I’m getting old folks.
I played two hours of pickleball last weekend for the first time in two weeks, and by the next day, I was wondering if my back would ever go back to normal.
It is. No serious issue here, a middle-aged man who doesn’t realize he can’t go from not getting enough activity all week to pretending he’s gunning for a US Open title.
Why did I bother to tell you this? Because we’re kicking off this week’s Hits with some star edge players who might be fighting the clock as well. Of course, they were both younger than me, but they also played a rougher sport.
Let’s look at their situations and then look at some other IDP-related notes.
Did Hendrickson’s Second Week of Play Tell Us Anything?
Once Edge Trey Hendrickson was activated for Sunday’s game against the Saints coming off his finger injury, I thought we could expect full usage. He has nine others.
However, Hendrickson’s snap share fell from Week 1. He went from 74% in Week 1 to just 53% against New Orleans.
That said, the snap count almost identical: Hendrickson played 40 snaps in Week 1 and 36 in Week 2. So maybe that’s the range of playing time they’ve determined will keep the 31-year-old (32 on Dec. 5) fresh throughout the season.
It’s too early to say that for sure, obviously — unless there’s a report I’ve missed up to that point — but I’ll be watching the next two weeks for confirmation in either direction.
After a mostly quiet Week 1 against the Colts (1 tackle), Hendrickson recorded a sack and 3 solo tackles against the Saints. But Pro Football Focus gave him 4 pressures in the opener and 6 against New Orleans, so the performances are likely closer than the obvious stats suggest.
At the same time, PFF graded Hendrickson’s pass rusher at just 67.8 through two games. He finished each of the past five seasons at 86.9 or higher and hasn’t dipped below 77.0 for a season since 2019. Another item to watch.
Time May Catch Up with Hunter
Here’s something to watch: Texans edge Danielle Hunter has had just 2 pressures in each of two games so far this season, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s not something we’ve seen at any point in the past year.
Hunter finished just five games in all of 2025 with fewer than 4 pressures and three games with fewer than three of them. He hasn’t had back-to-back weeks with fewer than 4 pressures.
Hunter only had one set of consecutive games with fewer than 3 pressures in 2024, and the second game in that set found him leaving after just nine snaps.
The veteran’s playing time is actually up so far (80.5%) compared to his previous two seasons in Houston (70.0% and 70.1%), and we could see pressure production rebound quickly. But he’s 31 — will be 32 in late October — and may be dropping some, too. Our historical aging-curve data sees age-32 D-linemen typically posting around 70% of their peak production.
Aside from the lack of pressure, Hunter also has 1 tackle in two games.
No. 2 LB Spot Probably Doesn’t Matter Now
The first full game without LB Henry To’oTo’o found Jake Hansen playing 88% of the snaps as the Texans’ LB2. No other non-edge LB other than Azeez Al-Shaair saw the field.
We’ll see how Jake Hummel comes in when he’s healthy enough to play. Of course, Hansen only managed 1 solo and 3 assists, so the situation didn’t matter.
Overshown Replacement Plan Poses Fantasy Risk
LB Dee Winters recorded a team-high 9 tackles and game-high 7 solo in Sunday’s win over the Commanders, including a tackle for loss for the second straight game.
That’s a predictable climb after DeMarvion Overshown’s Week 1 hamstring injury, and Overshown remains out of this week’s Ravens game.
Be careful about trusting Winters too much, though. He played more in Overshown out but went from a 58% Week 1 snap share to just 75% against Washington. Obviously that’s a level he’s at can make useful numbers. But that’s not a high enough rate to make Winters — or almost any LB — a reliable weekly option.
The Ravens look like a neutral matchup for LB scoring this week.
Rookie Jaishhawn Barham has played 63% of the snaps in Overshown’s absence, with Shemar James also working hard (54%).
Are dolphins just trying to be annoying?
It’s fun.
The Dolphins gave us the breakdown of playing time among the safeties in Week 1:
- Zayne Anderson 78%
- Michael Taaffe 75%
- Dante Trader 47%
Anderson and Taaffe started that game. But Week 2 instead gave us Taaffe and Trader as the opening tandem, with these final snap shares:
- hard 85%
- Trader 77%
- Anderson 25%
- Julius Wood 15%
Wood took over the small role that rookie Kyle Louis filled in the opener before suffering an MCL sprain that put him on IR for at least four games.
I want to tell you that we can count on Taaffe’s role. But you probably can’t expect much in Miami right now besides the two main LBs and the whole thing looks very difficult.
We’re talking about a collection of mostly average-to-poor players by NFL standards, on a team that has limped for two straight games. Try not to use any Miami defenders other than Jacob Rodriguez, Jordyn Brooks, and Zach Sieler if you can manage.
First-round rookie CB Chris Johnson will likely play a safety role as well but you can see his versatility with these two stat lines:
- Week 1: 11 tackles (5 solo, 1 TFL), 2 passes defensed
- Week 2: 1 single tackle
Still waiting for Normal Picture Playtime in San Francisco
LB Dre Greenlaw posted a solid 8 tackles in Sunday’s win over the Dolphins, including a team-high 5 solo. But the second win in a row deprived us of the opportunity to reassess his full role.
Only four 49ers defenders exceeded 83% snap shares against Miami:
- S Brands Acronym 100%
- CB Renardo Green 100%
- S Ji’Ayir Brown 95%
- CB Deommodore Lenoir 95%
LB Fred Warner checked in next at 83%, while Greenlaw followed at 69%.
Maybe this Sunday’s home date in Arizona changes things, but the Cardinals just lost 31-7 to Seattle in their place. So maybe we have to wait.
Greenlaw sits in the LB4 territory of our rankings as we await more clarity.
Our Man Is Back in Seattle… Not Really
Nick Emmanwori played just nine snaps in his Week 2 return from offseason ankle surgery.
“We had a plan for him to come back,” HC Mike Macdonald said afterward, according to the team’s site. “He’s been able to play more plays, but the way we want to play him … it’s great for him to get his confidence back, get him moving. … We’ve got to really step it up next week.”
Emmanwori added: “Going forward, looking to be with them every game, every game.”
I find it hard to believe he’ll go from nine snaps to full playing time a week later, so I’ll remain cautious about starting Emmanwori in IDP lineups this week. But he put in full training every day and did not carry the injury designation into the game.
The second-year safety could be a more entertaining game come Week 4.
A Couple of Buccaneers Shoulders Deserve Your Attention
The Bucs will be without their first- and second-round picks in Sunday’s game against the Vikings.
Round 1 Edge Rueben Bain Jr. is officially out with a groin but has also been dealing with a shoulder injury since mid-August at the Jaguars’ joint practice.
HC Todd Bowles indicated after last week’s loss to the Browns that Bain’s shoulder was “good enough to play” and that the team needed more production from him. Perhaps the groin game will help in that area.
“It’s still a young season,” Bowles told the Tampa Bay Times on Friday. “We’re going to get through this game, he’s going to come back healthy. We still have high hopes for him. We just need him to be healthy.”
We’ll find out about Bain’s status heading into Week 4. The Bucs don’t get their bye until Week 10.
Round 2 LB Josiah Trotter, meanwhile, is dealing with his own shoulder issues. Bowles called it a “tolerance thing,” so I guess we’ll see if it holds up in the Week 4 home date with Green Bay. We may have to watch out for the risk of re-offense when he returns, though.
Bowles said SirVocea Dennis and Christian Rozeboom will join forces to fill in for Trotter, which varies by package. That means you shouldn’t use either guy in IDP lineups. Expect Alex Anzalone to run as their only full-timer at the position.
Commanders Have A Man Doing Frankie Luvu Impressions
LB Leo Chenal played 82% of the snaps in Dallas on Sunday with Frankie Luvu nursing a groin injury. Luvu hasn’t practiced in the past two weeks and remains out for Sunday’s clash in Seattle.
Chenal recorded a game-high 12 tackles, including a team-high 6 solo. The former Chiefs third-round pick has flashed tackle efficiency in the past and blitzed at a high rate for the Chiefs the past two years.
Chenal rushed the passer on 24% of his snaps in those seasons, close to the 21.9% rate Luvu did so through his first two campaigns in Washington. He looks like a solid-to-good LB3 option while Luvu is out.
The Commanders will also miss S Nick Cross, who spent Sunday night in a Dallas hospital being evaluated for an internal injury. They released him the next morning, indicating there were no serious issues. But the team listed him as out for Week 3 with “illness.”
Quan Martin looks like the fill-in and could be a low-level IDP option for the week. We’ll see if special teams cult hero Tyler Owens gets in on some snaps.
Want to Know Who’s Starting?
The information is cool, but we’re all just trying to figure out who to put in our fantasy football lineups each week.
Wondering who makes sense for you in Week 2? Check your Team Dashboard for custom lineup advice. And if you’re in a place where you just can’t decide, check out the Who Gets Started tool.