To freak out, or to keep calm? That’s the question almost any fantasy manager will have about at least one player on their roster each week. It can be easy to overreact and lose control over a disappointing performance, but each week, we’ll dive into a few of fantasy football’s biggest names and help you decide if we should panic over a poor fantasy output or if we should stay the course and keep them in our lineups. Are there reasonable excuses for why the player had a down week or a few concerning performances? Is it an outlier, or is there something to their struggles and time to look for alternative options? That’s what we’ll aim to answer in Patience or Panic each week throughout the season.
You might be thinking, why is this being posted late in the week? Shouldn’t we decide to panic or be patient right after the previous week’s games? The goal is to look forward to the following week regarding lineup decisions, while being a few days removed from the emotions of a down performance.
Heading into Week 6, there’s no shortage of players we can lose control over. We’re more than a month into the season, meaning we can feel a little more comfortable about hitting the full panic button on players, and rookies are no longer safe.
Alvin Kamara, Running Back, NO
Hitting the big 3-0 hasn’t been too kind for the long-time Saints Running Back, at least in terms of fantasy football. To be fair, the offense he’s a part of very well may be the worst of his career, but there are still some concerning things to point to regarding Kamara. The 2017 3rd-round pick has always been a weapon in the passing game, but that’s slowed down considerably in 2025. Kamara doesn’t have more than 28 receiving yards in any game this season, and he’s only averaging 4.5 yards per reception. Quarterback Spencer Rattler isn’t looking his way as much compared to past Saints signal callers, and it’s hurting his fantasy ceiling.
Third-year ball carrier Kendre Miller continues to earn more playing time, another factor in Kamara’s fantasy value taking a dip. Miller’s snap share has increased each week, from 13% in Week 1 to 39% last week, according to JJ Zachariason. That’s not by accident, either, as Underdog’s Josh Norris indicates here. Kamara has a real threat in his backfield, something for most of his career he hasn’t dealt with, outside of Mark Ingram in his first two seasons. On the ground, the Atlanta native has struggled as well, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry this season. His rushing success rate has dropped to just 46.6%, according to Dan Johnson of DraftKings.
I generally don’t include injured players, but Kamara’s ankle injury he suffered in practice on Wednesday isn’t anything serious, according to long-time Saints beat writer Nick Underhill. The Saints face the Patriots at home in Week 6, a team that’s been tough on Running Backs. They shut down James Cook in Week 5, and give up the fifth-fewest fantasy points to Running Backs. I’m looking in another direction in the league where I have Kamara in for Week 6.
Verdict: Panic
Alternative options:
Commanders Running Back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Panthers Running Back Rico Dowdle both act as legitimate alternative options if you’re concerned with starting Kamara in Week 6. Croskey-Merritt was drafted rounds later than Kamara and easily could be on the same fantasy roster as Kamara. Rico Dowdle was one of the higher priority waiver wire pickups last week with Chuba Hubbard injured, and went for an out-of-control 234 total yards in Week 5 against the Dolphins. Now, he’s in a revenge spot this week against his former team in the Cowboys, and he’s made it known.
Croskey-Merritt and Dowdle each have good matchups in Week 6, facing the Bears and Cowboys, who give up the fourth and sixth-most fantasy points to Running Backs, respectively.
TreVeyon Henderson, Running Back, NE
The hype train was real for the rookie Running Back out of Ohio State heading into the season. He looked explosive in some preseason action, something we all knew about him anyway if you watched him in college, causing his ADP to skyrocket. It’s been a frustrating start to his rookie season, and it could be easy to panic. He was expected to overtake the Patriots’ backfield and essentially become the next Alvin Kamara immediately, but that hasn’t happened. Rhamondre Stevenson has still been heavily involved, and until Week 5, Antonio Gibson was getting mixed in as well.
We never root or celebrate injury, but Gibson tore his ACL last week and is out for the season. We wish him the best, of course, but it does likely make this backfield a split between Henderson and Stevenson instead of three backs involved. Henderson saw his biggest snap share in Week 5 at 50%, and played just one less snap than Stevenson. He also had a 53% route share, another season high.
We can’t expect Stevenson to just go away, as Mike Vrabel makes clear here, but his nine fumbles since the start of the 2024 season make you wonder how much longer the coaching staff can trust him. The Patriots look like real playoff contenders, and as the season goes on, each play and each game will mean that much more. Henderson already leads the Patriots’ backfield in targets, according to Michael Florio of NFL.com, and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue. It wouldn’t be shocking if Henderson has somewhat of the same trajectory as Bucky Irving had in 2024. Not to say he’ll have that same level of usage or productivity, but the similarities are there for a young, explosive, rookie Running Back with plenty of juice taking over the backfield from the less exhilarating veteran ball carrier.
Verdict: Patience
Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)