Ten Things We Learned in Week 6 (Fantasy Football)

Footclan, we’ve made it halfway through the fantasy football regular season, and for those of you with a 6-0 record and those with a 0-6 record, the work doesn’t stop now. You can’t rest on your laurels if you’re way ahead in the standings and you can’t give up if you’re down in the dumps either. With all the injuries, major trades, and wild and wacky stuff that happens in fantasy football, you never know how quickly your fortunes can change. Hopefully, we continue to learn a little bit more about the fantasy landscape each week and improve our chances of nearing the ultimate prize – a fantasy championship. Let’s take a stroll through last week’s games and see what stood out.

Injuries Piling Up at an Alarming Rate

Injuries have always been a big part of the game, but it feels like this year we’re seeing more injuries than usual. This past weekend, key players like Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Travis Etienne, just to name a few, all left with injuries. Defensive stars like Aidan Hutchinson (out of the season) and Patrick Surtain II also got hurt. We wish injuries didn’t happen, but unfortunately, it’s something that we have to be prepared for and it opens the door for other players to make an impact. For example, Bub Means, wide receiver for New Orleans, filled in for Olave and scored a touchdown. D’Ernest Johnson, not Tank Bigsby, got the majority of the work in Jacksonville’s backfield after Etienne left the game. To stay ahead of the pack, tune in to the Sunday live show every week to stay up-to-date with the latest game day news, and follow our injury expert Matthew Betz for key insights.

Weekly TE Starts Taking Shape

We’ve harped on it all season, finding a tight end to start with confidence each week has been a grueling process. Even the mainstays, a la Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce, have been disappointing. But after six weeks of football, it feels like a reliable group is emerging that could help ease the pain of making TE start/sit decisions. The young studs: Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and Sam LaPorta are locked in lineups. George Kittle has been the TE1 all season and could very well be a league winner based on his ADP during draft season. And even Andrews and Kelce have shown a slight resurgence. But there are two names below to highlight for those in dire need at the position.

Engram and Kmet Could Help Solve TE Woes

Evan Engram returned to the Jacksonville lineup after a hamstring injury in pregame warmups that has kept him out since Week 2. Engram also had a bad game in Week 1, so there is a chance he could have been cut in fantasy leagues. In his first game back, he dominated the targets from Trevor Lawrence, catching all 10 passes thrown his way for 102 yards. Engram has built a steady rapport with Lawrence going back to last season and could easily finish as a weekly top-five TE for the rest of the season. After snap counts favored Gerald Everett in Week 1, Cole Kmet has assumed his role as the go-to tight end in Chicago, playing over 80% of the snaps at the position since Week 3. He did have a couple of down games in Weeks 4 and 5, which could be the reason why he isn’t rostered everywhere, but he exploded this past Sunday for 70 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Both Engram and Kmet could solve the tight end issues many fantasy managers face.

Maye Can Play

After winning its season opener, New England has gone 0-5 since, prompting head coach Jerod Mayo to insert rookie quarterback Drake Maye into the starting lineup on Sunday. While the Patriots lost to the Texans 41-21, the offense showed signs of hope with Maye under center, putting up a season-high in points. Maye threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns, adding 38 yards on the ground. Barring injury, the rookie looks like he’ll be the starter the rest of the way, which suddenly makes some of the offensive pieces in New England intriguing for fantasy. Demario Douglas seems like he’ll be the main beneficiary – he caught six passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Henry becomes an option in the barren tight end landscape. And Maye himself could cement himself as a streaming option in the right matchup.

Caleb Can Play

Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, did you know Caleb Williams has been the QB7 over the last three weeks? And that includes a down game in Week 4. He was the QB6 in Week 5 and finished as the top scorer at the position this past week with nearly 30 fantasy points. Williams threw four touchdown passes and showcased his running ability, adding 56 yards on the ground. With his rushing ability, Williams provides a safe floor for fantasy and has shown that he can also sling it to his multitude of outside weapons. Williams was a late-round pick in fantasy drafts and may have been dropped after a slow start to the season. If you have roster space, now might be a good time to snag Williams off the wire with Chicago’s bye this week.

No White, No Problem

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers undoubtedly feel good after Sunday’s 51-27 win against the Saints, but Rachaad White managers might not feel the same way. With White missing the game (and potentially out for longer), Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker dominated the backfield, combining for 217 yards on 14 carries a piece and scoring three touchdowns combined. Tampa Bay Head Coach Todd Bowles said Tucker earned himself more playing time and that a three-way timeshare could be in the cards. White managers were already weary of Irving getting more playing time, but add in Tucker as well and White could be relegated to fantasy benches.

Dobbins Continues to Dominate

This is such a feel-good story. J.K. Dobbins was once beaming with potential in Baltimore and devastating injury after injury derailed his career. He’s come back from the depths of despair to snag the starting role in Los Angeles for a run-heavy team, and he’s not looking back. Dobbins carried the ball 25 times for 96 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, moving him to the RB16 on the season. Dobbins either went undrafted or was selected late in fantasy drafts and he’s cemented himself as a weekly RB2 with RB1 upside.

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Detroit RB Split

We’re six weeks into the season and the Lions have utilized their running backs just like they said they would, an even 50/50 split. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs have both been terrific this year as the RB6 and RB12 respectively. While Gibbs has played 45 more snaps and earned eight more targets, Montgomery has nine more carries and gets the goal-line work. They’ll continue to cap each other’s ceiling, but they both will be borderline RB1s at the end of the season if there are no injuries. If one gets hurt, the other RB could skyrocket into overall RB1 territory.

The Calvin Ridley Riddle

It hasn’t been pretty for Andy and me regarding our “My Guy” selection of Calvin Ridley, who is the WR68 on the season and has just one game with double-digit fantasy points. Ridley’s last three fantasy outputs are 1.4, 2.0, and 0.9 points. Will Levis can’t support a WR1 like we thought he could, and with DeAndre Hopkins back at full health, the future Hall of Famer is also demanding more targets. I don’t want to be pessimistic, but I don’t really see much hope for Ridley for the rest of the season. He’s going to have another big game or two, but he’ll be on fantasy benches when that happens. Then he’ll be started the next game and put up a dud. It’s rough, but cutting Ridley might be the best move.

Bijan Breaks Out

Bijan Robinson has been perfectly fine for fantasy this year. Until this past week, he was the RB21 with his highest point total (14.2) coming in Week 2. Again, he has been fine, but not the dominant force fantasy managers had hoped for after drafting him in the top half of the first round. On Sunday we finally got the big game we’ve been waiting for – a two-touchdown performance that landed him in the top five at the position for the week. And there was room for more, too. Tyler Allgeier got 18 carries to the tune of 105 yards and a touchdown. But in more competitive games, those additional carries will go to Robinson. The Atlanta offense is rolling and while there are a few tough matchups coming up, the fantasy playoff schedule is gold. Atlanta plays the Raiders, Giants, and Commanders in the fantasy postseason. Robinson managers, prepare to reap the rewards.