Fantasy Football Week 2 Market Share Report: Chris Hogan's New Role

Rushing Market Shares

1. Chris Carson Separates From the Pack

This Seattle Seahawks backfield was the big remaining head-scratcher from Week 1. With Thomas Rawls set to make his season debut, it was hard to tell who -- if anybody -- would emerge as being fantasy relevant.

Chris Carson is that dude.

Even with Rawls active, Carson carried the ball 20 times, accounting for 80% of the team's running-back carries (Rawls had the other five). He added in a pair of targets, as well, and dominated the snap count.

This was the first week we saw the Seahawks with all of their backs healthy, and Carson was the clear-cut top option. We should be handling him as such going forward.

For Carson, the bigger concern than his volume may come down to the offense's effectiveness. They have struggled so far despite facing two below-average defenses, meaning the loss of left tackle George Fant could be holding the team down. If they can't score touchdowns, it puts a dent in Carson's upside. Regardless, he's likely undervalued relative to his role, meaning Carson's a player we should buy despite his limitations.

2. Darren Sproles Becomes the Lead Back

The "becomes" part of this sub-header probably could have been removed. Darren Sproles was the Philadelphia Eagles' lead back last week, as well. It was just much more obvious in Week 2 with an increased role on the ground.

The Eagles' running backs ran the ball just 13 times on Sunday, but 10 of those carries went to Sproles. Wendell Smallwood had three, and LeGarrette Blount had none, effectively squashing any role Blount may have previously had in the offense. Sproles played 69% of the snaps, easily eclipsing Smallwood at 19% and Blount at 8%.

This is on top of Sproles' passing-game usage. He had four targets this week, giving him 12 through the first two games.

With Sproles, we're always going to have questions about touchdown upside, especially while Blount is -- at least in spirit -- still on the roster. But he's going to get volume no matter what the game script may be. He's likely more of a season-long play than one for DFS because of the touchdowns, but regardless, it's clear he's far and away the top back in this offense. Smallwood's outlook is much more favorable than Blount's, as well.

3. Samaje Perine Steps in for Rob Kelley

Rob Kelley was having a stellar game Sunday for Washington. In the first half, he turned his 12 carries into 78 yards, skirting the issues he flashed in Week 1 and the preseason.

It didn't last long.

Kelley missed the rest of the game, and Chris Thompson filled the spotlight, finding paydirt twice as a rusher. But it was Samaje Perine who got all of the work.

Despite not starting, Perine wound up with 21 carries for the game, a whopping 18 more than Thompson got. Thompson did manage to out-gain Perine, but most of that came on a single 61-yard dash.

Perine's effectiveness was more in question than his usage. Of his 21 carries, only three increased the team's expected points for the drive (a 14.29% Success Rate). Kelley's Success Rate was 33.33% prior to his injury.

If Kelley misses time, it's clear that Perine will get extra volume, and we need to consider him in both season-long and DFS as a result. But he'll still need to improve on his efficiency if he wants to hold onto his role. In the short term, this usage is a win for Perine, but the long-term outlook is still to be determined.

4. Javorius Allen Continues to Surge

It was clear last week that Javorius Allen was entering a larger role with Danny Woodhead injured. He solidified that role and excelled in it on Sunday.

Here's the breakdown for the Baltimore Ravens' top three backs in this game. Terrance West was the guy who got the first looks, but it was mostly Allen from then out. "RZ Opps" stands for red-zone opportunities, or the sum of the player's carries and targets inside the 20-yard line.

This is the second straight week that Allen has gotten more snaps and carries than West, and the gap was larger in both categories this time around. Allen's passing-game usage is huge for his floor, too. There's just one problem.

Welp.

They already lost guards Alex Lewis and Nico Siragusa in the preseason, and Marshal Yanda is one of the league's best interior linemen. That's going to hurt the team in a big way going forward.

This injury will impact Allen less than it will West and Collins because of his involvement through the air, but the whole team takes a hit without its best blocker. Allen's still undervalued at the moment, but this injury does put a dent in his upside as a rusher.