Fantasy football stats to know for Week 5

Every single week of the NFL season. there are plenty of stats that stand out that can help us paint a clearer picture for fantasy football. As we exit Week 4 and enter Week 5, there are some numbers that really intrigue me going forward.

Let’s take a closer look.

Justin Fields attempted six passes of 20 yards or more in Week 4

That was the third-highest number among all quarterbacks for the week, as just over 35% of Fields’ total pass attempts against the Lions were of the deep variety. It was a very nice change of pace for this Bears offense, as Andy Dalton still hasn’t attempted a pass 20 yards or more down the field this season, while Bill Lazor taking over playcalling definitely seemed to help this offense out. Fields showed tremendous velocity and accuracy on his passes and once again, the stat line doesn’t tell the entire story. His lone interception was a deflected pass, and Chicago scoring three rushing touchdowns took away scoring opportunities for the rookie. The uptick in aggressiveness from this passing game really helped Darnell Mooney have his 2021 breakout game, as the sophomore wideout hauled in five-of-seven targets for 125 yards. Mooney posted an aDOT of 18.0 yards and connected with Fields on gains of 21, 32 and 64, while seeing a whopping 41% of Chicago’s targets in this game. I have been so excited about the connection between Mooney and Fields for months, and Sunday was very fun to watch. In 2020, Mooney saw 23 deep targets but only hauled in four of them. Zero, however, were Mooney drops, as just 32% of his deep looks were deemed catchable, which was the third-lowest rate among receivers with at least five deep targets a season ago. 

Alvin Kamara recorded a career-high 26 carries against the Giants

That’s the good news, as Alvin Kamara has now set career-high marks in carries in each of his last two games (24, 26). Dating back to the end of last season, Kamara now has at least 20 carries in five of his last seven games and is coming off the fourth 100-yard rushing performance of his career. The Saints have been leaning on the run this season, as Jameis Winston is averaging around 22 pass attempts per game through four weeks, which has hurt Kamara’s pass-catching upside. Sunday was the first game of Kamara’s career where he failed to even register a target — through four games, Kamara has just 10 catches on 14 targets, as Winston is just 28th among all quarterbacks in passes behind the line of scrimmage, while ranking 30th in short passes. Backup running back Tony Jones suffered an ankle injury in this game, so the Saints should continue to give Kamara at least 18 carries each week. However, it is fair to wonder if there is top-five upside for Kamara if his pass-catching numbers don’t improve.

Cordarrelle Patterson ran just 12 pass routes Sunday

In a shocking turn of events, Cordarrelle Patterson is now the RB2 in all of fantasy football through the first four weeks of action, behind only Derrick Henry. His three-touchdown performance Sunday obviously helps that, and while Patterson is a legitimate fantasy option in PPR leagues, if you aren’t trying to trade him after this performance, I don’t know what you’re doing. Patterson scored three receiving touchdowns, despite only running 12 pass routes and logging around 30% of the snaps. Mike Davis is still playing way more snaps, and even Wayne Gallman got some run this weekend. Patterson clearly has a role in this offense, especially with Matt Ryan checking it down quite often. However, the playing time and routes aren’t where we want them to be, and regression is going to hit hard. If Patterson is on your roster, I’d try to trade him now but if you can’t, he’s still a viable PPR flex play going forward.