• Surprising running backs take charge: Michael Carter and Hassan Haskins appeared to be the starters for the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers, respectively, entering Week 6, but Bam Knight and Kimani Vidal ultimately delivered more fantasy value.

• Shifting tight end rooms: The Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens are at full strength at tight end but lack depth at fullback, prompting strategic adjustments that have boosted the fantasy value of Oronde Gadsden and Isaiah Likely.

• Unlock your edge with PFF+: Access Premium Stats, dominate fantasy with in-season tools and projections and make smarter bets with the new PFF Player Prop Tool.

Welcome to PFF’s NFL Usage and Production Report—your one-stop for the fantasy football utilization you actually need. This hub pulls together snap counts, routes run, targets per route run (TPRR), carry share, red-zone usage, alignment, ADOT, time to throw, situational splits, fantasy points and so much more, so you can quickly spot role changes and act before your league does. Use it for waiver wire decisions, buy-low/sell-high trades, rest-of-season (ROS) rankings context, dynasty stashes, DFS builds, and prop research.

Below you’ll find the top 10 most crucial usage and production takeaways. If you want more details on these top 10 players, or any other quarterback, running back, wide receiver or tight end in the league, you can jump into the interactive tool right below. It’s the most comprehensive fantasy tool, providing information on how a player is utilized, their performance, and how the defense responds to them. You can view by player, team or position, sort any column, filter by week and snaps, and switch between totals and percentages to see the full picture on anything you’re looking for. You’ll also find all of the information found in the usual recap articles.

Week 6 Takeaways

1. Kimani Vidal leads the way withoutOmarion Hampton

Vidal gained over 100 rushing yards in his first NFL start.

The Chargers placed running back Omarion Hampton on injured reserve on Wednesday, and there was some fear that he will miss more than four games. This comes after the Chargers already lost Najee Harris for the season. In response, Vidal was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad, while Nyheim Hines was signed to the practice squad and elevated to the 53-man roster for this game. There were also reports that the Chargers have been calling about a running back trade, although they seem less likely to make a trade after this game.

While Hassan Haskins appeared to be the top running back on the depth chart, including reports that Haskins would lead the way today, Vidal started. Regardless of who played the first snap, the Chargers seemed likely to go with the hot hand, considering neither Haskins nor Vidal has been able to establish themselves clearly ahead of the other over the past two seasons. Vidal had three carries on the first two drives compared to two by Haskins, and both players averaged 1.0 yards per carry. 

Vidal broke a 38-yard run on the Chargers’ third drive, and from then on, the backfield was primarily his. Haskins was the two-minute drill back, which wasn’t surprising. Haskins happened to take the goal-line snap, but Vidal had three goal-line snaps last week, so this doesn’t necessarily mean Haskins will take the goal-line snaps going forward.

While Vidal was picked up off waivers in most 12-team leagues last week, he is still available in plenty of 10-team leagues and should be a top waiver-wire target in those leagues. However, there is still a chance the Chargers make a trade for a running back. There is also a chance that Vidal has a slow start, Haskins gets the hot hand, and the backfield shifts back to Haskins. However, as long as Vidal keeps playing well, the backfield should be his until Hampton is back.

2. The Cardinals change running back strategies

Bam Knight and Michael Carter tied for the team lead in rushing yards.

James Conner is out for the season, while Trey Benson is on injured reserve and will miss a minimum of two more games. Last week, Carter was the early-down back, while Knight was the backup, and Emari Demercado was the third-down back. Adam Schefter reported before the game that Knight would start ahead of Carter, leading to a scramble of fantasy managers adding Knight and removing Carter from their lineups.

The report ended up not being true, as Carter played every snap on the first drive. Knight started to mix in on the second drive. After three drives, Carter had 11 offensive snaps and three runs, while Knight and Demercado had three snaps each. Demercado suffered an ankle injury on the third drive and didn’t return to the game.

From this point, Knight played 34 snaps to Carter’s 21. This included Knight’s 10 runs compared to Carter’s four. Carter took over Demercado’s role as the third-down back and two-minute drill back. Knight took all of the goal-line snaps, which led to an early one-yard touchdown and was the difference in Knight being the better fantasy option for the week.

We should expect another heavy two-man rotation next week against the Green Bay Packers. Arizona has its bye week the following week and then has a matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Knight should be among the top waiver-wire pickups at running back this week in any league where no one picked him up this morning. He is a good option for anyone desperate for a running back in Week 7, but he could be a great option in Week 9, when Saquon Barkley, Bucky Irving, Breece Hall andQuinshon Judkins all have bye weeks.

3. Tyjae Spears leads the Titans’ backfield in snaps

The split between Tony Pollard and Spears was reminiscent of last season.

Spears missed the first four weeks of the season due to injury and returned last week in a limited role. He was the primary running back on third downs but only played five snaps in normal early-down situations and four of the 20 snaps in two-minute drills last week.  This week, the big difference was the two-minute drill snaps, where Spears played 23 of 30.

Currently, this backfield resembles last season. Pollard receives more touches and plays more in wins, while Spears plays more in losses. However, it’s worth noting that late last season, Spears started to run the ball more often. Spears ran five times in this game but averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Pollard was held to 3.4 yards per carry. We may see Spears run the ball more often in future weeks to try to give the Titans’ offense a spark. Spears should be on fantasy rosters in case there is more of a shift in the backfield splits.

4. Rhamondre Stevenson leads the New England two-man backfield

The Patriots placed running back Antonio Gibson on injured reserve on Friday after he tore his ACL, ending his season.

The Patriots had been using a three-man rotation, led by Stevenson, followed by second-round rookie TreVeyon Henderson, and Gibson was third. The backfield rotation had been adjusted in two of the last three games, as Stevenson has fumbled three times in those games. However, after Stevenson fumbled twice in Week 3, his playing time returned to normal in Week 4. Gibson’s injury made it likely that Stevenson’s snap share would bounce back from the 39% rate from last week.

Gibson’s injury led the team to use a two-man backfield rather than three. The Patriots activated running back Terrell Jennings from the practice squad for this game on Saturday, but he didn’t play on offense. Not only did Stevenson’s playing time bounce back, but he also absorbed all of Gibson’s snaps. Henderson’s role was very similar to every other game where Stevenson didn’t have a fumbling issue.

However, Henderson was the more effective runner of the two. Stevenson ran seven times for 18 yards in the first half while Henderson ran twice for 11 yards. This led Henderson to get more involved in the run game in the second half. Stevenson ran six more times in the second half for zero yards. The fact that Henderson doubled Stevenson’s yards per carry will ideally lead to more Henderson carries going forward. However, he still shouldn’t be in fantasy starting lineups.

5. The Chiefs giveIsiah Pacheco the backfield

Pacheco’s playing time has steadily increased over the past two weeks.

Pacheco played exactly 50% of the offensive snaps over the first four weeks of the season, serving as the primary running back on early downs and in two-minute situations. Kareem Hunt wasn’t far behind, functioning as the secondary early-down back and handling third downs, short-yardage and goal-line work. Hunt produced more fantasy value on the ground due to his goal-line touchdowns, while Pacheco offered more value through the air.

Last week, Pacheco recorded a season-high 62.5% snap share, including 76.2% of early-down snaps. However, Kareem Hunt remained the better fantasy performer, thanks to two rushing touchdowns. Game script played a role, as the Chiefs trailed and leaned more on the passing game. This week, Pacheco’s snap rate climbed even higher — and most notably, he played 100% of the snaps in goal-line situations and most of the short-yardage situations. If that usage sticks, it would be a major boost to his fantasy value, as he’d be positioned to handle the team’s touchdown opportunities on the ground.

The Chiefs had the third-most difficult schedule over the first third of the season but have an average schedule over the rest of the season. There should be more games where Kansas City is running in the second half to close out games. If Pacheco is both scoring touchdowns and receiving those late carries — as he did in this game — he can be a borderline fantasy starter again. He is a fine buy-low option to add before he starts scoring touchdowns.