Fantasy Football Player Notes

Last week, Pacheco played 37% of the snaps and finished with eight touches and 49 total yards. He split the rushing play snaps evenly with Kareem Hunt (46.7%) while only seeing 25% of the red zone snaps. I expect him to get more work this week for the rushing snaps to tilt in his favor and for the red zone usage to also flip in his favor. Pacheco looked like a player returning from injury. Outside of his 14.3% explosive run rate, he didn't force a missed tackle and had only 1.86 yards after contact per attempt. He could be a low-end RB2 this week if he gets into the end zone with the rushing matchup he is staring at. Since Week 8, the Chargers' run defense has fallen apart as they have allowed the 12th-most rushing yards per game, the 11th-highest explosive run rate, and the second-highest yards after contact per attempt.

Last week, Hunt's grip on this backfield loosened. He played only 38% of the snaps, with nine touches and 15 total yards. He split the rushing down snaps evenly with Isiah Pacheco (46.7% each) while holding a lead in the red zone (50% of the snaps). I expect Pacheco to eat into Hunt's workload further this week as he reclaims the backfield. That makes Hunt a volatile flex play at best. The entire thesis behind Hunt's value has been volume and not efficiency. With the volume drying up quickly, his fantasy value could quickly go to zero as soon as this week. At least working in his favor this week is that he has a wonderful matchup on the ground. Since Week 8, the Chargers' run defense has fallen apart as they have allowed the 12th-most rushing yards per game, the 11th-highest explosive run rate, and the second-highest yards after contact per attempt.