Job Battles: Gio Goes AWOL

The weekly Job Battles article will list subjects first by position, then in ostensible descending order of fantasy significance.

Quarterback

Sam Bradford vs. Josh Rosen, ARZ

This Arizona team looked hopeless on both sides of the ball, to the point that they might want to start thinking about 2019 already. I don't know if they'll see it similarly or change their plan if so, but they aren't competing. If they agree, the calculus might change from 'who helps us win best today?' to a framing more around 'how do we best prepare Rosen for the future?'

If the Cardinals stick with the Best Chance of Winning doctrine, that should actually be to Rosen's advantage. Bradford completed 20-of-34 passes for 153 yards and an interception – incredible futility. Completing less than 60 percent of your passes despite refusing to throw downfield is simply a no-go for any team that seriously wants to win. Unfortunately, there's probably nothing actionable here – Rosen is likely already owned in most 2QB leagues, and he's unlikely to have any use outside of them even if he gets into the starting lineup.

Nathan Peterman vs. Josh Allen, BUF

No need to go over the morbid details on this one. Peterman is probably not better than Allen, but if the Bills want to keep Allen physically intact they might want to keep him out a while longer. Peterman took three sacks while throwing just 18 passes against a Ravens pass rush that probably isn't above average.

Running Back

Joe Mixon vs. Gio Bernard, CIN

From 2013 to 2017 Bernard averaged 12.93 touches from scrimmage per game in Cincinnati. In Sunday's opener against the Colts he saw two touches, even with the Bengals playing from behind for plenty of the game.

There's almost no way the Bengals continue to block Bernard from the ball like this, but it seems even more unlikely that Cincinnati would give him anything resembling his past workloads. Mixon finished with 149 yards and a touchdown on 22 touches from scrimmage, so he's not giving Cincinnati any extra reason to take him off the field.

The Bengals are paying Bernard $4.25 million this year. You have to wonder why they didn't cut him if this was the plan all along.

Royce Freeman vs. Phillip Lindsay, DEN

Well this was out of nowhere. By all accounts Devontae Booker was ahead of Lindsay on the depth chart, both of them generally presumed as pass-catching specialists, but Lindsay not only played ahead of Booker, he also matched Freeman's total of 15 carries for 71 yards. According to 9News' Mike Klis Freeman led the Broncos with 29 snaps, while Lindsay played 26, and Booker 19.

It's safe to say Booker is out and Lindsay is officially on the PPR map at the very least. The odds are probably that his Week 1 workload will be his biggest of the year – he's only 5-foot-7 and around 185 pounds – but that workload shows he's a prominent part of the game plan going forward.

Derrick Henry vs. Dion Lewis, TEN

Henry started the game and exclusively handled the ball early, and even had what appeared a roughly ~64-yard touchdown run negated by a patently fabricated holding call. But the touchdown was retracted by this (highly dubious) ref crew, so Henry finished with 26 yards on 10 carries. According to ESPN's Turron Davenport, Henry finished with just 20 snaps despite his strong start, while Dion Lewis piled up 49 snaps on his way to 75 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Whether Lewis' second-half workload repeats going forward might depend on how superstitious Mike Vrabel is, or to what degree he holds Henry personally accountable for a ref's decision to manufacture a penalty on a long touchdown run.

Chris Carson vs. Rashaad Penny, SEA

Carson and Penny saw the same number of carries (seven), but Carson was far more effective, totaling 51 yards to just eight for Penny. Penny will get better going forward, but he won't get opportunities to prove it if he doesn't shape up fast. Carson did lose a fumble in this, to be fair, but it would be unreasonable of the Seahawks to hold that against him given the absence of fumbles in his background otherwise.

Matt Breida vs. Alfred Morris, SF

Morris played 34 snaps to Breida's 30, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner. Morris had the momentum as a runner initially in the game, and notably functioned as the team's red-zone runner, but a lost fumble at the goal line will give Kyle Shanahan reason to reconsider. Breida finished the game much stronger, taking his 11 carries for 46 yards while Morris plodded to 38 on 12 carries.

Jordan Wilkins vs. Nyheim Hines, IND

Wilkins started the game and handled most of the rushing work, but his 46 snaps wasn't far ahead of Nyheim Hines' 37. Hines presumably caught up a bit while Indianapolis was playing catch-up itself, but the fact that he finished with 19 yards on five carries might give reason for the Colts to consider giving him more shares of the running game after Wilkins finished with 40 yards on 14 carries. PPR better suits Hines – he saw nine of Andrew Luck's 53 targets.

Wide Receiver

Tajae Sharpe vs. Rishard Matthews vs. Taywan Taylor, TEN

If Taylor doesn't have a Carlos Henderson-style off-field issue, this is an ominous situation for the Titans and their players going forward, because it would indicate a severe lack of judgment on coach Mike Vrabel's part. Sharpe played 58 snaps to Taylor's nine against Miami, which simply isn't justifiable. Taylor is objectively better than Sharpe in all aspects but height, which is fully negated by Sharpe's skinny frame and inability to separate. If Vrabel can't see this, he's liable to not see an indefinite number of other obvious facts.

Matthews' reduced snap count, on the other hand, is almost certainly just the result of him building his conditioning back up after missing most of the offseason with a meniscus tear. Matthews played 36 snaps in this game, but he'll likely displace Sharpe from the lineup once he's back at full speed.

Dante Pettis vs. Trent Taylor, SF

It's unclear what the status is of Marquise Goodwin (quadriceps), so there could be a major target void in the San Francisco offense. Pettis gets very interesting in this scenario, as he played 48 snaps to Taylor's 37, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner.

Taylor is almost strictly a slot receiver whereas Pettis can play both inside and out, so if Goodwin misses time you can expect Pettis to continue playing more than Taylor. Pettis has great ball skills and acrobatic ability in addition to psychic-like open-field instincts, so there's legitimate upside with him if he gets Goodwin's targets. Pettis finished with two catches for 61 yards and a touchdown on five targets compared to four catches for 28 yards on six targets for Taylor.

Austin Carr vs. Cameron Meredith vs. Tre'Quan Smith, NO

Carr will be an interesting speculative pickup after playing ahead of rookie third-round pick Tre'Quan Smith and healthy scratch free agent signing Cameron Meredith. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune's Luke Johnson, Carr played 43 snaps compared to 12 for Smith.

Carr only saw two targets, however, so it's possible that his role would at best be an exact copy of Brandon Coleman's from last year. Which is to say, block and set picks so Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara can get open.

Tight End

Jack Doyle vs. Eric Ebron, IND

Ebron was the busier of the pass catchers early in the game, but a big second half caught Doyle up to his standard target volume with 10 targets to Ebron's five. Doyle finished with seven catches for 60 yards but lost a fumble, and Ebron reminded the fact of his objectively superior pass-catching talent by catching four of his five targets for 51 yards and a touchdown.

There's some concern for Ebron in the fact that he was not only vastly outsnapped by Doyle, but also saw the Colts run a concerning number of three-wide sets. According to 1070 The Fan's Kevin Bowen, Doyle played 77 snaps to Ebron's 37, and WR3 Chester Rogers played 47 snaps.