NFL

Week 16 Fantasy Football Backfield Report

D'Onta Foreman was heavily involved with Lamar Miller on the shelf for Houston. What else can we glean from this week's numbers?

Happy Holidays, everyone! We have officially made it to the end of the fantasy season and what a fun ride it was! Congratulations to all of the fantasy owners out there who were luckily enough to take home the title this season. With only one week left in the regular season, this will be the last backfield report of the season. This information will be helpful for those still grinding DFS.

Teams have started to pack it in for the year and get the youngsters more opportunities, and others have relied on backups as major key contributors are trying to get healthy before the playoffs. For this upcoming week, it is important to understand all of the playoff scenarios and know which teams have the motivation to play to win and which teams are playing for nothing.

Week 16 brought us a few changes to the data tables below. The Green Bay Packers have been removed since Jamaal Williams handled each and every one of the running back touches and played 95% of the snaps with Aaron Jones now on IR. Also, with Todd Gurley injured, the Los Angeles Rams have been added to the mix.

As a reminder, this weekly piece is here to help all fantasy players sort through the NFL backfields to understand how teams 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 16 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 W16 Snap % W16 Touches Season Snap % Season Touches Season RB Touch Share %
Tevin Coleman ATL 31/48 (64.5%) 10 555/980 (56.6%) 190 56.2%
Brian Hill ATL 14/48 (29.2%) 8 34/980 (3.5%) 12 3.6%
Gus Edwards BAL 23/62 (37.1%) 15 250/1113 (22.5%) 127 30.9%
Kenneth Dixon BAL 29/62 (46.8%) 10 131/1113 (11.8%) 53 12.9%
Ty Montgomery BAL 11/62 (17.7%) 0 94/1113 (8.4%) 22 5.4%
Javorius Allen BAL DNP DNP 310/1113 (27.9%) 76 18.5%
LeSean McCoy BUF 31/61 (50.8%) 9 459/995 (46.1%) 183 47.8%
Keith Ford BUF 30/61 (49.2%) 9 71/995 (7.1%) 24 6.3%
Chris Ivory BUF DNP DNP 269/934 (28.8%) 113 29.5%
Marcus Murphy BUF DNP DNP 196/934 (20.9%) 63 16.4%
Jordan Howard CHI 40/64 (62.5%) 15 583/1007 (57.9%) 248 57.1%
Tarik Cohen CHI 32/64 (50.0%) 7 475/1007(47.2%) 163 37.6%
Joe Mixon CIN 38/47 (80.9%) 19 563/945 (59.6%) 266 71.7%
Giovani Bernard CIN 14/47 (29.8%) 2 310/945 (32.8%) 86 23.2%
Nick Chubb CLE 39/69 (56.5%) 21 373/1032 (36.1%) 201 49.9%
Duke Johnson CLE 32/69 (46.4%) 8 422/1032 (40.9%) 82 20.3%
Phillip Lindsay DEN 21/67 (31.3%) 12 453/994 (45.6%) 227 55.6%
Royce Freeman DEN 25/67 (37.3%) 7 264/994 (26.6%) 119 29.2%
Devontae Booker DEN 24/67 (35.8%) 6 281/994 (28.3%) 62 15.2%
LeGarrette Blount DET 22/75 (29.3%) 13 263/1002 (26.2%) 153 34.5%
Theo Riddick DET 33/75 (44.0%) 7 396/1002 (39.5%) 97 21.9%
Zach Zenner DET 27/75 (36.0%) 10 81/1002 (8.1%) 40 9.0%
Kerryon Johnson DET DNP DNP 346/1002 (34.5%) 150 33.9%
Alfred Blue HOU 34/65 (52.3%) 8 442/1017 (43.5%) 165 41.8%
D'Onta Foreman HOU 31/65 (47.7%) 9 31/1017 (3.0%) 9 2.4%
Lamar Miller HOU DNP DNP 555/1017 (54.1%) 216 57.4%
Marlon Mack IND 43/67 (64.2%) 13 391/1057 (36.9%) 184 45.5%
Nyheim Hines IND 23/67 (34.3%) 6 485/1057 (45.9%) 144 35.6%
Jordan Wilkins IND DNP DNP 185/1057 (17.5%) 72 17.8%
Leonard Fournette JAC 49/67 (73.1%) 21 281/936 (30.0%) 155 38.2%
Carlos Hyde JAC 16/67 (23.9%) 8 105/936 (11.2%) 50 12.3%
David Williams JAC 2/67 (2.9%) 0 16/936 (1.7%) 6 1.5%
T.J. Yeldon JAC DNP DNP 506/936 (54.1%) 159 39.2%
Damien Williams KC 39/61 (63.9%) 20 179/991 (18.1%) 61 17.6%
Darrel Williams KC 3/61 (4.9%) 0 23/991 (2.3%) 5 1.4%
Charcandrick West KC 19/61 (31.1%) 3 20/991 (2.0%) 3 0.9%
Spencer Ware KC DNP DNP 247/930 (26.6%) 71 20.5%
Melvin Gordon LAC 42/63 (66.7%) 15 492/936 (52.6%) 212 50.4%
Justin Jackson LAC 21/63 (33.3%) 8 137/936 (14.6%) 59 14.0%
Austin Ekeler LAC DNP DNP 333/936 (35.6%) 137 32.5%
C.J. Anderson LAR 51/68 (75.0%) 21 51/1027 (4.9%) 21 5.3%
John Kelly LAR 17/68 (25.0%) 11 24/1027 (2.3%) 13 3.3%
Todd Gurley LAR DNP DNP 825/1027 (80.3%) 315 79.3%
Kenyan Drake MIA 39/46 (84.8%) 10 503/859 (58.6%) 157 42.8%
Kalen Ballage MIA 14/46 (30.4%) 6 66/859 (7.7%) 32 8.7%
Brandon Bolden MIA 8/46 (17.4%) 5 18/859 (2.1%) 10 2.7%
Latavius Murray MIN 15/61 (24.6%) 11 457/994 (45.9%) 160 46.8%
Dalvin Cook MIN 46/61 (75.4%) 19 438/994 (44.1%) 158 46.2%
Sony Michel NE 23/75 (30.7%) 18 296/1051 (28.2%) 202 44.0%
James White NE 29/75 (38.7%) 10 572/1051 (54.4%) 173 37.8%
Rex Burkhead NE 25/75 (33.3%) 17 134/1051 (12.7%) 65 14.2%
Alvin Kamara NO 40/66 (60.6%) 11 657/998 (65.8%) 275 59.3%
Mark Ingram NO 32/66 (48.5%) 12 331/998 (33.2%) 152 32.8%
Elijah McGuire NYJ 51/60 (85.0%) 17 275/945 (29.1%) 90 22.6%
Trent Cannon NYJ 18/60 (30.0%) 3 165/945 (17.5%) 53 13.3%
Doug Martin OAK 34/62 (54.8%) 22 316/976 (32.4%) 168 40.2%
Jalen Richard OAK 23/62 (37.1%) 8 397/976 (40.7%) 118 28.2%
Josh Adams PHI 25/82 (30.5%) 11 234/1016 (23.0%) 113 29.2%
Wendell Smallwood PHI 16/82 (19.5%) 5 298/1016 (29.3%) 99 25.6%
Darren Sproles PHI 38/82 (46.3%) 12 119/1016 (11.7%) 35 9.0%
Jaylen Samuels PIT 53/75 (70.7%) 15 196/1048 (18.7%) 73 20.4%
Stevan Ridley PIT 5/75 (6.7%) 3 61/1048 (5.8%) 32 8.9%
James Conner PIT DNP DNP 686/1048 (65.5%) 253 70.7%
Chris Carson SEA 43/80 (53.8%) 27 422/1006 (41.9%) 248 51.9%
Mike Davis SEA 36/80 (45.0%) 7 367/1006 (36.5%) 136 28.5%
Rashaad Penny SEA DNP DNP 177/1006 (17.6%) 90 18.8%
Matt Breida SF 9/55 (16.4%) 5 364/995 (36.6%) 180 45.3%
Jeff Wilson Jr. SF 38/55 (69.1%) 13 191/995 (19.2%) 75 18.9%
Peyton Barber TB 47/80 (58.8%) 20 581/1054 (55.1%) 238 69.2%
Jacquizz Rodgers TB 32/80 (40.0%) 9 342/1054 (32.4%) 67 19.5%
Ronald Jones TB DNP DNP 89/1054 (8.4%) 30 8.7%
Derrick Henry TEN 35/56 (62.5%) 22 375/937 (40.0%) 213 49.8%
Dion Lewis TEN 22/56 (39.3%) 6 576/937 (61.5%) 211 49.3%
Adrian Peterson WSH 39/62 (62.9%) 27 470/975 (48.2%) 267 67.4%
Chris Thompson WSH 22/62 (35.5%) 5 279/975 (28.6%) 77 19.5%

Situational Usage

Running Back Team W16 RZ Touches W16 RZ Targets W16 Total Targets Season RZ Touches Season RZ Targets Season Total Targets
Tevin Coleman ATL 0 0 1 24 10 43
Brian Hill ATL 2 1 1 2 1 1
Gus Edwards BAL 2 0 1 15 0 2
Kenneth Dixon BAL 2 0 3 5 0 5
Ty Montgomery BAL 0 0 1 3 2 14
Javorius Allen BAL DNP DNP DNP 17 6 43
LeSean McCoy BUF 1 0 3 21 1 43
Keith Ford BUF 0 0 4 1 0 5
Chris Ivory BUF DNP DNP DNP 9 0 20
Marcus Murphy BUF DNP DNP DNP 10 2 19
Jordan Howard CHI 2 2 3 32 3 24
Tarik Cohen CHI 0 0 1 23 14 88
Joe Mixon CIN 1 0 2 37 8 54
Giovani Bernard CIN 0 0 2 9 1 43
Nick Chubb CLE 4 0 3 30 4 26
Duke Johnson CLE 2 2 6 10 8 58
Phillip Lindsay DEN 1 0 2 30 5 47
Royce Freeman DEN 0 0 1 17 0 10
Devontae Booker DEN 0 1 5 6 6 44
LeGarrette Blount DET 0 0 4 25 0 15
Theo Riddick DET 1 0 5 16 10 74
Zach Zenner DET 0 0 3 6 0 8
Kerryon Johnson DET DNP DNP DNP 19 6 40
Alfred Blue HOU 0 0 5 16 3 24
D'Onta Foreman HOU 2 1 2 2 1 2
Lamar Miller HOU DNP DNP DNP 30 2 33
Marlon Mack IND 4 0 3 34 2 23
Nyheim Hines IND 3 2 5 30 9 76
Jordan Wilkins IND DNP DNP DNP 9 5 16
Leonard Fournette JAC 4 1 5 25 3 26
Carlos Hyde JAC 0 0 0 5 1 4
David Williams JAC 0 0 0 0 0 0
T.J. Yeldon JAC DNP DNP DNP 15 5 78
Damien Williams KC 0 0 7 12 5 23
Darrel Williams KC 0 0 0 2 1 3
Charcandick West KC 0 0 3 0 0 3
Spencer Ware KC DNP DNP DNP 13 2 25
Melvin Gordon LAC 3 0 3 31 13 63
Justin Jackson LAC 0 1 10 5 2 19
Austin Ekeler LAC DNP DNP DNP 19 5 52
C.J. Anderson LAR 4 1 3 4 1 3
John Kelly LAR 1 0 1 1 0 1
Todd Gurley LAR DNP DNP DNP 73 19 81
Kenyan Drake MIA 0 0 5 15 7 68
Kalen Ballage MIA 0 0 4 2 1 10
Brandon Bolden MIA 2 1 1 3 1 2
Latavius Murray MIN 3 0 2 23 2 26
Dalvin Cook MIN 4 0 3 17 2 44
Sony Michel NE 3 0 0 42 1 11
James White NE 3 0 4 35 20 118
Rex Burkhead NE 0 0 5 3 5 18
Alvin Kamara NO 3 1 6 71 26 105
Mark Ingram NO 4 0 2 27 1 25
Elijiah McGuire NYJ 3 1 5 13 2 29
Trent Cannon NYJ 1 1 2 4 1 24
Doug Martin OAK 5 0 2 32 2 22
Jalen Richard OAK 1 0 5 11 4 79
Josh Adams PHI 1 0 1 17 0 10
Wendell Smallwood PHI 1 0 4 17 5 31
Darren Sproles PHI 2 2 6 7 4 20
Jaylen Samuels PIT 2 1 3 12 5 21
Stevan Ridley PIT 1 0 0 4 0 4
James Conner PIT DNP DNP DNP 40 7 68
Chris Carson SEA 0 0 0 35 3 23
Mike Davis SEA 0 0 1 18 1 39
Rashaad Penny SEA DNP DNP DNP 10 1 12
Matt Breida SF 0 0 1 27 4 31
Jeff WIlson Jr. SF 6 1 2 15 5 15
Peyton Barber TB 1 0 3 38 5 28
Jacquizz Rodgers TB 2 1 7 9 6 44
Ronald Jones TB DNP DNP DNP 6 2 7
Derrick Henry TEN 5 1 1 45 2 17
Dion Lewis TEN 1 0 4 30 8 63
Adrian Peterson WSH 2 1 2 33 3 23
Chris Thompson WSH 0 0 1 6 4 45


Houston Gets Foreman Back Into The Mix

With Lamar Miller out in Week 16, the Houston Texans were able to activate D'Onta Foreman for the first time of the year against the Philadelphia Eagles. Houston had no problems throwing Foreman right back into the mix, as he led all running backs in touches with nine. Of the 31 offensive snaps that he played, Foreman ran a pass route on 20 of them. His usage in the red zone was what stood out in Week 16, handling all of the Texans' red zone opportunities, including a receiving touchdown.

With Houston being locked into a playoff spot, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Foreman's role expand in Week 17.

From Free Agent to Featured Back

Heading into Week 16, there was a ton of uncertainty surrounding Gurley's playing status. The Rams decided to play it safe and keep him out because of a sore knee. In his absence, Los Angeles turned to newly acquired C.J. Anderson, and boy, did he look fresh. He handled 21 touches, including 4 within the red zone, and parlayed them in 162 total yards and a touchdown. Anderson was very efficient with his touches, too, averaging 8.4 yards per carry.

Anderson ran for over 1,000 yards in 2017 yet had a hard time finding a home in 2018. It now looks like the Rams have found a legitimate backup for Gurley in the absence of Malcolm Brown. The Rams could easily keep Gurley out of Week 17 to get him right for the playoffs, so Anderson could be in line for another heavy workload against the San Francisco 49ers.

Martin Continues His Comeback Season

While the Oakland Raiders have been an absolute dumpster fire this season, Doug Martin has quietly had a solid bounce-back season. Over the last five weeks, he has averaged 16.2 touches and has scored four times. In Week 16, Martin handled his highest touch count of the season and eclipsed the century mark for the first time.

Jon Gruden is not using Martin in the pass game but has continued to lean on him on the ground ever since the loss of Marshawn Lynch. On pace for his best season since 2015, Martin will look to finish the season strong against the Kansas City Chiefs.