Welcome to the weekly fantasy football usage report. Volume is of the utmost importance in fantasy football, and a player’s usage determines the type of volume he receives. Each week I’ll take a look at different usage trends across the NFL to help us prepare for the rest of the season. Like every week, week 6 brought changes to what we thought we knew about fantasy football. Let’s dig in.
PlayerProfiler is home to award-winning Dynasty rankings and tools. Us Dynasty Deluxe package includes complete Dynasty Rankings, Rookie Rankings, Trade Analyzer, Draft Planner, Mock Drafts and more. Check it out.
Week 6 Fantasy Football Usage Report
Cam Skattebo, workhorse
While Tyrone Tracy Jr. was out with an injury, Cam Skattebo had a full-time role for the Giants. With Tracy returning for Week 6, the question was how much of that role he would retain. The results are in and Skattebo can officially be considered the Giants’ three-down workhorse for the remainder of the season.
Skattebo gave up almost nothing to Tracy, playing 71% of the snaps and handling 75% of the opportunities in the backfield. Not only that, he was fantastic with his chances, as he has been all season. Skattebo scored 31 PPR points in Week 6 and is now at 16.6 PPR PPG for the season.
The conversation around Cam Skattebo right now should be about whether he is a top 12 running back. Its role and efficiency say yes. Perhaps the biggest concern for the Giants running backs this season has been that New York’s offense might be bad, but with Jaxson Dart at the helm, that isn’t an issue either.
Evan Engram inspiration
Evan Engram suffered an injury in Weeks 1 and 3 and has been in and out of the Broncos’ lineup. He constantly switches while playing, which reduces his production and prospects. Before Week 6, Engram had played just 40% of the Broncos snaps and run 51.7% of the routes. During that time, he averaged a disappointing 6.9 PPR PPG on a target share of 13.2%.
In week 6 we saw a slight improvement. Engram ran 56.7% of routes while playing 46.7% of snaps. He turned that into a 16.7% target share on five targets, catching them all for 42 yards, giving him 9.2 PPR points on the day. It’s not much, but it’s a trend in the right direction.
This is all about perspective. A few weeks ago, Evan Engram looked like a huge miss. Now there’s reason to believe Engram could be a streaming tight end. The streaming-level production is still disappointing considering where Engram was drafted, but at least he’s helping in that moment.
Chargers Backfield Update
With Omarion Hampton placed on injured reserve, the Chargers entered Week 6 with Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins manning their backfield. How they would be deployed was one of the bigger storylines heading into the weekend. Vidal represented pass catching and an unknown edge after seeing the field sparingly as a rookie. With Haskins, on the other hand, we knew he was a hard-hitting, two-down grinder who doesn’t have much else to offer. Vidal separated himself, receiving 75.9% of chances and having a snap share of 67.2%. He was also productive, scoring 22.8 PPR points. Haskins was left shooting 31.3% of snaps and 24.1% of opportunities, scoring just 3.3 PPR points.
It’s clear that Kimani Vidal is the better running back and will be valuable as long as it’s just him and Hassan Haskins in the backfield. However, this week there were reports that the Chargers could look to trade for a running back, which could change things. Vidal is a low-end RB2/RB3 as long as the backfield remains as it is now.
Ryan Flournoy Deep piece
In Week 5, Ryan Flournoy surprised everyone by catching six passes for 114 yards on nine targets, helping to fill in for the absence of CeeDee Lamb. He played 56.7% of the snaps and ran 63.6% of the routes. Flournoy had done very little in the NFL before then, so we had to wonder how realistic his breakout was. We shouldn’t expect that kind of production every week, but it appears he has earned a relevant role for the Cowboys. In Week 6, Flournoy ran 73.5% of routes on 69.1% of snaps. He turned that into six targets for three catches and 30 yards. That’s a far cry from his Week 5 production, but it shows he’s part of the Cowboys’ game plan.
CeeDee Lamb could return as soon as next week. If he does that, there will be fewer snaps, routes and opportunities for every other Dallas wide receiver. Lamb will always be the best, George Pickens will get his too, and after that, opportunities could be there for the taking. Jalen Tolbert has done little in the NFL for a longer period of time than Ryan Flournoy. Flournoy should play over Tolbert. In deep leagues, Flournoy is worth the bench stock.
Jaylen Warren returns
Jaylen Warren was inactive at the last minute in Week 5, leaving Kenneth Gainwell to take on a big role. Gainwell also played well, having a great day and scoring 31.4 PPR points. It was the kind of performance that makes you wonder if the split between Warren and Gainwell would be different now while both are healthy. In the first three weeks of the season, Warren outgained Gainwell in snaps, 60.5% to 40.1%, and in opportunities, 54 to 23. In Week 6, their split thinned.
Warren played 52.5% of the snaps and handled 52% of the head-to-head opportunities. Gainwell had a combined 48% of opportunities and played 33.9% of snaps. It’s worth noting that Kaleb Johnson was involved late in the game, with the Steelers easily handling the Browns; otherwise Warren and/or Gainwell would have played more.
Jaylen Warren still has a solid role as RB2 for the Steelers. It’s not as good as the first few weeks, but it’s still valuable. Kenneth Gainwell is also a playable flex player. Furthermore, we know that they both have a significant advantage if the other were to miss time.
Taysom Hill is inevitable
Week 6 was Taysom Hill’s second game back in action after his 2024 season ended due to a torn ACL. In his first game in Week 5, Hill played just nine snaps but had six opportunities, making it clear that he is still part of the Saints offense. In week 6, his role remained similar. He played 12 snaps, but had just one opportunity, turning a goal-line handoff into a touchdown.
With usage being so low, Taysom is very unlikely to be a reliable fantasy option this season. What he does do is hinder the chances of other players. As long as Hill is healthy, he lowers the ceilings of the other skill players slightly. Chris Olave is safe from all the Taysom Hill scandals, but everyone else could be affected. Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller in particular are getting hammered. Hill’s most valuable role at this point in his career is his short-yardage ability, which means there will be fewer goal-line carriers for the Saints’ traditional RBs to split.
Update the Cardinals backfield
Last week I wrote about how the Cardinals backfield played out with Trey Benson on Injured Reserve. Until just before game time on Sunday morning, it seemed like the roles in Arizona’s backfield were clearly defined, with Michael Carter as the clear RB1. Then we got word that Zonovan Knight would be the starting running back and that would throw a spanner in the works.
In Week 6, Knight played the most snaps in the backfield with a 50.7% share. Carter followed closely with 43.8%. However, Carter slightly led the backfield in opportunities, with a 48.1% share; Knight had 44.4% of the chances. Emari Demercado was almost non-existent, making just three appearances before leaving with an ankle injury.
Zonovan Knight managed to score a touchdown, giving him a best fantasy day with 12.4 PPR points, but with the backfield split like it was in Week 6, it will be hard for anyone to rely on. Both Knight and Michael Carter are worth flexible consideration, but nothing more.
Joe Flacco with the Bengals
Because Jake Browning failed to produce at the level the Bengals wanted, they traded for Joe Flacco as their new starting quarterback. Flacco, while with Cleveland, also didn’t produce as well as anyone had hoped. But the Bengals have much better weapons to work with, and Flacco sees the field better than Browning, so there was hope in Week 6.
The Bengals had complete confidence in Flacco in his debut. He dropped back for 45 pass attempts as Cincinnati had a 74.2% success rate. With that, Ja’Marr Chase had a great week, good for 25.4 PPR points. Tee Higgins was left with just 11.2 PPR points, but based on what he did in 2025, that’s a good day. Flacco himself had his best game this season, scoring 18.76 fantasy points.
There’s a chance that 2025 Joe Flacco is similar to 2023 Joe Flacco, who helped fantasy players everywhere. At the very least, he’s brought some stability to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Cam Ward never stops
Cameron Ward’s rookie season so far has been a mixed bag, with more bad than good. He is averaging just 5.4 yards per attempt, has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns and is completing just 55% of his passes. But he has flashes of making incredible throws because of his extreme arm talent. The Titans made an effort this season to improve their offensive line and add weapons for Ward, but it didn’t matter much. The good thing is that the Titans didn’t try to neuter him. Ward has attempted at least 38 passes in half of his games, with the Titans having a 64.1% success rate.
There is still a long way to go before Cam Ward becomes eligible for our fantasy lineups. But the Titans’ commitment to the pass is somewhat inspiring to his outlook. If Ward can get comfortable and step up his weapons, Ward could move into streaming territory.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba domination
In 2024, Jaxon Smith-Njigba broke out with a 100 reception, 14.9 PPR PPG season. Smith-Njgiba rightly had high expectations for 2025. So far, he has shattered those expectations. Week 6 was just another very productive week in Smith-Njigba’s historic season.
For the season, JSN has a 31.4% target share, averages an astounding 4.4 yards per route and scores 21.5 PPR PPG. He has improved his game more than ever while working in the field: he has an average depth of field of 12.6, up from 9.2 in 2024.
When considering who is WR1 in fantasy football for the rest of the season, the conversation is between Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba; that’s it. That’s how impressive Smith-Njigba’s season has been so far. Any chance to acquire it would be rare, but worth it.
Follow @WyattB_FF
For more articles from PlayerProfiler, check out the fantasy homepage – NFL fantasy | PlayerProfiler – Fantasy Football News and Media
#Fantasy #Football #Usage #Report #Week #PlayerProfiler