As we near the midpoint of the season, it’s getting close to danger time for fantasy managers sitting at 1-5, or still searching for their first win. It felt like a common theme of the Week 6 games was enormously impactful plays getting called back due to phantom penalties. I’m not usually one to complain about officiating, but it was prevalent across the league this week, especially during Monday Night Football’s Chicago vs. Washington matchup and in the New England vs. New Orleans game.
Speaking of which, Drake Maye continues to look fantastic and is ascending toward being one of the very best young quarterbacks in football. And with Buffalo getting upset on Monday night in Atlanta, the 4-2 Patriots are now in first place in the AFC East after six weeks for the first time since 2019.
According to SumerBrain, there were seven 4-1 teams entering Week 6, which is tied with the 2021 season for the most since 1997. Five of those teams all lost in Week 6, which was the first time that five 4-1 teams all lost in the same week. Parity is widespread across the league right now, leading to unpredictable outcomes week to week and making it feel like no NFL team is actually good. All of this chaos paints a bit of a messy picture for fantasy managers trying to make sense of what’s real and what’s noise. With bye weeks in full swing and rosters getting thinner, it’s more important than ever to stay ahead of the curve. Let’s get to a few players to buy and sell heading into Week 7.
BUY
Tyjae Spears (RB – TEN)
RB21: 5 Carries, 31 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 19 Yards
Spears looked fantastic in Week 6 against the Raiders. In just his second game returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the first four games of the season, Spears had a higher snap share than Tony Pollard (59.3% to 42.4%). Some might assume this was because the Titans were playing from behind for most of the game, but that wasn’t exactly the case. And the most they trailed by was 17 points midway through the third quarter. In fact, Spears saw more playing time in the first half (66.7%) than in the second (51.7%). That’s the highest first-half snap share that he’s had with Pollard active and even higher than his lone start without Pollard in Week 17 last season (62.5%). The routes are notable to touch on with the 24-year-old as well. Former Titans head coach Brian Callahan talked about emphasizing an even split between the two backs last season, but it didn’t really play out that way. Spears ran more routes than Pollard in only four games last season, two of which came in Weeks 15 and 16 when Pollard was banged up and didn’t play full snaps. After lagging in his first game back from injury in Week 5, Spears more than doubled Pollard’s routes in Week 6 (52.3% to 25%).
Yes, the Titans easily look like the worst team in football, and Cam Ward has been borderline disastrous from a statistical perspective. But with Callahan now out as head coach, the new coaching staff could favor the younger, more dynamic player and unleash Spears as the main guy. The usage is already trending in the right direction, and it should hopefully continue with a new coach calling plays and the possibility of Pollard being traded. Spears is currently rostered in only 33% of Sleeper leagues, so there is a chance you could claim him on waivers this week. But I am buying Spears’ rest of season outlook and hopefully, the dire situation in Tennessee improves just a little bit. It could be somewhat similar to Jerome Ford’s 2023 season with the Browns, where he wasn’t super efficient as a runner, but made up for it with strong receiving production. And Spears is more explosive than Ford as a runner, so he could be better in that regard. Ford finished that season as RB25 in PPR points per game (12.4).
Upcoming schedule: vs. NE, at IND, vs. LAC, BYE, vs. HOU
Jerry Jeudy (WR – CLE)
WR35: 13 Targets, 5 Catches, 43 Yards
It’s tough to sell Jeudy as a buy currently, with how poorly he’s been playing, but that’s what we’re doing here. Jeudy is tied for the league lead with five drops, but it feels like more than that with how often he is making gaffs at the catch point. It does feel like he is constantly getting open, and we come back to the usage, which continues to be favorable for the 26-year-old. It’s absolutely worth pointing out that rookie quarterback Dillon Gabrel attempted a whopping 52 passes, so the target number is a tad inflated for Jeudy. He was also a bit unlucky, as he lost an explosive catch because of a penalty and missed out on a potential touchdown when Gabriel sailed it out of bounds.
That play certainly would have made his inefficient day feel much more acceptable for fantasy purposes. It’s good to see Gabriel know who his top targets are, with the passing volume heavily consolidating primarily between Jeudy and Harold Fannin Jr. in this one, although David Njoku and rookie Isaiah Bond were involved as well. Yes, the Browns’ offense also stinks and won’t score a ton of points. But they will be behind in most games and be forced to chuck the ball a ton. That was pretty much the thesis for Jeudy last season, and from Week 8 on, with primarily Jameis Winston under center, Jeudy caught 69 of 102 targets for 963 yards and three touchdowns. Jeudy was only behind Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson in receiving yards during that time and was tied with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for WR7 in PPR points per game (19). He won’t have that kind of finish, but he’s worth buying low on with how tough it’s been through six games.
Upcoming schedule: vs. MIA, at NE, at NYJ, vs. BAL, at LV
Jayden Higgins (WR – HOU)
WR58: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 32 Yards
Higgins and the Texans were on bye in Week 6. Rookies seeing their snap shares rise and roles expand after the bye week is a real thing and could be the case for the Texans’ 2025 third-round pick. The Texans themselves have also said that they want to find ways to get the rookie more involved in the offense going forward. Higgins is rostered in only 25% of sleeper leagues and could be available on waivers with Houston not playing last week.
There was a good amount to like with Higgins as a prospect. He’s a fluid mover for his size at 6’4″ and 214 pounds, similar to the Nico Collins and Tee Higgins type of WR. He’s shown the ability to create separation in his limited snaps, and his opportunities should only continue to grow moving forward. After being in the low 40% range in snap share for the first four games, Higgins’ snap share spiked to 57.6% against Baltimore in Week 5, but it’s worth noting that it was partly influenced by him staying in late in the game while Davis Mills came in. But I expect him to get more run and more targets after the bye week, as he looks like the next best receiving option in Houston behind Nico Collins.
Upcoming schedule: at SEA, vs. SF, vs. DEN, vs. JAX, at TEN
SELL
Jaylen Warren (RB – PIT)
RB29: 11 Carries, 52 Yards, 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
Warren returned in Week 6 after missing Week 4 with a knee injury, and it’s reasonable that he didn’t immediately reclaim a full workload in the Pittsburgh backfield. However, the emergence of No. 2 RB Kenneth Gainwell, highlighted by his explosion in Week 4 in London, may alter the touch distribution moving forward. They nearly matched touches against Cleveland (Gainwell 12, Warren 13), and Gainwell looks like the preferred option as the receiving back. In the four games they’ve played together, Warren has run more routes in just one of them. For the season, Gainwell’s route rate sits at 43.8% compared to Warren’s at 33.6%. That’s meaningful because of who is at quarterback for the Steelers. Aaron Rodgers has the lowest aDOT (5.7) among all starting QBs and checks it down at a top 10 rate this season. RBs in Rodgers’ offenses have historically benefited from his willingness to check it down early, and it looks like that role is Gainwell’s to lose.
Warren is still a heck of a player and looked strong in his return. He ranks second only to superstar Bijan Robinson in missed tackles forced per attempt (0.28). However, Pittsburgh’s offense remains one of the slowest and least dynamic in the league, and the backfield is gradually shifting toward a three-man committee. Rookie third-rounder Kaleb Johnson played 20.8% of the snaps in Week 4 with Warren out, and that mark stuck out of the bye week as he handled six carries for 15 yards in Week 6. Things could change positively for Warren, but I’d be looking to sell if possible.
Upcoming schedule: at CIN, vs. GB, vs. IND, at LAC, vs. CIN
Matthew Golden (WR – GB)
WR22: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 86 Yards | 2 Carries, 16 Yards
This is a tricky one for me because Golden has looked amazing on the field, consistently creating easy separation and looking dynamic with the ball in his hands. Out of the bye week, however, we wanted to see a jump in routes and usage. We saw both of those things with a season-high 70% snap share, but ran only 64.5% routes. In Weeks 2 through 4 before the bye, he ran 64.7%, 71%, and 65.2% routes. It’s only one week, but it feels like this will be a theme throughout the season.
For as good as Matthew Golden was today, Matt LaFleur essentially said that the Packers' offensive approach isn't changing.
"I know everybody wants to force-feed guys the ball, but that's not really how we've done it around here and I don't plan on changing that. That's the…
— zach jacobson (@zacobson) October 12, 2025
Matt LaFleur likes to rotate his wide receivers, and the Packers have several players who can contribute in various roles. He’s also made it clear that his approach to spreading the ball around isn’t going to change. In addition, Golden was never a dominant target earner in college. His electric 4.29 speed is paramount for stretching defenses and opening up space underneath for other WRs to pick up yardage. It’s a good stylistic fit with Jordan Love, who lives to throw it deep and optimize a guy like Golden. And they’ve just barely missed on a couple of deep shots so far this season. I’m just afraid that with Christian Watson back soon and Jayden Reed back eventually near the end of the year, it will be tough for Golden to see enough targets in what is already an offense that leans more to the run. I am a fan of the player, but it could be a selling window.
Upcoming schedule: at ARI, at PIT, vs. CAR, vs. PHI, at NYG
Rhamondre Stevenson (RB – NE)
RB60: 13 Carries, 18 Yards | 1 Target
This is a sell of Stevenson and a buy of TreVeyon Henderson at the same time. We listed Henderson as a buy after his encouraging Week 1 outing, where he caught six balls right out of the gate, but we know how it has trended since then for the second-round rookie. Stevenson is coming off his season high for snap share in a game at 71%, but he was bad in this game. His 1.4 yards per carry is the lowest in any game this week by a qualified rusher and the fifth lowest in any game this season, per NFL Pro. On the other hand, Henderson hasn’t been any more effective on a per-touch basis, with his -1.2 Rushing Yards Over Expected (RYOE) per attempt ranking dead last among 45 qualified running backs. And strangely, with Antonio Gibson going down with an injury, Henderson’s 29% snap share in Week 6 was the lowest of the season.
Henderson did, however, reach 10 touches for the third time in six games this year. But the way he’s been used so far hasn’t been very creative, mostly with runs up the gut or telegraphed runs to the left. We saw multiple clips of him catching wheel routes in training camp, then Stevenson got that play a few weeks ago in Miami. Stevenson won’t be phased out, but with how often he’s put the ball on the ground and his overall ineffectiveness as a runner, we should see some more of Henderson in the coming weeks. I’m not expecting a workhorse role, but earning back some of the route volume and seeing some runs out on the edges is what we’ll be looking for.
Upcoming schedule: at TEN, vs. CLE, vs. ATL, at TB, vs. NYG
Photo by Fred Kfoury III, Andy Lewis | Adapted by Parker McDonald (@CarbonFoxGFX on Twitter/X)