Ten Things We Learned in Week 6 (Fantasy Football)
Week 6 was a big week for fantasy football. The bye weeks started, causing even more chaos for fantasy football managers who already had to figure out how to win with the multitude of injuries that have happened so far this season. Week 6 had backup running backs carrying fantasy teams and had quarterbacks causing their teams to struggle in real football standards. Hopefully, your fantasy teams made it through all the madness. With that said, let’s take a look at what we learned in Week 6.
1. Jalen Hurts is a Konami Code Confirmed
If you aren’t familiar with the term “Konami Code” when referring to a quarterback (as popularized by Rich Hribar), it means they are a cheat code for fantasy football because of their rushing ability. In Week 6 against the Buccaneers, Jalen Hurts had only 12 completions for 115 yards and a touchdown. Despite the low passing production by Hurts, he outscored Tom Brady in fantasy even though Brady had 34 completions for 297 yards and two touchdowns. Hurts had 10 rushing attempts for 44 yards and two touchdowns. Hurts has scored at least 20 fantasy points each week in 2021 and is likely to keep producing top-12 scoring weeks with his rushing ability. While Hurts’ “real life” quarterback skills aren’t the best, fantasy managers who have Hurts on their roster should be excited for fantasy purposes.
2. Zach Ertz is Now an Arizona Cardinal
The Philidelphia Eagles finally pulled off a trade involving their former pro-bowl tight end, Zach Ertz. Rumors had been swirling all off-season about a possible trade. The rumors have come to fruition as Ertz is heading to the Arizona Cardinals to team up with Kyler Murray in a move where the Cardinals are looking for help after losing their starting tight end, Maxx Williams, to a season-ending injury. Williams was making an impact on offense and was becoming a streaming option for fantasy managers. If Ertz has any juice left, there is a possibility that he can be productive in this high-powered offense.
3. Leonard Fournette is a Bellcow
One of the many debates in the off-season was which Buccaneers’ running back would be better to roster on fantasy football teams. Right now, the answer is clearly Leonard Fournette. In Week 6, Fournette had 22 rushing attempts for 81 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught 6-of-6 passes for 46 yards. Ronald Jones only had five rushing attempts for 20 yards and one reception. Fournette is getting workhorse usage in arguably the best offense in the NFL. It’s safe to say he is one of the biggest steals in fantasy football drafts this season. I think we now know that this is Fournette’s backfield as long as he is healthy.
4. Stay Away From the Ravens’ Backfield
The Baltimore Ravens have been kind of unpredictable when making decisions about their running back rotation. They seem to be rotating who is active or not in the game each week and seem to be in a full committee during the games. In Week 6, the Ravens’ trinity of veteran running backs each had a touchdown. Latavius Murray had nine carries for 44 yards, Devonta Freeman had nine carries for 53 yards. Le’Veon Bell was the most inefficient back, getting eight carries and turning that into 18 yards. This backfield will be a full-on committee with fantasy relevance for each running back set to be touchdown-dependent. Fantasy managers who can afford to stay away from the Ravens’ backfield should do so. This situation screams weekly headaches.
5. Los Angeles Chargers Shocking Performance in All The Wrong Ways
You were likely disappointed with any Chargers player you started in fantasy football in Week 6. Many thought that the 4-1 Chargers taking on the 4-1 Ravens would be the game of the week. The game, unfortunately, did not reach that potential, with the Ravens winning easily, 34-6. Justin Herbert scored 13 fantasy points, resulting in Mike Williams and Keenan Allen having a rough outing too. Williams caught 2-of-5 targets for 27 yards, and Allen caught 5-of-5 targets for 50 yards. Austin Ekeler only had six rushing attempts for seven yards. He did add four receptions for 48 yards. This performance seemed like an off day for the Chargers offense, which shouldn’t happen too often going forward.
6. Gesicki & Waddle Dominate Dolphins’ Target Share
The Miami Dolphins offense looked rough at times against the Jaguars in Week 6. Mike Gesicki (19.1%) and Jaylen Waddle (27.7%) dominated the target share for the Dolphins in Tua Tagovailoa‘s return. DeVante Parker did not play in this game due to an injury, but Gesicki and Waddle look like key parts of the Dolphins’ offense going forward. Gesicki started the season slowly but has been a big part of the offense each week since Week 1. Gesicki has only scored one touchdown this season yet is still producing as a low-end TE1 due to volume. Jaylen Waddle continues to be heavily involved in the passing game, and that should only continue as he grows chemistry in the NFL with his former college teammate, Tua. Waddle is being used all over the field and is not just a deep threat. He has the complete package and is even getting RedZone looks despite his smaller frame. Waddle looks to be a solid flex play going forward.
Rob Carr/Getty Images
7. Aaron Rodgers Owns the Chicago Bears
The Green Bay Packers took on the Chicago Bears in Week 6 and left with a 24-14 victory. Aaron Rodgers let Bears fans know how he really felt after scoring a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter by using some choice words to make it clear that he “owns the Bears.” He’s not wrong with this statement either since Rodgers is 22-5 against the Bears in his career. According to ESPN Stats & Information, that is the third-best winning percentage by a quarterback against a single opponent since 1950, with a minimum of 25 starts.
8. Clyde Edwards-Helaire isn’t that Good
In Week 6, Darrel Williams got the start at running back for the Kansas City Chiefs in place of injured starter Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Williams took the job and got bellcow usage, rushing for 62 yards on 21 attempts. He also caught 3-of-4 targets for 27 yards. Williams scored more fantasy points in Week 6 than CEH has scored in a single game in his entire career (18 games). That stat goes well with those who run with the “running backs don’t matter” agenda. CEH had fantasy managers excited due to his landing spot, but we have learned that he isn’t anything special and isn’t being utilized as the pass-catching back that many thought he would be in the NFL, which has capped his upside for fantasy production. There may be a world where Darrel Williams works his way into the rotation more when CEH returns from injury too.
9. Hooked on a Thielen
This year, Adam Thielen was mainly an afterthought in fantasy drafts because of his age, the breakout of Justin Jefferson and Thielen’s 2020 RedZone efficiency being tough to match in 2021. Those that were “Hooked on a Thielen” are reaping the benefits once again in 2021. In Week 6, Thielen caught 11-of-13 targets for 126 yards and a touchdown. He is still getting a lot of targets and has scored a touchdown in 4-of-6 games this season. While he may not be the number one option in the offense, he is still a great fantasy asset and has the potential for a top-12 finish this year.
10. The Seahawks Offense Without Russ Will Struggle
Week 6 brought us a Seahawks offense without their superstar quarterback, Russell Wilson, for the first time since they drafted him. It was expected that the offense would struggle and the star players would lack in fantasy production. D.K Metcalf and Tyler Lockett each had seven targets, but Metcalf had the better day. Metcalf caught 6-of-7 targets for 58 yards, and Lockett caught 2-of-7 targets for 35 yards. Week 6 brought the second-lowest fantasy point total for both Metcalf and Lockett in 2021. Geno Smith did make some nice throws, but fantasy managers with Metcalf or Lockett may have to temper expectations until Wilson returns.
Alex Collins filled in for Chris Carson, who was seriously hurt with a neck injury and played well again. Collins dominated the team carries, rushing 20 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. Carson cannot return until Week 10 at the earliest, so Collins will be a solid play until then. Collins could end up a league-winning type of player if Carson were to miss the remainder of the season with some setback.