Every week we’ll bring you The Primer, a deep dive into every fantasy-relevant player from every NFL game of the week. You can find the full weekly Primer here. Below we dive into a few notable players ahead of this weekend’s games.
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Fantasy Football Outlook
Tyjae Spears: Spears is a stone-cold baller. If you have the bench space, ROSTER HIM NOW! If anything happens to Henry, Spears would be a plug-and-play top 15 back weekly. Among 63 qualifying backs, he ranks third-best in explosive run rate, sixth in yards after contact per attempt, and seventh in missed tackles forced per attempt. Okay, since we covered the great with Spears, we have to mention the bad. He has played at least 52% of the snaps in four of five games, but he has only seen double-digit touches twice. Spears has averaged 8.2 touches and 43.8 total yards. Baltimore has held backs to the tenth-fewest fantasy points per game and the second-lowest yards per carry on gap runs (Spears 48% gap). Week 6 Positional Value: RB3/4
Alexander Mattison: Last week, Mattison played a season-low 51% of the snaps. He finished with ten touches and 46 total yards. This was a sizable departure from the 69-80% of snaps he had played in the two previous weeks while averaging 21.5 touches and 111.6 total yards. Among 63 qualifying backs, Mattison ranks 39th in explosive run rate and 35th in yards after contact per attempt. Mattison is headed for another down week against a surprisingly good Bears run defense. They have held rushers to the tenth-lowest explosive run rate while having the sixth-highest stuff rate. Chicago has contained backs with the tenth-lowest yards per carry allowed to zone runs (Mattison 62.5% zone). Week 6 Positional Value: RB2/3
Jonathan Taylor: In Taylor’s first game back, he played 15% of the snaps with seven touches and 34 total yards. He had a 17% missed tackles forced per attempt rate and 2.67 yards after contact per attempt. None of these numbers are eye-popping, but it’s an incredibly small sample. The Colts have stated they will ramp up Taylor’s workload this week, but I don’t see that being more than maybe 40-50% of the snaps and work this week. Jacksonville remains a pass funnel. Their run defense has been incredibly strong, ranking eighth-best in explosive run rate, fifth-best in stuff rate, and second-best in yards after contact per attempt allowed. Indy should prioritize moving the ball through the air in Week 6. Week 6 Positional Value: RB3/4
Breece Hall: Well, the training wheels are officially off. Last week, Hall only played 52% of the snaps, but he had 25 touches for 194 total yards as he single-handedly dismantled Denver. Among 63 backs, Hall ranks third in explosive run rate, 16th in missed tackles forced per attempt, and third in yards after contact per attempt as the RB24 in fantasy. The Eagles should have no problem crowding the box this week and stifling Hall. They have allowed the sixth-lowest explosive run rate and the lowest yards after contact per attempt while having the second-best stuff rate. Hall should be a lock for 15-20 touches. Week 6 Positional Value: RB1/2
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