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Top 10 Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 6 Usage

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Playing time and touches are the backbone of fantasy scoring. 

Chasing one-week box scores can be dangerous. Investing in players who are on the field and getting the football is more reliable.

That’s why we study playing time and usage every week during the season. It can give us a tangible edge in start/sit decisions, waiver moves, and trades.

Here are the top 10 takeaways from Week 6 usage:

1. Workhorse Cam Skattebo Is Here To Stay

Tracy returned for Thursday night's game vs. the Eagles but barely made a dent in Skattebo's usage.

The rookie's 72% snap rate was his second-highest of the season. And his 49% carry share was in line with the previous two weeks.

Skattebo's route rate dipped from the low 60s to 48%, with Tracy taking four of 12 third-down snaps. But Skattebo played all four goal-line snaps, punching in three TDs in the upset win.

His current TD rate isn't sustainable on a Giants offense that sits near the bottom of the league in implied points most weeks. But Skattebo's role makes him a safe weekly RB2 going forward.

2. Kimani Vidal Lays Claim To Chargers Backfield

The Chargers rotated Vidal (7 snaps) and Haskins (8) over their first two drives in Week 6. But Vidal ripped off a 38-yard run on the third drive and dominated backfield work the rest of the way.

He wound up out-carrying Haskins 18 to six, out-targeting him four to one, and receiving all three opportunities (one carry, two targets) inside the 10-yard line.

Perhaps this remains a "hot hand" situation going forward, opening the door for Haskins to get more work.

And although Shane had some knocks on Vidal's Week 6 tape, he still looks like the better bet to be that hot hand. Vidal beat Haskins in Week 6 in:

• Yards per carry (6.9 to 2.3)
• Yards after contact per carry (3.4 to 3.2)
• Missed tackles forced (3 to 0)
• Pro Football Focus rushing grade (64.2 to 58.6)

Vidal won't get to play Miami's Swiss cheese run defense again. But there's nothing scary on the upcoming slate. The Chargers have the 12th-easiest RB schedule over the next five weeks by our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Vidal isn't a lock to dominate the Chargers' backfield every week. But I like his chances to remain the lead back and produce as a RB2 until Omarion Hampton is back (which might not be until after the Week 12 bye).

3. Isiah Pacheco Is Quietly Trending Up

Pacheco has set season highs in snap rate and route rate in two straight weeks.

He dominated Kareem Hunt (29% snaps, 18% routes) in playing time in the Week 6 win over the Lions. Pacheco played more long-down-and-distance snaps than Hunt in that one for the first time this season. And he was on the field for all three of Kansas City's goal-line snaps.

Hunt leads Pacheco three to 0 in rushing TDs so far, but last week's usage suggests we might see a flip there going forward.

If this backfield deployment holds, Pacheco would be a good bet to score as a RB2 the rest of the season. He's a great buy low right now after totaling just 51 scoreless yards last week.

4. Steelers Come Out Of Bye With 3-Man Committee

Warren or Gainwell? Gainwell or Warren?

We thought that was the question in the Steelers' backfield coming out of the Week 5 bye. Turns out the answer was neither.

Because Johnson turned this into a three-man committee. The rookie played only 19% of the snaps but siphoned six carries. That left Warren with his smallest carry share of the season and Gainwell with his second smallest.

The Steelers' backfield has produced the 10th most PPR points per game this season, so there's fantasy value to be had here. But a three-man committee would leave Warren as a RB3 and Gainwell and Johnson unusable. 

Of course, it looked like Warren was emerging as a workhorse just a few weeks ago. OC Arthur Smith has a special ability to keep fantasy players guessing. We'll continue to keep a close eye on this backfield.

5. Is Dallas Goedert For Real?

Goedert has been one of the few bright spots on the Eagles offense so far this season. Jake Ferguson is the only TE averaging more PPR points per game. Goedert already has a pair of overall TE1 finishes.

And it's all been fueled by strong usage. Goedert's 22.0% target share is a career high and ranks second on the team, behind only A.J. Brown.

Goedert has been especially involved near the end zone. He's already matched a career high with five TDs. That pace is sure to slow. But consider that Goedert:

• Ranks second among Eagles and is tied for third among TEs with 10 red-zone targets
• Leads the Eagles and is tied for third among TEs with four targets inside the 10-yard line
• Leads the Eagles and ranks third among TEs with four first-read targets inside the 10-yard line

Goedert has simply been a huge part of new OC Kevin Patullo's offense through six weeks. That offense has underwhelmed, so perhaps an evolution involves a little less Goedert.

But, for now, he's an every-week fantasy starter with the potential to finish the season as a top-five TE.

6. More Bad News For TreVeyon Henderson

RB Antonio Gibson's season-ending knee injury turned New England's backfield into a two-man committee. The problem -- at least for Henderson -- is that Stevenson simply absorbed all of Gibson's work in Week 6.

In fact, Henderson's 29% snap rate and 19% route rate were both season lows. He tallied nine carries and two targets but continued to cede the long-down-and-distance and goal-line work to Stevenson.

Stevenson's 71% snap rate and 42% carry share in this one were both season highs.

Here's how the work has been split in seven quarters since Gibson's injury:

• Stevenson: 19 carries, 2 targets
• Henderson: 15 carries, 5 targets

Henderson is running out of paths to take over this backfield. He's gotten multiple fumbles from Stevenson and the injury to Gibson -- yet is still stuck as the 1B.

Henderson is worth keeping stashed in most fantasy leagues. But he's an unreliable RB3 or Flex play at this point. And it's getting tougher to believe in the ceiling case for this season.

7. Is Breece Hall A Buy Low (Or A Hell No?)

Hall's usage has been everything we could have hoped for since RB Braelon Allen went down. He's handled 36 of 39 RB carries over the last two weeks, including the only carry inside the five-yard line.

RB Isaiah Davis is playing on third downs, but Hall is getting the two-minute snaps. Despite strangely seeing 0 targets in Week 6, he ranks 18th among RBs in expected PPR points per game over the last two weeks.

With WR Garrett Wilson expected to miss "a couple of weeks" with his knee injury, Hall should see a boost in targets. And he'll continue dominating carries with Allen expected to be out at least through Week 12.

So does that make Hall a buy? Probably.

But there's a big cloud hanging over the situation: A Justin Fields-led offense that's already proven twice this year to have a non-existent floor. Hall finished RB41 and RB38 in those Week 2 and 6 games. He's been a top-20 RB in three of his other four outings.

I'm ultimately willing to bet on either Fields leveling out or the Jets turning to QB Tyrod Taylor to make this offense competent. There's certainly risk to acquiring Hall right now, but his usage and talent give him RB1 upside if the supporting cast cooperates.

8. Are The Bengals Giving Up On Chase Brown?

How long can you stick with a RB averaging less than three yards per carry? It looks like the answer is four weeks.

Brown was a workhorse over the first four games of the season, ranking 14th among RBs in snap rate and second in carry share. But he's registered back-to-back 53% snap rates the last two weeks, out-carrying RB Samaje Perine just 17 to 10 over that span.

Also noteworthy: Perine played 75% of Cincinnati's snaps inside the 10-yard line in Week 6. Brown got the only carry inside the five, but even that work is seemingly in danger going forward.

Despite hanging on to a solid passing-game role over the last two weeks, Brown ranks just 24th among RBs with 11.5 expected PPR points per game. That's down from 14.8 over the first four weeks.

Brown did average a season-high 4.7 yards per carry in Week 6. And QB Joe Flacco looks capable of breathing some life into this offense.

But if Brown continues to lose this much work to Perine, he won't be more than a RB3 in fantasy lineups.

9. Stefon Diggs Rug Pull

Hand up. I got out over my skis on Diggs. After the big (revenge game) Week 5, Diggs landed inside the top 20 in our Week 6 WR rankings. He finished 55th at the position in fantasy points, catching just three balls for 28 scoreless yards.

This was a low-volume passing day from New England. QB Drake Maye threw it just 26 times. And Diggs had a 51-yard catch called back by an iffy offensive pass interference call.

The concern, though, is Diggs' route rate. I've been assuming that it would continue to trend up coming off last year's torn ACL. But, after spiking to 82% in Week 4, Diggs has run a route on just 67% of Patriots pass plays over the last two weeks. That ranks 66th among WRs.

Diggs has drawn a target on 26% of his routes this season -- 12th most at the position. I'd expect a high usage rate to continue.

But if the Patriots aren't going to get him into a full-time role, this weekly volatility will continue. We'll keep monitoring the playing time. But I'm now treating Diggs as a borderline WR2/3.

10. Should We Just Ignore The Titans Backfield?

Spears easily led Pollard in snaps and routes in his second game back from his August high-ankle sprain.

Pollard remained the clear leader on early downs, out-snapping Spears 17 to six. And Pollard won the carry battle 10 to five.

But the Titans, as has been the case for most of the season, were playing from behind the Raiders for most of the game. That led to a lot of obvious passing situations, which meant more Spears. He beat Pollard seven snaps to one on third downs and 23 to seven in the two-minute drill.

It sure seems like we'll see the Titans in trailing game script plenty more this season. And that'll ultimately leave both Pollard and Spears as unreliable fantasy plays.

Next Up

Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups: Kimani Vidal Takes Charge

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Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.