NFL

Week 15 Fantasy Football Backfield Report

Derrick Henry's big workload continued in Week 15. What else can we take away from the backfield data this week?

What an absolutely stunning Week 15 we had. It was this year's lowest-scoring week in the NFL, as pointed out by Scott Barrett of Pro Football Focus, and it was a fun to see a lot of teams finally get the monkeys off their backs and beat opponents that have absolutely owned them for a while. That includes the Chicago Bears' win over the Green Bay Packers, the Pittsburgh Steelers' victory over the New England Patriots, and the Los Angeles Chargers' triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs. I think we've learned that the championship is truly up for grabs.

As we've stressed over the last couple weeks, this is the time of the year where things get really messy across the league. Many teams have nothing to play for, and their players are disinterested. Also, many players are sitting out with injuries, and coaches want to get a look at the younger players on their rosters to see if they will be a part of the future. One of the things to emphasize when making lineup decisions, especially in DFS, is the team's motivational factors. For example, Leonard Fournette seemed like a smash play against the Washington Redskins, but the Jacksonville Jaguars packed it in, giving carries to some guy named David Williams because, for all intents and purposes, they don't care at this point.

As a reminder, this weekly piece is here to help fantasy players sort through all the NFL backfields to understand how coaches are using their backs. The data only breaks down the teams that do not heavily favor one back as a bell-cow.

Let's dive into the Week 15 data, and as always, snap counts and red zone data come from Pro Football Reference.

Volume Metrics

The table below is sorted by total season touches for each backfield.

Running Back Team W13 Snap % W13 Touches Season Snap % Season Touches Season RB Touch Share %
Tevin Coleman ATL 34/67 (50.7%) 11 524/932 (56.2%) 180 56.9%
Ito Smith ATL 29/67 (43.3%) 11 311/932 (33.4%) 117 37.0%
Gus Edwards BAL 33/77 (42.9%) 19 227/1051 (21.6%) 112 29.1%
Javorius Allen BAL 3/77 (3.9%) 0 310/1051 (29.5%) 76 19.7%
Kenneth Dixon BAL 40/77 (51.9%) 12 102/1051 (9.7%) 43 11.2%
Ty Montgomery BAL DNP DNP 83/1051 (7.9%) 22 5.7%
Marcus Murphy BUF 19/68 (27.9%) 11 196/934 (20.9%) 63 17.3%
Keith Ford BUF 41/68 (60.3%) 15 41/934 (4.4%) 15 4.1%
LeSean McCoy BUF DNP DNP 428/934 (45.8%) 174 47.7%
Chris Ivory BUF DNP DNP 269/934 (28.8%) 113 30.9%
Jordan Howard CHI 34/60 (56.7%) 20 543/943 (57.6%) 233 56.9%
Tarik Cohen CHI 38/60 (63.3%) 10 443/943 (46.9%) 156 38.1%
Joe Mixon CIN 52/80 (65.0%) 29 525/898 (58.5%) 247 70.6%
Giovani Bernard CIN 30/80 (37.5%) 8 296/898 (32.9%) 84 24.0%
Nick Chubb CLE 40/67 (59.7%) 20 334/963 (34.7%) 180 47.1%
Duke Johnson CLE 26/67 (38.8%) 8 390/963 (40.5%) 74 19.4%
Phillip Lindsay DEN 39/73 (53.4%) 18 432/927 (46.6%) 215 56.1%
Royce Freeman DEN 18/73 (24.7%) 5 239/927 (25.8%) 112 29.2%
Devontae Booker DEN 15/73 (20.5%) 2 257/927 (27.7%) 56 14.6%
LeGarrette Blount DET 11/57 (19.3%) 7 241/927 (25.9%) 140 33.9%
Theo Riddick DET 25/57 (43.9%) 10 363/927 (39.2%) 90 21.8%
Zach Zenner DET 26/57 (45.6%) 13 54/927 (5.8%) 30 7.3%
Kerryon Johnson DET DNP DNP 346/927 (37.3%) 150 36.3%
Aaron Jones GB 7/68 (10.3%) 4 376/928 (40.5%) 159 50.3%
Jamaal Williams GB 59/68 (86.8%) 16 398/928 (42.9%) 116 36.7%
Lamar Miller HOU 11/53 (20.8%) 3 555/952 (58.3%) 216 57.4%
Alfred Blue HOU 41/53 (77.4%) 11 408/952 (42.9%) 157 41.8%
Marlon Mack IND 44/72 (61.1%) 28 348/990 (35.2%) 171 43.8%
Nyheim Hines IND 29/72 (40.3%) 10 462/990 (46.7%) 138 35.4%
Jordan Wilkins IND 2/72 (2.8%) 0 185/990 (18.9%) 72 18.5%
T.J. Yeldon JAC 18/52 (34.6%) 4 506/869 (58.2%) 159 42.2%
Leonard Fournette JAC 27/52 (51.9%) 14 232/869 (26.7%) 134 35.5%
David Williams JAC 8/52 (15.4%) 5 14/869 (1.6%) 6 1.6%
Carlos Hyde JAC DNP DNP 89/869 (10.2%) 42 11.1%
Damien Williams KC 44/60 (73.3%) 16 140/930 (15.1%) 41 12.7%
Darrel Williams KC 15/60 (25.0%) 4 20/930 (2.2%) 5 1.5%
Spencer Ware KC DNP DNP 247/930 (26.6%) 71 21.9%
Justin Jackson LAC 56/74 (75.7%) 19 116/873 (13.3%) 51 12.8%
Detrez Newsome LAC 18/74 (24.3%) 8 29/873 (3.3%) 13 3.3%
Melvin Gordon LAC DNP DNP 450/799 (56.3%) 197 49.5%
Austin Ekeler LAC DNP DNP 333/799 (41.7%) 137 34.4%
Frank Gore MIA 7/53 (13.2%) 5 330/758 (43.5%) 168 49.3%
Kenyan Drake MIA 28/53 (52.8%) 4 464/758 (61.2%) 147 43.1%
Kalen Ballage MIA 26/53 (49.1%) 13 52/758 (6.9%) 26 7.6%
Latavius Murray MIN 27/69 (39.1%) 15 442/933 (47.4%) 149 45.4%
Dalvin Cook MIN 42/69 (60.9%) 20 392/933 (42.0%) 139 42.4%
Sony Michel NE 23/62 (37.1%) 13 273/976 (27.9%) 184 38.6%
James White NE 25/62 (40.3%) 7 543/976 (55.6%) 163 34.2%
Rex Burkhead NE 16/62 (25.8%) 7 109/976 (11.2%) 48 10.1%
Alvin Kamara NO 47/74 (63.5%) 21 617/932 (66.2%) 264 59.9%
Mark Ingram NO 33/74 (44.6%) 14 299/932 (32.1%) 140 31.7%
Elijah McGuire NYJ 56/75 (74.7%) 21 224/885 (25.3%) 73 19.3%
Trent Cannon NYJ 23/75 (30.7%) 10 147/885 (16.6%) 50 13.2%
Doug Martin OAK 27/59 (45.8%) 9 282/914 (30.9%) 146 37.7%
Jalen Richard OAK 30/59 (50.8%) 9 374/914 (40.9%) 110 28.4%
Josh Adams PHI 24/64 (37.5%) 15 209/934 (22.4%) 102 28.4%
Wendell Smallwood PHI 20/64 (31.3%) 12 282/934 (30.2%) 94 26.2%
Darren Sproles PHI 20/64 (31.3%) 6 81/934 (8.7%) 23 6.4%
Jaylen Samuels PIT 39/64 (60.9%) 21 143/973 (14.7%) 58 17.1%
Stevan Ridley PIT 6/64 (9.4%) 3 56/973 (5.8%) 29 8.5%
James Conner PIT DNP DNP 686/973 (70.5%) 253 74.4%
Chris Carson SEA 39/75 (52.0%) 28 379/926 (40.9%) 221 49.6%
Mike Davis SEA 33/75 (44.0%) 12 331/926 (35.7%) 129 28.9%
Rashaad Penny SEA DNP DNP 177/926 (19.1%) 90 20.2%
Matt Breida SF 45/62 (72.6%) 22 355/940 (37.8%) 175 46.2%
Jeff Wilson Jr. SF 12/62 (19.4%) 7 153/940 (16.3%) 62 16.4%
Peyton Barber TB 32/50 (64.0%) 21 534/974 (54.8%) 218 69.2%
Jacquizz Rodgers TB 13/50 (26.0%) 1 310/974 (31.8%) 58 18.4%
Ronald Jones TB 4/50 (8.0%) 1 89/974 (9.1%) 30 9.5%
Dion Lewis TEN 23/70 (32.9%) 10 554/881 (62.9%) 205 51.3%
Derrick Henry TEN 49/70 (70.0%) 34 340/881 (38.6%) 191 47.8%
Adrian Peterson WSH 37/68 (54.4%) 21 431/913 (47.2%) 240 65.9%
Chris Thompson WSH 29/68 (42.6%) 6 257/913 (28.1%) 72 19.8%

Situational Usage

Running Back Team W13 RZ Touches W13 RZ Targets W13 Total Targets Season RZ Touches Season RZ Targets Season Total Targets
Tevin Coleman ATL 1 1 1 24 10 42
Ito Smith ATL 4 2 3 24 4 32
Gus Edwards BAL 3 0 0 13 0 1
Javorius Allen BAL 0 0 0 17 6 43
Kenneth Dixon BAL 1 0 1 3 0 2
Ty Montgomery BAL DNP DNP DNP 3 2 13
Marcus Murphy BUF 1 0 0 10 2 19
Keith Ford BUF 1 0 1 1 0 1
LeSean McCoy BUF DNP DNP DNP 20 1 40
Chris Ivory BUF DNP DNP DNP 9 0 20
Jordan Howard CHI 5 0 1 32 3 21
Tarik Cohen CHI 3 3 6 23 14 87
Joe Mixon CIN 8 2 4 36 8 52
Giovani Bernard CIN 1 0 2 9 1 41
Nick Chubb CLE 3 0 1 26 4 23
Duke Johnson CLE 1 0 5 8 6 52
Phillip Lindsay DEN 3 0 6 29 5 45
Royce Freeman DEN 1 0 1 17 0 9
Devontae Booker DEN 1 1 3 6 5 39
LeGarrette Blount DET 2 0 1 25 0 11
Theo Riddick DET 0 0 3 15 10 69
Zach Zenner DET 3 0 4 6 0 5
Kerryon Johnson DET DNP DNP DNP 19 6 40
Aaron Jones GB 0 0 0 20 3 35
Jamaal Williams GB 2 0 5 11 3 29
Lamar Miller HOU 2 0 0 30 2 33
Alfred Blue HOU 2 1 2 16 3 19
Marlon Mack IND 7 0 1 30 2 20
Nyheim Hines IND 2 0 6 27 7 71
Jordan Wilkins IND 0 0 0 9 5 16
T.J. Yeldon JAC 0 0 3 15 5 78
Leonard Fournette JAC 0 0 4 21 2 21
David Williams JAC 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carlos Hyde JAC DNP DNP DNP 5 1 4
Damien Williams KC 5 0 6 12 5 16
Darrel Williams KC 2 1 2 2 1 3
Spencer Ware KC DNP DNP DNP 13 2 25
Justin Jackson LAC 3 1 4 5 1 9
Detrez Newsome LAC 1 0 2 3 0 2
Melvin Gordon LAC DNP DNP DNP 28 13 60
Austin Ekeler LAC DNP DNP DNP 19 5 52
Frank Gore MIA 0 0 0 16 3 16
Kenyan Drake MIA 1 1 3 15 7 63
Kalen Ballage MIA 0 0 1 2 1 6
Latavius Murray MIN 4 0 0 20 2 24
Dalvin Cook MIN 1 0 2 13 2 41
Sony Michel NE 2 0 0 39 1 11
James White NE 2 2 7 32 20 114
Rex Burkhead NE 1 0 3 3 5 13
Alvin Kamara NO 5 1 9 68 25 99
Mark Ingram NO 1 0 2 23 1 23
Elijiah McGuire NYJ 4 0 4 10 1 24
Trent Cannon NYJ 1 0 4 3 0 22
Doug Martin OAK 1 1 1 27 2 20
Jalen Richard OAK 0 0 6 10 4 74
Josh Adams PHI 1 0 1 16 0 9
Wendell Smallwood PHI 2 0 2 16 5 27
Darren Sproles PHI 0 0 4 5 2 14
Jaylen Samuels PIT 4 1 2 10 4 18
Stevan Ridley PIT 0 0 0 3 0 4
James Conner PIT DNP DNP DNP 40 7 68
Chris Carson SEA 6 0 6 35 3 23
Mike Davis SEA 0 0 8 18 1 38
Rashaad Penny SEA DNP DNP DNP 10 1 12
Matt Breida SF 2 0 5 27 4 30
Jeff WIlson Jr. SF 1 0 1 9 4 13
Peyton Barber TB 6 0 2 37 5 23
Jacquizz Rodgers TB 1 1 1 7 5 36
Ronald Jones TB 0 0 2 6 2 7
Dion Lewis TEN 0 0 3 29 8 59
Derrick Henry TEN 11 0 1 40 1 16
Adrian Peterson WSH 2 0 3 31 2 21
Chris Thompson WSH 0 0 2 6 4 44

Williams Takes Over for Jones

The Packers have been an utter disappointment this season, and one of their remaining pieces of excitement was Aaron Jones, who happened to suffer an MCL injury Sunday against the Bears. In his absence, Green Bay turned back to Jamaal Williams, who was able to handle 16 touches and find the end zone in Week 15.

With Jones potentially being sat for the rest of the year, Williams is the only running back on the roster who has an understanding of the playbook and should handle all the volume he can in these last two weeks. We saw a similar situation last year, and Williams averaged 20.4 touches in the Packers' last eight games. While he's not typically an efficient player, as evidenced by his career 3.7 yards per attempt, he does have 8 touchdowns in 30 games.

Mack Emerges from Slump

The Indianapolis Colts have been one of this season's biggest surprises, and it starts with their dominant offensive line. Marlon Mack was able to take advantage of that strength on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys and rush for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns. His role for the Colts has been interesting though. Over the last two weeks he has played 60% of the offensive snaps, while handling 82% of the Colts' running back carries.

It seems as if the Colts have found their version of thunder and lightning in Mack and Nyheim Hines. Mack brings the thunder on the ground, and Hines makes those splash plays out in the pass game.

With the Colts still fighting for their playoff lives, they should continue to lean on that vicious offensive line and Mack down the stretch.

Williams Makes Strong Case as Chiefs' Top Back

With a quick turnaround from Week 14 to 15, the Kansas City Chiefs had to sit down Spencer Ware (hamstring) as they continue to find the right combination at running back with Kareem Hunt no longer in the picture. Against the Chargers, Damien Williams was able to showcase his explosiveness en route to 123 total yards and 2 touchdowns while playing on 73% of the Chiefs' offensive snaps.

It seemed like every time Williams touched the ball it was going to go for a score, as he averaged 7.7 yards per touch. His biggest strength is in the pass game, where he now has five or more receptions in two straight games and has averaged nine yards per reception.

It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs goes back to Ware -- who has been in the Andy Reid system for three straight years -- or if this performance by Williams moves him up the totem pole.

Dolphins Turn to Ballage in Blowout

We got very sad news out of Miami, as Frank Gore suffered a season-ending foot injury. Automatically, fantasy owners probably thought that Kenyan Drake would have seen the biggest role increase, but to everyone's surprise it was rookie Kalen Ballage. No one seems really sure what Drake did to be stuffed in Adam Gase's doghouse, but now Ballage looks poised for some solid run in the Miami Dolphins' last two games.

Ballage out-touched Drake 15 to 4 against the Minnesota Vikings, and on Monday, Dolphins beat writer Cameron Wolfe reported that we should see a lot of Kalen Ballage down the stretch. Ballage had an impressive 75-yard touchdown run in Week 15, where he was clocked at 21.87 mph -- the seventh-fastest speed recorded this season by NFL Next Gen Stats.

If we remember from last year, Adam Gase gave Drake a run to finish out the season as the feature back, in which he averaged 21.6 touches and was the PPR RB8 over the last five weeks. This year, it could be Ballage who sees that opportunity and reaps the rewards.

Titans Hand Henry Massive Workload

As the Tennessee Titans continue their push to make the playoffs, they have found a successful recipe in feeding Derrick Henry the rock as much as possible. Over the last two games, he has accumulated 46.3% of his rushing yards for the year while also accounting for six touchdowns. Over that same span, quarterback Marcus Mariota has attempted 44 passes (250 pass yards) while Henry has 50 carries (408 rushing yards).

Week 15 marked the first time all season that Henry out-snapped Dion Lewis, as he played on a season-high 49. The Titans have clearly made the switch to lean on Henry as defenses may be more worn out as the season comes to an end. Look for Tennessee to continue this trend the next two weeks against the Washington and Indianapolis.