Eric KarabellOct 13, 2025, 04:40 PM ETCloseEric Karabell is a senior writer for fantasy baseball, football and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame and author of “The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments”.Follow on X
play1:26What to make of the Patriots WR performance in Week 6 of fantasyField Yates breaks down the surprising performance from Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas in the Patriots’ win over the Saints.
Where does Kimani Vidal stand among fantasy RBs in Week 7? (1:10)Eric Moody weighs in on Kimani Vidal’s impactful Week 6, and says fantasy managers should look to utilize him as an RB2 in Week 7. (1:10)
What to make of the Patriots WR performance in Week 6 of fantasyField Yates breaks down the surprising performance from Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas in the Patriots’ win over the Saints.
Field Yates breaks down the surprising performance from Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas in the Patriots’ win over the Saints.
Each Monday, before the current NFL week ends, we will identify players available in at least 50% of ESPN standard leagues worthy of your attention, from standard formats to deeper options. The NFL is a weekly league, and player valuation and roles seldom remain stagnant. It does not matter how you acquire players for your fantasy rosters, just that you get them.
Steelers starter Jaylen Warren (knee) returned from a few weeks off and scored 8.3 points against the Browns. Meanwhile, Kenneth Gainwell (56.8%) caught six passes (though for only 14 yards), but his overall output was 9.6 points. This remains a timeshare, with Warren clearly the preferred choice. Although Gainwell has reached double-digit points in only one game, he continues to matter at a weak position in fantasy.
The Vikings and Texans enjoyed the bye in Week 6, and all four of the running backs for these teams relevant to fantasy remain rostered in more than 50% of leagues. Still, check your league for Texans Nick Chubb (68.2%) and Woody Marks (59.7%), as they face the Seahawks this week. They still come preferred to Browns backups Jerome Ford (24.9%) and Dylan Sampson (14.3%), who combined for 12.4 points in Sunday’s loss.
What to make of the Patriots WR performance in Week 6 of fantasy
Josh Downs, Colts (41.5%): Downs has reached double-digit points in three of six games so far. Those are the ones in which he has seven or more targets from resurgent QB Daniel Jones. In the other three games, Downs has not been targeted much, so he has not done much. We can’t be sure Jones will target Downs this week against the Chargers, but at this point, fantasy managers need to trust Jones, and Downs feels a bit too available. In addition, the Colts face the Titans in Week 8.
Harrison might not play in Week 7 against the Packers, which means more attention for Michael Wilson (3.9%), Zay Jones (0.1%) and Greg Dortch (0.2%). Yeah, it’s not exactly a Hall of Fame crew for a Cardinals QB (to be named later) to throw to without Harrison (though TE Trey McBride might see 20 targets in Week 7). Jones scored 12.9 points in Sunday’s loss, but Wilson has been involved in the offense all season, and he feels more likely to matter.
Texans rookie Jayden Higgins (22.9%) caught five passes on six targets over the first four games of the season prior to the bye week, and then in Week 5 against the Ravens he caught four passes on as many targets. Perhaps star Nico Collins is the lone Texans WR worth relying on, but Higgins was a fantastic college player at Iowa State and a second-round draft pick. He should matter soon.
Harold Fannin Jr., Browns (29.1%): This isn’t really an emerging passing game to invest in (yet), but Fannin caught 7 of 10 targets from fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel against the Steelers, and some of them came after starting TE David Njoku (knee) left early. Perhaps Njoku will miss some time. Fannin has scored double-digit points in three of six games, and the Browns face the Miami Dolphins in Week 7.
Raiders star Brock Bowers (knee) has missed consecutive games, much to the chagrin of fantasy managers who expected another monster season. Backup Michael Mayer (3.1%) caught 5 of 7 targets for 50 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, his 16.0 points eclipsing any performance from Bowers this season. There will not be controversy for the Raiders, for Bowers is the starter when healthy, but Mayer is the only healthy one for this week.
Seahawks starter AJ Barner (10.1%) continues to produce fantasy-relevant numbers, but managers continue to rely on underachievers such as Njoku and the Ravens’ Mark Andrews. Barner scored 10.1 points against the Jaguars, the fourth time in five weeks he reached double digits. His is not major volume, and his touchdown rate is a bit high, but you can trust him in Week 7 and drop him for his bye in Week 8.
Bye weeks continue in Week 7 with the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens taking off. For the Bills, fantasy managers might wish to part with WRs Keon Coleman (75.5%) and Khalil Shakir (76.8%), along with TE Dalton Kincaid (78.7%). In each case, it would be more prudent to keep these players on your bench rather than dumping them for one-week fixes, if you can help it. This remains one of the top offenses in the league. Move on from the Bills D/ST (62.1%), though.
The bye week comes at a good time for the struggling Ravens, who might get QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring) back for Week 8 against the Bears. Fantasy managers must keep RB Derrick Henry and WR Zay Flowers through the bye as well. That is not the case with veteran TE Mark Andrews (84.3%), who scored 6.6 points on Sunday and boasts more than half of his season total from one Week 3 game. Meanwhile, why is the Ravens D/ST (41.0%) still so popular? Only the Cowboys D/ST has been worse for fantasy!
The Browns continue to struggle to score points, so although the Dolphins don’t exactly play awesome defense, the Miami D/ST (2.5%) unit appears to be a useful streamer for Week 7.
The Giants D/ST (18.3%) scored 8.0 points in the victory over the Eagles, and it will face a Denver Broncos offense that scored only one touchdown in Week 6. The Giants have registered three or more sacks in half their games, and they create turnovers. Go with the Giants over the scuffling New York Jets (9.1%), who face the seemingly easier opponent in the Panthers. The Panthers have scored 57 points over the past two games and feature Dowdle and star rookie WR Tetairoa McMillan.
The sixth Sunday of the NFL season featured another fantastic performance from Carolina Panthers RB Rico Dowdle, another touchdown from Dallas Cowboys WR George Pickens, and continued development from precocious New England Patriots QB Drake Maye as a top-10 fantasy option. Oh, there were injuries, too, with excellent wide receivers Puka Nacua (ankle), Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (concussion) leaving games prematurely. Fantasy managers must monitor their status for the upcoming week.
Jaxson Dart, New York Giants (34.4% rostered): This is not the first time we have discussed Dart in this space, though fantasy managers remained rather tepid with interest. Dart was active in fewer than 10% of ESPN standard leagues in Week 6. That must change after Dart scored 23.6 points in a stunning win over the beleaguered Philadelphia Eagles. Although Dart remains an unfinished product as a passer, he has notably rushed for more than 50 yards in each of his three starts, scoring touchdowns in two of them. That is enough to make him relevant in fantasy. A road game in Denver this week might not be as much fun as facing Philly, but Dart boasts undeniable QB1 potential in fantasy this season and should be rostered in many more leagues.
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (23.1%): Some fantasy managers just refuse to believe in Darnold despite his solid numbers. Darnold scored 20.0 points on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and after a rough Week 1 outing, he is averaging nearly 20 PPG over his past five games. He and the Seahawks face the Houston Texans in Week 7. Given his numbers, it is hard to suggest anything but Darnold being underrated in fantasy. He showed us his ability last season with the Minnesota Vikings, and he is performing similarly this season.
Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers (27.1%): Someone had to pick up the running back duties with starter Omarion Hampton (ankle) shelved, and we had a good idea it would be some combination of Vidal and Hassan Haskins. Most sided with Haskins (49.7%), since he played at Michigan for Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh. Wrong choice! These coaches just keep everyone guessing! Vidal enjoyed a far greater performance, turning 21 touches into 138 yards and 22.8 points. Haskins had seven touches. Add Vidal for Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts, while noting Hampton might miss more time than originally expected.
Bam Knight, Cardinals (5.6%): We featured Michael Carter in this space last week, as he appeared to be the Arizona running back of choice with James Conner and Trey Benson sidelined. On Saturday, a day before facing the Colts, rather surprising word came that the Cardinals intended to give Knight, with his third NFL organization before his 25th birthday, a chance at first-team volume. Knight scored a touchdown and notched 12.4 points on his 12 touches Sunday, but he didn’t differentiate himself much from Carter, who scored 8.4 points on 11 touches. Knight is likely to be a bit overrated this week for the game against a tough Packers team.
Kayshon Boutte, Patriots (7.0%): Boutte was featured in this space after his solid Week 1 outing, in which he caught six passes for 103 yards against the Las Vegas Raiders. Then Boutte caught a measly seven passes for 105 yards over the next four games, making his opening-week output look mighty aberrant. Well, the rather inconsistent Boutte returned to relevance Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, catching all five of his targets for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Does any of this mean Boutte will have a big Week 7 game against the Titans? Nope, but QB Drake Maye is terrific, and the Titans, well, are not. Pats teammate DeMario Douglas (6.7%) scored 16.1 points Sunday, and he also gets to face the Titans!