Fantasy Football Week 6 Running Back Preview: Rankings adjustments, waiver adds, stashes, and more

Last week in this space, I wrote about a bunch of rookie running backs who had recently broken out. This week, Jacory Croskey-Merritt joined the party. It is fair to wonder whether this spike week will go the way that Woody Marks and RJ Harvey's did last week. Those two rookies combined for 47.7 PPR Fantasy points in Week 4 and 8.4 in Week 5. I do not believe we should expect the same outcome with Croskey-Merritt.

For one thing, the Commanders signaled a big change in the first quarter of this game. Croskey-Merritt did not have a single first quarter carry in the first four games of the season. He had the Commanders' first three running back carries in the first quarter in Week 5. Also, on the broadcast, it was mentioned multiple times that Washington had an expectation that Croskey-Merritt would take this job over at some point in the near future. Finally, when Croskey-Merritt fumbled late in the game, he was not punished, and instead, he received the next carry.

I don't think the Commanders' rookie running back is going backwards any time soon. The question now is how much further he can go. In Week 16, he played a career-high 47.5% of the snaps. If his ceiling remains half the snaps, then he will be an upside-down RB2 rest of the season. If that climbs closer to 70%, he could be a borderline RB1. I am more likely to buy high on Croskey-Merritt than sell high. 

Now let's get to the rest of the Week 6 RB Preview:

Week 6 RB Preview

• 6.6 -- Croskey-Merritt's 6.6 yards per carry leads the NFL. He also leads all running backs in yards before contact and yards after contact per rush attempt.
• 38.6% -- In a game the Texans won easily, Woody Marks' snap share fell to 38.6%.
• 10 -- Kyren Williams tied a career high with 10 targets in Week 5. He's averaging 97.2 yards from scrimmage per game.
• 10 -- Jonathan Taylor has 10 rush attempts inside the five-yard line. No other running back has more than six.
• 67.46 -- The Browns have given up 67.46 scrimmage yards per game to running backs this year. Sit your Steelers.
• 206 -- Rico Dowdle ran for 206 yards against the Dolphins last week. Kimani Vidal or Hassan Haskins is walking into a great matchup.
• 4.0 -- Alvin Kamara is averaging a career-low 4.0 yards per touch. Last week, it looked like the Saints noticed as Kamara played less than 60% of the snaps for the first time all year.
• 7.5 -- In his last four games, Derrick Henry is averaging 7.4 PPR FPPG. I don't want to start him until Lamar Jackson gets back.

Week 6 Adds (RB Preview)

Kimani Vidal RB LAC L.A. Chargers • #30 Age: 24 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ MIA LAC -4.5 O/U 43.5 OPP VS RB 27th RB RNK 32nd ROSTERED 2% YTD Stats RUYDS 18 REC 1 REYDS 1 TD 0 FPTS/G 1.5 Last week, early in the week, there was a lot of mystery about whether Michael Carter or Emari Demercado would lead the Cardinals backfield. As the week went on, it became clear it was probably Carter. We will be hoping for the same clarity this week with Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins vying to fill in for Omarion Hampton. We don't love either of these backs as players, but the matchup with the Dolphins is too good to ignore. We lean Vidal early in the week because we think he has more upside as a rusher, but pay close attention to reports out of Los Angeles and don't be afraid to change your FAB bids when more information comes out. Both Vidal and Haskins are worth an add, but until we get more clarity, I wouldn't spend more than 12% on either. A veteran like Gus Edwards could be looming.

Hassan Haskins RB LAC L.A. Chargers • #28 Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ MIA LAC -4.5 O/U 43.5 OPP VS RB 27th RB RNK 37th ROSTERED 5% YTD Stats RUYDS 13 REC 1 REYDS 2 TD 0 FPTS/G 0.5 Last week, early in the week, there was a lot of mystery about whether Michael Carter or Emari Demercado would lead the Cardinals backfield. As the week went on, it became clear it was probably Carter. We will be hoping for the same clarity this week with Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins vying to fill in for Omarion Hampton. We don't love either of these backs as players, but the matchup with the Dolphins is too good to ignore. We lean Vidal early in the week because we think he has more upside as a rusher, but pay close attention to reports out of Los Angeles and don't be afraid to change your FAB bids when more information comes out. Both Vidal and Haskins are worth an add, but until we get more clarity, I wouldn't spend more than 12% on either. A veteran like Gus Edwards could be looming.

Kenneth Gainwell RB PIT Pittsburgh • #14 Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs CLE PIT -5 O/U 38.5 OPP VS RB 3rd RB RNK 33rd ROSTERED 54% YTD Stats RUYDS 154 REC 13 REYDS 65 TD 3 FPTS/G 13.2 We expect Jaylen Warren to get his job back when he's healthy. But until that happens, Gainwell needs to be rostered. He had a role before Warren went down and could be a bye-week replacement as the 1B in Pittsburgh against the right matchup. This week against the Browns is probably not that matchup, unless Warren is out again.

Stashes (RB Preview)

Brashard Smith RB KC Kansas City • #24 Age: 22 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs DET KC -2.5 O/U 52.5 OPP VS RB 7th RB RNK 45th ROSTERED 24% YTD Stats RUYDS 28 REC 6 REYDS 59 TD 0 FPTS/G 2.9 Last week, Kendre Miller was in this space. Now he's 65% rostered, so I did not include him, but go get him if he's available. Smith has seen seven targets in the past two weeks and caught six of them for 59 yards. He's not playing enough snaps to be viable yet, but Andy Reid is notorious for easing rookies in and then letting them loose in the second half. He is a great bench stash, and he is available in 75% of leagues.

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Rico Dowdle RB CAR Carolina • #5 Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs DAL DAL -3.5 O/U 49.5 OPP VS RB 28th PROJ PTS 13 RB RNK 14th YTD Stats RUYDS 289 REC 8 REYDS 48 TD 2 FPTS/G 10.8 If Chuba Hubbard misses one more week, then we get Rico Dowdle at a (smaller) discount in a revenge game against the team that let him go this offseason. The Cowboys have given up 25.8 PPR FPPG to opposing running backs and 6.2 receptions per game to the position. Dowdle had 26 touches last week, and I would expect the Panthers to feed him again if Hubbard is out.

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Kyren Williams RB LAR L.A. Rams • #23 Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ BAL LAR -7.5 O/U 44.5 OPP VS RB 31st PROJ PTS 18.7 RB RNK 8th YTD Stats RUYDS 368 REC 16 REYDS 118 TD 4 FPTS/G 16.9 A workhorse running back coming off a huge week should not be a contrarian pick. But people really do not like Kyren Williams. Everyone always wants their backup to get more work. In this game, the backup may get some work because the Rams face a Ravens defense that is getting gashed by both the pass and the run. They are also one of the worst teams against pass-catching running backs. It should not be a surprise if Kyren Williams is the top-scoring running back this week, and I do not expect his roster rate to reflect that.

My full set of Week 6 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 3. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.