TylerGoodson

Oct 5

Williams’ playing time on early downs stayed remarkably consistent over the first three weeks, playing between 73-77% of snaps.

Part of this has been instability on the depth chart behind Williams. Dallas has gone from Jaydon Blue to Malik Davis to Emari Demercado to Tyler Goodson as its primary backup running back. Demercado has spent the last two weeks as inactive, leaving Goodson as the main backup. This week, Williams played 26-of-40 snaps in normal early-down sitautions compared to 14 by Goodson. Part of that was because Williams played a ridiculous 17-of-17 snaps in two-minute situations this week, but Goodson still logged five more total snaps this week than last. This had absolutely no impact on Williams’ fantasy value this week, as he scored three touchdowns. However, Goodson has averaged more yards per carry, has a better avoided tackle rate, superior first-down rate and a higher clip of converting runs for five or more yards, as well as 10-plus yards. It’s unlikely Goodson becomes the Cowboys' main running back anytime soon, but it is possible Goodson starts chipping away at Williams’ touch totals.

Sep 28

However, this week, Tyler Goodson was active while Demercado was inactive. Dallas has consistently kept only Javonte Williams, fullback Hunter Luepke and one other running back active all season. This had no impact on Williams' playing time. He’s played 75.4% of snaps this season, including 75.2% on early downs and a clear majority of short-yardage, goal-line and two-minute drill snaps. The third-down usage has been less consistent, with Luepke frequently taking snaps from Williams depending on how much Dallas needs a pass blocker in those situations. Goodson played more in this game than Demercado did in either of the first two games, but that was simply because Dallas ran more offensive plays.