Intro
I covered the early games in a previous article, so check that out if you want a full breakdown of this article’s purpose. In short, I’m giving you one storyline I’m watching in each game from each team. Let’s jump right in!
Dolphins vs. Jets
Dolphins
I’m most intrigued by young receiver Preston Williams. He had a massive game in Week 5, with four receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown. However, Williams had more yards in Week 5 than the other four games combined. Is he truly recovered from last season’s ACL tear, or did he have one strong game? I’ll be watching closely.
Jets
I will take a cop-out on the Jets. I have zero interest in any storylines from this game on the field. The only thing I care about is when the incompetent Jets’ organization will have seen enough to fire disastrous head coach Adam Gase. The Jets released Le’ Veon Bell last week because of Gase, making a terrible offense even worse. Honestly, I’m rooting for the Jets to get demolished every week if it leads to a Gase firing.
Buccaneers vs. Packers
Buccaneers
As usual, all eyes are on the Buccaneers’ backfield. Both Leonard Fournette and LeSean McCoy will return for this game, complementing starter Ronald Jones. However, it’s unclear that both Fournette and McCoy are fully healthy. Either way, we know that Buccaneers’ head coach Bruce Arians tends to remove Jones after one mistake. Therefore, you have to closely watch the Buccaneers’ running backs every single week.
Packers
I’m most focused on tight end Robert Tonyan, who’s come out of nowhere this season. He’s caught 13 of his 14 targets for 173 yards and five touchdowns. The Packers have a thin receiver corps, and they’ve lost Allen Lazard for most of the season to a severe injury. Tonyan saw most of his work without Davante Adams in the lineup, but Adams will return for this game. Let’s see what Tonyan does with Adams on the field.
49ers vs. Rams
49ers
Jimmy Garoppolo looked awful in Week 5, and the 49ers eventually benched him for backup C.J. Beathard. However, I believe that Garoppolo wasn’t fully ready to play, coming off a high ankle sprain. Hopefully, Garoppolo returns to his strong form in this game. The 49ers seem to have continuous links to other quarterbacks, and they can escape from Garoppolo’s contract for almost no dead cap after this season. Garoppolo will not lose his job to Beathard or Nick Mullens, but if he continues to play poorly, he won’t be the starter here in 2021.
Rams
The Rams’ backfield continues to present a problem for fantasy owners. In Week 5, Cam Akers, Darrell Henderson, and Malcolm Brown finally were all fully healthy at the same time. Henderson saw the most carries and the receiving work, but Akers showed more efficiency on his carries. I hope the Rams remove Brown from the equation and go to a two-way backfield between Akers and Henderson. The Rams are suddenly a run-heavy offense, so they can support two fantasy-relevant running backs if they pare down their committee.
Bills vs. Chiefs
Bills
Zack Moss returns to the lineup for this game, forming a two-way backfield split with Devin Singletary. In Weeks 1 and 2, Singletary had 19 carries to Moss’ 17, although Singletary displayed far more success on his touches. Singletary also saw more receiving work, seven receptions to only three for Moss. However, those were Moss’ first two NFL games. Let’s see if Moss gets more involved or if the Bills liked Singletary enough to stick with him as the lead back.
Chiefs
The Chiefs won’t have Sammy Watkins for this game, so my eyes are locked-in on Mecole Hardman. Hardman caught two passes for 50 yards in Week 5, although he played 69% of offensive snaps. I want to see how the Chiefs deploy Hardman this week, as they know he’s the WR2 going into the contest. If Hardman has a massive game, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.
Cowboys vs. Cardinals
Cowboys
I want to see what Andy Dalton can do for the offense in Dak Prescott’s place for the Cowboys. I know that Dalton isn’t the same level of a quarterback as Prescott, but the real question is related to the gap between the two. I believe that Dalton can provide 70-75% of what Prescott did, but he won’t support Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Dalton Schultz as receiving weapons. I want to see if Dalton moves explicitly away from one player in particular or if everyone takes an equal downtick.
Cardinals
Like many of these teams, the Cardinals also have an interesting backfield. Starter Kenyan Drake has been very ineffective, averaging only 3.7 YPC, despite his massive volume. Drake also has seen little receiving volume, with only six receptions for 22 yards on six targets in five games. In contrast, Chase Edmonds has 18 receptions on 23 targets for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Edmonds also has 19 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown, although it’s hard to judge him on that limited volume. I want to see if Edmonds sees more rushing work this week.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Karp. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
