Falcons TE Kyle Pitts had easily his best game of the season in the Week 5 win over the Texans. He led Atlanta with 11 targets, seven catches, and 87 yards. Pitts benefitted from the Falcons running 74 plays and throwing it 38 times. But his 28.9% target share was a season-high. The strong game comes just a few days after HC Arthur Smith admitted that Pitts still isn't back to 100% after last November's knee injury. He looked as healthy as he has all season in this one, though, making catches of 16, 18, and 20 yards. He won't get this type of passing volume most weeks, but Pitts is still capable of helping fantasy squads if he's past that knee issue. Next up is a Washington defense that just got smoked by the Bears.
Texans TE Dalton Schultz led the team with 10 targets, seven catches, and 65 yards in the Week 5 loss to the Falcons. He also scored the team's only TD, breaking loose from 18 yards out with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. It was easily the best game of the season for Schultz, who had totaled just 10 catches on 17 targets through the first four games. Houston lost WRs Tank Dell (concussion) and Robert Woods (ribs) in Atlanta, though. If those guys miss more time, Schultz will have an opportunity to soak up more targets. The bad news is that he gets a tough Week 6 matchup vs. a Saints defense that entered this week ranked fifth in adjusted fantasy points allowed to TEs.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase exploded on Sunday with a whopping 15 catches on 19 targets for 192 receiving yards and 3 TDs vs. the Cardinals. It took until October for him to score a TD, but he more than made up for the drought in Week 5. Nothing says superstar like a 41.3% target share, finding the end zone thrice, and not even passing your own career-high in PPR fantasy points (2021 Week 17, 55.6). Let’s hope Burrow and Chase keep cooking in Week 6 vs. the Seahawks.
Bengals RB Joe Mixon recorded 25 carries for 81 rushing yards in Week 5’s win vs. the Cardinals. The veteran also added 4 catches on as many targets for 13 receiving yards in the contest. Through five games, Mixon holds an obscenely high 87% opportunity share of the Bengals’ RB touches. It’s insane how much involvement he sees on a weekly basis. He’ll be right back to his typical workhorse role again in Week 6 vs. the Seahawks.
Looks like Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s calf might finally be feeling better. On Sunday, Burrow completed 36 of 46 attempts for 317 passing yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT vs. the Cardinals. Fantasy managers in 1QB leagues who opted to bench him might be annoyed, but at least there’s some hope that the old Burrow is back now. He’ll have a chance to build upon this performance in Week 6 vs. the Seahawks.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce totaled 82 scoreless yards in Sunday's loss to the Falcons. More importantly, he dominated backfield work. Pierce handled all 20 RB carries and got one of two RB targets. He now has just 12 targets through five games. But Pierce is up to 84 carries, including 44 over the last two weeks. RB Devin Singletary has just seven carries over the last two games. Houston's offense struggled for most of the game in Atlanta, but this remains an ascending unit that just got starting OTs Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard back. With Pierce looking like a borderline workhorse, he's a nice trade target heading into Week 6.
Eagles RB D'Andre Swift ran just OK on the ground in Sunday's win over the Rams. He drew 17 carries vs. Kenneth Gainwell's seven and turned them into 70 yards (4.1 per rush). Swift added a 6-38 receiving line on 6 targets to boost his PPR line. Most importantly, the work split between Swift (23 opportunities) and Gainwell (9) makes Swift the easy choice to start in fantasy lineups until something changes.
Eagles WR A.J. Brown delivered 8 receptions for a team-high 127 yards in Sunday's win over the Rams. It was his third straight game with at least that many yards. Brown didn't even lead the team in targets this time. His 8 trailed TE Dallas Goedert by one and accounted for a lower-than-usual 21% of QB Jalen Hurts' total pass attempts. But it marked the fourth time in five games that Brown tallied at least 8 targets and 7 receptions. He's on pace for 125 catches and 1,839 yards. We'll take the under on those numbers, but we'll also gladly take Brown occupying a weekly starting spot across fantasy formats. WR DeVonta Smith, meanwhile, remained well behind Brown's share. He caught just one of 5 targets in Sunday's win. Smith has drawn a 20.2% target share through five games, compared with 30.4% for Brown.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert racked up an 8-117-1 receiving line in Sunday's win over the Rams, easily his biggest fantasy outing through the first five games. Goedert drew a team-high 9 targets, led the team in receptions, and claimed the only TD reception. The yardage more than doubled his season total, which stood at just 88 entering the game. The upturn was somewhat predictable, at least, after HC Nick Sirianni said earlier this week that "we've got to do our jobs as coaches to get him going." Goedert probably won't have many more games as big as this one, but he should be a weekly starter in most fantasy lineups with TE slots. A Week 6 matchup with the Jets has been positive for TE scoring this season. After that comes a potential shootout with Miami. Washington and Dallas matchups beyond that have been negative for TE scoring. We'll see about Goedert's outlook as we get closer to those.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Chiefs TE Travis Kelce suffered a low-ankle sprain in the Week 5 win over the Vikings. That conflicts with insider Jordan Schultz's initial report that it's a high-ankle sprain -- but makes more sense considering Kelce was able to return to today's game with reasonable effectiveness. We'll look for further clarification on Kelce's status. The schedule won’t do him any favors with his Chiefs taking on the Broncos on Thursday night.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw for 303 yards, 1 TD, and an INT in Sunday's win over the Rams. He added 72 yards and a goal-line TD for a strong fantasy outing. It marked Hurts' second straight game with 300+ passing yards and his third game among the past four with at least one rushing score. Hurts visits the Jets in Week 6 before meetings with the Dolphins, Commanders (rematch), and Cowboys.
Rams WR Tutu Atwell saw a season-low 5 targets in Sunday's loss to the Eagles, the first game with Cooper Kupp back from his hamstring injury. Atwell's 13.5% target share also marked a season low and a significant dip vs. the past two weeks. Atwell's target shares by week before Sunday went: 21%, 16.4%, 27.3%, and 22.5%. We'll see whether he can rebound going forward. But it'll be tough to feel good about starting him a week after Atwell trailed well behind both Kupp (12) and Puka Nacua (11) in targets.
Cooper Kupp returned against the Eagles on Sunday, and yet Puka Nacua didn't vanish. The Rams rookie WR trailed Kupp by just one target (12-11), snagging 7 receptions for 71 yards and a TD. His score came from 22 yards out late in the second quarter. Nacua drew a target on 29.7% of QB Matthew Stafford's attempts. No other Ram exceeded 5 targets. Consider Nacua a weekly fantasy starter until something changes. A Week 6 meeting with the Cardinals looks good for the whole L.A. offense.
Rams WR Cooper Kupp grabbed 8 receptions for 118 yards on a team-high 12 targets Sunday against the Eagles, his first game back from the hamstring injury. Kupp could have had an even bigger day. He and Matthew Stafford narrowly missed a pair of deep connections. Anyone who held Kupp through the injury -- or acquired him during that time -- should be thrilled with the production. Start Kupp weekly going forward.
Rams RB Kyren Williams managed just 53 yards rushing and 4 receiving in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. It wasn't a particularly bad performance, though. Williams got just 13 carries, so his 4.1 yards per rush were solid vs. a defense that arrived ranked No. 1 in DVOA against the run. And he garnered just 2 targets (catching both). Williams still claimed 15 of the team's 16 RB opportunities. So there's nothing to worry about if you have Williams rostered. He'll get a much better matchup in Week 6 against the Cardinals. The only other RB opportunity Sunday went to Ronnie Rivers: a 1-yard carry.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson hurt his right hamstring in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Chiefs. He's officially questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more.
Giants Edge Azeez Ojulari left Sunday's loss to the Dolphins with an ankle injury. He has already lost time to a hamstring injury this year and supplied little production when he has made it onto the field. Ojulari isn't worth much IDP attention right now.
Patriots LB Ja'Whaun Bentley left Sunday's loss to the Saints with a shoulder injury. We'll watch for more details and whether he's expected to miss more time.
Insider Jordan Schultz reports that the Chiefs believe TE Travis Kelce has a high-ankle sprain. "The medical staff has cleared him to return, so it’s up to Kelce if he plays again today," Schultz adds. Kelce indeed returned to the field for Kansas City's second possession of the second half.
Bills LB Matt Milano suffered a leg fracture and is feared to have also suffered a season-ending knee injury, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Milano left Sunday morning's loss to the Jaguars early after hurting his right leg, and it sounds like he could be in for a rough recovery. We'll watch for more on his return timeline, but you should expect to lose Milano from your IDP roster for the rest of the season.
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