Texans @ Vikings: Week 5 Snap Counts

Here's what the official snap counts look like from the Vikings' defeat over the Texans.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACK:

Sam Bradford: 74 snaps (100%)

RUNNING BACK:

Jerick McKinnon: 41 snaps (55%)

Matt Asiata: 34 snaps (46%), 9 ST snaps (31%)

FULLBACK:

Zach Line: 27 snaps (36%), 9 ST snaps (31%)

WIDE RECEIVER:

Adam Thielen: 68 snaps (92%), 3 ST snaps (10%)

Cordarrelle Patterson: 45 snaps (61%), 2 ST snaps (7%)

Jarius Wright: 44 snaps (59%)

Charles Johnson: 12 snaps (16%), 3 ST snaps (10%)

Laquon Treadwell: 8 snaps (11%), 6 ST snaps (21%)

TIGHT END:

Kyle Rudolph: 68 snaps (92%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

MyCole Pruitt: 10 snaps (14%)

OFFENSIVE TACKLE:

T.J. Clemmings: 74 snaps (100%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

Jeremiah Sirles: 74 snaps (100%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

OFFENSIVE GUARD/CENTER:

Alex Boone: 74 snaps (100%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

Joe Berger: 74 snaps (100%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

Zac Kerin: 66 snaps (89%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

Nick Easton: 13 snaps (18%)

Brandon Fusco: 8 snaps (11%)

OBSERVATIONS:

• Kyle Rudolph is the one skill player on the Vikings to take more than 90% of offensive snaps in all five games thus far. Wonder if that would be the case if our TE corps was healthier?
• Each of the last three games has seen a member of the offensive line exit the game partway through.
• Sunday was only the second time the Vikings have had a wide receiver take more than 90% of offensive snaps in a game (Diggs 93% against New York, Thielen 92% against Houston)
• Charles Johnson apparently does have some ability to play special teams. This is the second week in a row that he's taken snaps on special teams. This is also the second consecutive week that Johnson took 30% of snaps or less on offense, giving credence to the idea that he's not necessarily a starter anymore, especially with Adam Thielen and CP84 both outsnapping him in these last two weeks.
• Probably to help with blocking, both Zach Line and Nick Easton saw season-high snap counts, with Easton "breaking out" with 13 snaps mostly as an inline blocker, and Line had his highest snap total of the season so far.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE END:

Everson Griffen: 62 snaps (97%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

Brian Robison: 55 snaps (86%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

Danielle Hunter: 38 snaps (59%), 1 ST snap (3%)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE:

Tom Johnson: 39 snaps (61%), 4 ST snaps (14%)

Linval Joseph: 38 snaps (59%), 4 ST snaps (14%)

Shamar Stephen: 22 snaps (34%), 6 ST snaps (21%)

LINEBACKER:

Anthony Barr: 64 snaps (100%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

Eric Kendricks: 64 snaps (100%), 5 ST snaps (17%)

Chad Greenway: 7 snaps (11%), 6 ST snaps (21%)

CORNERBACK:

Terence Newman: 56 snaps (88%), 1 ST snap (3%)

Xavier Rhodes: 55 snaps (86%)

Captain Munnerlyn: 48 snaps (75%)

Trae Waynes: 16 snaps (25%), 19 ST snaps (66%)

Mackensie Alexander: 12 snaps (19%), 10 ST snaps (34%)

SAFETY:

Harrison Smith: 64 snaps (100%), 4 ST snaps (14%)

Andrew Sendejo: 64 snaps (100%), 14 ST snaps (48%)

OBSERVATIONS:

• Due to one missed snap in the Panthers game from Harrison Smith, the only player on the Vikings defense to have played every defensive snap this year is his partner in safety crime, Andrew Sendejo.
• With the cornerbacking corps getting/staying healthy ahead of him, Trae Waynes' role on defense has decreased in every game thus far. When on the field, Mackensie Alexander's snap count has increased every week; with the exception of Week 4 against the Giants when he was only on the field for special teams, Week 5 saw Alexander get the most run yet, with 19% of snaps played, a non-insignificant amount.
• This was Chad Greenway's second consecutive week with fewer than ten snaps on defense; it's pretty clear that he doesn't have anything close to a role on this defense when they are in nickel. Correspondingly, Captain Munnerlyn has taken 60% or more of defensive snaps in Weeks 2-5.
• The small amount of rotation on defense seems to be working out for the Vikings' defense so far, as the only non-Greenway/Kendricks/Barr linebacker to see the field thus far is Emmanuel Lamur, Justin Trattou has seen only five snaps on defense all year, and the backup safeties Jayron Kearse and Ant Harris have seen only one snap each all year.

SPECIAL TEAMS

These are players that took no snaps on offense or defense; percentages are percentages of special teams snaps taken.

Justin Trattou: 24 snaps (83%)

Marcus Sherels: 23 snaps (79%)

Audie Cole: 19 snaps (66%)

Edmond Robinson: 19 snaps (66%)

Emmanuel Lamur: 19 snaps (66%)

Ant Harris: 18 snaps (62%)

Jayron Kearse: 14 snaps (48%)

Blair Walsh: 11 snaps (38%)

Kevin McDermott: 10 snaps (34%)

Jeff Locke: 10 snaps (34%)

OBSERVATIONS

• This is the first week in 2016 that someone other than Marcus Sherels led the Vikings in special teams snaps.