Houston Texans WR Nico Collins (hamstring) @ New England Patriots
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Houston Texans No. 1 wide receiver Nico Collins (hamstring) landed on injured reserve this week, elevating slot receiver Stefon Diggs to the de facto No. 1 role, No. 2 wide receiver Tank Dell to the No. 2 role and backup wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson to the No. 3 role.
Former No. 4 wide receiver Robert Woods is dealing with a foot injury and played behind Hutchinson in Houston’s Week 5 win over the Buffalo Bills, logging 16 offensive snaps to Hutchinson’s 48, per PFF.
Dell remains an affordable and smart buy-low player after a slow start to the season.
Hutchinson is an unproven 2023 sixth-round pick who brings moderate size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) to an 11-personnel grouping that includes two thin-framed players.
The New England Patriots are allowing the 13th-most expected points added (EPA) per play (0.233) to opposing wide receivers and the secondary that will be without one starting safety, and possibly both this week.
Houston tight end Dalton Schultz is quietly in play as a Week 6 contributor. New England allows the fourth-most EPA per play to opposing tight ends (0.473).
Cincinnati Bengals RB Zack Moss (foot) and RB Chase Brown (quad) @ New York Giants
Date/Time: Sunday, 8:20 pm Eastern
Cincinnati Bengals running back Zack Moss suffered a foot injury in the team’s Week 5 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and running back Chase Brown appeared on the Thursday injury report with a quad injury. It is unclear as to whether Brown’s injury is a strain or a contusion. The latter scenario is unlikely to sideline him for Week 6. Moss improved to limited participation on Thursday after sitting out Wednesday.
Moss was able to return in-game but Brown was already overtaking Moss as the backfield’s top player.
In Weeks 4-5, Moss totaled 85 offensive snaps, 24 rushing attempts, 45 receiving snaps, eight targets, 13 red zone snaps and 11 green zone snaps. Brown totaled 49 offensive snaps, 27 rushing attempts, 21 receiving snaps, six targets, 11 red zone snaps and five green zone snaps during the same span.
Brown has barreled through contact, (3.7 yards after contact per rushing attempt) while racking up four explosive run plays via a 4.7 yards per rushing attempt average. Moss, conversely averages 1.8 yards after contact, 3.1 yards per rushing attempt and has just two explosive run plays.
Brown did not tally a pass-protection snap during that span but Moss’ 34.0 PFF pass-blocking grade and 15.4% quarterback pressure rate allowed hardly pen a strong case for more pass-protection opportunities.
Moss’ Thursday practice participation, plus Brown’s new injury likely drops Brown’s season-long trade acquisition cost. Fantasy managers should attempt to exploit this development.
Veteran running back Trayveon Williams is No. 3 on the depth chart and is best utilized as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.
If either of the top two running backs miss Week 6, Stud rookie tight end Erick All Jr. could benefit as a short-area weapon.
Buffalo Bills RB James Cook (foot/toe) @ New York Jets
Date/Time: Monday, 8:15 pm Eastern
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook suffered a left-foot toe injury in Week 5 and was unable to practice Thursday. Buffalo’s Monday Night Football kickoff makes Nos. 2 and 3 running backs, veteran Ty Johnson and rookie Ray Davis must-stash players entering the weekend.
Johnson has played ahead of Davis this season, logging 71 offensive snaps, including 49 receiving snaps and six pass protection snaps, to Davis’ 44 offensive snaps.
If Cook is unable to play, Johnson is a safe bet to handle passing-down snaps and at least handle rushing work between the 20-yard lines. From Week 1, 2023 to Week 5, 2024, Johnson averages a 16.7 percent target rate, trailing Cook by just 1.3 percent. Both players average exactly 1.43 YPRR.
Davis intrigues with a 33.3 percent target rate and a 1.50 YPRR on four targets, though Johnson’s veteran status likely gives him the edge here.
Davis is likely to at least split rushing work 50-50 with Johnson. Davis is averaging 0.31 missed tackles forced per rushing attempt and a respectable 2.5 yards after contact per rushing attempt as a rookie. Since Week 1, 2023, Johnson has averaged 0.18 and 2.9 rates, respectively.
Buffalo’s status as a 2.5-point road favorite reinforces Buffalo’s projected rushing volume.
Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor (high-ankle sprain) @ Tennessee Titans
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor remained sidelined on Thursday, still rehabilitating his Week 4 high-ankle sprain. Taylor expressed optimism regarding his progress and pain levels but availability in practice is key. Unless Taylor practices in full on Friday, fantasy managers should expect No. 2 running back Trey Sermon to handle the featured role again.
Sermon picked up a collarbone injury en route to his Week 5 PPR RB7 finish but returned to practice on Thursday after resting on Wednesday. He remains available in 60.0-plus percent of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.
Sermon handled 10 rushing attempts and six targets, catching all six for 25 yards. He quietly leads all Indianapolis running backs in missed tackles forced per rushing attempt (0.21) and target rate (18.4 percent).
The Tennessee Titans defend the run well, ranking top 10 in average depth of tackle (3.90) and EPA allowed per play (-0.206). Though they rank 23rd in explosive run play rate allowed (13.6 percent) and EPA allowed per play (0.198) on targets thrown to opposing running backs.
Green Bay Packers TE Tucker Kraft (groin) vs. Arizona Cardinals
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft soundly asserted himself as the team’s No. 1 tight end in Week 5, finishing as the PPR overall TE1 for the second consecutive week. Kraft devastatingly appeared on Week 6’s Thursday injury report, jeopardizing his availability against the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Matt LaFleur also announced former No. 1 tight end Luke Musgrave (ankle) will “more than likely” be placed on injured reserve.
As mentioned in Collins’ section above, Schultz is a viable TE1 streamer this week. Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely is also available in at least 40.0 percent of ESPN and Yahoo! leagues.
Green Bay field-stretching wide receiver Christian Watson (ankle) has logged consecutive Limited Participant designations to begin the week. He will likely be on a snap count, if active on game day.
Green Bay’s 12 personnel usage will likely decrease With both Kraft and Musgrave potentially sidelined. Their 78 12-personnel snaps rank 16th among NFL teams. Increased 11 personnel significantly boost wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks’ odds of a high-scoring bounce-back week and Watson’s likely limitations further reinforce Wicks’ floor.
Arizona’s wide receiver coverage unit helpfully ranks dead last in EPA per play (0.525) on targets thrown to opposing wide receivers, allowing the second-highest catch rate (73.8 percent) and the fourth-most yards per coverage snap (9.23) to the position.
