Snap Counts: Mark Ingram, Kenny Stills, Allen Lazard, more potential fantasy breakouts, busts, waiver pickups

Billy Heyen

Snap Counts: Mark Ingram, Kenny Stills, Allen Lazard, more potential fantasy breakouts, busts, waiver pickups image

NFL snap counts have been helping us find fantasy football sleepers and busts all season, and Week 8 will be no different. After look at last week's numbers, Mark Ingram has entered into a more thorough start 'em, sit 'em debate than we figured he would before the season. Kenny Stills, Allen Lazard, Anthony Miller, Olabisi Johnson, and Irv Smith Jr. are all prime waiver wire pickups due to their usage. You can even enter Keke Coutee and Kyle Rudolph into the add/drop conversation in deeper fantasy leagues.

Last week's snap count report helped us spot Mark Walton before the general public -- honestly, he might still be under the radar because he plays for the Dolphins. He's not in the report this week, but he surpassed Kenyan Drake in snaps and is worth a pickup in fantasy leagues.

WEEK 8 NON-PPR RANKINGS
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

We also spotted Dante Pettis as the oncoming 49ers' No. 1 WR. The weather didn't do him any favors in Week 7, but he was still the most-snapped wideout in San Francisco. He'll just still be available after a quiet game in rainy conditions, making him easier for our loyal readers to pick up now.

This week, it's mostly waiver-wire sleepers that we're interested in. Injuries have freed up bigger roles for Stills, Lazard, Johnson, and Smith. Miller simply has earned his way to more frequent usage. 

WEEK 8 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end

We start off, though, with a potential bust going forward. There was reason to believe Ingram was a top-10 back before the season, but there are too many things working against him in Baltimore to feel excited about his upside on any given week. Let's get right into it. If you want a breakdown of the 27 teams not featured here, click the link just below.

Check out our 32-team breakdown of Week 7 snap counts here.

Ravens Snap Counts: Mark Ingram vs. Gus Edwards

The thing with Ingram -- he hasn't really been trending in the wrong direction this season. Sure, Edwards saw more snaps than him in Week 6, but barely. Ingram just hasn't been trending in the right direction either. He's yet to exceed 65 percent of the RB snaps in a given game for Baltimore. When we touted him as a potential top-10 RB before the season, we weren't counting on such a timeshare. 

It's not like Ingram isn't getting the ball. He's seen between 12 and 19 carries in every game while catching at least one pass in every game since Week 1. His yards per carry is 4.7, slightly above his career average. The Baltimore rushing attack is just meant to support multiple rushers.

It all starts with Lamar Jackson, of course. If Ingram had gone to a different team to be their first-string running back, a team without such a dynamic rusher at QB, he might be looking at 20 carries every week. The Ravens' reality is that Ingram doesn't need to carry that much.

Edwards provides fresh legs when needed on the longer Baltimore drives. The rookie Justice Hill provides a change-of-pace option. Ingram is still a starting fantasy back more often than not, especially with his potential to find the end zone. He's just not an RB1 or even an unquestioned fantasy RB2. Some weeks, the other mouths will simply get fed more than Ingram.

WEEK 8 WAIVER WIRE: Top pickups

Texans Snap Counts: Kenny Stills, Keke Coutee while Will Fuller is out

Early indications are that Will Fuller V will miss multiple weeks because of a hamstring injury. With Fuller missing most of Sunday's game, Stills played 61-of-65 offensive snaps. Keke Coutee played 44. That suggests both could have fantasy value, especially Stills, while Fuller is out.

Stills caught four-of-five targets for 105 yards in Week 7, while Coutee caught three-of-five targets for 25 yards. Stills feels like almost a direct stand-in for Fuller. He's a deep threat who's always been boom-or-bust during his career. Coutee always shaped up as more of a possession receiver, and his role might not change much with Fuller's absence.

If Stills is available on your waiver wire, picking him up is a good idea. He's averaging 19.5 yards per catch this season and could connect with Deshaun Watson on a couple of long touchdowns in the coming weeks.

Coutee is probably worth snagging in some PPR leagues, although his target share will always be limited by the presence of DeAndre Hopkins, Stills, Duke Johnson Jr, Jordan Akins and Darren Fells.

Packers Snap Counts: Allen Lazard fantasy sleeper?

In our 32-team breakdown a week ago, I speculated that Lazard was a one-week wonder. He basically only saw snaps in the fourth quarter of Week 6. Yeah, he did good things with them, but it seemed a move out of desparation and nothing more. 

Everything that happened in Week 7 flew in the face of that. Of course, it certainly was affected by Davante Adams' absence and apparent limitations for Geronimo Allison and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who both were injured the week prior and didn't practice ahead of Week 7. All of that in mind, though, Lazard led a Packers' receiving corps with Allison and MVS active with 51 out of a possible 54 snaps played.

Lazard didn't do a ton -- he caught three-of-four targets for 42 yards. Even in a massive day for Aaron Rodgers, the most he threw anyone's way was five times, so the four targets isn't necessarily a negative.

The window of opportunity might close quickly on Lazard. Adams (toe) will return at some point, and you'd imagine that MVS and Allison are healthier next week than they were in Week 7. But for maybe a week or two more, Lazard will fill the role of a top-two outside receiver for the Packers. They run more than they used to, but Rodgers is still the QB, and that means that as long as Lazard is on the field, a big game isn't out of reach.

Bears Snap Counts: Anthony Miller fantasy sleeper?

Miller has not seen a decrease in his snap count week-to-week all season. In Week 7, he saw a season-high 49 plays on offense, and he turned that into five catches on nine targets for 64 yards. It was the first time this season that Miller was the second-most played Bears' WR.

Miller entered 2019 on a lot of sleeper lists, including ours. He'd caught seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2018 out of Memphis. The expectation was that he could put a bit more consistency together and shine. 

The problems started in the preseason, when a late-August injury meant Miller wasn't up to full speed on opening night. A few weeks later, Taylor Gabriel went and caught three touchdown passes to earn himself some temporary favor. Then, as Miller's playing time started to increase, Mitchell Trubisky was hurt. Chase Daniel was a downgrade.

Finally, though, things look better. The Bears used their bye week to get Trubisky healthy and apparently get Miller more involved in the offense. Another week like this and Miller will be worth an add to your bench in almost every fantasy league. If the pickings are slim, he's probably already worth a pickup. 

Vikings Snap Counts: Olabisi Johnson, Irv Smith Jr. in Adam Thielen absence

After a hamstring injury Sunday and a quick turnaround to Thursday Night Football, it looks like the Vikings will be without Adam Thielen for Week 8 against the Redskins. That means a couple of things.

First, rookie Olabisi Johnson steps in as Minnesota's No. 2 receiver. He played that role Sunday after Thielen exited and caught four-of-eight targets for 40 yards and touchdown. His eight targets were tied for tops on the Vikings with Stefon Diggs.

The Vikings will also certainly get their tight ends more involved in the passing game with Thielen out. Kyle Rudolph caught a touchdown Sunday, but it's the rookie Irv Smith Jr. who's proven the better pass-catcher in 2019. Smith played a season-high 41 snaps Sunday and caught five-of-six targets for 60 yards. 

The matchup with the Redskins should be good for the whole Minnesota offense. Sometimes it's tough to pull the trigger on a sleeper for Thursday night before you have a full view of what your Sunday lineup might look like due to injury or usage questions. But Johnson and Smith should both be adequate fantasy plays as long as Thielen is inactive. Smith could serve as a bye-week fill-in for Mark Andrews, while Johnson should make a solid FLEX play with a good floor.

For snap count reactions for every team, click here.

Billy Heyen