Week 7 NFL Snap Count Report For Fantasy Football: Roschon Johnson Has A Solid Role

Most backfields will change on a weekly basis around the NFL.

Unless you’re the Lions, Falcons, Colts, 49ers or Chiefs, odds are, a second (or sometimes third) running back is going to mix in for some work. And with injuries also playing a role, it’s important to highlight what the playing time and usage in certain backfields looks like each week.

So let’s do just that.

NFL Snap Count Report for Week 7

Roschon Johnson Carves Out A Role In Chicago

With Kyle Monangai sidelined with a toe injury, the Bears continue to lean on two running backs. Of course, D'Andre Swift is the clear starter, but because last week’s game against Green Bay was such a blowout, it was difficult to really take anything away from the Bears’ running back snap counts. Roschon Johnson handled most of the second-half snaps and touches, including the final drive’s garbage-time checkdowns.

But his Week 6 usage was much more telling.

Against the Falcons on Sunday, Johnson logged 40% of the offensive snaps and 42% of the rush attempts. He touched the ball 15 times for 85 yards and a touchdown, not too far behind Swift’s 20 touches. The volume for both running backs (especially Johnson) was certainly propelled by Chicago jumping out to a 31-7 lead, but Johnson did see the final five running back attempts on the game-sealing drive after Atlanta fought back to make it a one-score game.

We haven’t seen a truly normal game script for the Bears over the last two weeks, but it’s possible that Johnson is simply in the Monangai role for the time being, which offers FLEX appeal, especially when teams are on bye. And with Chicago playing on Thursday this week, it’s very likely that Monangai misses one more game. Over the past two weeks, Johnson is averaging 12.5 touches per game. With the likes of James Cook, Bhayshul Tuten and I suppose Omarion Hampton on bye, Johnson is worth a look off waivers ahead of Week 7.

The Houston Texans Backfield Without David Montgomery

Woody Marks is no stranger to increased workloads.

As a rookie last year, Marks took over as Houston’s starting running back about halfway through the season. And following Montgomery’s groin injury last week, Marks was set to assume that role again.

Marks drew the start in London on Sunday, operating as the clear workhorse. He played the first three drives before Jawhar Jordan even stepped onto the field. On the day, Marks ended up playing 77% of the snaps while handling 61% of the total rush attempts and 17-of-24 running back touches. I wasn’t shocked to see Marks do so little with his volume, as the Jaguars sport the top run defense in all of football. But Jordan did look better on his seven touches, which included a nice 25-yard touchdown run. In 10 career games with at least 15 touches, Marks is averaging 12.7 PPR PPG, which is underwhelming, but more than fine as a fill-in option for your fantasy team.

If Montgomery remains sidelined for Week 7, Marks will find more running room as Houston’s RB1. The Texans get a vulnerable Giants defense allowing 2.02 yards before contact per attempt this season, the fourth-highest mark in the NFL.

Love’s Hurt

Good on the Cardinals by letting Jeremiyah Love sit out and let his ankle fully heal. With the rookie sidelined on Sunday, we thought Arizona would turn the keys to the backfield over to Tyler Allgeier. And while it started that way, Zonovan Knight earned a lot of work, eventually forcing a near 50/50 split.

Allgeier out-snapped Knight, 39-31, and out-touching him, 19-17. But Knight was far more effective, rushing for 80 yards on his 15 carries, compared to 38 yards on 18 carries for Allgeier. The two essentially split third-down work with Allgeier taking all over the two-minute drill work. It is worth pointing out that Knight briefly left the game in the fourth quarter, which led to Allgeier out-snapping him, 12-7, in the final frame.

If Love can’t play in Week 7, we would likely see a 60-40/55-45 split between Allgeier and Knight, with the former likely getting the first crack at goal-line and two-minute work. However, a matchup with the Denver Broncos isn’t exactly one to attack.

Is Ashton Jeanty 100% Healthy?

Early last week, reports surfaced that the Raiders were considering sitting Ashton Jeanty down for a game to let him get back to full strength. But Raiders HC Klint Kubiak shut down those rumors, stating that Jeanty was feeling a lot better and would play against the Bills.

Jeanty played, but I still question how healthy he is.

Jeanty carried the ball just 10 times for 22 yards on Sunday, though he did score his first rushing touchdown of the year. He once again salvaged his day with strong receiving production (4-36), but despite the 15.8 PPR points, this was actually a pretty concerning game from Jeanty. For starters, he logged only 57% of the snaps and 47% of the rush attempts, well below his season marks of 69% and 67%, respectively. The Raiders continued to mix in Mike Washington, who has simply looked better than Jeanty between the tackles all year long. The rookie set season highs in snap (33%) and rush share (47%), carrying the ball nine times for 43 yards.

It got to a point where the Raiders actually started to turn to Washington more in the second half, giving him six second half touches to Jeanty’s two.

Again, it’s not a secret who has been the better running back through six weeks.

Jeanty: 3.2 YPC, 0.56 YBC/ATT, 5 explosive runs

Washington: 4.9 YPC, 1.56 YBC/ATT, 5 explosive runs

What’s stabilizing Jeanty’s place among the high-end RB2 options is his consistent pass-game usage. Jeanty’s 17% target share ranks fourth among all running backs, while only Kyren Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs are averaging more targets per game (5.8). The Raiders’ offensive line, especially in the run-blocking department, hasn’t improved like we had hoped, while Jeanty cannot be fully healthy. But it’s also fair to wonder if he’s just not the legendary prospect that we projected him to be.