Fantasy Football Player Notes

The backfield for New Orleans has been a mess through two games. Last week, with Alvin Kamara back, Travis Etienne led the backfield with a 53.1% snap rate, but he had only 29.6% of the rushing attempts (Kamara 33.3%) and a 33.3% route share (Kamara 23.1%). Kamara had a 17.6% target share while Etienne lagged behind with only a 5.9% share. Etienne finished with ten touches and 31 total yards. This isn't the type of usage that anyone (including myself) projected for Etienne entering this season. Kamara also got the team's only running back red zone rushing attempt. Etienne has posted a respectable 11.8% explosive run rate and 18% missed tackle rate. Etienne could be an RB2 with a bad matchup this week, but he's best viewed as a risky flex at this point until his usage improves. The Raiders have allowed the tenth-lowest explosive run rate, the seventh-lowest rushing success rate, and the fourth-lowest missed tackle rate.

Alvin Kamara logged his first game of the 2026 season last week and further muddied the New Orleans backfield with 14 touches and only 22 total yards. Kamara handled the only running back red zone rushing attempt. He played only 29.7% of the snaps but he led the backfield with a 33.3% rushing share and 17.6% target share while seeing a 23.1% route share. He was woefully inefficient with 1.89 yards after contact per attempt, zero explosive runs, and an 11% missed tackle rate. I don't know what Kellen Moore is doing with this backfield right now. I don't expect Kamara to see this type of usage on a weekly basis, but we have to see how this plays out. Don't flex Kamara this week as his usage could decline and it's a bad matchup. The Raiders have allowed the tenth-lowest explosive run rate, the seventh-lowest rushing success rate, and the fourth-lowest missed tackle rate.