Jaguars Vs. Dolphins: Snap Count Analysis

Who played the most snaps vs. Miami, and why? We take a look here to find the answer.

While watching a game live can give you one impression of a player's usage, looking at the actual amount of snaps they played compared to their teammates can also give insight into the team's strategy and outlook.

When looking at the snap counts for the Jacksonville Jaguars after their 31-13 home loss to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football, it is clear to see what kind of plan the Jaguars went into the game with, and what limitations they had from a personnel standpoint.

Who played a lot, and why? Did the snaps mean anything or nothing? We examine below:

Offense (66 snaps)

LG Andrew Norwell: 66 (100%) 

C Tyler Shatley: 66 (100%)

RG A.J. Cann: 66 (100%) 

RT Jawaan Taylor: 66 (100%)

QB Gardner Minshew: 66 (100%) 

WR Chris Conley: 53 (80%)

WR Keelan Cole: 50 (76%) 

WR Laviska Shenault: 45 (68%) 

TE Tyler Eifert: 40 (61%) 

LT Cam Robinson: 39 (59%)

RB Chris Thompson: 30 (45%) 

RB James Robinson: 30 (45%) 

TE James O'Shaughnessy: 27 (41%)

LT Will Richardson: 27 (41%)

WR Collin Johnson: 20 (30%)

WR Dede Westbrook: 16 (24%) 

TE Tyler Davis: 12 (18%)

RB Dare Ogunbowale: 5 (8%) 

FB Bruce Miller: 2 (3%)

• With DJ Chark out with a chest/back injury, we saw how the Jaguars would opt to deploy their receiving group without him. This led to 20 snaps for Collin Johnson, 16 snaps for Dede Westbrook in his first game of the season and 53 snaps for Chris Conley, who led all receivers in snaps despite entering the game with the fourth-most this season. The Jaguars obviously struggled in the passing game without Chark, but it is interesting that the Jaguars' strategy without him was to attempt to feature Conley.
• James Robinson accounted for more yards than any other Jaguars skill player on Thursday night, so there is no real reason why he should be splitting reps with Chris Thompson. Thompson was brought in to serve as Jacksonville's third-down back when Leonard Fournette was still in Jacksonville, but the Jaguars no longer have a reason to take their lead back off of the field. Robinson needs to be playing as much as possible, no matter the game script or scenario. 
• Tyler Davis made his NFL debut by playing 12 snaps. He did not record a catch and was never targeted by Minshew, so he served mostly as a blocker. 
• Will Richardson saw his first regular season snaps after Cam Robinson was strangely ejected in the third quarter for making contact with an official. Richardson would play the team's final four possessions at left tackle in Robinson's place.

Defense (61 snaps)

SS Josh Jones: 61 (100%)

LB Myles Jack: 61 (100%)

LB Joe Schobert: 61 (100%)

CB Tre Herndon: 59 (97%)

CB CJ Henderson: 59 (97%)

DE Josh Allen: 45 (74%)

DE Cassius Marsh: 38 (62%)

NT Abry Jones: 36 (59%)

DE Adam Gotsis: 34 (56%)

NT DaVon Hamilton: 34 (56%)

FS Andrew Wingard: 32 (52%)

FS Brandon Watson: 30 (49%)

DT Taven Bryan: 30 (49%)

CB D.J. Hayden: 27 (44%)

DE K'Lavon Chaisson: 24 (39%)

DT Timmy Jernigan: 20 (33%) 

DE Dawuane Smoot: 13 (21%) 

LB Leon Jacobs: 6 (10%)

SS Daniel Thomas: 1 (2%)

• Jacksonville used Cassius Marsh a good bit more this week than in Week 2 due to the injury to Leon Jacobs. Marsh played mostly strong side linebacker, but the Jaguars also lined him up at standard defensive end to attempt to get some kind of pass-rush going. 
• Adam Gotsis played more snaps than K'Lavon Chaisson for the second week in a row. It doesn't help the Jaguars that they fall behind every single game and are unable to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback, but the Jaguars still need to find a way to get Chaisson onto the field more,
• Dawuane Smoot playing only 13 snaps despite being one of Jacksonville's better pass rushers in 2020 seems like a curious decision. Smoot hasn't played that few number of snaps since Week 9 in 2018, so having him stand on the sideline for the majority of the game was a big surprise all things considered. 
• Only three cornerbacks took snaps for the first time this season. In each of other two games, Chris Claybrooks had to come onto the field to fill in for someone for a few snaps.