Fantasy football preview for Week 6

We are now just about five weeks into the NFL season, and plenty continues to change in the fantasy football landscape. Keeping track of notable information and applying it going forward can be very important to your fantasy success and with bye weeks starting in Week 6, it becomes even more important. 

Let’s take a look at what we should know going forward.

AJ Dillon is seeing more and more touches for the Packers

Prior to Week 4, Aaron Jones was limited in practice with a minor ankle issue but still suited up against the Steelers. He carried the football 15 times and added three receptions on 63% of the snaps. However, AJ Dillon also carried the ball 15 times and logged around 40% of the snaps, though seven of those carries came on the final two drives of the game with the Packers running out the clock. Fast forward to Week 5 and Jones’ practice schedule was the same — limited throughout the week, good to go for Sunday. In their game against the Bengals, Jones carried the ball 14 times for 103 yards, adding four receptions. However, Dillon was once again involved, touching the ball 12 times, including an impressive four receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown. Over the last two weeks, Jones has 36 touches, while Dillon is at 28 touches. Jones still remains a clear top-seven fantasy running back but Dillon is suddenly approaching flex territory, especially with bye weeks kicking off in Week 6. 

Ricky Seals-Jones could be your answer at tight end off waivers

Considering there are about seven or eight reliable tight ends in fantasy football, there are always instances where we are looking for help at the position. In deeper leagues or if you lost George Kittle or Logan Thomas to injury, veteran Ricky Seals-Jones deserves your attention. With Thomas on injured reserve, Seals-Jones got the start at tight end Sunday and was a full-time player, logging 82-of-83 snaps. Only Terry McLaurin ran more routes on the team than RSJ, who ran a route on 42 of Taylor Heinicke’s dropbacks. He was targeted nine times, hauling in five of those looks for 41 yards. Seals-Jones was also very involved when Washington got in close, as he saw three end zone targets. The usage and involvement were fantastic and were actually better than Thomas had seen in any game this season for the Football Team. Seals-Jones should make every waiver wire article this week and will likely be ranked as a borderline top-12 tight end ahead of Week 6.

The Chicago Bears backfield has two heads

David Montgomery will miss the next 4-5 weeks with a knee injury — Sunday was Chicago’s first game without their starting running back. Although we expected veteran Damien Williams to handle the majority of the snaps, that wasn’t exactly the case. Yes, he did get the start and carried the football 16 times for 64 yards and a touchdown, while adding two receptions. However, rookie Khalil Herbert actually led the team in carries with 18, rushing for 75 yards. He outsnappEd Williams 34-31, while running seven routes to Williams’ 10. Williams did see more of the goal line looks in this game, but we have clearly seen the Bears offense lean on the run all season long, as only the Saints and Browns are calling run at a higher rate through five weeks of the year (51.5%). That should be enough for both Williams and Herbert to see 12-15 touches, which makes both running backs viable flex options, especially on rosters with Montgomery. 

Elijah Mitchell is the lead back in San Francisco

A few weeks back, Elijah Mitchell was the waiver wire darling and was added universally in fantasy leagues. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of action over the last two games. During his absence, the 49ers didn’t really commit to Trey Sermon, as they started fullback Kyle Juszczyk at running back. Mitchell returned to the lineup Sunday and operated as the clear lead running back, logging 44 snaps to Sermon’s two, and those snaps didn’t even come until the fourth quarter of the game. Mitchell handled 11 of the 16 running back touches in this contest, though the usage of quarterback Trey Lance looks like it will take some volume away from the backfield, as he ran the ball a whopping 16 times for 89 yards in his first career start. Of course, that can certainly help with the efficiency, as running backs that play alongside mobile quarterbacks tend to see a boost in yards per carry and yards before contact per attempt. It may be tough for Mitchell to live up to the hype he saw after Week 1 but he’s clearly the starting running back of an offense that will be among the league’s most efficient when running the football.