Especially in the preseason, the amount of snaps a player takes in a game tends to show a modicum of how the coaches view their role on the team – for the guys who are in battles for roster spots, these numbers are doubly important. As we head towards the third preseason game, which most analysts view as the “dress rehearsal” – plan to hear that phrase a million times over the next week – for the regular season, these numbers become more meaningful. It’s clear that the coaching staff are trying to see what they have at certain positions, so take a look at the numbers and we’ll give some analysis below.
| Name | Position | Offensive Snaps | Percentage | Defensive Snaps | Percentage | Special Teams Snaps | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Thomas | TE | 39 | 58% | 5 | 18% | ||
| K Friend | C | 39 | 58% | 1 | 4% | ||
| B Mahon | G | 39 | 58% | 1 | 4% | ||
| D Moore | WR | 29 | 43% | ||||
| T Moton | T | 28 | 42% | 1 | 4% | ||
| M Kalil | T | 28 | 42% | 1 | 4% | ||
| G Van Roten | C | 28 | 42% | 1 | 4% | ||
| T Heinicke | QB | 27 | 40% | ||||
| E Baylis | TE | 24 | 36% | 9 | 32% | ||
| C Samuel | WR | 24 | 36% | 6 | 21% | ||
| D Funchess | WR | 24 | 36% | ||||
| C Newton | QB | 24 | 36% | ||||
| T Hearn | G | 23 | 34% | 4 | 14% | ||
| D Johnson | G | 23 | 34% | 3 | 11% | ||
| B Clausell | T | 23 | 34% | 1 | 4% | ||
| A Armah | RB | 22 | 33% | 9 | 32% | ||
| C Anderson | RB | 20 | 30% | ||||
| C Artis-Payne | RB | 19 | 28% | 9 | 32% | ||
| C McCaffrey | RB | 17 | 25% | ||||
| J Wright | WR | 17 | 25% | ||||
| G Olsen | TE | 17 | 25% | ||||
| A Bisnowaty | T | 16 | 24% | 3 | 11% | ||
| N Price | T | 16 | 24% | 3 | 11% | ||
| Q Eatmon | T | 16 | 24% | 3 | 11% | ||
| K Bosch | G | 16 | 24% | 3 | 11% | ||
| J Sirles | G | 16 | 24% | 1 | 4% | ||
| G Gilbert | QB | 16 | 24% | ||||
| D Byrd | WR | 15 | 22% | 7 | 25% | ||
| M Frazier | WR | 14 | 21% | 7 | 25% | ||
| T Turner | G | 12 | 18% | ||||
| R Kalil | C | 12 | 18% | ||||
| J Jones | WR | 11 | 16% | 10 | 36% | ||
| T Smith | WR | 10 | 15% | ||||
| K Barner | RB | 7 | 10% | 3 | 11% | ||
| C Serigne | TE | 7 | 10% | 1 | 4% | ||
| B Howard | WR | 6 | 9% | 5 | 18% | ||
| R Bailey | WR | 6 | 9% | 2 | 7% | ||
| E Hood | RB | 3 | 4% | 8 | 29% | ||
| A Duke | WR | 3 | 4% | 4 | 14% | ||
| R Bonnafon | RB | 1 | 1% | 4 | 14% | ||
| C Elder | CB | 34 | 49% | 3 | 11% | ||
| R Gaulden | DB | 32 | 46% | 6 | 21% | ||
| D Southward | CB | 29 | 41% | 9 | 32% | ||
| L Kuechly | LB | 28 | 40% | 3 | 11% | ||
| M Adams | SS | 28 | 40% | 3 | 11% | ||
| D Hall | DE | 28 | 40% | 3 | 11% | ||
| J Bradberry | CB | 28 | 40% | 3 | 11% | ||
| D Jackson | DB | 26 | 37% | 3 | 11% | ||
| D Mayo | LB | 25 | 36% | 10 | 36% | ||
| L Doss | CB | 25 | 36% | 7 | 25% | ||
| T Sprinkle | DT | 25 | 36% | 1 | 4% | ||
| J Norris | LB | 24 | 34% | 11 | 39% | ||
| C Munnerlyn | CB | 24 | 34% | ||||
| J Carter | LB | 23 | 33% | 10 | 36% | ||
| C Jones | FS | 22 | 31% | 8 | 29% | ||
| K Seymour | CB | 22 | 31% | 7 | 25% | ||
| Z Moore | DE | 22 | 31% | 2 | 7% | ||
| W Horton | DE | 21 | 30% | 1 | 4% | ||
| M Addison | DE | 21 | 30% | 1 | 4% | ||
| D Poe | DT | 21 | 30% | 1 | 4% | ||
| K Short | DT | 21 | 30% | 1 | 4% | ||
| D Cox | SS | 20 | 29% | 13 | 46% | ||
| B Cox | DE | 20 | 29% | 10 | 36% | ||
| M Haynes | LB | 20 | 29% | 4 | 14% | ||
| L Gunter | CB | 19 | 27% | 6 | 21% | ||
| V Butler | DT | 19 | 27% | 1 | 4% | ||
| K Norton | DT | 19 | 27% | 1 | 4% | ||
| A Carter | CB | 17 | 24% | 5 | 18% | ||
| T Davis | LB | 17 | 24% | 3 | 11% | ||
| E Obada | DE | 15 | 21% | 7 | 25% | ||
| S Thompson | LB | 15 | 21% | 3 | 11% | ||
| K Love | DT | 14 | 20% | 2 | 7% | ||
| R Brown | LB | 11 | 16% | 9 | 32% | ||
| C Frey | LB | 10 | 14% | 11 | 39% | ||
| D Searcy | SS | 9 | 13% | ||||
| K Anderson | DE | 8 | 11% | ||||
| S Bailey | DE | 6 | 9% | ||||
| G Gano | K | 9 | 32% | ||||
| J Jansen | LS | 8 | 29% | ||||
| M Palardy | P | 8 | 29% |
With the tight end depth being extremely thing currently, it’s not surprising to see Ian Thomas sharing the lead for offensive snaps – he’s clearly taken the TE2 spot from Chris Manhertz, and it will be up to Evan Baylis to outplay the injured Manhertz for a spot on the roster – Cam Serigne only got seven snaps and Jason Vander Laan hasn’t participated with the team since last Tuesday.
Brendan Mahon got extended run as they want to see what they have in the undrafted free agent – the coaching staff has been impressed thus far; Kyle Friend got extended time as well, but that is likely due to Tyler Larsen not playing, Ryan Kalil taking limited reps and Greg Van Roten – the third-string center – starting at left guard.
Cameron Artis-Payne and CJ Anderson got almost the same number of reps – clearly the coaching staff wants to see how CAP compares to the rest of the running back roster, but for Kenjon Barner to rack up five carries and 72 yards on seven carries is impressive – it’ll be interesting to see if the coaching staff takes a longer look at him this Friday against New England.
With Da’Norris Searcy exiting with a concussion early in the game, both Rashaan Gaulden and Dezmen Southward got extended playing time – I always like to look at the special teams reps, as that can be an indicator as to who might be occupying some of those bottom-of-the-roster slots: this week, aside from David Mayo, who we know is making the team, Jamaal Jones, Demetrious and Bryan Cox, Jared Norris, Jermaine Carter and Chris Frey got the most in the third phase of the game. One has to wonder if the Chris Frey/Jared Norris reps would have been taken by seventh-round pick Andre Smith if he had been able to play on Friday night.
