In fantasy football, you have to look back to move forward. Fantasy points are the goal, but how a player gets there is the key. Yahoo analyst Joel Smyth breaks down 10 stats to know from Week 2 in order to win your matchup in Week 3 and beyond.
The RB touch split between Woody Marks (13) and David Montgomery (8) on Sunday. My first thought was, “Is this just because of the trailing game script?” The scary truth for Montgomery owners is that it looks like no. First off, this wasn’t a four-quarter blowout; it didn’t reach a two-score lead until the Bengals’ last drive of the third quarter. In the first three quarters, Marks had more carries and out-targeted Montgomery 5-2. Surprisingly, once it did become a trailing game script, Montgomery was the back with more of the receiving snaps, leading all NFL RBs with 26 routes on Sunday. When the Texans have a more ground-and-pound identity, I expect it to look better for Montgomery, but Marks also didn’t look like just any RB2.
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Quinshon Judkins’ route share in Week 2 without Dylan Sampson. Even without their young passing-down RB, Judkins’ involvement in the passing game looks average. Five targets were a positive, and he will get the early-down receiving work, which is a plus, but that is where it ends. With the Browns headed for weeks where there will be pass-heavy game scripts, he isn’t playing on the third-down passing snaps or in the two-minute offense. He can get some screens, but at the same time, be phased out of the game when Cleveland knows it’s time to throw. When the Browns play tougher rushing defenses such as Jacksonville and Tampa Bay in the first two weeks, it makes it very difficult for him to capitalize in fantasy.
Routes from Luther Burden III in non-3-WR sets. This one’s concerning, dropping below Kalif Raymond after being well above him in Week 1. Chicago runs the second-most 2-TE looks at 54%, diminishing the role of Burden if he’s only on the field consistently in 3-WR looks. Maybe this is due to the offseason injury, but it’s the main negative I’m taking away from an ugly-weather game vs. the Vikings in Week 2. On the other end, Odunze’s route share off injury bumped back up to 81% after being at 55% in Week 1.
The RB touch split between Alvin Kamara (14) and Travis Etienne Jr. (10). After Kendre Miller was a 50-50 back with Etienne last week, he was a healthy scratch? What does that mean for Etienne if he can’t be a workhorse over a player that’s not on the game roster the following week? Kamara came in and was a focal point of the offense, touching the ball on an absurd 88% of his snaps played. That’s not very “RB2-like”. Etienne hasn’t gotten red-zone work and now looks second in line for RB targets. It’s puzzling after his offseason contract, but he is not a lineup lock until further notice.
Targets for Kenneth Walker this season, the most of any RB. Ten targets last night made his touchdown-less day still turn into 20.8 fantasy points, as Walker has been targeted on 41% of his routes, right there with Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey. After an offseason of Kansas City being pleasantly surprised in his pass-catching ability, the Chiefs have utilized him as a main weapon in the receiving game with their WR core lacking depth and talent. Having 47 carries is great, but the 16 targets will make it much harder for Walker to leave weeks without a solid floor.
TreVeyon Henderson’s percentage of RB touches in his first game of 2026. It was Henderson’s second highest when Rhamondre Stevenson was fully healthy — and the majority came after an early fumble from Stevenson. Now, there is context of how it happened, so let’s break it down. After the fumble, Henderson had eight of the nine touches to finish the half. He had his big-play touchdown and looked great. From then on, it was a little more even, with Henderson still maintaining the slight edge. He out-snapped Stevenson 15-11 in the second half, with eight touches to Stevenson’s five. The routes were even as well. New England forgave Stevenson last year after his four early-season fumbles, which worked out after not fumbling the rest of the way. With Stevenson still having a strong role in the second half and trusted in multiple roles, I wouldn’t expect a full flip going forward.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s target share through two weeks of the NFL season. Last year, he led the NFL at 35.8%. I don’t think it’ll be 44% all season, but I doubt it drops much below the 36% from last year, as everything continues to look identical to 2025. He’s caught an absurd 77% of targets for being a deep threat, even higher than his 73% from last season, racking up 139 receiving yards per game. All with a backup QB in Drew Lock with Sam Darnold sidelined. The offseason hype of Rashid Shaheed has bumped his target share up to 18%, but it hasn’t taken anything from Smith-Njigba so far.
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Air yards for Parker Washington this season, the third-most in the NFL (really in 1.5 games). He finished Sunday with the second-highest target share to Smith-Njigba, now leading the Jaguars in target share in SIX straight games. He’s the slot receiver that eats up targets, but unlike most players running 50% of their routes inside, his downfield targets are plentiful. His average depth of target when playing in the slot this year sits at 13.8. He is the best of both worlds.
Fantasy opportunities (targets+carries) for Ashton Jeanty in each game to begin the 2026 season. The only time he did that in 2025 was his final game in Week 18. It’s a short list of players with better volume than Jeanty, and although it has come in wins, it should continue no matter the game script. When the Raiders are winning, let him tote the rock every drive. When they’re trailing, well, he has a team-high 22.4% target share. He can get it done in both ways, although the drops in Week 2 were frustrating. The goal-line stand to keep him out of the end zone hurt his fantasy day, but the red-zone role is extreme. His 13 red-zone touches is the most in the NFL, getting a touch on 81% of his red-zone snaps through the first two games.
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The difference in expected fantasy points per game of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Lamb has gotten a little more to start, but it’s turned into a difference in their actual PPR PPG of 17.5, a pretty wide gap. Pickens’ volume should improve, but in general, I see the combined expected fantasy PPG (just fantasy volume) at 33.0 being a positive. The Cowboys, in a small sample, are 26th in offensive plays after being first last season, which should also boost them in the future. Worst case, his volume doesn’t increase at all for some reason, and he gets the 21st-ranked volume in a top passing offense. The expectation shouldn’t be for him to be better than Lamb (he wasn’t last year), but to bounce back in a big way.
