• Aaron Jones wounded: Minnesota Vikings The star running back got off to a strong start with over 50 yards rushing in the first quarter, but a hip injury kept him out for the rest of the game.
• New York Jets continue the new tight end trend: An increasing number of teams are using committees at tight end, and the Jets are the newest team to join the bandwagon.
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PFF’s fantasy football profile focuses on player usage and statistics, and compiles all the important information you need to succeed in fantasy football in 2024.
New York Jets @ Minnesota Vikings
Monitor Aaron Jones‘ health: Jones suffered a thigh injury in the first half and was ruled out at half-time.
Jones started the game, playing 16 of the first 19 snaps. In the first four weeks, he played 94% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps in the first two games, while he and Ty Chandler split snaps on the team’s third drives, so this game started out much like any other game.
After Jones’ injury, Chandler became the starting running back for the rest of the game. C.J. Ham has taken multiple snaps on third down over the past two seasons, which continues to happen in this game. Miles Gaskin was called up from the practice squad to become the team’s third running back and made several snaps on offense. Gaskin has been on the team’s practice squad or active roster for over a year now, so the Vikings should be relatively comfortable with Gaskin playing a backup role.
Chandler should be targeted on waivers in case Jones’ injury persists. The Vikings have a bye week next week, so Jones has plenty of time to recover, but it’s better to take Chandler now, just in case, than to wait and give his fellow league players time to scoop him up.
Jalen Naylor WR3 finally wins the task: Naylor didn’t see the target, but ran more routes than usual this week.
Naylor received plenty of praise throughout training camp, but in Week 1 he ranked only fourth in offensive snaps among Vikings receivers. Brandon Powell was the third wide receiver in three-receiver sets because he is primarily a slot receiver, and Naylor, Justin Jefferson And Jordan Addison mostly found outside wide receivers.
The Vikings were without Addison in Weeks 2 or 3, allowing Naylor to lead the wide receiver on routes. During that time, he caught six passes for 85 yards. The Vikings returned to full strength in Week 4, allowing Powell to run more routes and take more snaps.
Naylor became the No. 3 receiver for the first time this week, running significantly more routes than Powell. Naylor ranked 15th in PFF grade among those running 50 or more routes through the first four weeks, so seeing him on the field more often made sense. Naylor was the primary slot receiver in Minnesota. It didn’t lead to any fantasy draft, but it could take Naylor some time to become more productive out of the slot. There’s a good chance Naylor will reel in some more big catches this season.
Don’t add Tyler Conklin: For the first time this season, Conklin failed to play 90 percent of New York’s offensive snaps.
Last season, there were 19 games through the first four weeks in which the starting tight end on the 11-man roster was not one of the two starting tight ends on the 12-man roster. This year, over the same period, 31 such games took place. The Bengals, Titans, Broncos and Commanders did this regularly, with the Steelers and Seahawks joining in when all their tight ends were healthy.
The Jets nearly made it their 32nd game of the season, with Conklin playing just nine snaps on 12 players. Brenden Bates‘ eight out of 12 employees, while Jeremy Ruckert took all 17. Bates played each of the first five snaps of the 12-man lineup before the Jets fell behind 17-0 and essentially shut down the game. Conklin has played 60 of 67 12 personnel snaps through the first four weeks.. Conklin ranked in the bottom 10 in block rating through the first four weeks, so it’s understandable that the Jets were trying to change things up.
Conklin caught six passes for 55 yards, but much of that was a result of the Jets trailing by three points early. The Jets will have more of the ball in most games, meaning Conklin won’t be on the field as much. The only reason Conklin was worth considering is because he led all tight ends in routes from Weeks 1 through 4, but fewer 12-man snaps in the future will mean fewer routes run.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson returned to training this week but was not included on the 53-man roster. The Vikings have a bye week next week, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Hockenson returns for their next game in Week 7.
- Jets third-round rookie Malachi Corley was a healthy inactivist for the first time this season. He played one snap in the slot in both Weeks 1 and 2, and his only snap in Week 3 was on special teams. He saw no offense or special teams in Week 4, keeping him inactive this week.
- Garrett Wilson was attacked 21 times, which is due to Cooper Coup in Week 1 for the most goals by a player in a game this season.
- Brice Hall played a higher percentage of New York’s offensive snaps compared to the last three weeks, but that’s because Hall plays the vast majority of third-down and two-minute snaps. The Jets played 28 snaps in these situations in this game. Expect a little more Braylon Allen when the Jets don’t always play from behind like they have the last few weeks.
Carolina Panthers @ Chicago Bears
Soon!
Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals
Soon!
Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans
Soon!
Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Soon!
Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots
Soon!
Cleveland Browns @ Washington commanders
Soon!
Las Vegas Raiders @ Denver Broncos
Soon!
Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers
Soon!
Green Bay Packers @ Los Angeles Rams
Soon!
New York Giants @ Seattle Seahawks
Soon!
Dallas Cowboys @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Soon!
Notes on the table
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. These plays have been removed from the other three indicators.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely mismatch would be due to a clear throw where the NFL can pass the target to the nearest receiver but this data cannot.
- Carries only happen in well-thought-out pranks. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward total carries in the game.
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