NFL Snap Counts Report For Week 5 Fantasy Football: Kyle Monangai Now The Lead Bears RB?

It somehow seems like backfields in the fantasy football landscape are getting even more gross.

Just what we need with the first slate of bye weeks on the horizon.

Like we do every Tuesday here at Fantasy Life, let’s take a look at some of the more intriguing snap counts from around the league, while decoding what it means for your fantasy football rosters.

Note: For an elite view at all things snaps, utilization and playing time, be sure to check out the Utilization Report.

Week 5 NFL Snap Count Report for Fantasy Football

It’s Getting Worse For David Montgomery

Week 1 feels like an entire year ago at this point.

David Montgomery got fantasy teams off to a scorching start in his Houston debut, scoring 3 touchdowns to open the year. Hopefully you sold high after the huge game because things continue to spiral for Montgomery.

Since his three-touchdown game in Week 1, Montgomery has combined for 31 touches for 115 scoreless yards. Houston continues to work Woody Marks into the rotation more and more. Montgomery outsnapped Marks 32-24 on Sunday, out-touching him 10-6. But for the second consecutive week, it was Marks, not Montgomery, who got the touchdown from inside the 10-yard line. He’s now handled more goal-to-go carries than Montgomery over the past three weeks, while it appears the Texans are moving toward a drive-by-drive rotation, the same situation Montgomery was in during his first few years in Detroit, except in a much worse offense now.

Marks has handled 100% of the inside-the-5 rush attempts since Week 2, and while you may think they just so happened to come when the Texans were in hurry-up mode late in the game, consider that Marks has only logged 31% of the two-minute drill snaps during that same span. With Montgomery accounting for just 52% of the carries in a bad rushing attack over the last three weeks, it’s safe to move him down to the FLEX range for the time being.

And Omarion Hampton

I had very little interest in drafting Omarion Hampton this summer, mainly because I thought he was being drafted over better players in better situations. Plus, I thought there was a chance we’d see a two-way backfield in Los Angeles.

It appears I sold Mike McDaniel short.

Because you see, two running backs isn’t enough. No, we now need three players getting significant snaps in the Chargers backfield. Hampton found the end zone on Sunday, but finished fourth in this backfield in snap rate (32%), trailing Keaton Mitchell, Kimani Vidal and fullback Alec Ingold. Hampton and Mitchell both handled 36% of the team’s rush attempts, while the former continues to do next to nothing in the passing game. Vidal, meanwhile, was on the field for 73% of the two-minute snaps, which will continue to cap an already-low receiving ceiling for Hampton. And because the Chargers are one of the worst teams in the league, Hampton losing two-minute work is especially concerning.

Since Week 2, Hampton has played less than 50% of the snaps, while his touches have fallen quite a bit each week (25, 15, 11). Between the dip in playing time and usage, injuries to the offensive line, struggling offense and brutal schedule, it is officially time to hit the panic button on Hampton.

The Chicago Bears Backfield

Chicago once again started D'Andre Swift on Sunday. He was busy early, seeing 6 carries on the opening drive. Of course, Kyle Monangai mixed in like usual, but everything changed when Swift lost a fumble early in the third quarter. After putting the ball on the ground, Swift did not see a single carry for the rest of the game. Monangai, meanwhile, carried the ball 30 times for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Not only did Swift not see a carry the rest of the game, but he didn’t even play a snap. There were some questions whether Swift, who was slow to get up following the fumble, may have aggravated his knee, but HC Ben Johnson said his lack of playing time had nothing to do with it.

On the day, Monangai ended up playing 54% of the snaps to Swift’s 36%. We see backfields ride the hot hand in a given week all the time, especially when the colder hand puts the ball on the ground. Monangai is obviously going to be involved, especially on a team that runs the ball as much as the Bears. It felt like the plan was to just dominate the game with the ground attack on Sunday, as Swift played 29 snaps to Monangai’s 20 during the first half. And while Swift’s benching on Sunday likely doesn’t carry over into Week 5, Monangai’s stellar play could lead to an even tighter rotation between the two, which would make Swift a less-appealing RB2 and Monangai a more-appealing FLEX play. It’s also worth pointing out that Swift had two goal-line carries ultimately stuffed, while Monangai got the job done. Keep in mind, Monangai was reported to be nursing a thumb injury.

The Saints Backfield Without Travis Etienne

It wasn’t pretty, but Alvin Kamara got you two rushing touchdowns and 22.8 PPR points on Monday. He unsurprisingly drew the start with Travis Etienne out with a hamstring injury, out-touching Kendre Miller 12-8. Kamara logged 41% of the snaps, though it is important to remember he left the game for a little bit in the third quarter. We also saw CJ Donaldson once again handle plenty of long down and distance and two-minute drill snaps, though he mostly played on the final drive of the game in a blowout.

We shouldn’t expect the Saints to give 31-year-old Kamara 18-20 touches per game in Etienne’s absence, especially since they didn’t even give the running back they handed a four-year, $52 million contract that workload. But with the Saints seemingly chasing points every week, that should give Kamara, who caught five passes on Monday, a solid weekly PPR floor until Etienne returns.