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Denver Broncos @ Jets from New York
Broncos running backs struggle despite condensed backfield: The Broncos were closer to a two-man running back rotation, but that didn’t lead to much fantasy production.
JK Dobbins was the running back for the Broncos this season, while RJ Harvey was the primary backup. Tyler Badie started the year as their late return. He was removed from the offense and reinstated last week. He played 73% of third-down snaps and 100% of two-down snaps during last week’s two-minute drill. Badie was limited in practice on Wednesday, was upgraded to full on Thursday after a shoulder injury and was not given match status. However, the Broncos decided to make him inactive, allowing Jaleel McLaughlin to be active for the first time this season.
This returned the backfield to a two-man rotation. McLaughlin blended in a few times, as did fullback Adam Prentice on a rare third-down back. Dobbins mainly played more offensive snaps. He was the team’s clear leader in carries, but didn’t get past six yards until the final eight minutes of the game. Harvey was barely involved in the run game for the second week in a row, but this was his fourth consecutive game with three or more receptions.
It will be interesting to see if Badie appears on the injury report next week and is active. Dobbins remains a fantasy starter in most matchups regardless, but his ceiling will be slightly higher without Badie in the lineups.
Evan Engram gets more involved in the Broncos’ offense: Engram had five touches in the first half, after collecting a maximum of four touches in his first four games.
Engram had been a disappointment to fantasy managers through its first five weeks. He played less than 45% of the Broncos’ offensive snaps in every game he played, when you normally want your fantasy tight ends to play at least 70%. He averaged 6.9 fantasy points per game through the first five weeks, ranking him 27th among tight ends.
He played 36% of early-down snaps from single tight-end sets, 64% on third down and 25% in two-tight end sets in the first five weeks. These numbers were higher across the board for this game. He was Bo Nix’s favorite target in the first half and had a seven-yard run, which was better than any run by a Broncos running back. However, this game also provided a great example of why Engram’s playing time is a problem. Nate Adkins scored a 16-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter. If Engram played a full-time role like some other tight ends in the league, Engram would have scored the touchdown.
Engram remains someone who could fall outside of fantasy rosters in most leagues given his low playing time. It’s unlikely the Broncos will have many more games where the wide receivers don’t really play a role in the play. Regardless, this match was a step in the right direction for him to potentially have fantasy value this season.
Clarity on the Jets’ wide receiver rotation: There are subtle changes in the wide receiver rotation every week
The Jets’ wide receiver usage has been inconsistent through the first six weeks. Garrett Wilson was the one constant, always playing at least 93% of New York’s offensive snaps. Josh Reynolds started the season also playing over 93%, but missed weeks 2 and 3 due to injury. Upon his return he had more of a rotating role. Rookie Arian Smith has played between 9.4% and 78.3% of offensive snaps, while Tyler Johnson and Allen Lazard have both played at least 40% in some games and been inactive in others.
Lazard was ruled out early this week due to an undisclosed personal matter. Hopefully he and everyone in his family are doing well. It’s possible the Jets are planning to trade Lazard, which is why the team didn’t let him travel. If you had to take a Jets wide receiver off the waiver wire, it would be Lazard if there’s any chance he could be traded, especially to the Pittsburgh Steelers to reunite with Aaron Rodgers.
This left Reynolds as the clear second wide receiver for the first time since Week 1, while Smith was the clear third wide receiver. This seems like the most likely rotation for New York going forward if everyone is healthy. The Jets’ passing game hasn’t been strong enough to make any other wide receiver fantasy relevant outside of Wilson. Reynolds would be the player who could improve in very deep leagues.
Various comments
- Jets quarterback Justin Fields was a full participant in practice all week after suffering a knee injury and was denied game status.
- New York running back and returner Kene Nwangwu returned after missing four straight games due to a hamstring injury.
- The Jets signed halfback Khalil Herbert after Braelon Allen was placed on injured reserve. He was active last week but ended up as a healthy scratch.
- Garrett Wilson left the first drive of the second half with an apparent injury and missed several plays on the drive. He returned the next ride.
- The Jets waived Isaiah Williams on Monday, signed him to the practice squad on Tuesday and activated him from the practice squad for this game on Saturday. Brandon Smith was also a practice squad call-up at wide receiver with Lazard out.
- Rookie tight end Mason Taylor has already played a big role in the Jets’ offense, averaging over 80% of offensive snaps through the first five weeks. This week, however, he surpassed 90% for the first time in his NFL career.
- Jets tight end Stone Smartt was active this week after being a healthy inactive last week, while Jelani Woods was a healthy inactive, his third straight absence.
Los Angeles Rams @ Baltimore Ravens
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Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers
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Arizona Cardinals @ Indianapolis foals
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Seattle Seahawks @ Jacksonville Jaguars
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Los Angeles Chargers @ Miami Dolphins
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New England Patriots @ New Orleans Saints
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Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers
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Tennessee titans @ Las Vegas Raiders
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Cincinnati Bengals @ Green Bay Packers
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San Francisco 49ers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Detroit Lions @ Kansas City Chiefs
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Table notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. These plays have been removed from the other three statistics.
- Objectives may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be the result of an obviously thrown pass, where the NFL could give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data does not.
- Carries are only possible on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles do not count toward the total number of carries in the game.
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