NFL Week 5 Usage Report: Tuten Pulls Ahead, Chargers Stay Split

Bhayshul Tuten is pulling more of Jacksonville’s backfield work toward him. Kimani Vidal is making the Chargers’ rotation harder to ignore. Rome Odunze’s playing time keeps climbing, even while Chicago’s passing game struggles to turn that opportunity into production.

Those are the changes we want to carry out of Week 5. The other useful discoveries are in the details: which backs get the catches, which tight ends keep earning targets, and who actually inherits work when a starter is missing. A replacement’s jump in snaps only becomes useful when we understand the job he inherited.

Through all Week 5 games, including Bills-Rams on Monday night. Updated October 13, 2026. Target shares use recorded team targets; carry shares include quarterback carries. The CTS NFL Usage Tracker has the full team breakdowns.

Bhayshul Tuten is taking control of Jacksonville’s carries

Tuten’s Week 5 line was fairly ordinary: 72 rushing yards, 24 receiving yards and no touchdown. His workload was the more encouraging part. He played 68% of the offensive snaps and handled 22 of Jacksonville’s 27 carries, an 81.5% share. That followed 17 carries and a 59% snap rate in Week 4.

Rodriguez and Allen were both available, and Jacksonville’s inactive list contained no running back. This is a three-game shift worth taking seriously within the existing rotation. Tuten had 25 combined carries and targets against Philadelphia; Rodriguez had three and Allen had two.

The limitation is at the goal line. Tuten and Rodriguez each had one carry from the opponent’s five-yard line or closer in Week 5. Tuten was stopped for a loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1, and Jacksonville left points behind on two trips inside the 5. More work gives Tuten more chances to score, but Rodriguez still has a way to interrupt the payoff.

Our read: Move Tuten up the Week 6 research list for his expanding workload. His three targets are a useful addition, while Allen’s passing-game involvement and Rodriguez’s short-yardage work keep this from being an every-down monopoly.

Kimani Vidal’s snap climb matters more than his long touchdown

Vidal’s 42-yard touchdown run against Denver supplied most of his 57 rushing yards. Chasing that play by itself would be a mistake. The more durable evidence is his offensive snap progression: 25%, 35% and 42% over the last three games.

Hampton still led the group in carries, but his snap rate has fallen from 42% to 35% to 30% across those same three weeks. Mitchell has drawn 13 targets in that stretch, compared with eight for Vidal and four for Hampton. The Chargers are dividing the work in ways that limit a straightforward lead-back projection.

None of the three running backs appeared on the final Week 5 injury report. That makes this rotation worth tracking beyond a one-week fill-in. The offensive line is a separate concern: Rashawn Slater went to injured reserve, while Joe Alt and two guards were ruled out against Denver.

Our read: Vidal has earned a spot on the watch list, but Hampton retained the carry lead and has all four of this trio’s season-long inside-five rushes. Mitchell has the best recent receiving volume. We need a clearer concentration of those jobs before paying for any of them as a full-workload back.

Rome Odunze’s role is improving faster than Chicago’s results

Odunze played 68 of 69 offensive snaps in Green Bay. His snap rate has risen from 84% in Week 2 to 85%, 89% and now 99%, with targets progressing from four to six, seven and nine. The Week 5 result, three catches for 40 yards, makes that growth easy to miss.

The latest target-share change was tiny: 7 of 31 team targets in Week 4, then 9 of 40 in Week 5. Both round to roughly 23%. Chicago threw more often while losing, so the extra two targets do not establish a sudden increase in his share of the passing game.

Still, nine targets, 101 air yards and two red-zone targets give us more to work with than the receiving-yard total suggests. Luther Burden III and Kalif Raymond remained involved, playing 77% and 68% of the snaps respectively. Odunze’s bigger role did not require either receiver to disappear.

The quarterback situation limits the immediate enthusiasm. Chicago replaced Tyson Bagent with Case Keenum during the 31-7 loss. We like Odunze’s place in the offense; we still need better passing execution for that role to produce consistently. His Week 6 appeal will depend on the quarterback outlook and price.

Isaiah Likely and Brenton Strange keep earning targets

Likely and Strange are worth keeping in the tight-end pool for different reasons. Likely already has repeated high-volume games alongside Malik Nabers. Strange has put together three straight games with growing or sustained target counts without needing a touchdown to make the workload interesting.

New York’s 27-27 overtime tie included 54 Jameis Winston pass attempts. Nabers drew 20 targets and Likely drew 13. That is a strong two-player concentration, but projecting another 13 targets for Likely would require an unusually busy passing day. His 30 targets over the last three games and eight red-zone targets through five weeks are the sturdier reasons to stay interested.

Strange caught seven of eight targets for 68 yards in Jacksonville’s win. He has 17 catches on 21 targets over the last three games, giving him a useful DraftKings reception base. The scoring-area work is thinner: just one red-zone target in that three-game stretch. Parker Washington’s two-touchdown afternoon should not distract from Strange’s repeat involvement, but we should be careful about buying a touchdown ceiling the recent usage has not supplied.

Our read: Both remain viable research targets. Likely has the stronger combination of passing volume and season-long red-zone involvement. Strange’s case is catching enough passes at the right salary, rather than requiring a touchdown.

Monday night reinforced two very different running-back roles

Kyren Williams finished with 16 carries and eight targets against Buffalo. Over the last three games he has drawn 28 targets and caught 22 passes. His snap rates in that span were 71%, 83% and 73%. That is a meaningful receiving workload even with Blake Corum continuing to play.

Corum’s 53 receiving yards on Monday can overstate how close the two backs were in opportunity. Williams led him 16-5 in carries and 8-4 in targets. Williams also received three of the Rams’ four running-back carries from inside the 5, with Corum getting the other. Corum contributes, but Williams still has the stronger combination of field time, touches and scoring chances.

James Cook’s 25 carries for 111 yards carried Buffalo’s rushing workload, and he had three inside-five carries. His receiving role is much smaller: four targets in Weeks 3-5, compared with 10 for Ty Johnson. Johnson caught all four of his Week 5 targets for 72 yards while playing only 22% of the snaps.

Our read: Williams offers the more substantial recent reception base for DraftKings. Cook’s case continues to lean on rushing volume and scoring chances. Johnson’s big receiving night does not make him a lead-back challenger, and Cook’s strong rushing line does not give him Johnson’s passing-game work.

When a starter is out: the replacement details that matter

Philadelphia: Pierce gets the volume, but Shipley kept the goal-line chances

With Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby unavailable, Dameon Pierce played 77% of the snaps, carried 11 times and drew five targets. Will Shipley played 21%, with five carries and two targets.

The important wrinkle: Shipley handled both Eagles running-back carries from inside the 5 and scored on one. Pierce’s 14 rushing yards and minus-2 receiving yards were poor, but the hierarchy is still worth remembering. If both Barkley and Bigsby are out, Pierce has the demonstrated volume advantage, while Shipley retains a specific scoring role. If Barkley returns, this replacement workload needs to be reassessed.

New England: Chism filled Hollins’ opening; Brown’s return can change it

Mack Hollins joined A.J. Brown on injured reserve before Week 5. Efton Chism III then played 76% of the snaps and led New England with six targets. Kyle Williams played 36% and had three targets, despite producing 91 receiving yards.

That gives us a useful answer while the receiver group is depleted: Chism has the stronger recent playing-time and target case. Brown was eligible to return in Week 6 as of the team’s October 10 update. Eligibility is not an announced return, and a Brown activation would change the available work. Keep Chism’s evaluation attached to that personnel context.

Pittsburgh: Bernard is the name to remember if the receiver absences continue

Germie Bernard played 92% of the snaps and drew nine of Pittsburgh’s 30 targets. Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek were ruled out before the second half, and Pittsburgh shifted toward more two-tight-end football. Pat Freiermuth also drew seven targets.

If those absences continue, Bernard has shown he can handle a substantial receiving workload. The same game does not establish that he permanently passed healthy teammates. Metcalf still played 92% of the snaps, and the Steelers’ account described Indianapolis giving him extra coverage attention. His four-target result needs that matchup context.

What we are carrying into Week 6

• Prioritize Tuten’s workload growth. The carry separation is becoming meaningful; keep Rodriguez’s remaining goal-line involvement in the projection.
• Track the whole Chargers rotation. Vidal’s snaps, Hampton’s carries and Mitchell’s targets are three different pieces of the backfield.
• Stay interested in Odunze, Likely and Strange. Their roles deserve attention, with passing volume and scoring-area work setting the limits.
• Keep replacement recommendations conditional. Pierce, Chism and Bernard become useful when the same absences create the same jobs.

Compare the next salary with these roles before committing to a lineup. The NFL Usage Tracker and NFL Player Research pages make it easier to check whether the next game confirms the trend.