There are only so many chances in a game for a player to make his mark. So, who's taken the most advantage of his limited opportunities and should be in line for more?
Pro Football Focus grades every player on every play of every game. PFF picks players at every position -- except for quarterback, where the sample size is too small -- making an impact and grading out well in limited opportunities. These are the most underutilized players based on snap counts.
Running back
Overall grade: 91.3 | Offensive snaps: 33
The Browns' backfield is crowded, and while it's unlikely that Chubb will take much away from Duke Johnson in the passing game, there's a strong case to be made that he should be eating into Carlos Hyde's carries. Hyde is averaging just 3.4 yards per carry, with 2.3 of those yards coming after contact. As Chubb's three-carry, 105-yard performance against the Raiders suggests, he's more than capable of finding big plays. So far this season, four of his 16 carries have gone for 15-plus yards, and with that performance in a small sample, it's time for him to see more work.
Honorable mention: Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers (82.1 overall grade, 68 offensive snaps)
Wide receiver
Overall grade: 78.5 | Offensive snaps:108 (13 targets)
Antonio Brown complained about wanting more targets, but the 71 passes that have gone his way trail only Adam Thielen for the league lead through six weeks of the season. Twenty-one of those have fallen incomplete because of a miss by Ben Roethlisberger -- by far the most in the league. A player that is legitimately being underutilized by his offense is Moore -- a Carolina rookie whose overall PFF grade heading into Week 6 was 78.1, which would have been a top-20 mark if he had enough snaps to qualify for the rankings. This week he saw five targets, catching four of them, but made a critical mistake in fumbling the ball after a nice catch-and-run. Over the season, Moore has now caught 10 passes on 13 targets, moving the chains five times and notching eight "explosive plays" (receptions of 15 or more yards).
Honorable mention: Ryan Switzer, Pittsburgh Steelers (71.1 overall grade, 54 offensive snaps, 15 targets)
Tight end
O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Overall grade: 87.7 | Offensive snaps: 185 (21 targets)
The Buccaneers have plenty of talent on offense, but Howard has shown so far this year that he should be a focal point going forward. Howard is averaging 2.84 yards per route run, the highest mark among tight ends to be on the field for at least 100 snaps as a receiver so far this season. Despite that, he is averaging just over four targets per game, while other top performers, like George Kittle in San Francisco and Travis Kelce in Kansas City, have averaged seven or more. It's time for Howard to start seeing more of the ball in Tampa Bay.
Honorable mention: Erik Swope, Indianapolis Colts (77.9 overall grade, 49 offensive snaps)
Offensive tackle
Brian O'Neill, Minnesota Vikings
Overall grade: 70.2 | Offensive snaps: 191
O'Neill was pushed into starting action this past week due to injuries along the Vikings' offensive line, a position he should likely hold down even when Riley Reiff is back and healthy. Rashod Hill, who moved over to fill in for the injured Reiff, opened up the right tackle spot for O'Neill, rewarding the Vikings with a 73.0 overall game grade (highest along the offensive line) and he is now their highest-graded offensive lineman on the season. In more of a plug-and-play role, O'Neill has logged 191 snaps on the season including 140 in pass protection, allowing 10 total pressures but no sacks on Kirk Cousins. For comparison, Hill has allowed 21 pressures including four sacks on his 231 snaps in pass protection.
Honorable mention: Braden Smith, Indianapolis Colts (76.1 overall grade, 162 total offensive snaps)
Interior offensive line
Overall grade: 71.1 | Offensive snaps: 66
A center during his final two seasons at Iowa, Daniels has plenty of experience at guard as he logged a combined 230 snaps at both right and left guard in 2015 for the Hawkeyes. His play so far with the Bears has prompted the proverbial changing of the guard as he got the start at left guard for Chicago in Week 6 against Miami. He's allowed just one pressure on 31 pass-blocking snaps and is currently the team's highest-graded offensive lineman (71.1), a grade that would rank 15th if he had enough snaps to qualify among the league's guards.
Honorable mention: Scott Quessenberry, Los Angeles Chargers (62.5 overall grade, 18 total offensive snaps)
Defensive line
Overall grade: 79.9 | Defensive snaps: 70
While Seattle has seen a bit of a (possibly schedule-induced) resurgence defensively the past few weeks, getting the efficient Ford on the field more than the 70 snaps he's seen so far this year could even exacerbate that trend. In that small sample, he's graded in the top four among all Seahawks defenders in both run defense and pass rushing. At Texas, Ford was one of the best run defenders in the nation, piling up 33 stops while chipping in 22 total pressures his final season as an amateur.
Honorable mention: Marcus Davenport, New Orleans Saints (76.0 overall grade, 145 total defensive snaps)
Linebacker
Overall grade: 81.7 | Defensive snaps: 129
While the reputation of Denver's defense is strong, it has allowed positive expected points on early downs both against the run and the pass so far this year. This isn't Jewell's fault, as he's made seven stops, has not missed a tackle and has broken up a pass in coverage so far in his role as a base and nickel linebacker for a team that plays a lot of dime. It might take a lot to remove team captain Todd Davis (and his 61.2 PFF grade), but the time is now for a youth movement for the Broncos on that side of the ball.
Honorable mention: Ben Gedeon, Minnesota Vikings (77.2 overall grade, 81 total defensive snaps)
Cornerback
Isaac Yiadom, Denver Broncos
Overall grade: 71.0 | Defensive snaps: 62
Speaking of the Denver defense again, it has allowed almost half of early-down passes to be successful so far this year. In a passing league, this is not a recipe for success. Despite this, the Broncos are still mostly going with veterans Bradley Roby (51.8 grade) and Adam Jones (59.2) in their nickel look. While Yiadom struggled a bit in his first work against the Ravens, he's allowed only 24 yards on three targets since. For a team squarely behind the Chiefs and the Chargers in their division, start the youth movement now.
Honorable mention: Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers (75.4 overall grade, 199 total defensive snaps)
Safety
Clayton Fejedelem, Cincinnati Bengals
Overall grade: 91.0 | Defensive snaps: 126
The Bengals moved on from George Iloka this preseason to play rookie Jessie Bates and Shawn Williams. While Bates (79.3) and Williams (65.5) have graded fine, it's been Fejedelem (91.0) who has taken advantage of his opportunity on 126 snaps. He's generated four stops, a quarterback hurry and allowed only 37 yards into his coverage for the surprise 4-2 Bengals. In a league increasingly moving toward three-safety looks in both the nickel and dime, here's to seeing more of the former seventh-round pick from Illinois.
Honorable mention: Anthony Levine, Baltimore Ravens (84.2 overall grade, 123 total defensive snaps)