Fantasy Football Usage Report Week 12: Kenneth Walker, Stefon Diggs and More

The No. 1 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 12's fantasy football action.

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Positive Usage Players

TE Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints

Alvin Kamara suffered an MCL sprain on Sunday. In his absence, rookie Devin Neal took over as the Saints' RB1, and he is likely to deservedly be the top waiver wire add of the week. But Neal wasn't the only player who saw an uptick in usage with Kamara out.

Hill, who is 35 years old, less than a year removed from an ACL tear, and still listed as a tight end, led the team with 10 carries.

As usual, Taysom's usage was, for lack of a better word, weird. According to PFF, he played 26 total offensive snaps: 10 as a halfback, five as a fullback or blocking back, five as a QB, three out wide and three in the slot. To go with his 10 carries, he attempted two passes (both incomplete) and ran five routes (zero targets). 

Taysom did only finish the day with 1.7 half-PPR points (all rushing yards). But we need to compare him to his competition, which is deep-league waiver tight ends. All of those players are likely to drop duds. But no one else is likely to see double-digit touches, let alone attempt a pass or two. If you're looking for upside at TE, look no further.

WR John Metchie III, New York Jets

Tyrod Taylor hasn't exactly lit the world on fire, but he has been more competent passing the ball than Justin Fields was. That means there is a chance the Jets' offense will provide a fantasy-relevant pass-catcher or two, even with Garrett Wilson sidelined. Right now, Metchie is the top candidate to be that guy.

After ranking second on the team in routes in Week 11, Metchie led with a healthy 88% route participation rate in Week 12. He also tied for the team lead with seven targets, a 25% share. If we're looking for a negative, his ADOT was low at just 4.4 yards per target, converting to just a 12% air yards share. 

But Metchie turned this usage into a solid day, catching six of his targets for 65 yards, a touchdown, and 15.5 half-PPR points. This was actually his second straight usable fantasy outing, as he scored 12 points the prior week. While he has been traded twice already in his young career, Metchie is also still just 25 and was a second-round pick in 2022.

He's worth adding in case he can build on this strong usage and production to become a weekly flex option, if not more. 

RB Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks

Heading into Week 12, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald said that Walker had “earned more opportunities.” Of course, that's the kind of thing that NFL coaches say all the time, and it doesn't always turn into much. Walker has spent most of the season in a very even 50/50 split with Zach Charbonnet, much to the frustration of fantasy managers.

However, Macdonald made good on his word on Sunday. Walker set season-highs in just about every usage stat, as he posted a 15% target share (four targets) and 65% RB rush share (11 carries to Charbonnet's six) on a 64% snap share. That usage still isn't elite, but it's a huge step in the right direction.

Going forward, Walker can be considered a weekly RB2 instead of the high-variance flex he was with his old usage. 

Negative Usage Players

WR Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots

Diggs' usage has been weird for the whole season. Despite clearly being the Patriots' top receiver in terms of targets, he has often been less than a full-time player in terms of snaps and routes. In recent weeks, he seemed to be trending in the right direction, including posting a season-high 89% route participation rate in Week 11.

But with Kayshon Boutte returning from a hamstring injury, Diggs' usage plummeted back down in Week 12. He posted just a 51% route participation rate, well behind both Boutte (77%) and Mack Hollins (74%). And this time, he wasn't able to make up for his lack of routes with high per-route numbers. He saw just three targets (a 9% share), catching two for 15 scoreless yards.

Going forward, this is a situation to monitor closely. I've attempted to declare Diggs dead before this season due to his low route participation. But he has consistently produced despite that, and we've also seen his routes trend up at times. However, I certainly wouldn't want to have to rely on him in Week 13, coming off a week of truly disappointing usage. 

RB Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars

Just last week, Tuten was in this article as a positive usage player. Prior to exiting the Jaguars' Week 11 game early with an ankle injury, the dynamic rookie seemed to be on track for a legit breakout, leading Travis Etienne in carries and posting easily a season-high in snap share.

Unfortunately, even though that ankle issue turned out to be minor, Tuten's increased usage did not continue into Week 12.

He posted just a 30% RB rush share (seven carries) on a 21% snap share, and failed to record a target on just six routes (a 17% participation rate). To be fair, that 30% mark was one of his best of the season. But it's still a far cry from leading the team in carries as he was the week before, and it's also a long way from a fantasy-relevant role.

Tuten is still a high-upside stash, but this backslide in usage means it's suddenly looking a lot less likely that he ever comes through for fantasy managers in 2025. 

WR Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

Frankly, I could have listed the Bears' entire passing game here. According to Fantasy Points Data, not a single member of Chicago's offense was above a very mediocre 68% route participation rate on Sunday. That's nothing new for the rookie duo of Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III (who were both at 53%), but it is new for sophomore WR Odunze.

This was Odunze's second straight week with a weirdly low route share, as he was at 69% in Week 11. Over the first 10 weeks of the season, he averaged an 84% participation rate. On the bright side, Odunze did see a healthy 26% target share on Sunday. But he's trended down slightly in that area, too, with a 21% average share since the Bears' Week 5 bye compared to 25% before it.

Unless his usage bounces back (which is unlikely with the rookies trending upward), Odunze will likely be an inconsistent option to finish the season.