In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Comet ...
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Comet:
Like so many weeks of NFL action, there were highs (hello there, Drake Maye and Josh Jacobs) and there were lows (I don’t even want to think about the Titans until 2026).
Here is what else stood out from yesterday’s action, including three waiver bids you might as well place now …
🐆 Rename it Jaxonville. We gave Jaxon Smith-Njigba his flowers earlier this week and he decided to keep the good times rolling to the tune of 8-162-1 vs. the hapless Jags. He continues to deliver elite efficiency on downfield targets. With Puka Nacua now nursing an injury that will likely keep him out for multiple weeks, JSN ascends to the throne as the WR1 in fantasy football.
💺 “They wasn’t buckled up.” That’s what Rico Dowdle said when asked about lighting up his former team with another week-winning performance (30-183; 5-46-1). As Ian pointed out here, the Cowboys defense has been joyriding without its seat belts since Week 2. Still, we can’t take anything away from what Rico just did with back-to-back weeks of 200+ scrimmage yards. Insanity.
Kimani Vidal (27%). Well, so much for that debate between him and Hassan Haskins. Dwain was all over it and Kimani should be added everywhere he’s still lingering.
Harrold Fannin Jr. (25%). He went 7-81 on 10 targets while playing 81% of the snaps … and David Njoku is hurt. You know what to do.
Bam Knight (13%). A few hours after we sent the Sunday newsletter, Schefter dropped the pregame bomb that Knight would be the lead back over Michael Carter. And that’s exactly what happened.
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Week 6 is in the books and the storylines coming out of the week are going to be something ...
It’s easy to dismiss Rico Dowdle’s performances over the last two weeks because of the opponents. If that’s the case, why doesn’t everyone pile up 200-plus scrimmage yards against the Dolphins and Cowboys? Dowdle rushed for 183 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 56 yards against his former team on Sunday in a 30-27 win over the Cowboys.
The Panthers running back had 32.4 PPR points last week and 33.9 this week. Last week against the Dolphins, he rushed for 206 yards on 23 carries with a TD and caught three passes for 28 yards.
The games came with starter Chuba Hubbard sidelined due to a calf injury. While Dowdle can’t sustain this efficiency, the two-week performance puts him in elite company. Keep in mind, Dowdle was good with Dallas last season once he took over as the starter last season. In his last nine starts, Dowdle has rushed for at least 72 yards in seven games and has six 100-yard games.
It’s easy to say it will be a split with Hubbard when he returns, but how can that happen? In the last two games, 52% of his carries went for at least five yards and the Panthers have several injuries on the offensive line. Dowdle has started two games and is third in the NFL in rushing. Dowdle should be an RB2 the rest of the way. Hubbard is averaging 4.1 yards per carry and didn’t show anything close to what we saw from Dowdle. If it’s about winning games, Dowdle is the guy until he slows down.
Who else stole the spotlight in Week 6? Let's go game by game.
Week 6 brought us high highs... and very low lows. Did the injury gods give us a break from the carnage? NOPE. But did we get some big games from fantasy players we had been waiting on? ABSOLUTELY. We finally saw Tetairoa McMillan score not one, but two touchdowns on Sunday, and we also got a Brian Thomas Jr. game we can be proud of!
Yes, I'm definitely going to focus on the positives here because the injuries continue to pile up across the NFL.
Also, not trying to scare you or anything, but Bye-Maggedon is on the horizon. In Week 8, we will have six teams on a bye, which will be the most all season. Make sure to take a look at players you could be without and plan accordingly. It's so important heading into this waiver wire week to try and be a week ahead. Of course, we have a weekly column on how to prep for the byes—this last week's got into early Bye-Mageddon planning, Week 7's will likely dive deeper.
Kimani Vidal, RB, Chargers (27% rostered)
There were reports before kickoff that Hassan Haskins would be the lead back for the Chargers in Week 6 … and that turned out to be completely untrue. Kimani Vidal led the backfield with 18 carries and 124 rushing yards while also tacking on three receptions for 14 yards. Ian Rapoport reported that the Chargers have been actively calling teams around the league for running back help, either for a depth piece or a starter.
It was also reported that Omarion Hampton will likely miss more than four games with his stint on IR. UGH. This is a complete guess by me, but the Chargers have a bye in Week 12, so maybe we don't see Hampton again until Week 13. We'll see if they lock down a trade before the November 4th deadline, but for right now, it looks like Vidal is the running back to target on this team.
Important note on how different all the platforms are — Vidal is rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues but 56% of CBS Leagues — which is still a good amount of availability, but sets you up for a very different waiver wire depending on where you play.
Kayshon Boutte, WR, Patriots (7% rostered)
Can we just take a moment to shout out Drake Maye and what we've been seeing from him? On Sunday, he joined Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks aged 23 or younger with 200+ pass yards and a 100+ passer rating in 5 consecutive games.
Kayshon Boutte caught five passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns—all for 26.3 fantasy points. Should we expect two touchdowns every week? No, but Maye has shown that he is one of the top quarterbacks in the league right now and the Patriots take on the Titans in Week 7. Sign me up for Maye raising the play level for all his receivers.
