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Alex Collins, BAL- The running back situation in Baltimore is a mess. After a few weeks of Javorius Allen seeming like the man to own it we now see Alex Collins busting his way into the rotation and effectively knocking Terrence West to the No.3 RB on the depth chart. Collins has rushed for 206 yards on 25 carries this season for an average of 8.2 YPC. While that number is certainly unsustainable it is far better than anything the other two backs are giving. I would expect Collins to see around 12-15 carries this week with Allen seeing a handful and handling receiving duties.
Latavius Murray, MIN- The unfortunate season ending injury to Dalvin Cook has opened the starting running back role in Minnesota and that job is expected to go to Murray. Murray has seen limited action this season behind Cook and has recently stated that his surgically repaired ankle is still not 100-percent. Fantasy owners should look to grab Murray but know that Jerrick McKinnon will also get some touches going forward as well.
Alvin Kamara, NO- The Saints entered this season with Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson expected to split the carries but rookie Alvin Kamara has seemingly jumped Peterson in terms of touches thanks to his pass catching ability out of the backfield. Against the Dolphins in Week 4 Kamara caught 10 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. On the season he has 20 catches on 28 targets for 147 yards which are good enough for second on the team in each category.
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JuJu Smith-Schuster, PIT- Smith-Schuster has outplayed Eli Rogers through the first four weeks of the season and his touchdown catch in Week 4 was his second game in a row with a score. He currently has eight caches on 14 targets for 102 yards and two scores this season. He is an interesting grab in deep formats if Ben Roethlisberger continues to look his way in the red zone.
Will Fuller, HOU- Fuller was mentioned in last week’s article and he did not let us down as he caught two touchdowns in his return to the field. With the way Houston’s passing attack is rolling under Deshaun Watson and the fact that defenses are focusing on DeAndre Hopkins I would expect Fuller to continue to have success as long as he can limit the drops which plagued him as a rookie.
Andre Holmes, BUF- With news that Jordan Matthews is going to be sidelined Holmes is expected to start in his place. The Bills offense is geared towards running the football but Holmes has already caught two touchdown passes this season in a limited role. While I do not expect Buffalo to all of a sudden begin to throw the football at an increased rate there are some more targets to go around which should come Holmes way.
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Tyler Kroft, CIN- With Tyler Eifert expected to miss the next couple of weeks the Bengals went and started Tyler Kroft at tight end and in Week 4 he delivered a big performance by nabbing two touchdown passes. Andy Dalton has loved throwing to his tight end in the end zone as we have seen with all the touchdowns Eifert has been able to grab when healthy and it is looking like Kroft will also benefit from that game plan.
Antonio Gates, SD- It has been feast or famine with Hunter Henry this season as he has gone two of the four weeks with zero points and in the other two weeks he has put up solid numbers for fantasy owners. This leads me to Antonio Gates who may have taken a back seat to the younger Henry in terms of upside but he is averaging just about 2.5 catches on five targets a game this season. He has a very favorable matchup in Week 6 against a Giants defense that has allowed a touchdown to the opposing tight end in each game this season including touchdowns to both Buccaneer tight ends in Week 4.
Player News
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Dolphins released LS Blake Ferguson.
The team also waived CB Ryan Cooper Jr., DT Neil Farrell and OL Chasen Hines. Ferguson has been the team’s long snapper for five seasons and earned a three-year contract extension just before the 2023 season. He should be able to find work snapping footballs farther than the average snap elsewhere in the league.
DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman believes rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa “could make his earliest impact on special teams.”
It’s not much of a surprise, as most rookies cut their teeth with special teams duties. Twentyman mentioned return duties as a possibility, though the former Razorback never returned kicks or punts in college. At 6'4/212 with 4.43 wheels, TeSlaa is an explosive athlete who never translated his physical traits to on-field production at Arkansas. The Lions clearly saw potential for him to do so in the pros and traded two future third-round picks to move up to No. 70 overall for him. It’s going to be a slow burn for TeSlaa in the pros, making him a dynasty-only fantasy option.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.