• Tank Bigsby leads the Jacksonville Jaguars to victory: Bigsby reached 90-plus rushing yards for the third time in the last four weeks, further proving he should be the Jaguars’ lead rusher going forward.
• New England Patriots backups vulture touchdowns: JaMycal Hasty scored the Patriots’ first touchdown as Antonio Gibson was dealing with a knee injury. K.J. Osborn scored in the fourth quarter while DeMario Douglas was dealing with an illness.
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PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Rhamondre Stevenson returns to the starting lineup: Stevenson missed last week due to a foot injury and was benched the previous week.
Stevenson played each of the first six offensive snaps. Antonio Gibson entered in the middle of the long first drive but suffered a knee injury on his second play. This left JaMycal Hasty playing a snap to end the first drive and scoring a touchdown.
Gibson returned on the second drive, but he played less than usual, likely due to the injury. He only played three plays over the final three quarters. Hasty continued to rotate in, particularly in passing situations just to give Stevenson a rest. Despite Stevenson playing more than usual, he was still held to seven carries for 18 yards and two receptions for seven yards.
It will be worth monitoring Gibson’s practices throughout the week, as it will be safer to start Stevenson going forward if Gibson is missing time.
Monitor DeMario Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk’s health: Early in the third quarter, it was revealed that Douglas was dealing with an illness.
Over the first three drives, Douglas had the fourth-most snaps among the Patriots wide receivers. This didn’t seem alarming because he was always in during 11 personnel, and he typically only plays in three-receiver sets. Unlike last week when Kayshon Boutte was playing over 80% of New England’s offensive snaps, Boutte was in a pretty consistent rotation with Kendrick Bourne and Ja’Lynn Polk, giving all three a near-even amount of snaps.
Late in the first half, K.J. Osborn started taking some snaps in the slot for Douglas. Osborn was active last week but didn’t play an offensive snap, and it seems clear now his role is simply the backup slot receiver for Douglas. It was announced that Douglas was dealing with an illness. Douglas only played one snap in the second half. Because it’s an illness and not an injury, it’s more likely that Douglas will be fine next week.
Despite the illness, early in the game was a good reminder that if the Patriots start having a lead more often, Douglas won’t be on the field as much due to the Patriots’ use of 12 personnel.
Late in the fourth quarter, Polk was deemed questionable due to a head injury. It was late enough in the game that it wouldn’t make sense for him to return to the game even if he was ready to return. If Polk misses time, we would expect Boutte and Bourne to be the clear top outside wide receivers, with either Osborn, Tyquan Thornton or Javon Baker mixing in.
Tank Bigsby leads the Jaguars without Travis Etienne: Etienne was questionable due to a hamstring injury but was ultimately inactive.
D’Ernest Johnson got the ceremonial start as the more veteran player, but after that first play, it was primarily Bigsby in for rushing situations and Johnson for passing situations, as we expected. It took a little bit of time before the Jaguars’ running backs had many opportunities with the Patriots dominating the time of possession early, but once the Jaguars were up 22-10 at halftime, they completely abandoned the passing game late in the third quarter and just put the ball in Bigsby’s hands. Bigsby continued his strong play on the ground this season, posting his third game with 90-plus rushing yards in the last four weeks.
Etienne has only reached 90 rushing yards once in his last 18 games despite multiple games with 20-plus carries in that stretch. Even when Etienne is playing again, we should continue to expect Bigsby to be the primary runner on the team. Etienne could potentially win the job back if he plays well enough, but Bigsby has been playing better this season than Etienne has played at any point in his career.
Miscellaneous Notes
Kenneth Walker III slightly limited: Walker put up great numbers but was questionable heading into the game due to illness.
Zach Charbonnet ended up playing more snaps than Walker, which is a stark difference from last week when Walker had 54 plays to Charbonnet’s 24. A big part of this was the situations the Seahawks were in, while the illness may have slightly factored in.
Charbonnet has been the third-down back, and the Seahawks happened to be in a lot of third downs. The two played significantly in two-minute drills, and in this game, Charbonnet played most of those snaps. The split on early downs wasn’t all that different compared to previous weeks, where both running backs were healthy.
Fantasy managers likely didn’t mind the split role considering how well Walker played. We can expect his playing time to return to normal next week assuming he is closer to full health.
Monitor D.K. Metcalf’s health: Metcalf suffered a knee injury late in the Seahawks game and didn’t return.
Metcalf was off to a strong start, catching four passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, but left in the third quarter. He was carted to the locker room and didn’t play in the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks only ran nine plays in the fourth quarter. Jake Bobo replaced Metcalf in the three snaps out of 11 personnel. In 12 personnel, it was Bobo and Smith-Njigba, while Bobo also took the 13 personnel snaps. All of the plays with multiple tight ends were run plays in a blowout win, so it’s not surprising that Tyler Lockett wasn’t playing those snaps.
If Metcalf has to miss a game, we can expect Bobo to take the 11 personnel snaps, while Lockett and Smith-Njigba take most of the 12 personnel snaps. Bobo would be a rotational player, so there is no one worth picking up off the waiver wire because Lockett and Smith-Njigba would also be taking some of Metcalf’s work.
Noah Fant continues to step up: Fant reached over 60 receiving yards in his second-straight game.
Fant caught four passes for 65 yards after catching six passes for 63 yards last week. Fant’s role still isn’t ideal because rookie A.J. Barner has cut into his playing time significantly in both 11 and 12 personnel. Fant played only 25 of 46 snaps in 11 personnel and four of eight in 12 personnel. Throughout the season, Fant tends to be on the field more on passing plays while Barner is on the field more on run plays.
This hasn’t mattered as much for Fant as it has other tight ends in a rotation because of how many plays the Seahawks run and how much they pass. Over the first six weeks, the Seahawks have run 307 pass plays, which is 25 more than any other team. They’ve gone from the team that runs the fewest plays per game to the team that runs the most thanks to the coaching change.
This means that despite getting rotated out more than other elite tight ends, his 210 routes over the first six weeks are the third-most for tight ends. This game will likely push him down a few spots in the rankings, but the game script also contributed to that. He’s paired that with a higher target share, cutting into some of Jaxon Smith-Njigba‘s targets.
Fant is one of the best waiver wire options at tight end even with this rotation, but if he can maintain a high target share or earn more routes thanks to his good play, he could be a borderline fantasy starter going forward.
Kyle Pitts dominates snaps and targets early: Pitts’ best three games of the season in terms of receiving yards have come in the last three weeks.
Pitts started the season playing 96% of Atlanta’s offensive snaps, but that dropped off considerably in Week 2. The Falcons almost always stay in 11 personnel, so personnel usage doesn’t impact Pitts like other tight ends. This meant the decrease in playing time was simply the Falcons choosing to rotate him out more.
He set a low in snaps in Week 4 while not catching a single pass but rebounded in a big way in Week 5 with seven receptions for 88 yards. He followed that up with three receptions for 70 yards last week. This led him to play in 55 of the first 66 snaps in this game. It would have been his fourth time playing at least 80% of Altanta’s offensive snaps in the last two seasons but because the Falcons used backups on their final drive, his snap percentage lowered. It was still one of his better games of the season from a snap rate perspective.
He can safely remain in fantasy starting lineups going forward.
Miscellaneous Notes
Tony Pollard dominates snaps without Tyjae Spears: Pollard rarely left the field as the Titans’ feature running back.
Spears missed this game due to a hamstring injury, which allowed Pollard to run 16 times for 61 yards and catch two passes for four yards. The game script restricted the Titans from giving the ball to Pollard even more, as Mason Rudolph threw the ball 40 times.
Unfortunately, the Titans play the Detroit Lions next week, which could lead to a game script similar to this game. Pollard should remain in fantasy lineups regardless of Spears’ health, but he will have top-10 upside for as long as Spears is out and the Titans aren’t playing the league’s elite teams.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine replaces Treylon Burks: The Titans’ former first-round pick landed on injured reserve due to a knee injury.
Burks was one of the Titans’ primary wide receivers to start the season, mostly rotating with DeAndre Hopkins as Hopkins was eased back due to injury. Hopkins’ snap rate skyrocketed to 71% of Tennessee’s offensive snaps last week after playing less than 50% in the first four weeks of the season.
Unfortunately, with more preparation time, the Titans opted to keep Hopkins in a rotation. The only difference is the rotation was with Westbrook-Ikhine. Hopkins caught his only target for negative two yards, while Westbrook-Ikhine caught the Titans’ only touchdown.
It will be hard to trust any of the Titans’ wide receivers given the state of the offense and the rotation.
Amari Cooper eased into action: The Bills traded for the five-time Pro Bowl receiver, and he played on a limited basis Sunday.
The Bills released Marquez Valdes-Scantling to make room on the roster, and Cooper basically played the snaps that Valdes-Scantling usually would play. He took some snaps from Keon Coleman in 12 personnel in addition to snaps from Coleman and Mack Hollins in 11 personnel. Cooper will certainly earn more playing time in the next week or two, and Coleman and Hollins should be the ones who lose snaps. Coleman posted the best game of his young career, so ideally, the snaps will mostly come from Hollins. It will be interesting to see if Cooper reaches the point where he’s an every-down receiver or if the Bills continue to rotate him like they rotate everyone else.
Khalil Shakir has primarily just been a slot receiver in 11 personnel with limited 12 personnel snaps. That should remain the case going forward. Cooper’s presence should have minimal impact on Shakir’s playing time. Curtis Samuel suffered a shoulder injury early in this game and didn’t return. If Samuel misses time, this should mean more playing time for Shakir going forward.
Ray Davis sees slightly more playing time: Davis ran 20 times for 97 yards and caught three passes for 55 yards on Monday Night Football, but that only led to a few more snaps.
James Cook was back after missing last week due to a toe injury, and he returned to his usual starting job. He played the majority of Buffalo’s early-down snaps like has every week he’s been healthy.
The Bills’ first half looked very similar to any other first half, as Cook played 11 snaps to Davis’ four. Almost all of Davis’ work came in the third quarterback. Cook ran 12 times for 32 yards and a touchdown. Davis ended up with more rushing yards, gaining 41 on five carries.
We can expect Cook to remain the starter for the foreseeable future, but it’s possible Davis can bring the snaps and touches closer to a 50/50 split. Davis is worth a waiver-wire add because the Bills could run a lot in most games.
Miscellaneous Notes
Nick Chubb returns to the Browns: Chubb was the Browns’ primary ball carrier in his first game back after missing over a year of football.
Chubb was officially removed from the reserve PUP list yesterday, allowing him to be the Browns’ lead rusher. Jerome Ford has been the lead rusher, but he was inactive due to a hamstring injury. Chubb ran 11 times for 22 yards and a touchdown and caught a pass for 10 yards.
He largely split time with Pierre Strong, as Strong also took most of the passing-down work. In past years, Chubb would take most of the early-down, short-yardage and goal-line work, while playing a few snaps in clear passing situations.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Chubb plays a slightly higher percentage of Cleveland’s offensive snaps over time, but it might not be significant. Considering the Browns are 1-6 and potentially lost their starting quarterback for the season, they might not want to overwork him in hopes he can return to his elite form in 2025. Once Ford is back, he will mostly take playing time away from Strong. Ford is worth holding on to in case he can maintain a significant role, but it’s also possible this remains a three- or four-man backfield with only Chubb having value.
Browns adjust without Amari Cooper: Cooper was traded to the Buffalo Bills this past week, allowing other wide receivers to move up the depth chart.
Over the first six weeks, Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore were the primary receivers in 11 personnel while Cedric Tillman was their primary backup. All four would rotate in 12 personnel, while Tillman played the most snaps of the group for his run blocking.
In this game, Tillman simply became a clear starter in 11 personnel, while both Jaelon Darden and Jamari Thrash played more snaps than usual as the backups. In 12 personnel, the team stuck with Jeudy and Tillman throughout the game. Tillman was also the top target earner.
In most leagues, these wide receivers can be left on the waiver wire considering the state of the offense. David Njoku is the top receiver on the team, in general, so everyone else is fighting for the second-most targets.
The Chase Brown takeover continues: Brown tied his career-high in rushing attempts at 15.
While Zack Moss remains the passing-down back, Brown has slowly but surely gained a higher percentage of the Bengals’ early down snaps. He played nearly twice as many early-down snaps as Moss in this game.
Brown ran 15 times for 44 yards, while Moss ran six times for seven yards. While neither running back was effective, if anything, Brown played better as a runner and should play an even higher percentage of those early-down snaps going forward. He is a buy-low option after this game. Moss can remain on fantasy rosters, but he should primarily be viewed as a handcuff at this point.
Miscellaneous Notes
Joe Mixon returns to a dominant role: Mixon was the focal point of the Texans offense in his second game back from injury.
In Week 1, Mixon ran the ball 30 times as the Texans’ clear early-down back. He then suffered an injury in Week 2, causing him to miss the following three games.
Last week, he returned but only played 28 offensive snaps because he split the early down role with Dameon Pierce. This appeared to be a precaution, as this game ended up very similar to Week 1. Dare Ogunbowale remained the third-down back, as he’s been all season. Mixon dominated the early-down snaps and ran the ball more than C.J. Stroud passed the ball.
The Texans’ schedule is particularly difficult around the fantasy playoffs, but until then, there should be several games where Mixon is a top-10 fantasy running back in this role.
The Packers wide receiver room is largely back to normal: For the first time in a month, all of the Packers wide receivers were available from the start of the game until the end.
Both Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks have missed significant time over the last three weeks due to injury, while Romeo Doubs also missed a game due to suspension. Jayden Reed hasn’t missed time, but he was on the injury report due to an ankle injury.
The wide receiver rotation was largely the same as it was during the first three weeks of the season. Doubs took one outside spot, Watson and Wicks split time at the other outside spot, and Reed took slot snaps out of 11 personnel.
The wrinkle this week is how snaps were split between Watson and Wicks. Over the first three weeks, Watson played more in 11 personnel while Wicks played more in 12 personnel. This left Watson running more routes, while the team was likelier to run with Wicks on the field. Those roles were flipped in this game. This left Wicks running nearly as many routes despite playing notably fewer snaps. A one-game sample isn’t enough to know if the Packers will continue using this rotation, but it will be worth monitoring. It will be hard for either wide receiver to be consistent in this role.
Miscellaneous Notes
Dolphins settle into a three-man running back rotation: For the first time since Week 1, all of the Dolphins’ running backs were available and lasted the entire game.
Mostert suffered a chest injury in Week 1, which caused him to miss the following three games. Once he returned, De’Von Achane suffered a concussion, causing him to miss most of Week 5. The Dolphins had their bye last week.
Achane started the game, which was noteworthy considering Raheem Mostert had been starting every game he played outside of Week 5. Still, it was understandable if Mostert was going to have a smaller role in that game considering he was coming back from injury. Achane was the primary running back in all situations, while Mostert also played significant snaps, regardless of the situation.
Jaylen Wright was a clear third on the depth chart, but whenever he was on the field, he was likely to get the ball. All three running backs were efficient with the ball in their hands, but Wright had the best yards per carry. Achane can safely be put in fantasy starting lineups in this role, but there is at least a chance Wright earns more playing time going forward given his good play. If anything, Achane is a buy-low option, as this offense will ideally start playing better with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback.
Jonnu Smith shines as the Dolphins’ only receiving option: Smith had his best game as a Dolphin, while Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for less than 20 yards.
Smith now has three games with five or more catches for over 50 yards and three games with a combined three receptions for 25 yards.
He is one of a few veteran tight ends available on the waiver wire who had a strong week, but there is more reason to be concerned going forward. Smith has been playing a lot of snaps because the Dolphins have been losing the games and need to throw a lot.
He’s played in 68% of Miami’s 11 personnel snaps this season, which is lower than ideal. He’s also played 54% of 12 personnel, 13% of 21 personnel and 20% of 22 personnel snaps this season. If the Dolphins are back to a point where they win games, that will mean more snaps out of 21 personnel and back to Hill not being on the field as much as most of the receiving tight ends. He’s run under 20 routes in four of six games this season. Once Tua Tagovailoa is back, the wide receivers should be more involved, which will also mean fewer targets for Smith.
It’s fine to consider him off the waiver wire if other options are taken, but he will be more likely to have some bad games going forward compared to these big games.
Tyler Goodson leads the Colts backfield: Jonathan Taylor missed his third straight game due to an ankle injury, leading to Goodson and Trey Sermon splitting time again.
Over the last two weeks, Sermon was the primary ball carrier, but Goodson averaged 5.9 yards per carry compared to Sermon’s 2.4. Sermon has also been dealing with a knee injury that forced him to not practice on Wednesday, be a limited participant in practice on Thursday and a full participant on Friday.
The combination of Goodson’s strong play and Sermon’s injury left Goodson touching the ball a lot more often. The two split snaps in all situations despite Sermon starting the game. Whenever Goodson was on the field, they were more likely to run the ball, while they were more likely to pass with Sermon. Goodson ran 14 times for 51 yards and a touchdown while Sermon ran eight times for 36 yards.
With Sermon averaging more yards per carry this week and potentially being healthier next week, it’s possible the two could be even closer to 50/50 if Taylor misses another game, making it hard to trust either for fantasy football purposes.
Miscellaneous Notes
Sam LaPorta’s playing time bounces back: LaPorta rarely left the field, but his target share isn’t ideal.
LaPorta was consistently playing at least 85% of Detroit’s offensive snaps over the second half of last season. That had continued this season, outside of Week 3 when he suffered an ankle injury. Last week, a blowout win meant he barely needed to play in the fourth quarter, but he also didn’t play as much in two tight end sets as usual. In the first three quarters, he played 14 snaps out of 12 personnel, while Brock Wright played 18 and Parker Hesse played 16.
Hesse was a healthy inactive this week, which meant LaPorta was able to play in all of the 12 personnel snaps this week. That was good news for his route total, but he only caught one pass for 25 yards. This is after catching only one pass last week. At this point, it’s not out of the question to bench LaPorta out of your fantasy lineup, but it’s too early to cut him.
Jalen Nailor shines as the Vikings’ third wide receiver: Nailor played more than he ever has in a game where both Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison were healthy.
While Nailor was a starter in Weeks 2 and 3 when Addison was out, he was only a rotational player in three-receiver sets when everyone was healthy, rotating with Brandon Powell. In Week 5, that changed with Nailor playing 38 of a possible 43 snaps in 11 personnel. Trent Sherfield was the primary backup in 12 personnel, making it hard for Nailor to see as significant of a role as other third wide receivers.
This week, he played even more in 11 personnel, taking 39 of a possible 40 snaps. He was also the primary backup in 12 personnel, playing one more snap than Sherfield in that personnel grouping.
This allowed Nailor to play nearly 75% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps, where he caught four passes for 76 yards. It will be hard for him to have consistent fantasy value once T.J. Hockenson is back to take a higher target share, but he may have a few other big games this season.
Miscellaneous Notes
Tyrone Tracy leads the Giants backfield: Tracy was the Giants’ primary running back regardless of the situation despite Devin Singletary returning.
Singletary missed the last two weeks due to a groin injury, which allowed Tracy a chance to start and shine. Coach Brian Daboll said earlier in the week that Tracy had earned more playing time going forward. It’s unclear how much of Tracy’s playing time was based on his last two games compared to how much Singletary was limited. Still, it’s worth noting Singletary wasn’t given an injury designation.
Despite the playing time, Tracy only ran six times for 23 yards and caught three passes for nine yards. Singletary ran five times for 18 yards. It’s safe to assume Tracy will remain the starter, but there is at least a chance the playing time is a little closer to even next week. Singletary should remain on fantasy rosters, but another week or two like this, and he can be dropped in some leagues.
Grant Calcaterra mostly leads the tight end room: Calcaterra was the Eagles’ leading receiving tight end with Dallas Goedert out.
Goedert suffered a hamstring injury early last week and didn’t return, keeping him out of this game. Calcaterra completely took Goedert’s role last week, consistently playing in 12 personnel and 80% of the 11 personnel snaps.
Over the first 10 drives, Calcaterra only played in 22 of 31 snaps out of 11 personnel, while Jack Stoll played the other nine. Luckily, most of Stoll’s plays were runs, so there weren’t many passing plays where Calcaterra wasn’t on the field. Given the game script, the Eagles only had 14 pass attempts with the starters, leading to just one reception for five yards out of Calcaterra.
If Goedert misses another game, Calcaterra will likely see more targets next week, but he will probably only be a desperation play in most fantasy leagues.
Miscellaneous Notes
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