Fantasy football is driven by data, and reviewing key utilization statistics from Week 5 will help us evaluate what might be ahead in the foreseeable future. Now that more than a month is in the rearview, we’re able to get a better sense for any developing trends.
While some big-time utilizations jump off the stats sheet when it comes to familiar faces, like Ja’Marr Chase‘s 19 targets, Travis Etienne‘s 31 plays, Joe Mixon‘s 29, and Breece Hall‘s number getting dialed 25 times in the first game following his workload restriction being lifted, we’ll focus more on scenarios that could change fantasy value.
11
Cincinnati Bengals wide receivers
With Tee Higgins on the pine nursing injured ribs in Week 5, Joe Burrow sent a massive target share to Chase (19, 41.3%). Reserve receiver Trenton Irwin was thrown at 10 times, good for a respectable PPR line of 8-60-0, while veteran Tyler Boyd landed six of seven looks but for 39 yards. With Green Bay and Pittsburgh removing several playable receivers from the pool in Week 6, Irwin is a conceivable flier in deep reception-rewarding formats if Higgins misses against Seattle’s awful pass defense.
10
RB Emari Demercado, Arizona Cardinals
James Conner could miss some game action after exiting early last week following a knee injury. His departure resulted in undrafted rookie Emari Demercado touching the ball 11 times on 13 utilizations and generating 57 yards with a TD. The Cardinals have an injured Keaontay Ingram (knee) and Tony Jones Jr. on the depth chart for the upcoming meeting with the Los Angeles Rams, the seventh-toughest opponent in fantasy. Consider Demercado depth for the time being, though it’s easy to like the potential for a commanding share of the touches if you’re hard-pressed for a Week 6 desperation play.
9
Baltimore Ravens running backs
In what seems like a weekly spot for this article series, the Ravens’ rotational backfield took another turn in Week 5 with Justice Hill returning from injury to lead the backfield in fantasy points (14.5) on his seven-carry, four-reception day. Gus Edwards actually had one more utilization, and he once again proved to be useless for fantasy gamers without getting into the end zone. The third twist mattered even less with Kenyan Drake and not Melvin Gordon being elevated off the practice squad, but he didn’t touch the ball. In Week 6, Tennessee hosts Baltimore after what was an unusually poor defense vs. the position on Sunday, so Hill could be little more palatable of a play.
8
WR Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
We’ve mentioned him before, and our Kevin Hickey has addressed Downs in the weekly waiver wire piece, so it will be short: Add him and expect WR3 work after Gardner Minshew replaced Anthony Richardson for the third time in five weeks. In Week 3, with Minshew starting, the rookie wideout nabbed eight receptions on a dozen looks. The target tally was half of that in Week 5, yet Downs managed a personal-best 97 yards after grabbing all of the passes directed his way. We could see Minshew leading this offense for roughly a month, which makes Downs a consistent flex consideration in PPR scoring.
7
Carolina Panthers running backs
Chuba Hubbard has paced the Carolina backfield in consecutive weeks as Miles Sanders struggles to gain traction while fighting through a nagging groin strain. And about that team-leading Week 5 utilization count? Eleven plays with two of them being targets. Yawn. The Panthers are poor enough on defense that games will get out of hand and remove rushing from the game plan. Groin injuries tend to linger, which bodes well for Hubbard seeing the most action, yet he just hasn’t done enough with it to warrant more than a passing glance on the wire.
6
Denver Broncos running backs
Following up from the Week 4 recap when Jaleel McLaughlin went wild after Javonte Williams suffered a knee injury, this week’s utilization shows what was forecasted — the rookie is the most explosive back in this offense and deserves extra work. Williams was trending toward playing in Week 5 but ultimately was on the wrong side of questionable. McLaughlin out-touched veteran Samaje Perine 12 to 10 and saw 13 to 11. Both backs were productive, and Perine still remained involved even after fumbling by seeing five total utilizations, four of which were targets. We’ll revisit this one yet again after Week 6 once Williams presumably returns to face KC.
5
TE Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Revisiting the Falcons’ frustrating tight end utilization yet again … Pitts stepped up his game after what felt like an eternity between useful fantasy outings. The 11 targets marked a career high, and he secured seven passes — the same number as the previous two games combined — good for 87 yards, which ties last year’s best mark. It remains baffling as to how arguably the most athletic tight end in the NFL can’t shake free more often. Jonnu Smith still saw seven targets (6-67-0), his fourth straight outing with at least a half-dozen looks. A fumble lost by Smith was met with a 3-to-1 target share in favor of Pitts, and even third-string TE MyCole Pruitt matched the former in looks post-butterfingers moment. Pitts did enough to make gamers feel compelled to once again tough it out with him in the lineup, even against a poor matchup in Washington’s five-ranked defense of the position. There’s hope for Pitts following Cole Kmet‘s 5-42-1 line in Week 5, maybe 11 targets for Pitts coinciding with a win will get this train rolling.
4
TE Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans
Schultz now has scored in consecutive weeks and posted a season-best 10 targets on the heels of only 13 in the previous three weeks combined. The former Dallas Cowboy logged a hearty 28.6 percent target share as Tank Dell left early and Atlanta blanketed Nico Collins. Nevertheless, it’s encouraging to see after a slow start for the veteran, and owners should be much more confident starting Schultz the rest of the way, though Week 6 will be a slog vs. New Orleans’ dominant defense of the position.
3
Tennessee Titans running backs
There’s no changing of the guard in store to worry about for Derrick Henry owners, but we’re seeing a steady enough workload for rookie Tyjae Spears that it isn’t insignificant. He was far more efficient than King Henry in Week 5, and the coaching staff dialed Spears’ number just five fewer times than No. 22’s 17 utilizations in a close game. A dozen potential touches for any back, especially one with Spears’ open-field skills, deserves consideration to cover bye weeks. He now has averaged 9.5 utilizations in the last month, and that cannot be ignored.
2
Los Angeles Rams wide receivers
We saw the return of a healthy Cooper Kupp remind us why he’s a special fantasy weapon. All of the attention sent his way didn’t negatively impact Nacua, and the rookie capitalized on the defense’s fixation with slowing Matthew Stafford‘s favorite weapon. The rookie drew 11 targets to Kupp’s dozen, and he posted a 7-71-1 line to slightly outscore the veteran. That’s exactly what we wanted to see before proclaiming Nacua’s stellar rookie season should continue.
1
Indianapolis Colts running backs
First of all, Indy didn’t sign Jonathan Taylor to a lucrative extension with the intention of sharing carries between he and Zack Moss in any meaningful split, but … did anyone see that coming against Tennessee’s vaunted run defense? … Probably not even the Colts’ coaching staff. We now have witnessed the former Buffalo back post 20-plus PPR points in three of the last four contests, and it’s fair to wonder if it could change things to enough of a degree that Moss’ fantasy owners will have a flex play on their hands beyond the short term while Taylor ramps up his workload after missing so much practice time over the last few months. The next three opponents aren’t easy matchups (JAX, CLE, NO), so keep your expectations level for both rushers.
