs. I take no pleasure in acknowledging this.
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Clyde Edwards-Helaire (KC)
We could go in any direction with this Chiefs backfield. Isiah Pacheco (shoulder) missed Week 14’s contest against the Bills and could miss more than one week, according to head coach Andy Reid — although he’s not expected to go on injured reserve.
Jerick McKinnon’s 12.7 fantasy points in last week’s game out-paced Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s 8.8 fantasy points, but CEH still managed 15 opportunities to McKinnon’s seven. Heading into the week, I assumed McKinnon would earn the majority of targets in the Chiefs’ backfield, but both backs emerged from Week 14 with four targets apiece. However, it’s worth noting McKinnon out-snapped CEH 24-19 on passing downs.
As a talent, I prefer McKinnon over CEH, but a mere seven opportunities in a game that remained competitive throughout makes him tough to trust in Week 15 against a lowly Patriots team. Of the 18 routes McKinnon ran in Sunday’s loss, 16 came in situations where the Chiefs were trailing. CEH, despite his lack of efficiency on the ground, looks like the safer play this week, while McKinnon is more of a PPR dart throw who would likely need five or more receptions to pay off for managers.
Keaton Mitchell (BAL)
I’ve spent enough time waxing poetic about Keaton Mitchell this season that it would only be fitting to briefly touch on why I won’t be counting on him in the fantasy playoffs until things improve.
Coming off a bye week, the Ravens had a chance to prove to everyone that they were ready to commit to Keaton Mitchell in more of a lead role down the stretch. Since his Week 9 breakout, Mitchell has far and away looked like the best back on Baltimore’s roster and has slowly forced Gus Edwards into irrelevance.
He’s led the backfield in rush attempts each of the last two weeks but has also failed to top 11 opportunities in any game this season. Mitchell is explosive and efficient, averaging an unprecedented 8.9 yards per touch. But until the Ravens lean into him at a higher rate, I refuse to bet on an explosive play carrying my team to the next round of the fantasy playoffs. His 9.2 opportunities per game since Week 9 ranks 51st amongst all running backs. Oddly enough, that’s tied with Gus Edwards, although Edwards has been trending down in recent weeks.
I love everything Mitchell has shown this season, but I can’t count on him in these pivotal weeks until the Ravens love him as much as I do.
Ty Chandler (MIN)
Alexander Mattison suffered a sprained ankle in the Vikings’ Week 14 win over the Raiders. With the team now scheduled to face the Bengals on Saturday, a semi-short week for Mattison could lead to him missing Week 15’s contest, paving the way for fantasy football darling Ty Chandler.
Chandler stepped up in place of Mattison last week to play on 56.3 percent of the snaps while earning a 24 percent opportunity share. Like the entire Vikings offense in Week 14, Chandler struggled to produce anything meaningful in fantasy. His 7.2 points resulted in an RB39 finish, as he managed just 35 yards on the ground on 12 carries. His three targets were encouraging, but it’s fair to say his seven receiving yards left much to be desired.
If Chandler gets the nod as the Vikings’ RB1 this weekend, he faces a far more favorable matchup against a Bengals defense that’s allowed 22.0 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs over the last five weeks — the 12th-most of any team in the league.
Additionally, the Bengals’ run defense has allowed the second-most yards before contact per attempt (2.12) over the last five weeks and the 10th-highest missed tackles forced rate (18 percent) on rush attempts.
Chase Brown (CIN)
In Week 13’s contest against the Jaguars, Chase Brown totaled nine carries for 61 yards. It was his busiest day as a pro and immediately cemented him as the team’s RB2 behind Joe Mixon. I mentioned Brown’s Week 13 performance in my expected points article last week, but I wanted to touch on him in this week’s snap report.
Despite the nine touches he saw in Week 13, Brown received only a 15.3 percent snap share. That number nearly doubled in Week 14, as he jumped to a 29.8 percent snap share while earning a season-high 11 opportunities. An impressive 54-yard touchdown on a check-down pass from Jake Browning helped put Brown over 100 yards from scrimmage on the day and likely earned him an increased role over the season’s final four weeks.
In three starts with Browning, the Bengals have taken a noticeable step back in their aggressiveness. Below is their early down pass rate and pass rate over expected with Browning and QB1 Joe Burrow.
| Joe Burrow (Weeks 1-11) | Jake Browning (Weeks 12-14) | |
| Early Down Pass Rate | 67.0% | 59.3% |
| Pass Rate Over Expected | 7.0% | 0.0% |
The Bengals’ pass rate has dropped from 65 percent to 60 percent in neutral game scripts. While Brown’s play has been enough to earn him more opportunities, the decline in pass rates has also created a need for running backs in the ground game — especially when you consider Joe Mixon’s lack of efficiency.
For all the fantasy production Mixon has provided over the years, he’s often lacked efficiency. This season, he currently sits as the RB12 in fantasy points per game (15.3) but ranks 123rd among 134 running backs in fantasy points over expected (-15.3 FPOE). Over the last five seasons, Mixon has ranked outside the top 120 in FPOE in four of those years. Over the last two seasons, Mixon’s missed tackles forced rate sits at 11.1 percent, well below the 14.3 percent MTF Rate he saw over his first five seasons.
Brown’s implementation into the offense brings a level of explosiveness that Cincinnati’s backfield has lacked in recent years. On his 54-yard touchdown last week, Brown hit a top speed of 22.05 MPH. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, it was the second-fastest play of any ball carrier on the season. Brown will be hard to trust until we can comfortably rely on double-digit touches on a week-to-week basis, but he’s flashed league-winning upside if Mixon were to miss any time down the stretch.
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Week 14 Snap Shares
| Name | Team | Snaps | TM Snaps | Snap % |
| Kyren Williams | LA | 67 | 73 | 91.8% |
| Ezekiel Elliott | NE | 50 | 55 | 90.9% |
| Saquon Barkley | NYG | 50 | 55 | 90.9% |
| Christian McCaffrey | SF | 47 | 53 | 88.7% |
| Rachaad White | TB | 56 | 67 | 83.6% |
| Zack Moss | IND | 50 | 60 | 83.3% |
| Travis Etienne | JAX | 57 | 74 | 77.0% |
| Bijan Robinson | ATL | 53 | 69 | 76.8% |
| Chuba Hubbard | CAR | 60 | 79 | 75.9% |
| Austin Ekeler | LAC | 48 | 67 | 71.6% |
| Tony Pollard | DAL | 52 | 74 | 70.3% |
| Tyjae Spears | TEN | 46 | 68 | 67.6% |
| Raheem Mostert | MIA | 45 | 69 | 65.2% |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | DET | 40 | 63 | 63.5% |
| Joe Mixon | CIN | 36 | 57 | 63.2% |
| Josh Jacobs | LV | 33 | 53 | 62.3% |
| Breece Hall | NYJ | 40 | 66 | 60.6% |
| Najee Harris | PIT | 39 | 66 | 59.1% |
| Javonte Williams | DEN | 39 | 66 | 59.1% |
| Kenneth Walker | SEA | 32 | 55 | 58.2% |
| Jerome Ford | CLV | 42 | 74 | 56.8% |
| Ty Chandler | MIN | 40 | 71 | 56.3% |
| D’Onta Foreman | CHI | 37 | 66 | 56.1% |
| Devin Singletary | HST | 29 | 52 | 55.8% |
| A.J. Dillon | GB | 36 | 66 | 54.5% |
| Alvin Kamara | NO | 28 | 52 | 53.8% |
| Jaylen Warren | PIT | 34 | 66 | 51.5% |
| D’Andre Swift | PHI | 26 | 52 | 50.0% |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC | 30 | 62 | 48.4% |
| Derrick Henry | TEN | 32 | 68 | 47.1% |
| Patrick Taylor | GB | 30 | 66 | 45.5% |
| James Cook | BUF | 33 | 73 | 45.2% |
| Jerick McKinnon | KC | 28 | 62 | 45.2% |
| Devon Achane | MIA | 31 | 69 | 44.9% |
| Kenneth Gainwell | PHI | 23 | 52 | 44.2% |
| Jamaal Williams | NO | 23 | 52 | 44.2% |
| Justice Hill | BLT | 30 | 71 | 42.3% |
| Zach Charbonnet | SEA | 22 | 55 | 40.0% |
| Kareem Hunt | CLV | 27 | 74 | 36.5% |
| David Montgomery | DET | 22 | 63 | 34.9% |
| Keaton Mitchell | BLT | 24 | 71 | 33.8% |
| Latavius Murray | BUF | 23 | 73 | 31.5% |
| Alexander Mattison | MIN | 22 | 71 | 31.0% |
| Chase Brown | CIN | 17 | 57 | 29.8% |
| Rico Dowdle | DAL | 22 | 74 | 29.7% |
| Dare Ogunbowale | HST | 15 | 52 | 28.8% |
| Ameer Abdullah | LV | 15 | 53 | 28.3% |
| D’Ernest Johnson | JAX | 20 | 74 | 27.0% |
| Gus Edwards | BLT | 19 | 71 | 26.8% |
| Roschon Johnson | CHI | 17 | 66 | 25.8% |
| Dalvin Cook | NYJ | 16 | 66 | 24.2% |
| Tyler Allgeier | ATL | 15 | 69 | 21.7% |
| Miles Sanders | CAR | 17 | 79 | 21.5% |
| Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN | 14 | 66 | 21.2% |
| Samaje Perine | DEN | 14 | 66 | 21.2% |
| Ty Johnson | BUF | 15 | 73 | 20.5% |
