Tony Pollard Becomes "The Guy" vs Indianapolis
Tony Pollard was pretty much the guy for the Titans to start the game. Tyjae Spears got some work on the third drive, but Pollard was clearly the primary back - and then Tyjae hurt his hamstring, not playing at all in the second half, resulting in Pollard having another big game. 17 carries for 93 yards and a TD, 3 catches as well - 17.8 fantasy points - the definition of a solid RB2, and if Spears misses time, Pollard has to be in lineups next week in a great matchup against Buffalo.
Buffalo’s not only allowing the most fantasy points/game to RBs and more than 100 yards/game on the ground, but they’re also allowing the most receptions and receiving yards to RBs this season.
Kimani Vidal Flashes on Limited Opportunity
Kimani Vidal earned only 6 opportunities, but he definitely made the most out of that work - his first NFL touch was a 38-yard wheel route for a TD. Vidal is legit; we talked about him during the NFL draft season and also leading up to this season, and he should be rostered. There’s a chance that if he gets going, this backfield can become a 2-man backfield once again between him and Dobbins. As good as Dobbins is, I think Greg Roman wants this to be a 2-man backfield if it makes sense for them to do that and if they have someone capable of doing that. With Gus Edwards on IR now, Vidal is going to have that opportunity. You can’t start him just yet, but he’s a good bench stash.
Chase Brown Takes The Lead in Bengals Backfield
Brown entered this game as the clear 1A, and while touches were somewhat close in the first half, Zack Moss' early third-quarter fumble solidified Brown as the guy the rest of the way on Sunday. Brown also ran more routes than Moss for the first time this season, leading to a season-high 14% target share. His 24% target rate on a per-route basis makes more routes very appealing. Brown has now finished as a top-18 RB in three straight weeks, pending MNF.
Diontae Johnson Racks Up Another WR1 Finish
Hope the one bad game in a tough matchup didn't scare you off from starting Diontae yesterday. He's now had three WR1 finishes with Andy Dalton at QB while averaging a 30% target share. Enjoy the ride. He has a great matchup on deck next week against Washington.
Caleb Williams Becoming Fantasy-Friendly
Williams' 9 passing TDs over the last four weeks have led to him being the QB6 during that span. DJ Moore moved over for a week so Keenan Allen can become fantasy-relevant once again which is a sigh of relief for Allen managers. Cole Kmet also got in on the action as the overall TE1 on the week. Not everyone on this offense can eat every week, but Moore (26% target share) and Allen (23%) will likely be more reliable than Cole Kmet (16%) and Rome Odunze (16%) for now.
Travis Etienne Has a Hamstring Injury
Doug Pederson is calling Etienne week-to-week, and if he misses next week's game he'll actually have more fantasy points in Week 7 than he did on Sunday. Tank Bigsby was operating as the lead early-down back on Sunday with D'Ernest Johnson as the passing down back, and I'd expect more of the same if Etienne misses time. Bigsby would be a solid RB2 with upside without Etienne.
Packers WRs Continue to Be a Carousel
Dontayvion Wicks hurt his shoulder on the second drive of the game, having earned a target on 3 of 7 routes he ran before that (43%), and now he's week-to-week. I'm holding on in any leagues I can but only as a stash if you can afford to. Christian Watson took advantage of the extra playing time with a long TD, Romeo Doubs caught 2 TDs on 4 targets, and Jayden Reed overcame a mid-game ankle injury and scored as well. All are in play in a potential shootout with the Texans next week.
Bucs Backfield Explodes Without Rachaad White
Despite Sean Tucker having a huge game (34 fantasy points), Bucky Irving was the clear primary back to start and both worked together to put the game away in the second half. Bucky still came through, but he likely could've had a bigger game if Tucker wasn't as involved as he was. Because of how well Tucker played with his opportunity, we could see some more shifts in this backfield, so Tucker is worth a prospective add on waivers, but I wouldn't be breaking the bank by any means.
Mark Andrews Steps Up But Still Isn't Reliable
Andrews now has his first top-6 finish (so far), but unfortunately, he still isn't in a full-time role (60% route participation on Sunday, same as Isaiah Likely) and isn't getting a large enough target share (16% on Sunday, same as Likely). Andrews is still a streamable option, but he's nothing close to a roster lock by any means.
Drake Maye Revives the Patriots' Offense
Maye showed his rushing ability as well as play-making ability in the passing game. Demario Douglas was the biggest beneficiary, getting a 30% target share from Maye, leading to a 9/6/92/1 line. This was his third game above a 28% target share, and he should be rostered in all formats. Kayshon Boutte surprisingly led the Patriots in routes run, so he's someone to keep an eye on as well.
D'Andre Swift Continues to Perform as RB1
As the offense has improved, Swift's opportunity has drastically improved as well over the last three weeks. He was the RB41 while averaging 15.3 opportunities per game during the first three weeks of the season. He's now averaging 22.3 opportunities per game over the last three weeks and has finished as the RB2 during that span, only behind Derrick Henry. With some great matchups coming up out of the bye, Swift continues to be a must-start RB1.
Josh Downs Leads Indy WRs Once Again
Your daily Josh Downs mention. He has two top-10 finishes over the last three weeks, with the other finish being the WR16 in Week 5. With another 28% target share, he's now at 29% for the season while Michael Pittman is sitting at 22%. Downs continues to get open and be peppered with targets. While things might not be as good moving forward without Joe Flacco at QB, I'm not overly worried that Downs will take a huge hit with Anthony Richardson at QB. I'll continue to start him as a WR2.
Brock Bowers Continues to Be a Target Magnet
Even with another QB, Bowers was able to get it done. Without Jakobi Meyers in this one, he had a 10/9/71 line and has now had three games this year with 8+ catches. He's the TE2 on the year behind George Kittle, and he's leading all rookie tight ends since 2000 in receiving yards per game. Bowers should continue to be a high-end TE1 all year long, but we should expect more volatility once Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers return, especially given their QB situation.
Bijan Robinson Comes Through When He Had To
If Bijan hadn't come through in this matchup, we all would've been a little worried, but he was efficient and scored enough fantasy points to be the RB3 on the week so far. He led the backfield for most of the game, and Tyler Allgeier played a closer role to finish it out. It's a sigh of relief for Bijan managers.
Marvin Harrison Jr. Has a Concussion
Arizona's offense struggled after being forced to become one-dimensional with the Packers taking a huge lead early on. Trey McBride saw his normal target share on Sunday, but he should get a boost if Harrison can't make it out of the concussion protocol by next week. Michael Wilson has been a top-35 WR each of the last two weeks and would get a slight boost if Harrison's out again.
Baker Mayfield Is A Must-Start Fantasy QB
Mayfield is only behind Lamar Jackson in total fantasy points after his Week 6 QB2 finish and it's not by much. Mayfield has had only one down game so far this year, and that was against a tough Denver defense. He goes up against a pass-funnel Baltimore defense next week, and it'll be tough to keep him out of the top-5 QB rankings for that matchup.
Joe Mixon Returns Without Skipping a Beat
Mixon was the overall RB2 in Week 1 and now has a chance to finish as the overall RB2 once again in Week 6. Dameon Pierce was a little involved, but we can probably expect Mixon to gain an even larger share of the backfield next week with him being another week removed from his ankle injury. He's an RB1 moving forward.
Chargers Backfield Taking Form
J.K. Dobbins is a bell cow right now - he's getting 71% of snaps over his last 3 games and his rush share plus passing down role give him RB1 upside. The fact that Greg Roman was willing to give Dobbisn 25 carries is a surprise considering he never gave him anything close to that when he was younger in Baltimore. Rookie RB Kimani Vidal was active on Sunday and his first touch was a 38-yard wheel route TD. Vidal has a chance to push himself into the 1B role Gus Edwards had to start the year.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. Makes the Case for Continued Role
Tracy wasn't overly efficient with his 17 carries last night, but he supplemented that with catching all 6 of his targets for 57 yards (18% target share). The fact that he handled every role you want an RB to handle last night tells you what the Giants' coaches think of him, and he could push for a role even once Devin Singletary is back.
Tank Dell Steps Up with Nico Collins Out
Stefon Diggs (WR12 on the week) had a few more fantasy points but Tank Dell (WR14 on the week) led the Texans' receiving corps with a 31% target share. Diggs popped outside after playing out of the slot with Nico Collins healthy, which should continue to result in more downfield plays. Tank gets another upgrade for the time being while Nico is out. Dalton Schultz wasn't overly productive, but his 28% target share keeps him in the top-10 conversation next week.
Tee Higgins Continues to Out-Target Ja'Marr
Nothing against Ja'Marr Chase, but it's good to know that Higgins can earn this type of target share alongside him. Since his return, Higgins is leading with a 28% target share compared to Chase's 22% target share, 39% of the air yards to Chase's 28%, and 50% of the endzone targets to Chase's 13%. The difference? Chase has two top-2 finishes during that span while Higgins has only one finish inside the top-24. More points are coming Higgins' way, despite his Week 5 correction.