Week 9 Fantasy Football Usage Report: Jaxson Dart, Alec Pierce, Alvin Kamara and More

The number one way to get an edge over your less-locked-in fantasy leaguemates is to pay attention not just to production, but also to usage. 

Obviously, scoring fantasy points is important, but things like targets, routes, and snap share are often just as (if not more) helpful for predicting a player's future production than their past production.

Without further ado, here are the most important usage trends to note from Week 9's fantasy football action.

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Positive Usage Players

WR Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts

In Week 9, Pierce led the Colts and ranked second in the NFL with 13 targets. However, his positive usage trends go back further than that. Pierce's season-long numbers are genuinely insane.

Even including a game he left early to injury, he has a 19% target share and a 45% air yards share in the Colts' elite offense. That translates to 124 air yards per game, second only to Malik Nabers (RIP) on the season. 

Now, you're probably wondering how someone seeing that much usage down the field ranks only 42nd in half-PPR points per game. The answer is simple: touchdowns. Pierce actually ranks 12th among WRs in receiving yards per game, but he has yet to hit the end zone so far this season.

Given his downfield usage and how effective Indianapolis' offense has been, that's going to last. Pierce is still available in over 80% of leagues, so check your waivers for him ASAP.

WR Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos

Although he racked up 192 air yards, Pierce didn't lead the league in that category in Week 9. That honor went to Franklin, with a whopping 202 air yards on nine targets.

Just as importantly, Franklin posted an elite 90% route participation rate. That was his highest mark of the season and his second time in a row leading all Denver receivers, Courtland Sutton included. 

Across those last two weeks, the sophomore WR has averaged a 26% target share and a 44% air yards in Denver's offense. He's also averaged 15.1 half-PPR points per game, admittedly with the caveat that most of that production came against the Cowboys' miserable defense.

Franklin isn't quite as widely available as Pierce, but he is still a potential weekly flex (if not more) available in over 50% of leagues. 

QB Jaxson Dart, New York Giants

Quarterbacks don't normally have “usage” in the same way as other positions. Because QBs play essentially (and often literally) every offensive snap, the only thing that really determines their volume is the type and volume of passing plays that their coaches call. 

But the QB running game provides an exception to this rule. Aside from the truly elite runners and the absolute statues, most quarterbacks can have their rushing production impacted by how much their coaches ask them to run the ball, as well as their own scrambling tendencies. And we all know how important rushing stats are for QB fantasy production.

This is why Dart deserves mention as a positive usage player. The rookie ranks second to only Jayden Daniels in both rushing attempts (8.2) and rushing yards (42) per start. And, unlike Daniels, the vast majority of Dart's attempts are actually designed rushes. He beats out even Tush Push merchant Jalen Hurts to lead the league with 5.2 designed attempts per start.

This helps explain why Dart has racked up five rushing TDs in six games, as designed QB rushes are particularly effective near the goal-line. As long as Brian Daboll keeps leaning on the rookie's legs, expect Dart to keep providing solid fantasy results, even if his passing numbers leave something to be desired. 

Negative Usage Players

RB Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings

Aaron Jones Sr. exited the Vikings' win over the Lions early with a shoulder injury, but the veteran reportedly has a chance to return as early as this week. That's bad news for Mason, who saw miserable usage in the three halves where Jones was healthy (Week 8 and the first half on Sunday). The former 49er recorded just six carries on 24 snaps (a 31% share) in those three halves; he also saw two targets on nine routes. 

On the bright side, Mason played the Vikings' only snap inside the five-yard line in this sample. It was a pass, not a run, but this is at least an indication that his role as the team's goal-line back is intact. But if his overall volume remains this low when Jones returns from injury (again), Mason will just be a very TD-dependent flex play, nothing more. 

RB Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

When Kendre Miller tore his ACL in Week 7, there was a chance that Kamara would return to a workhorse role in the Saints' backfield. Instead, here are Kamara's usage numbers over the last two weeks: 12 attempts and five targets (a 6.6% target share) on a 54% snap share.

To be fair, that 12 attempt number is definitely deflated by two straight very negative game scripts. Depending on whether you include Taysom Hill as a running back, Kamara has either an 80% or a 57% RB rush share over the last two weeks. 

But, given that Kamara is no longer an explosive playmaker and this Saints' offense isn't exactly racking up red zone trips, this usage simply isn't good enough. You need one of volume or efficiency to be a reliable fantasy option, and the 30-year-old has neither. He's barely startable at this point, until we see something change.

WR Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee Titans

While he's certainly not as big a name as Kamara (or even Mason), I imagine Ayomanor is still stashed on plenty of fantasy benches after he flashed to start his season. Unfortunately, Ayomanor has now been overtaken by fellow fourth-round rookie Chimere Dike in the Titans' WR room.

In Week 9, Ayomanor was also behind veteran Van Jefferson, and as a result, posted by far his lowest route participation rate since Week 3 at just 69%.

Going forward, it's hard to see Ayomanor reaching fantasy relevance this season. Even if he can reassert himself ahead of Jefferson, he seems to be clearly behind Dike. And I haven't even mentioned Calvin Ridley yet, who survived the trade deadline in Tennessee and should eventually return from his hamstring injury.

This Titans' offense isn't good enough to support multiple fantasy-relevant WRs, so Ayomanor is no longer worth stashing, even in deeper formats.