Between the Lines: Week 8 Snap Count Analysis
AFC East
Buffalo Bills - Pryor Addition
Quarterback: Derek Anderson (97%), Nathan Peterman (3%)
Running Backs: LeSean McCoy (72%), Chris Ivory (30%)
Wide Receivers: Zay Jones (94%), Kelvin Benjamin (77%), Andre Holmes (55%)
Tight Ends: Charles Clay (64%), Logan Thomas (28%), Jason Croom (27%)
The Buffalo Bills added free agent Terrelle Pryor today. There are few reasons this signing makes sense. Sure, it's a job for Pryor, but what do the Bills get out of it? Pryor will step in as the WR3 in a sputtering offense. He won't change the outcomes of the game unless he plays quarterback. Frankly, that's a much better option for Buffalo given that their alternate option is for Nathan Peterman to start. Honestly, why wouldn't they give it a shot? Pryor's career completion percentage is 56.3%. Peterman's is 45.7%. Pryor's passer rating is a pathetic 69.3. Peterman has a 31.4, a number that is almost unfathomably bad. Pryor can run, and if nothing else, he would offer a little excitement for an offense that lacks it entirely. There's absolutely no evidence to suggest Pryor will get snaps at QB, but if he did while still having wide receiver eligibility, then we're all of a sudden looking at a very interesting fantasy prospect. If you have room and want to take a chance on the unkown, Pryor makes for an interesting speculative add.
Quarterback: Brock Osweiler (100%)
Running Backs: Kenyan Drake (56%), Frank Gore (44%)
Wide Receivers: DeVante Parker (100%), Danny Amendola (98%), Jakeem Grant (95%)
Tight Ends: Nick O'Leary (74%), Michael Gesicki (24%), Durham Smythe (6%)
Miami Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker had only seen a total of four targets prior to his Week 8 game against the Houston Texans. His nine targets more than tripled his season total. He caught 6 of those passes for 134 yards. With Albert Wilson on injured reserve and Kenny Stills iffy to play in Week 9, Parker's should continue to see a healthy dose of targets. His Week 9 opponents, the New York Jets, have already allowed six receivers to top 100 yards in a game. Parker will look to make that seven.
New England Patriots - Barner MIA
Quarterback: Tom Brady (97%)
Running Backs: James White (80%), Kenjon Barner (9%)
Wide Receivers: Julian Edelman (96%), Josh Gordon (84%), Chris Hogan (59%), Cordarrelle Patterson (17%)
Tight Ends: Rob Gronkowski (89%), Dwayne Allen (16%)
There were a lot of people who picked up Kenjon Barner this week. Bye week's are afoot, and Barner looked likely to offer at least the potential for an RB2 workload. Nope. Bill Belichick instead used Cordarrelle Patterson as his lead back (of course he did), and Barner disappointed fantasy throngs with just 0.4 points. Ouch. If you played him, my condolences. If you played against him, I hope you bought a lottery ticket.
New York Jets - Burnett Makes a Jump
Quarterback: Sam Darnold (100%)
Running Backs: Trenton Cannon (54%), Isaiah Crowell (46%)
Wide Receivers: Jermaine Kearse (96%), Deontay Burnett (76%), Andre Roberts (59%), Rishard Matthews (35%)
Tight Ends: Chris Herndon (50%), Jordan Leggett (22%), Neal Sterling (20%), Eric Tomlinson (11%)
With Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa out, Terrelle Pryor off the roster, and newly signed Rishard Matthews with only a few days to learn the playbook, New York Jets wide receiver Deontay Burnett took the opportunity to showcase his skills. The rookie out of USC was on the field for 76% of the Jets' offensive snaps and ended up leading the team in both catches (4) and receiving yards (61). Jermaine Kearse was still the target hog with 10, but Burnett has a huge opportunity right now to secure his spot on the roster. He's not yet worth picking up in anything but the deepest leagues, but he's worth keeping an eye on.
