Fantasy Football Saturday Mailbag for Week 6 (Fantasy Football)

Good morning, FootClan, and welcome to Week 6 of The Fantasy Footballers’ Saturday Morning Mailbag! As always, I am here to select a few of your questions from The Fantasy Footballers’ Discord server and answer some of the hot topics that didn’t quite make it to that week’s edition of The Footcast. The Ballers’ Discord is home to the biggest and best online fantasy football community in the world, and is your go-to if you are looking to talk about all things fantasy football. Head over today and get involved with thousands of members across dozens of dedicated channels for start/sit questions, trade advice, and waiver wire insights, as well as exclusive areas that are only available to members of the FootClan.

Another week, another Philadelphia injury. Jalen Hurts is the latest Eagle who looks set to miss some time, in this case with what sounds like a concerning blood clot issue (get well soon, Jalen!) – add him to the growing list of the walking wounded, and this is turning into a lost year already for the men in Kelly green. Undoubtedly the biggest story of the week was the blockbuster trade (well, maybe more Movie Gallery or Hollywood Video) between the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans that saw former first-round NFL Draft pick Marvin Harrison Jr. head to the Lone Star State to join his college QB, C.J. Stroud. As you can imagine, there were plenty of questions surrounding that one, as well as the continued plight of fellow struggling former first-round pick, Omarion Hampton. We have got a lot to cover…so let’s dive right in!

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Question #1 – Trade Talk (Omarion Hampton Sadness Special)

Hidey Ho Ballerinos! What the fudge do I do with Omarion Hampton? I can’t trade him away, and because of my roster, I have to start him every week…it’s ruining my season – Big Lock Brock

Answer: The “what to do with Omarion Hampton?” questions are becoming louder and increasing in panic levels week by week. After all, this was a guy who you likely spent a second-round draft pick on (ADP 2.04), and so far he’s only cracked double-digit fantasy points in two of his five starts this season. Much like those who drafted De’Von Achane, the case of “what could have been?” lingers over Hampton managers when they lie in their beds at night and think about how they passed on Kenneth Walker III and Kyren Williams to select the Chargers sophomore as an anchor-piece of their fantasy team…at least Achane managers got closure with the Dolphins’ lead rusher going down to injury; Hampton just wafts over rosters like a bad smell right now.

The former North Carolina Tar Heel is currently the RB23 overall, RB24 if we look at his performances from a FPPG perspective (9.4). His 3.7 Y/A is the 33rd best for RBs who have received at least 25 carries on the year, and with just six targets in five weeks…this is not the budding fantasy superstar we saw through his two short spells last season. Is the issue Hampton’s talent…or is it his utilization in this Chargers’ offense under new Offensive Coordinator Mike McDaniel? 

Prior to the start of the season, we laughed off McDaniel’s claims that this was an RB room that would all be utilized in rotation and all get plenty of work – after all, Hampton’s only competition was former Raven Keaton Mitchell and third-year bit-part player Kimani Vidal. Yeah, that will be the same Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal who both outran Hampton in the Bolts’ latest loss, at home to Denver in Week 5. Hampton is the clear leader on the season in terms of rushing attempts, but his snap-share has continued to decrease week-on-week since the Week 2 defeat at SoFi to the Raiders – 63%, 42%, 35%, 30%…if these trends continue. If the declining snaps and overall disappointing performances weren’t firing off red flags, the Chargers’ upcoming schedule should be. Kansas City is next up on Sunday, followed by a much-needed bye…but it is right back into the frying pan for Herbert and Co with matchups against city rivals the Rams, before hosting Houston and a trip to Maryland to face the Ravens. There is a real chance this team goes into their Week 11 clash with the New York Jets as a 0-9 football team.

For now, you’ve got to hold. Hampton’s trade value is in the gutter, and it surely cannot get much worse than it is now…right? The FPPG isn’t that bad – it is not what you paid for – but we are still in RB2 territory. 

This team is surely going to be 0-6 heading into the bye, and that may just be enough to force the Front Office’s hand with the coaching staff. I don’t expect Harbaugh to be leaving, but I can’t see the former Dolphins HC lasting too much longer. Don’t worry, Mike, GTA VI is out in a few weeks; there is bound to be plenty of promo work for a guy who looks like he is straight out of Vice City. (jk – I miss you in Miami, please come back!).

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Question #2 – Season-long Strategy (College Besties Stack Edition)

How big of a boost does Marvin Harrison Jr. give to C.J. Stroud? – Just a Happy Guy

Answer: Honestly…I have no idea. All signs point to the freshly acquired Harrison Jr. giving this Houston Texans WR room a much-needed lease of life. Obviously the draft capital is there for Marv – after all, this is a former top-5 NFL Draft pick from only two years ago…but he has been absolutely whiffing it up in Arizona for over a year now, so just what will he actually bring to Reliant Stadium on a week-to-week basis?

It feels like a lifetime ago, but in his rookie season (yes, that was only as recently as 2024) we saw Marv flash the talents that the Cardinals thought they would be seeing on the regular – in only his second game as an NFL pro, Harrison finished the week as the WR1 hauling in 4 targets from Kyler Murray for 130 yards and two TDs…and it has never been that good again for the former Ohio State Buckeye. Sure, we saw a handful of WR2 finishes last season, but largely it has been a forgettable career thus far for the son of a former NFL legend. Coming into the year, the hope was again there for MHJ, with the pre-season chatter being all about a bounceback year on the cards, with Harrison realizing his potential and taking back the WR1 job in this Arizona passing offense, or at worst being the clear third option behind the phenom Trey McBride and “Jerry Rice” light, Michael Wilson.

Well, through the opening five weeks he certainly wasn’t the third option…unfortunately neither was he the fourth, or the fifth. As it turned out, we had to use our second hand to count Marv’s place on this team, with Harrison Jr. leaving Arizona as the team’s sixth-most targeted player by current QB Jacoby Brissett. Wilson has continued to operate as the team’s standout WR, seeing over 50% of all targets at the position, with the fourth-year third-round draft pick second only in team targets (26%) to Trey McBride, who continues to set records, seeing 29% of looks from Beef Brissett, and a 17-game pace of 190 targets… unbelievable. With fewer opportunities coming his way than Kendrick Bourne, Jeremiyah Love, and Tyler Allgeier, it was time for Marv to find a new home.

So, here we are now with Harrison Jr. in Texas, where we can assume he will slot into the WR2 role behind Nico Collins, and should become the second read for his college QB C.J. Stroud. We are already on Narrative St. here with the Ohio State connection, but with only Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel, and Kayshon Boutte in the ranks, Houston are screaming out for a real No.2 behind Nico…so why not Marv. The Doctor – Dalton Schultz – has been serviceable this season, but his 4.4 YAC/R currently ranks 45th amongst TEs this season, and speed or downfield play has never been the Docs’ game, so Marv should give C.J. a legitimate downfield weapon he can turn to weekly.

The Texans are set to have a decent run of games with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants both coming to town before their week 8 bye. Following the week off, it is back-to-back road games with trips to take on the (probably 0-7) Chargers and the Cleveland Browns. Looking ahead at the rest of the year, aside from games against the New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s a very friendly run for the Houston passing game (third-best WR schedule ROS).

This is a team that wants to pass the ball – even with the ragtag mob of names they currently have – Houston are fourth in total passing yards on the season through the opening five weeks…but 24th in passing TDs. Opportunities will be there for Marv – what he does with them, however, is an entirely different question. It is a bump for Stroud, but not a big one.

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Question #3 – Season-long Strategy (Leaders of the Pack – WR Duo Rankings)

Where do you rank Christian Watson and Matthew Golden in terms of WR duos in the league? – Substation Meat

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Answer: It has been some season for the Packers duo so far, but just how good is this tandem really…and more importantly, can we rely on them the rest of the season?

Through five weeks, the Green Bay Packers are the only franchise with two WRs inside the top 12 at the position. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, as a pair Watson and Golden rank numero uno in both receiving yards (871) and TDs (8). Aside from the team’s low-scoring Week 4 win over Tampa Bay, Watson has found the end zone on at least one occasion each week, which, combined with his 474 receiving yards, sees him sit as the overall WR2 for fantasy…I can hear Mike Wright’s pants whizzing past me as I type. 

If you had asked me two or three weeks ago whether this pattern was trending or ending, I would have said to sell high on both of these guys and get a haul…but with Jordan Love and his “check this out” approach to passing the football, we could be in for a treat in the remaining 12 games for Green Bay’s two main wide men.

There are some obvious anomalies here, the major one being Puka Nacua’s absence in Weeks 2 and 3…so we can safely assume that had he played all five games, he would be in a much more lofty position. Jameson Williams’ slow start to the season is another statistic that I would expect to see a regression to the norm as the weeks go by – two top-15 finishes in recent weeks are hopefully more indicative of Jamo’s year from here on out.

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Green Bay has the 16th-best strength of schedule for fantasy WRs for the rest of the season, so nothing special. My honest thoughts are that things trail off in the second half of the year – Weeks 8 through 12 are particularly testing for Watson and Golden, but with juicy matchups against the Cowboys and Lions before then, they are only moving in one direction.

Talent-wise, I rank them fifth…but they have potential to be the top WR duo for fantasy come December.

It’s time for Rapid Round…

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Would you trade Jaxon Smith-Njigba for Garrett Wilson and Chuba Hubbard? This is a 10-team Super-flex redraft league – Tbohr04

Answer: My initial reaction here was “no way!”…but I am guilty of becoming way too attached to my studs when sometimes a good deal is a good deal. Through the opening five weeks, JSN is already lapping the field at the WR position – scoring an average of 24.2 FPPG. Puka isn’t far behind on 20.8, but even Nico Collins and Zay Flowers – the WR5 and WR6 via the same metric – are a full seven points per game behind Seattle’s young superstar. Wilson and Chuba are both smash starts at 14.2 and 18.5 FPPG, respectively, and will likely finish the season as top-12 plays at their positions…but unless your RB2/WR2 is putting up less than nine points every week, you are likely worse off. Add in that this is a 10-team league and you need those difference makers to really set your team apart, and I am out. Keep JSN and enjoy the show.

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What RBs do you expect to make a jump for the remainder of the season? P.S. Is there a rest-of-season strength of schedule feature available somewhere? – Bugger Eater

Answer: You have probably heard Andy, Mike, and Jason mention some of these guys on the show and the FootCast, but I am doing all I can to acquire Bhayshul Tuten, Jeremiyah Love, and D’Andre Swift for the rest of the season. King Swift admittedly is the current RB12 – but barring injury, I do not see how he finishes any lower than where he is right now. A mixture of getting Caleb Williams back, the lion’s share of the carries, and the seventh-easiest strength-of-schedule at the position rest of season makes him an attractive target. Tuten feels like he has been on the verge of a breakout game for a couple of weeks now, and against Houston in London this Sunday…we may finally get the performance we’ve been waiting for. Finally, Love. Look, I get it, he’s pooped in his (big boy?) pants these last two games…but he is far too talented to not see a productive end to the year, and with the second-best run of matchups for RBs in the fantasy playoffs, he’s a league winner. Keep an eye on Jordan Mason returning from injury as well.

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All the above SOS data comes from The Fantasy Footballers Ultimate Dashboard – just one of the great tools you can make use of as an Ultimate FootClan Member…so get signed up today!

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Seid gegruesst from Germany Ballers! Half-PPR 12-team redraft league question. I traded Tyler Warren for Rhamondre Stevenson. Kyren Williams is my RB1, and I was playing either R.J. Harvey or Blake Corum as my RB2. I still have Brock Bowers. Did I cook? – Ham for Sam

Answer: Bonjour! Well, I guess it’s more Guter Tag if you are in Germany, but regardless – as I am currently writing this column from a hotel in Stuttgart, I couldn’t let your question go by.

Short and simple – you absolutely cooked, mein freund; Rhamondre should have almost all the work for the foreseeable future in the Patriots backfield (unless TreVeyon Henderson’s adamantium bones keep healing as fast), but even when TreyVo returns, the round mound of ground and pound should still be a high-end RB2 for your team…far more useful than a TE who you are never going to play as long as Bowers is healthy. Sure, Warren has FLEX appeal, but give me that RB any day of the week. You have taken a simple bratwurst and turned that into a full plate of schnitzel and Spätzle, with a fresh pint of helles to wash it down. Guten Appetit and Prost!

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Hey yo! 10-team PPR. Should I trade away Omarion Hampton for Saquon Barkley? No IR slot – McNamarab2

Answer: We did a deep dive on Hampton, and my advice was to trade him away for whatever you can get…but maybe you want to pump the brakes on this one. Hampton’s 9.8 FPPG are not what you were hoping for, but they look LT-esque compared to Saquon’s 5.2…woof. The Eagles are a mess, Barkley is still out hurt (at the time of writing), and now Jalen Hurts is missing with what sounds like a very unpleasant blood-clotting issue. I’m holding Hampton here, but it’s U.G.L.Y.

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Answer: Rostering three players on the same team can certainly hamper your upside on any given week…but if that offense clicks, ooooh baby. The Jags are currently 4-1 and sitting top of the AFC South, despite them having one of the toughest fantasy schedules through the opening five weeks of the season. Horse Boy is the current QB12, but he goes from having the seventh-worst schedule to the ninth-best here on in. Similar patterns emerge for the RB and WR positions, so having numerous parts of the offense isn’t something that scares me at all. Jacksonville could legit be a top-5 offense from here on in; I want a piece of that…or three if I can!

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