The Utilization Report. Expert insights for the Super Bowl.

Volume is king in fantasy football, and this report will help you understand which players are due more or less according to their roles. It is a great way to know who is overperforming (sell high) and underperforming (buy low) based on historical data tied to metrics we know drive volume.

Overall offense: Which teams are enabling winning volume and efficiency across game scripts
Quarterbacks: How involved is each QB in the running game, and who is unlocking upside for their weapons
Running backs: Which backs are handling early downs, short-yardage and passing downs
Tight ends: Who is running enough routes and meeting critical targets per route thresholds
Receivers: Which receivers are in the most routes and operating broadly within the offense

For this season, Fantasy Life has partnered with PFF to collaborate on the Utilization Report.

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Conference Championship Weekend Takeaways

QB – Jalen Hurts

Hurts delivered his second-lowest fantasy point total of the season against San Francisco, with 14.7 points. However, the Eagles led for the majority of the game, with the 49ers unable to establish their offense thanks to a Brock Purdy injury. Hurts still registered double-digit rushing attempts (11) for the tenth time in 18 games, including one for a TD.

The third-year QB handles 23% of the Eagles’ rushing attempts, which ranks No. 1 in the NFL. He’s had 831 rushing yards and 15 rushing TDs on the season.

RB – Chiefs Backfield

Pacheco is the lead rushing option and Jerick McKinnon is the top passing-down option in the Chiefs’ backfield. However, determining which player will see the most playing time is a tricky riddle to figure out.

Over the last two weeks, we have seen two similar game scripts, with Kansas City within three points 65% and 83% of the time, while never trailing by four. Yet, the backfield split has been drastically different. McKinnon dominated 65% of snaps in the first game, but Pacheco led the way at 57% in the second game.

The rookie RB saw a season-high 50% route participation in the Conference Championship game. We could be dealing with a hot-hand approach, making both backs low-end RB2s with RB1 upside.

RB – Eagles Backfield

The Eagles ran the ball a whopping 44 times against the 49ers, thanks to a four-point lead on 62% of plays. Kenneth Gainwell beat his season-high from a week ago with a 32% rush share. However, due to blowout conditions, Miles Sanders hardly played in the second half.

Sanders accounted for 56% of the rushing attempts in the first half but only played two snaps in the second half. Sanders remains the lead option, with Gainwell handling passing downs and operating as the closer.

WR – Eagles Receivers and Tight Ends

None of the Eagles’ passing-game options eclipsed eight fantasy points in a game where Philadelphia only dropped back to pass seven times in the second half due to blowout conditions.

Dallas Goedert led the team with a 25% target share and now has three consecutive outings with 22% or more. This passing attack remains concentrated across A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Goedert.

Quez Watkins continues to share playing time with Zach Pascal in what we can now consider a trend. Watkins hasn’t reached 60% route participation in the last three games.

WR – Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Valdes-Scantling delivered a season-high 23.6 fantasy points during Conference Championship Weekend on a 20% target share. However, the veteran WR only managed a 79% route participation rate despite the Chiefs playing short-handed.

We could see a similar situation with the WR room in the Super Bowl, and the Chiefs could need Valdes-Scantling to step up in a big way. However, his 13% target share and 1.31 YPRR are WR6 material.

WR – Skyy Moore

Moore registered his best route participation of the season (60%), with multiple Kansas City WRs leaving the game due to injury in the championship game.

The rookie’s 20% TPRR is superior to Marquez Valdes-Scantling (14%) and Justin Watson (11%). If multiple WRs can’t go for the Super Bowl, Moore could be the No. 2 target behind Travis Kelce.

Get access to the full Utilization Report, all the data tables, and team-by-team analysis by subscribing to PFF+

Data notes and acronyms:

1st/2nd = First and second downs
LDD = long down and distance (third and fourth down with three or more yards to go)
SDD = short down and distance (second, third and fourth down with two or fewer yards to go)
i5 = inside the five-yard line
2MIN = two-minute offense (hurry-up offense)
Close = score within three points
Lead = leading by four points or more
Trail = trailing by four points or more
Plays = penalties included for utilization splits and rates
Pass Play = all dropbacks (i.e., attempts, sacks and scrambles)
ADOT = average depth of target
Air Yards = ADOT multiplied by targets
TTT = average time to throw
PA = play action
PA Targets = percentage of player's targets that came using play action
Fantasy finishes = through Sunday night game
YPRR = yards per route run
TPRR = targets per route run
EZ = end zone
TOP = Time of possession
Pass vs. Run Splits = based on the percentage of time a team throws or passes
FAB = Free agent budget (based on home leagues; adjust percentages in more competitive formats)

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