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We’ve broken down this weekly TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) article by each of the four main skill positions in fantasy football (quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end), with at least two stats per position. Click on each author’s byline to read the entire article. Good luck this week.
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TL;DR Fantasy Football Week 6
Week 6 Byes: Minnesota Vikings, Houston Texans
Must-Know Quarterback Fantasy Football Stats
Sam Darnold (QB – SEA)
Last week, Sam Darnold had a top-five fantasy performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former USC star completed 82.4% of his 34 pass attempts for 341 yards, four touchdowns and 27.6 fantasy points, setting season-highs in every category. Yet, the veteran has been one of the better fantasy quarterbacks since his poor Week 1 performance. Darnold has averaged 274 passing yards, 2.3 touchdowns and 19.1 fantasy points per game over the past four weeks, totaling two or more scores and at least 16.1 fantasy points in all but one contest.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars have played well on defense. While Jacksonville had only one turnover last week, they forced at least three in each of the first four games this season, including nine interceptions. However, the Jaguars have struggled to slow down opposing quarterbacks. They have given up 287 passing yards, 1.8 touchdowns and 19.9 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks since Week 1. Furthermore, Patrick Mahomes had 26.7 fantasy points against Jacksonville last week despite having only one passing touchdown. Expect Darnold to keep up his recent hot play.
Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR)
Matthew Stafford is on a tear, with back-to-back outings of at least 25 fantasy points. He has a great opportunity to make it three in a row this week, as the Ravens rank second in the league with 24.6 points per game given up to opposing quarterbacks.
Especially important for Stafford, given that he is an immobile pocket passer, Baltimore also leads the league with 2.6 passing touchdowns given up per game. Even though his floor is still relatively low, Stafford is a worthwhile streaming option in this matchup.
Must-Know Running Backs Fantasy Football Stats
Rachaad White (RB – TB)
Rachaad White reclaimed his starting role in Bucky Irving‘s absence in Week 5, playing on 80.3% (49 out of 61) of the offensive snaps, while handling 18 touches for 71 yards from scrimmage and a pair of touchdowns. He was inefficient on the ground, averaging fewer than three yards per carry (2.9). He was productive as a receiver, though, running a route on nearly 80% of Baker Mayfield‘s dropbacks (79.4%) and finishing tied for second on the team in receptions, catching all four of his targets for 30 yards.
Per Adam Schefter, Bucky Irving’s shoulder injury is more of an issue than his sprained foot, likely sidelining the second year back for at least two weeks. Until Irving returns, White should have complete control of the backfield, possessing RB1 upside as the starter.
Rico Dowdle (RB – CAR)
How about a blast from the past? Thrust into the limelight after Chuba Hubbard was declared inactive due to a calf injury, Rico Dowdle handled a massive workload against Miami, finishing with 26 touches for 234 total yards and a rushing touchdown. Dowdle cut through the Dolphins’ defense like a knife through butter, constantly gashing the team for huge gains on the ground.
Dowdle’s success will allow Carolina to ease Hubbard back into action. I can’t envision they are under any pressure to rush him back faster than necessary. Dowdle has another juicy matchup in Week 6 against his former club, Dallas, a defense that ranks fourth-worst in points allowed per game (30.8) and bleeds rushing yards each contest. We get the feeling this will be a sneaky high-scoring game, with Dowdle continuing to be heavily featured.
Must-Know Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Stats
Tetairoa McMillan (WR- CAR)
While Xavier Legette and Mitchell Evans caught Bryce Young‘s two passing touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins, Tetairoa McMillan continues to be his go-to target. The former Arizona star had eight targets, twice as many as anyone else on the team.
Furthermore, the rest of Carolina’s wide receiver corps had 10 targets in Week 5. McMillan’s 29.6% target share and 36.9% receiving yards share led the team for the fifth consecutive game. Once he starts to connect with Young in the end zone, McMillan will produce as a top-15 wide receiver.
Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)
Tyreek Hill‘s brutal knee injury in Week 4 resulted in Jaylen Waddle stepping up the rest of that contest. Unsurprisingly, he kept his momentum in Miami’s Week 5 loss against the Panthers. Waddle was tied with De’Von Achane for the team high in routes (34) and converted his route participation into team highs for targets (nine) and receiving yards (110) and co-team highs in receptions (six) and receiving touchdowns (one). Thus, Waddle had 0.26 targets per route run, a 25% target share and 3.24 yards per route run.
According to the data suite at Fantasy Points, among 110 wideouts with at least 75 routes through Week 4, 0.26 targets per route run would have tied for 13th, a 25% target share would have ranked 16th and 3.24 yards per route run would have ranked third. Waddle won’t benefit from facing the Panthers every week, but he should be treated as a WR1.
DK Metcalf (WR – PIT)
DK Metcalf has been slowly climbing up the dynasty community ranks this season, given his 14.8 PPR points per game average. This is the highest per-game average Metcalf has posted since 2020, when he averaged 17 points per game.
However, there’s reason to believe this production could regress as we progress through the year. Despite Metcalf sitting as the WR18 overall in points per game, he’s seen just a 21.2% target share (WR32) and is averaging 9.2 expected fantasy points per game. The discrepancy between his expected and actual fantasy points thus far has been due to Metcalf breaking off a couple of massive plays. In Week 4, he had an 80-yard touchdown reception on a crosser route, with about 65 yards coming after the catch.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Don’t we like big plays for fantasy? Of course, but we don’t want to rely solely on those big plays to get us there each week. Ideally, we’d like a player with a safe floor, and the floor is established by demanding a large target share.
Metcalf has not earned more than seven targets in a single game this season. On top of this, Aaron Rodgers is likely gone after this season. I’m not optimistic Metcalf can keep this pace in the short term, and I’m even less optimistic about his long-term prospects. Take advantage of his hot start to the 2025 season and see if you can flip Metcalf for a late 2026 first, or a more promising player like Travis Hunter, Jaylen Waddle or Chris Olave.
Troy Franklin (WR – DEN)
Troy Franklin has two top-36 wide receiver finishes this season (WR7, WR36). He entered Week 5 with a 72.8% route share, a 19.7% target share, a 30.6% air-yard share, 1.78 yards per route run (49 receiving yards per game) and a 21.3% first-read share, per Fantasy Points Data. Franklin walked away from Week 5 with a strong 79% route share, but he only had a 12.8% target share and 35 receiving yards, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Franklin should provide solid Flex value this week against a Jets secondary that, aside from cornerback Sauce Gardner, scares no one. Franklin follows that up with plus matchups against the Giants and Cowboys, who entered Week 5 having given up the most and fifth-most fantasy points per game to perimeter wide receivers, respectively.
Must-Know Tight End Fantasy Football Stats
Darren Waller (TE – MIA)
Darren Waller has been on fire after missing the first three games because of a hip injury. The veteran has been the TE2 over the past two weeks, averaging four receptions on 4.5 targets for 52.5 receiving yards, 1.5 touchdowns and 18.3 PPR fantasy points per game, totaling at least 17.7 in both contests. Last week, he caught all five targets for 78 receiving yards and a touchdown over Miami’s first three drives, totaling 18.8 fantasy points. However, Waller didn’t see the ball again the rest of the matchup.
Furthermore, the veteran tight end finished tied for third on the team in targets (five) with Julian Hill and Malik Washington. Meanwhile, the Chargers have held tight ends to 8.5 fantasy points per game, the fifth-fewest in the NFL. Los Angeles has surrendered 1.9 or fewer fantasy points in two of their past three games, including zero to Zach Ertz last week. Fantasy players should sell high on Waller before Sunday’s matchup against the Chargers. It’s only a matter of time until he misses time with an injury.
Jake Tonges (TE – SF)
Jake Tonges hit paydirt in his third different game out of the past five last Thursday in L.A.
Tonges has come out of nowhere to turn into a crucial part of the 49ers’ passing attack in George Kittle‘s (hamstring) absence. Head coach Kyle Shanahan suggested late last week that Kittle returning for Week 6 is a “longshot,” meaning Tonges should be the top tight end on the depth chart for at least one more game.
The Buccaneers have surrendered four scores to the tight end position so far this season, including two to Seattle’s AJ Barner on Sunday. Tonges finished with a career-high seven grabs on 11 targets for 41 yards in the win over the Rams last week. Regardless of who starts at quarterback for the 49ers, Tonges is likely to be very involved once again.
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