The NFL season stats page is where you can track the utilization stats for every single player from a year-long perspective.
Whereas the Utilization report game log on Fantasy Life presents you with a breakdown of each player’s utilization metrics from a game-by-game perspective, the season-long NFL Utilization Stats page allows you to view the totality of every player’s utilization metrics.
This allows you to compare players and see where they rank versus their peers. You can filter by snaps for QB and RB, and routes for WRs and TEs, to remove small sample sizes.
In the season-long stat page on Fantasy Life, you can find all of the same stats that appear in the game log section of the Utilization report and also find a few extra categories that pertain specifically to season-long utilization – such as PPR Max and PPR average ranks.
Below is a breakdown of each stat in the season-long stats page in its entirety.
The term utilization in the NFL most often gets used when referring to a player's snap count, target share (receivers), or rushing attempts (running backs). However, utilization stats also go much deeper than that, and understanding how these metrics work can help you become a sharper fantasy player and bettor.
Below is a full list of terms you’ll find in the utilization tool’s season-long stats page along with definitions and how to best employ some of these stats for fantasy and betting.
Snaps are an indicator of playing time. A player's snaps, or snap count, represents how often he is on the field. For fantasy purposes, the more time your player is on the field, the more chances he will have for scoring points by gaining yards/catches/TDs.
Tracking snaps is important for RB/WR/TEs, but it is also the most rudimentary utilization metric and often doesn’t provide us with an entire picture of a player’s usage.
For example, players with high snap counts don’t always earn a lot of touches or score a lot of fantasy points. However, players with low snap counts can earn a lot of fantasy points in a single game or two but rarely turn into high-level, consistent fantasy producers (unless their snap count increases).
So, while high snap counts are no guarantee of success, they can be an indicator of future success or potential. Further, low snap counts can also be a sign that a player who has been producing big games may be in for regression in the near future.
In the season-long utilization tool, snaps are tracked by an overall percentage. For a game-by-game summary of exactly how many snaps each player played, you can use the search function on Fantasy Life to bring up a player’s Fantasy Life game log card.
For a game-by-game breakdown of snap percentage, visit the utilization game log tool.
Dropbacks are a quarterback-specific stat. They track how many times per game a QB drops back with the intent to pass, as opposed to handing the ball off to another one of his players. Dropbacks differ from pass attempts as not every QB dropback results in him passing the ball (he can be sacked or scramble, etc).
In the season-long stats page for the utilization tool, dropbacks for quarterbacks are tracked on a per-game basis. Knowing which QBs have high dropback rates can give you an idea of which offenses and quarterbacks will have higher passing volume ceilings and betting potential for fantasy scoring. However, the game script can heavily influence this stat – for a true understanding of which offenses are pass- or run-happy, check out the Team Styles view for dropback rate over expectation (DBOE).
Pass plays track the number of times that a quarterback passes the ball. Like dropbacks, these are tracked on a per-game basis in the season-long utilization tool.
Quarterbacks who have a big spread between pass attempts per game and dropbacks per game are often either heavy scramblers or take an inordinate amount of sacks.
aDOT refers to average depth of target. It is a stat that can be tracked for both quarterbacks and receivers.
For receivers, the metric is meant to track how far downfield the ball is traveling, on average, for the total sum of a player’s targets.
For quarterbacks, it tracks the average depth of target of each pass attempt.
QBs and receivers with higher aDOTs tend to have the more explosive potential for fantasy purposes. However, low aDOT receivers can also be great PPR point getters as they often have a higher catch rate (and often also have a higher target rate, as a result).
For fantasy, receivers with high target rates, high catch rates and high aDOTs often end up being the most elite point-getters. When you multiply aDOT by targets, you get air yards, which can be found under the WR view. Air yards correlate strongly with fantasy points and are one of the most stable year-over-year data points for receivers.
Comp% stands for completion percentage and is a QB stat used to track how efficient a QB is in completing his passes. A higher compilation percentage usually means that a quarterback is an accurate thrower.
However, QBs with high completion percentages aren’t always great for fantasy if all they do is throw short passes (have low aDOTs). QBs with high aDOTs and high completion percentages are often elite fantasy point-getters.
YPA stands for yards per attempt. Yards per attempt track the average amount of yards a quarterback’s pass travels in the air before it reaches his target. A quarterback with a higher YPA metric attempts more passes downfield than one with a low YPA metric.
No other individual player stat correlates more highly to winning football games than passing YPA for QBs.
This tracks the number of designed rush attempts called for a player on a per snaps basis. This is a QB-specific stat that tracks plays where the play intends to have the QB carry the ball and attempt to gain yards on the ground.
Designed QB runs differ from scrambles (or scramble percentage) as scrambles are generally plays where the QB is initially dropping back to pass but instead chooses to run the ball (aka not a designed run).
Elite rushing QBs will handle close to 25% of their team’s designed rushing attempts – well above the NFL average of 5% based on data since 2006.
The number of plays where the QB is initially dropping back to pass but instead chooses to run the ball. Historically, elite rushing QBs scramble on 8% or more of dropbacks, while pure pocket passers will be around 2 to 3%. The NFL average is 4% based on data since 2006 and despite the notion of more scrambling QBs, that number is the same over the last three seasons.
Plays where the QB drops back to pass but is tackled for a loss of yards before he runs or passes the ball. The NFL average since 2006 is 6%.
This stat tracks the percentage of rushing attempts for a player that comes inside the five-yard line. Players who take most of their carries inside the five-yard line will have a high I5 percentage, while players who get little to no carries in this portion of the field will have a low I5 carry percentage.
For fantasy and betting, rushers with a high I5 carry % will often be good TD producers due to the higher volume of touches they are getting near the opposing team’s goal line.
The lowest single-game score (across the chosen year or season) that a player achieved in full-point PPR scoring.
The average score a player achieved (across the chosen year or season) in full-point PPR scoring.
The best single-game score (across the chosen year or season) that a player achieved in full-point PPR scoring.
A player’s season-long ranking in full-PPR scoring leagues
Unlike quarterbacks, almost no running back is going to be on the field for 100% of his team’s snaps. Some lead backs will hover in the 80% range, while other committee RB1s could be at 50% or lower. You obviously can’t score fantasy points when you’re not on the field, so we ideally want to be targeting players with high snap shares.
This is the percentage of rushing attempts that a player commands each week. For example, if Christian McCaffrey has 20 of the 49ers’ 25 carries, his rushing attempt share would be 80%.
Route participation – or route share – is the number of times that a running back runs a route in a passing play. This can be a vital stat for running back production.
Not all passing plays are treated the same for running backs. Sometimes, they’ll be asked to stay in and block. Other times, they’ll release into the pattern late. They also might have a designed route from the beginning.
Route participation allows you to see how often each player is getting into the pattern. Running backs with lots of routes tend to catch a lot of passes, which is ideal for PPR formats.
Target share represents the percentage of targets that each running back earns. This can be correlated with route participation, but not always. The best pass-catching backs in the league – guys like McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and Breece Hall – will have high route shares and target shares. However, other pass-catching specialists can fare well in this department even if they’re not on the field a ton.
TPRR stands for Targets Per Route Run, and it reflects a player’s ability to “earn targets.” Essentially, it measures how often you’re being targeted when you are an option in the passing attack.
This can be an especially useful tool for pass-catching running backs. Someone like Samaje Perine might not command a large raw target share each week, but he’s being targeted quite frequently when in the pattern. That gives him a solid pass-catching floor and upside if he ever earns a bigger role.
SDD stands for Short Down and Distance, and it measures how often a running back is being used in those scenarios. They include goal-line situations, but they also include plays like third-and-1 or fourth-and-1. The best players in this department will be on the field nearly 100% of the time, giving them plenty of touchdown-scoring upside.
This functions the same way for running backs that it does for quarterbacks. If you’re handling a large percentage of inside-the-five touches, you’re a good bet to score touchdowns. Someone like Gus Edwards is the perfect example. He may not get 20+ carries every week, but he’s very active when the team gets near the goal line. That’s why he had as many touchdowns this season (13) as the previous five years combined.
LDD snaps – or long down and distance – is the opposite of SDD. It measures how often a running back is on the field in obvious passing situations. Players that can combine a strong LDD share with a high TPRR are typically some of the best receiving backs in football. Add in the goal line work, and you’ve got the makings of an elite fantasy running back.
Two-minute snaps function pretty similarly to LDD snaps; they measure which running backs are on the field in obvious passing situations.
This functions exactly the same for RBs as it does for QBs. It shows how many PPR points each player accumulates in a given week.
This also functions the same as it does for quarterbacks, highlighting where each player ranks in fantasy scoring for the week in their position group.
This functions the same for receivers and tight ends as it does for running backs. It shows the percentage of passing plays where the given player had a route in the pattern. For receivers that are on the field often, this number can approach 100%. Other receivers can have low snap shares but high route participation, so even though they may not be on the field all that often, they’re on the field when it counts. That makes route share arguably the more important stat.
TPRR is more important for pass catchers than it is for running backs. If a player has a high TPRR – aka, they’re “earning targets” when on the field – it can be a strong predictor of a potential breakout.
Take Christian Watson during his rookie season. He was sparingly used during the early part of the year, but when he was on the field, he was a frequent target for Aaron Rodgers. When his role expanded over the second half of the year, he was a WR1 for fantasy purposes.
Targets for receivers and tight ends function the same way as it does for running backs. It is the percentage of the team’s targets that a given player garners each week. Pass-catchers obviously can’t earn fantasy points unless the ball is coming their way, so this is arguably the most important stat for receivers and tight ends.
The best receivers in the league can earn upwards of 30% of their team’s targets. 25% would be considered an excellent mark in this department, while 20% is still solid. During the 2023-24 regular season, 28 players earned a target share of at least 20%, while another 18 were between 17 and 19.9%. Those players make up the majority of startable pass-catchers in fantasy leagues.
This is the percentage of targets for each player that were deemed catchable in a given week. This stat is more of a reflection of quarterback play, but it can highlight players who were unlucky. If someone received a handful of targets but only a small percentage of catchable targets, they could be a potential buy-low target.
ADOT for receivers functions the same way that it does for quarterbacks: it mentions how far each pass-catcher's average target is coming down the field. Players with low ADOTs are catching their passes closer to the line of scrimmage, giving them the same floors for PPR leagues. Players with higher ADOTs can be more volatile, but they offer more upside in terms of yards and big plays.
Air yards share measures the percentage of air yards that each pass-catcher accounts for on their team in a given week. Air yards work in conjunction with ADOT, since both stats measure how far the ball is traveling to a pass-catcher. Like ADOT, players with high air yards share tend to offer more upside than those with lower ones, even if they’re commanding the same volume from a target perspective.
Additionally, players with lots of air yards and minimal production are often strong buy-low targets. “Unrealized air yards” means that the quarterback was looking for them down the field but was unable to complete the pass. If those unrealized air yards become completions in the future, it can lead to big performances.
This measures the percentage of each team’s endzone targets that each player accounts for. This is another extremely important stat for fantasy purposes, and it can highlight strong values in the anytime touchdown market for betting. Touchdowns are the quickest way to rack up fantasy points, and the easiest way to score touchdowns is by getting targeted in the paint.
This stat measures the percentage of targets that each player commands for his team on third and fourth down. These are considered “money downs” in the NFL; if you don’t complete the pass, your offense is coming off the field. If a player is garnering looks in these situations, it indicates that they have the trust of their quarterback and playcaller.
This measures the percentage of a team’s play-action targets that each player receives. Play-action passes can provide more value than traditional dropbacks, so this is another stat that can highlight players who might be undervalued.
This functions the same for pass-catchers as for RBs and QBs. It’s the number of PPR points scored by each player each week.
This shows where each player finishes the week among their position group