NFL Box Score Breakdown: 10 Usage Trends to Know for Week 13

The idea here is to do a deep dive on some of the key developments from Box Score Breakdown, my weekly recap article with advanced stats, injury reports and usage metrics for every player/team. Below you'll find the most important usage trends to be aware of each week, including some that indicate changing/fluctuating depth charts or major shifts in our weekly projections.

Be sure to keep an eye on our NFL injury report and the latest fantasy football news. For player usage updates and roster context, check out RotoWire's NFL Depth Charts, and don't miss the Weekly Projections to see how this week's matchups shape up.

1. RB TreVeyon Henderson played 64% of snaps in Week 12.

• Key W12 Stats:  22 of 31 RB opportunities (71%)  /  53% Route Share  /  81 Total Yards

Henderson's role was strong, but perhaps not as strong as the box score suggests. Rhamondre Stevenson, who missed the previous two games with a foot injury, handled nearly all of the snaps in hurry-up situations or 3rd-and-medium/long. Stevenson also took two of four carries inside the 5-yard line, with Henderson getting just one and another going to Terrell Jennings (who had no touches otherwise and finished with 4% snap share). 

Henderson finished with 21 touches, but the same role in a different kind of game might only result in something like 15 touches. That's fine, for a fantasy RB2. Just don't expect RB1 production on a steady basis without goal-line or third-down work.

2. RB Kyle Monangai played 60% of snaps after D'Andre Swift's fumble in Week 12.

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• Key Post-Fumble Stats:  9 of 12 RB Opportunities  /  33 Total Yards + TD

Monangai was already getting more work than most backups, handling up to 40% of snaps/carries/touches in recent weeks. He then took over as the lead back this past Sunday after Swift lost a fumble early in the second quarter. From that point forward, Swift got only 38% of snaps and three touches. Might this lead to a 50/50 or "hot hand" situation down the stretch?

3. RB Jahmyr Gibbs has 43.3% of Detroit's touches over the past three games.

• Key W10-12 Stats: 65% Snap Share  /  22.6% Target Share  /  56.8% Rush Attempt Share

Before Dan Campbell took over as the playcaller, Gibbs played 61.7% of snaps and accounted for 35.1% of Detroit's touches, averaging 14.1 rush attempts (49.8% share) and 3.9 targets (13.4%). In three games with Campbell calling plays, Gibbs is averaging the same number of carries (14.0, 56.8%) even though the Lions are running less often. His snap share in that span is up to 65.2 percent, a modest increase, yet his target volume has doubled (8.0 per game, 22.6% share).

Gibbs won't sustain that kind of target volume in an offense with other impressive talents, but there's definitely still some signal here, with the workload shares all increasing under Campbell while the target rate has risen in the absence of Sam LaPorta. A similar role moving forward might be expected to yield 15 carries and six targets per game, i.e., Bijan Robinson's workload but with far more TDs and better yardage efficiency.

4. RB Kenneth Walker played a season-high 67% of snaps in Week 12.

• Key W12 Stats:  14 of 20 RB Opportunities (70%)  /  56% Route Share  /  101 Total Yards

Walker's impressive showing in a Week 11 loss to the Rams seemed to lead to a larger role Week 12 at Tennessee. That doesn't mean it'll be the same way for the rest of the season, or even Week 13, but the possibility makes Walker a high-upside RB2 for the upcoming matchup with a reeling Vikings squad.

5. RB Kenneth Gainwell topped 50% snap share for a second straight game in Week 12.

• Key W12 Stats: 16 of 35 RB Opportunities (46%)  /  55% Route Share  /  122 Total Yards

Gainwell's expanded role actually dates back to Week 11, when he handled similar workload shares even before Jaylen Warren left with an ankle injury. Warren was back healthy for Week 12, but again ceding about half of the snaps and one-third of the rushing work to Gainwell, whose 27% target rate for the season is five percentage points higher than any other Steeler. Gainwell's impressive receiving volume (and efficiency) have vaulted him into fantasy-starter territory without completely killing Warren's lineup appeal. Both reside in low-end-RB2 range for the time being.

6. RB Quinshon Judkins dropped to 50% snap share and 59% opportunity share in Week 12.

• Key Stats:  29% Route Share  /  16 of 27 RB Opportunities  /  47 Total Yards + 2 TDs

The Browns expanded Dylan Sampson's role Week 12 and got good results, with the rookie taking a swing/screen pass for a 66-yard TD in the fourth quarter. He never replaced Judkins as the lead back or anything like that, but Judkins' dominance of the rushing workload from recent weeks was nowhere to be seen. He scored a pair of TDs early on and then didn't do much else, now losing work in some running/neutral situations (in addition to the snaps he was already losing to Sampson and Jerome Ford on pass plays).

Sampson probably won't take enough touches to have significant fantasy value of his own, but he can definitely be a problem for anyone relying on Judkins to handle large workloads. It's hard enough to get by in fantasy as a RB on a bad team who doesn't catch many passes. Doing it while ceding a large chunk of the carries is all the more difficult, even for a talented player like Judkins.

7. RB Travis Etienne played 64% of snaps and took 18 touches in Week 12.

• Key W12 Stats:  19 of 28 RB Opportunities  /  45% Route Share  /  116 Total Yards + TD

Bhayshul Tuten's big performance in Week 12 looks to have been a one-game blip, based on matchup / game script rather than any change in underlying role. That's not surprising, but it's still welcome confirmation for anyone relying on Etienne to continue his high-end RB2 production.

8. WR Michael Wilson has 33 targets over the past two weeks.

• Key W11-12 Stats:  33 targets!!!  303 Yards!!!

A quasi-repeat of the Week 11 explosion rightfully has more and more people asking if Wilson might be the real deal, i.e., someone who will be a fantasy starter even after Marvin Harrison (appendix) returns. Harrison should be out for a few more weeks, in any case, and the Cardinals have become the most pass-happy offense in the league with Jacoby Brissett at the helm. I fully expect Wilson to keep putting up numbers throughout December. What I'm less certain about is 2026 and beyond, as this current version of the Arizona offense is likely just a bridge to something else (it's been a very fun bridge!).

9. The Rams used 13 personnel on just 11% of snaps in Week 12.

• Key W12 Stats: 82% snap share, 83% route share, 11 targets for Puka Nacua

With Tyler Higbee (ankle) on injured reserve, the Rams slashed their use of 13 personnel, the much-discussed trend that had been hurting Nacua's snap/route/target shares. All of those numbers got back on track Monday night, with the Rams using 11 personnel on 71% of snaps. That may have been partially matchup-based, but it also seems clear that they'll use three-TE looks less often without Higbee available.

10. TE Harold Fannin played a season-high 90% of snaps in Week 12.

• Key W12 Stats:  86% Route Share  /  33% Target Share  /  4-40-0 Receiving Line

Fannin finished with season highs for snap share and route share while drawing six targets in a game where no other Browns saw more than three. There's not much receiving production to go around in Cleveland, but Fannin in a full-time role is the one and only hope for anything usable in fantasy. His per-route target rate (25%) is easily tops among Cleveland WR/TEs, and he now looks like a candidate to lead the team in snaps/routes as well. David Njoku, meanwhile, finished Sunday's win over the Raiders with just a 48% snap share and 33% route share (zero targets).