Fantasy Football Usage Report: Key metrics and trends about the utilization of NFL players for use in Week 17

When making adjustments to how we perceive players in fantasy, it's important to consider how a player is utilized within their offense. Opportunity is what drives fantasy production after all; talent can only carry a player so far.

No matter how gifted we believe a player is, if they're playing a secondary role in the offense, they will have a hard time producing fantasy points. It sounds simple, but the players who are on the field and see more touches are set up best to contribute to your fantasy team. Monitoring usage trends will keep you informed on which players are (or will be) in the best position to accumulate fantasy points.

For most NFL fans and fantasy players, reviewing the data on player usage is far too difficult and time-consuming. But there's no need to look any further. We've got you covered with the Sporting News Usage Report, where we'll take you through some of the most significant trends regarding player usage and discuss how it will impact players' fantasy values.

WEEK 17 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kickers

Fantasy Football Week 16 Usage Report: Biggest running back utilization trends

Breece Hall, New York Jets

The possibility of the Jets shutting down Breece Hall has been a legitimate concern in recent weeks. Well, any worries all but vanished last week as Hall returned to his typical bell cow role, playing nearly 80% of snaps against the Rams. A 14% target share was also very encouraging as Hall's receiving work was limited in his two previous games.

If the Jets are utilizing Hall in this fashion in Week 16, it's hard to see them dramatically cutting his workload in Week 17. Hall is among the most talented receiving backs in the NFL and he has the explosive playmaking ability to rack up fantasy points in droves. Now that he's back to his usual workload, he's a locked-in starter in championship matchups.

Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns

With Nick Chubb suffering yet another season-ending injury, the Browns turned to Jerome Ford to serve as their lead back last week against the Bengals. Ford played a shade under 80% of the snaps while handling the bulk of the backfield touches. After D'Onta Foreman fumbled at the one-yard line last week, it wouldn't be shocking to Ford fully take over the goal line role in the final weeks of the season.

Even with Ford as the featured back in this offense, it's hard to get particularly excited about his outlook this week. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is going to struggle to sustain drives and scoring opportunities will be few and far between. Ford's success last week was propped up by a matchup with an atrocious Cincinnati defense. Ford is a low-end RB2 in a matchup with a more talented Miami defensive unit.

MORE FANTASY: WEEK 17 WAIVER WIRE & FAAB RECOMMENDATIONS

Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans

For the second straight week, we've seen the Tennessee backfield move in favor of Tyjae Spears. Tony Pollard's ankle injury could have something to do with this, but the change is quite notable after this had been a 65-35 split in favor of Pollard for several weeks. Spears taking over the goal line role has also been a key piece of his recent fantasy success.

With this backfield operating as a full-blown committee, it's hard for either back to return value on a weekly basis given the overall quality of this offense. To deliver meaningful fantasy production in any given week, one of these backs will have to either be highly efficient or find the end zone. At the end of the day, you're really playing the touchdown lottery if you're starting either of these back and playing that game with pieces of the Tennessee offense can leave you looking like a fool. 

Ameer Abdullah and Alexander Mattison, Las Vegas Raiders

The current rendition of the Las Vegas backfield is quite similar to what we've been seeing in Tennessee. With Zamir White and Sincere McCormick on IR, Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah essentially rotated drives last week which resulted in a 57-43 split between the two backs. As the larger back, Mattison does have an edge in goal-to-go situations which provides him with slightly more upside than Abdullah.

Much like the situation in Tennessee, it's typically not a great idea to chase fantasy production from a committee backfield in an offense like the Raiders. However, Las Vegas gets the Jaguars this week, one of the worst defenses in the NFL and the second-best matchup for running backs in fantasy. If Abdullah can haul in a few receptions and Mattison can punch in a short touchdown, both could finish as top-24 backs this week.

Fantasy Football Week 16 Usage Report: Biggest wide receiver and tight end utilization trends

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

When writing a column about player utilization, it's hard to avoid writing about Puka Nacua every single time. He's able to draw targets at an impressively high rate without wavering week to week. Nacua joined the 40-40 club (40% target share and 40% air yards share) for the second time in three weeks, making him one of two players (CeeDee Lamb) to achieve this feat twice this season.

As the weeks move on, it's hard to deny that Nacua is further building the gap between Cooper Kupp and himself. Nacua firmly leads the league in target rate and he has the talent to be highly productive with those targets. As long as he's attached to Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay, Nacua will be a consistent WR1 in fantasy.

Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

Regardless of what narratives you choose to buy into, the Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers takeover is in full effect and it has heavily impacted Garrett Wilson. He accounted for just 17% of the targets in this game and four of his six receptions came on the Jets' final drive. Wilson has not surpassed a 28% target share since Week 9 and has taken a clear back seat to Adams in the New York passing attack.

It's hard to say if Wilson's lack of usage is driven by Rodgers, the coaching staff, or simply just poor play from Wilson, but his current role is concerning. At the end of the day, Wilson is rightfully regarded as a high-end talent at wide receiver and belongs in most fantasy lineups. However, managers should temper expectations in the final week of the fantasy season.

Hollywood Brown, Kansas City Chiefs

Unsurprisingly, Hollywood Brown was quite limited in his first game back since injuring his shoulder in the preseason. He ran a route on just a third of Patrick Mahomes' dropbacks last week against the Texans. He may have held a limited role, but Brown showed that he can earn targets with ease alongside the Chiefs' other receivers, drawing a target on 53% of his routes.

While it's encouraging to see Brown back in action and looking good in his limited playing time, his return has come too late for fantasy managers. He'll likely play a part-time role once again this week and it's incredibly difficult for a player to produce in fantasy while running less than 50% of the routes. If your league carries over into Week 18, consider stashing Brown while monitoring his usage this week.

Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans

Titans tight end Chigoziem "Chig" Okonkwo is on a heater over the last two weeks. He's now led the team in targets in back-to-back games, eclipsing a 26% target share in both contests. Okonkwo has racked up 21 raw targets in these games, amounting to 19 receptions and 33.0 fantasy points. This two-game stretch has been the best stint of his career fantasy-wise.

It appears that Okonkwo has settled in as Mason Rudolph's preferred check-down option. Now Rudolph isn't going to be leading many touchdown drives, so Okonkwo isn't going to get there by finding the end zone, but eight targets can certainly allow him to push for a TE1 finish this week. With the back of the TE1 ranks already looking a little hairy, Okonkwo's recent success and target totals make him an appealing option in Week 17.