Week 1 snap counts that should make fantasy football managers panic

It doesn't matter how good an NFL player is if he's not actually playing football, and Week 1 showed that a few guys we were high on for fantasy football in 2026 might not be seeing the field enough to make the impact that managers are hoping for.

I went through the snap counts for every Week 1 game — minus the Monday night one between the Chiefs and Broncos, since I am writing this on Monday morning — to see which players we should be worried about. It's never too early to be thinking about how to reconfigure your fantasy roster.

RB Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers: 19 percent

I pounded the drum for Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks all offseason. He finally seemed healthy and I was really excited to see how he looked, considering his college tape was good. Pre-injury, this guy had elite upside, but tearing the same ACL twice is a tough thing to come back from.

Brooks' top-line numbers from Week 1 look okay because of a 48-yard reception, but aside from that, he was quiet, with just four carries in the game. Chuba Hubbard led the way with 10 carries, while AJ Dillon had five. Third on the team in carries? Not great, though it's worth noting that Dillon was getting his touches in garbage time. I'm not all the way out on Brooks, but Hubbard is very clearly the lead back on this team, as he played 69 percent of Carolina's snaps. Brooks is going to have to show he can produce in limited touches if he has any hope of getting a larger workload down the stretch.

RB Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams: 23 percent

Kyren Williams dominated the snaps for the Los Angeles Rams against Blake Corum to the tune of a 39-14 advantage, though Williams only led 11-10 in rushing attempts and Corum actually had more rushing yards. What does that mean? It's a little tough to know, but it's clear Sean McVay continues to love Williams, something that shouldn't come as a surprise to fantasy managers.

While the touch split is fine, the snap split is concerning, because you're then left hoping that the Rams keep giving Corum the ball basically any time he's on the field. He's a non-factor in the receiving game, so he needs 10 or more carries to really trust him as a fantasy option. If he's playing 14 snaps, he can theoretically get there — not even "theoretically," considering he did it in Week 1 — but there's basically no margin for error.

WR Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans: 30 percent

Jaylin Noel was expected to step up with his fellow Houston Texans receiver and former Iowa State teammate Jayden Higgins sidelined for the year due to injury. In theory, Nico Collins and Kayshon Boutte would play on the outside and Noel would get much of the work in the slot.

That wasn't the case in Week 1. Higgins was outsnapped by both Xavier Hutchinson and Jared Wayne, and he played the same number of snaps as Cade Stover, who was third in snaps among Texans tight ends. On a day where C.J. Stroud threw 38 passes, Noel was targeted just twice — though he produced with those targets, catching both for 53 yards. That suggests that Houston should find a way to get him out on the field more, but until we actually see that happen, we're going to have to fade him in season-long fantasy.

RB MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers: 44 percent

So much for the idea that MarShawn Lloyd would be a huge fantasy asset with Josh Jacobs on the exempt list. The oft-injured running back is healthy and was viewed as the biggest beneficiary of Jacobs' off-field troubles, and it is true that he had the most carries on the roster with 13 on Sunday. However, he played under 50 percent of snaps as the team used Chris Brooks on passing downs.

Brooks ended up playing 56 percent of Green Bay's offensive snaps. In his 42nd career NFL game, Brooks crossed the 50 percent mark in offensive snaps for the first time ever. That really feels like the damning evidence against Lloyd — rather than let him handle much of the every-down workload, the team turned to a guy who had largely spent his NFL career playing on special teams. This also came with Kaleb Johnson playing zero offensive snaps; the former third-round pick could start to siphon off work at some point as well.

RB Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers: 37 percent

Rico Dowdle outsnapping Jaylen Warren isn't a surprise, but these two were expected to be closer to a 50-50 split. Instead, Dowdle had 14 more snaps overall than Warren. Now, Warren did have more carries and was much more effective with those carries — 10 for 46, while Dowdle had eight for 15 — but still, the breakdown of who played when is still at least a bit of a concern.

I do think that of all the concerning snap rates, this one is probably the least so, if only because of how poorly Dowdle played. Warren should inch closer to 50 percent of the snaps in Week 2, but this is at least something that needs to be monitored going forward.

RB Mike Washington Jr., Las Vegas Raiders: 19 percent

Entering Week 1, there was some concern that Ashton Jeanty wouldn't be at 100 percent as he came back from an ankle injury. That led to hype around rookie running back Mike Washington Jr., who was expected to see additional snaps with Jeanty limited.

But Jeanty ended up playing 74 percent of the Raiders' snaps while Washington Jr. played just 19 percent. Overall, the rookie only played three more snaps than third-string running back Dylan Laube. I liked what Washington Jr. did with those snaps — seven carries for 41 yards — but it doesn't matter at all when you compare it to what Jeanty did.

Jeanty is the bellcow back in Vegas. Washington Jr.'s an intriguing handcuff option, but he basically has no value as long as Jeanty is healthy. Unless you want to waste a roster spot waiting for Jeanty to get hurt, there's not much reason to roster Washington Jr. at the moment. (Note: I really, really wish he'd landed somewhere else in the NFL Draft — loved his potential out of Arkansas, but he just did not end up on a team where he could show off that potential.)

TE Oronde Gadsden II, Los Angeles Chargers: 18 percent

Oronde Gadsden II had some good games as a rookie, including a four-game stretch where he averaged six catches for 94.3 yards per game. From Week 5 on, he played 50 percent or more of the Chargers' offensive snaps all but once. His production was a little uneven, but there was something to build on.

Then the Chargers went out and signed David Njoku, which complicated things. Njoku was available because a rookie outplayed him in Cleveland last season, so it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities that Gadsden II would do the same. Except that, well ... not only did Njoku have three more targets than Gadsden II in Week 1, he also played way more.

Both Njoku and fellow tight end Charlie Kolar played 30 snaps. Gadsden II was way, way down the list at just 10 total offensive snaps, accounting for 18 percent of the Chargers' snaps overall. That's the same amount as wide receivers Derius Davis and Brenen Thompson, and neither of those guys is fantasy relevant. Gadsden II has more appeal because of positional scarcity, but it's still a rough situation for fantasy managers who have him on the roster, especially if this offense as a whole continues to struggle.

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