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Another week gone and now we are really into the thick of it. We are deep enough into the season now for your team's playoffs hope to be dashed already, but since you're here I'm assuming that doesn't apply to you.
We are really seeing the injuries pile up now and the waiver wire is getting more and more appealing because of it. There are lots of different ways to strengthen your team now, and checking on usage and opportunity stats is a great way to start.
Let's run down the Week 5 data, as always using sortable & searchable interactive data tables!
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Situational Data
The Chiefs find themselves at 2-3 now after falling behind the Bills on Sunday Night at home and not being able to mount a sufficient comeback. Because of that, they ran 90 plays and threw the ball 77.8% of the time. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the shelf for at least one week and the Chiefs below .500, the chances of us seeing them go very pass-heavy in the coming weeks might just be on the way up.
The only team that threw the ball more frequently than the Chiefs was the Dolphins who were playing catch-up all day long against the Bucs. They threw the ball 82% of the time with limited success. Even with the big lead, Tampa Bay posted another high pass rate going for a 66% pass rate and a 61% neutral situation pass rate.
Chicago remained run-heavy even in the absence of David Montgomery, and Justin Fields wasn't a significant part of that. Very good news for Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert moving forward. We also saw the Steelers have a lead for the first time since Week 1 and that really leveled out their play distribution as they ran the ball 54% of the time after being near the top of the league in pass rate so far.
Check out the rest of the table for more insights.
Snap Count Leaders for Fantasy Football
The Redskins don't care who is at tight end, they aren't leaving the field. Ricky Seals-Jones played every snap but one and posted a decent, but not great fantasy day. Robert Woods finally busted out and took advantage of another sky-high snap count. Another strong vote of confidence for DeVonta Smith who played 93% of the snaps for the Eagles, he should continue to improve on the job.
Quarterbacks Data for Fantasy Football
The Bills' defense really showed us something on Sunday, holding Patrick Mahomes to just 272 pass yards despite forcing him into 54 attempts. The 5.0 yards per attempt was Mahomes' worst mark of his career. Really impressive stuff there.
The top quarterbacks of the week were Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, Justin Herbert, and Josh Allen. All of those guys were very efficient on their throws and posted some just massive fantasy stats for your team, just more reason to feel confident about those names being top-five quarterbacks as the season goes on. Carson Wentz had a big fantasy game but needed a lot of yards after the catch to get there, posting just a 5.8 ADoT on his 36 attempts, but going for an elite 11.2 yards per attempt.
I'd say it's safe to cut Justin Fields as he just doesn't look like he'll get the volume as a passer to matter, and he's not running the ball the way we thought he would. He threw the ball just 20 times for 111 yards and ran it only three times. Not great news. Lots more in the table to check out!
Touches Data for Fantasy Football
Finally, someone bested Derrick Henry in touches! Alexander Mattison led the crowd with 25 rushes and seven catches, posting another elite fantasy game with Dalvin Cook sidelined. He is a top-five running back while Cook is out.
Chuba Hubbard also saw elite usage with Christian McCaffrey missing another week, just showing how valuable backup running backs can be when they get elevated snaps due to injuries ahead of them on the depth chart. James Robinson posted a crazy 8.3 yards per rush against the putrid Titans defense, who we should probably just jam players in against in DFS going forward. On the other side of that was Devontae Booker, averaging a vomitous 2.6 yards per carry after coming in for Saquon Barkley who will likely miss some time.
Receivers/Tight Ends Data for Fantasy Football
More data on pass catchers here. We have to talk about Davante Adams first as he posted one of the best receiving games you'll see, piling up 206 yards on 239 air yards, catching 11 of his 16 targets. Elite usage for an elite talent with an elite quarterback, it's going to be a fun rest of the season for Adams. Ja'Marr Chase continues looking like a WR2 at worst here, grabbing 159 yards on 185 air yards with an 18.5 ADoT.
It was a pretty disappointing usage game for Diontae Johnson as the Steelers went more run-heavy as he earned just two targets, although one of those went for a long touchdown that made his fantasy day just fine. Possibly the most encouraging numbers in the chart were for Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown, who we didn't previously know could both have splash games at the same time. Those two combined for 25 targets, 21 catches and 283 yards. They're must-start guys now as Lamar Jackson really appears to have taken a step forward with his arm.
Targets Data for Fantasy Football
Here's the updated target share progression table. This is best used by searching for team abbreviations and seeing how things are shaking out.
If you search for NYG you see the massive usage bump for Kadarius Toney, going for a 25% target share in week four and then a 43% mark this week. He likely won't have another game like that as the Giants slowly get healthier, but he's an interesting guy to add in the meantime.
The week five target leaders were Davante Adams (46%), Toney (43%), Woods (40%), Mike Williams (38%), and Courtland Sutton (36.4%). Deebo Samuel also posted another really strong number at 36% despite not doing much through the air and grabbing a good chunk of his fantasy points from a touchdown run. He remains a must-start. Tough days may be ahead for the Seahawks with Russell Wilson set to miss significant time, and D.K. Metcalf didn't get a ton of looks from Geno Smith despite his two-touchdown game, posting a season-low 15.6% target share. Lots more in the table, check it out.
As always, let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for this weekly piece! I am always reachable on Twitter @JonPGH.
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