Fantasy Football Player Notes

Well, Swift's usage last week was a happy surprise. He saw his highest snap percentage since Week 8 (51%) with 18 touches and 111 total yards. Swift led the running back room in red zone work and with a 51.2% route run rate. His per-carry efficiency last week still wasn't great, as he failed to force any missed tackles with his 14 rushing attempts and finished with 1.79 yards after contact per attempt, but the bump in usage is great to see. Since Week 10, Minnesota has been 11th in rushing success rate, ninth in EPA per rush, and 16th in explosive run rate allowed. On the ground, they have been an above-average defense. The area they have been eaten up by is with running backs in the passing game. Minnesota is 24th in DVOA, giving up the sixth-most receptions, fifth-most receiving yards and eighth-highest yards per reception. Swift is an RB2 with RB1 potential this week.

Williams is the early down banger complement to Swift. He's averaged 15.7 carries and 64.1 rushing yards as the RB15 in fantasy. Williams has fueled fantasy lineups with the most red zone touches and total touchdowns among running backs. His star does dim if the Week 13 trend of Swift getting the bulk of the red zone usage continues. Williams has not been efficient or explosive, with his work ranking 35th in evaded tackles, 40th in breakaway run rate, and 53rd in yards created per touch. With the Vikings' strength coming against the run, Williams is a low-end RB2/RB3. If he flops in the endzone, he'll finish inside the top 24 backs despite an otherwise lackluster stat line.