Every Sunday, countless things we thought we knew about the NFL get turned upside down on their heads. Such is the life of a fantasy footballer. Here are ten things we learned in the chaos that was Week 6.
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Aaron Rodgers is hurt, and it’s very bad news for all Packers in fantasy
Rodgers broke his collarbone in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Vikings, and the Packers quickly acknowledged that he could miss the rest of the season. Rodgers missed seven games due to a broken collarbone in 2013, so a return in time for the fantasy playoffs can’t be ruled out yet. Still, Rodgers owners without an IR spot will be faced with a tough decision about whether to hold onto him. The fantasy values of Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, and Martellus Bennett all take a significant hit with Brett Hundley under center, and RBs Ty Montgomery and Aaron Jones will possess much less upside as well.
Adrian Peterson is still good at football
The fantasy football community almost universally left Peterson for dead after his injury-marred final season in Minnesota and dreadful stint in New Orleans to begin this season. But AP had other ideas. Clearly thrilled about getting traded to Arizona, Peterson ran like a man possessed on Sunday, piling up 134 yards and two scores while out-touching backfield rivals Andre Ellington and Kerwynn Williams 26-to-3. Game script certainly benefited Peterson in this one — expect Ellington to be more involved in games in which the Cardinals trail — but make no mistake, Peterson has reestablished himself as a legit RB2 going forward.
Mark Ingram is set up to be a fantasy beast
The Peterson trade didn’t just wake up AP; it also set up massive workloads for the Saints’ Ingram, who was already an enticing buy-low option because he had flukishly failed to score any touchdowns. Ingram took care of that on Sunday, crossing the goal line twice on his way to 150 yards from scrimmage. Peterson wasn’t taking a ton of carries away from Ingram to begin with, but now Ingram has an entirely clear path to 20+ carries and goal-line work in one of the league’s best offenses, putting him squarely on the RB1 radar. Alvin Kamara also gets a nice boost from the Peterson trade, and now has a good shot to be the Tevin Coleman to Ingram’s Devonta Freeman.
Jerick McKinnon isn’t just a one-week wonder
When McKinnon went off for 146 yards and a touchdown in Week 5 against the Bears, many people wondered whether he could do it again. Well, the answer is a resounding yes. McKinnon “only” made it to 99 yards on Sunday, but he scored on the ground and through the air. He out-touched Latavius Murray 21-to-16, but that ratio is likely to move further in McKinnon’s direction as long as he continues to outplay Murray and manages to hold onto the football (McKinnon has now fumbled in three straight games, which is a slight worry). The bottom line is that McKinnon is an explosive player on a team that knows how to run the football, so he’s an easy RB2 with RB1 upside as long as he’s seeing 20+ touches per game.
Le’Veon Bell is challenging Kareem Hunt for RB supremacy
Week 6’s Steelers-Chiefs game pitted the top running back in fantasy (Hunt) against the player widely expected to hold that title (Bell). Bell emerged victorious in this round, out-gaining Hunt 191-to-110 while also scoring the only touchdown between the two. Bell and Hunt both remain certain top-five RBs, but the momentum is on Bell’s side at the moment. Hunt struggled mightily in the running game on Sunday (nine carries for 21 yards), and has now rushed for less than 4.0 YPC in back-to-back weeks and failed to score for three consecutive weeks. Bell, meanwhile, has piled up over 35 touches and over 180 yards in two of the last three games.
Orleans Darkwa needs to be owned in all fantasy leagues
Darkwa entered Sunday’s game owned in just eight percent of Yahoo leagues, despite posting 69 yards and a score on just eight carries (8.6 YPC) last week. Darkwa further solidified his standing in the Giants’ backfield on Sunday night, touching the ball 22 times for 130 yards against a Broncos team that ranked first in the NFL in rushing defense. The G-Men have not consistently run the ball since the days of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, so expectations for Darkwa need to be kept in check, but perhaps coach Ben McAdoo relinquishing play-calling duties will help. At the very least, Darkwa has earned RB3/flex consideration and should be owned in all competitive leagues.
Emmanuel Sanders‘ injury could open up a lot of targets in Denver
Sanders was carted off the field with an ankle injury on Sunday night, and although x-rays were negative, an MRI is forthcoming and the injury appears serious. The Broncos are known for funneling passing game targets to their top two WRs, and Sanders entered the game leading the team in receptions, so if he does miss significant time, it will create a big opportunity for the team’s other pass catchers. Demaryius Thomas could become even more of a target magnet, but the biggest boost in targets may well be for Bennie Fowler, who is third on the team in receiving yardage and received eight targets on Sunday night.
The Jamison Crowder bounceback hype was just talk
Coming into Sunday’s game, Washington coach Jay Gruden talked up Crowder as “one of our best skill players,” adding, “I think you’ll see more of Jamison Crowder, hopefully.” But “more” Crowder turned out to be three catches for 15 yards. He did tie for the team lead with five targets, but it was a five-way tie. In fact, eight different players received between three and five targets. Simply put, Washington spreads the ball around too much for Crowder to be a reliable fantasy option — and it could be having the same effect on Terrelle Pryor, too.
Hunter Henry is becoming an offensive focal point
Henry found himself on a lot of waiver wires after failing to get a single target in two of the Chargers’ first three games. But those two games are beginning to look like outliers as the talented second-year tight end gets fully integrated into the offense. Over the last two weeks, Henry has 15 targets compared to just four for future hall of famer, Antonio Gates. Gates won’t disappear completely, but there should be no shortage of opportunity for Henry to show what he can do on a rebuilding, pass-heavy team. At a position with few elite options, Henry is a legitimate TE1 and could even sneak into the top-six by season’s end.
Mitch Trubisky looks decent — just not for fantasy
Trubisky did what he needed to do to lead the Bears to victory, but don’t expect it to translate into fantasy value anytime soon. Bears coach John Fox is a conservative play caller at heart, and you can expect him to be even more conservative with a rookie QB under center. The Bears rode Jordan Howard for 36 carries on Sunday, while Trubisky threw the ball just 16 times, completing eight for 113 yards and one touchdown. Trubisky did add 32 yards on the ground, but a fantasy gold mine it was not. Trubisky will be forced to try to do more when Chicago falls behind, but Fox surely sees this game as a blueprint for how the team can stay competitive this season.
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Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter.
