Week 9 NFL Snap Count Report For Fantasy Football: Mike Washington Takeover For The Raiders

More rookie running backs are making noise.

This is the time of year where rookies start to establish themselves, which means backfields around the NFL can start to shift. Let’s take a look at what stood out from around the league in Week 8 and how we can apply it to Week 9 and beyond.

NFL Snap Count Report for Week 9

The Las Vegas Backfield

In a somewhat surprising development, the Raiders turned to rookie Mike Washington as the clear lead running back, giving him 25 carries to Ashton Jeanty’s 2. Washington has been the more explosive and efficient player on the ground all year long, warranting more carries, but it was still shocking to see this massive shift actually happen. Jeanty, whose fantasy value has been salvaged by his work through the air, remained the pass-catching option, hauling in 3 passes for 64 yards, but his playing time drastically plummeted.

On the day, Jeanty ended up logging just 22 snaps to Washington’s 38. After the game, HC Klint Kubiak stated that the change in RB usage was his call and that it had nothing to do with Jeanty’s comments during the week. Kubiak has been a difficult coach to fully trust this year, but he also mentioned that the Raiders wanted to give Washington more opportunities, and that both he and Jeanty would both be huge parts of their success going forward.

Going forward, the Raiders backfield usage obviously won’t look like it did today. But considering Washington has been better between the tackles and Jeanty has been stellar through the air, I don’t think it’s out of the question that Washington gets the edge on early downs. It’s entirely possible that this backfield starts to resemble Pittsburgh’s or Minnesota’s the rest of the way. That would vault Washington into weekly FLEX consideration, though you’d certainly prefer him in games the Raiders are either leading or at least competitive.

The Jonah Coleman Takeover Is Here … For Now

Much of the fantasy community has been preparing for the day Jonah Coleman finally takes command of the Denver Broncos backfield. There have been flashes during his rookie year, but an IR stint derailed the breakout. Coleman is healthy now. And he’s ready to take over this backfield.

Sunday started with J.K. Dobbins handling the first 5 carries of the game, while Coleman took most of the passing work. It appeared we were in store for Dobbins playing his usual role and Coleman taking the role of the injured RJ Harvey.

But everything changed to end the first half.

Late in the second quarter, Coleman started to play much more. And then Denver got inside the 5-yard line where Coleman played every single snap, though he was stuffed over and over again. Still, the Broncos started the second half the same way they ended the first—with Coleman dominating the backfield. During the final two quarters, Coleman out-snapped Dobbins 18-1, with the rookie making some key plays to help Denver defeat Kansas City, including a 52-yard catch-and-run followed by a 5-yard touchdown run. For the game, Coleman ultimately played 68% of the snaps and touched the ball 15 times. Dobbins’ lone second-half snap only happened because Coleman needed a break and came off for a play.

It appears Coleman has now surpassed Dobbins as the lead running back in Denver, though trusting Sean Payton’s running back usage can be a dangerous game. The upcoming schedule is pretty favorable, too, as the Broncos get the Panthers before the bye, followed by the Raiders, Steelers, Dolphins, Jets, Raiders and Bills. The only hurdle left for Coleman to clear is the trade deadline. It’s no secret that Denver has been heavily linked to Jonathan Taylor, who very well may be dealt ahead of next week’s deadline. But if the Broncos keep their running back room the way it is, Coleman, while eventually losing some pass-game work to Harvey upon his return, will present high-end RB2 upside.

A Little More Patience With Chase Brown

I know, I know. It has been a frustrating season for Chase Brown, who has not at all lived up to this summer’s second-round ADP. But despite not scoring again on Sunday, Brown’s overall usage is really encouraging and warrants a BUY or a HOLD in fantasy.

Back in Week 5 before Cincinnati’s bye, Brown lost a fumble and essentially split work with Samaje Perine, sounding the alarms for fantasy rosters everywhere. During that game, Brown played a season-low 60% of the snaps, while ceding 16 touches to Perine. And with the Bengals on bye, we had to wait and wonder if the shift in usage was just a one-week thing or something that would stick the rest of the season. Although Perine played well in that game, the answer is pretty clear.

This is still very much Chase Brown’s backfield.

In the two weeks since, Brown has logged 73% of the snaps, 64% of the rush attempts and 61% of the routes, while averaging 17.5 touches per game. During that same span, Perine has played just 29% of the snaps, and it was encouraging to see the Bengals stay with Brown this past weekend after losing a fumble on an awkward handoff exchange. The pass-game usage has been awesome for Brown, who caught 8 passes on Sunday and now has identical TPRR and target shares as his 2025 season (22%, 15%). So what’s been keeping Brown from RB1 fantasy production?

Touchdowns.

Brown hasn’t found the end zone since Week 1, even having a 30-yard touchdown catch called back on Sunday to add salt to the wound. The Bengals continue to score a ton of touchdowns from 15-plus yards out, limiting Brown to just 0.6 inside-the-5 carries per game, 29th among running backs. While the overall fantasy production has not been what you were hoping for, I’d keep the faith with Brown, especially considering the Bengals have a favorable RB schedule the rest of the way.

Tony Pollard Continues To Crush

Through the first six weeks of the season, no one was excited to start Tony Pollard in fantasy football. Sure, he’d give you 15 carries per game, but little touchdown potential and very minimal pass-game usage. But over the past two weeks, Pollard has transformed into an elite fantasy running back. Tyjae Spears has been sidelined for both games during that span.

Coincidence? I think not.

Over his last two games, Pollard has logged 77% of the snaps and 87% of Tennessee’s rush attempts, while averaging a whopping 26 touches per game. His route share has jumped by about 7% with Spears out of the lineup, while seeing a 12% uptick in long-down-and-distance snaps. Pollard hasn’t played in the two-minute drill without Spears, but everything else about his recent usage has been outstanding. The uptick in usage has helped, but the Titans offense has also looked a lot better as of late. Perhaps the two are related. Either way, Pollard has finished as fantasy’s RB1 and RB3 over the last two weeks.

Going forward, there are still some variables surrounding Pollard. For starters, Spears will be back eventually, and when he returns, he’ll cut into Pollard’s workload in some capacity, especially on passing downs. But there’s also the chance Pollard is traded ahead of next week’s deadline, potentially to a team like the Giants. If Pollard were on my fantasy roster, I’d absolutely entertain sell-high opportunities. But if he remains the lead back for Tennessee post-trade deadline, it might not be as bad of a situation as it once was.