What We Saw Roundup - Week 5

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Broncos @ Chargers

Final Score: Broncos 23, Chargers 17

Writer: Jay Felicio (@GMenJ on Twitter)

Two Up

J.K. Dobbins – Shouldered the workload for the Broncos and found the end zone for a productive fantasy day. Was quite literally the only bright spot in this entire game.
Kimani Vidal – Broke off an impressive touchdown run for the only exciting play for the Chargers all afternoon.

Three Down

The Chargers – Not much else can or needs to be said about the sorry state of this team. The lofty preseason expectations have all but completely deflated amidst offensive line injuries, inept play calling, and poor play from their quarterback. Not a single positive to write home about aside from Kimani Vidal.
RJ Harvey – The theoretical rise of a new PPR scam RB came to a crashing halt with just 7 total yards.
Broncos Passing Offense – Bo Nix looks awful. He is unable to push the ball downfield with any confidence and gets the Seahawks on tap next week. Pass.

Denver Broncos

Quarterback

Bo Nix: 16/27, 123 Yards, TD | 4 Carries, 10 Yards

Denver won this game in spite of Nix. The hopes of changing play callers being the key to get this struggling Broncos offense going was obviously not the answer. Nix couldn’t muster 150 passing yards on nearly 30 attempts, and his longest completion on the day was a 34-yard catch-and-run to Evan Engram. Bo Nix looks broken. His low point was a lost fumble on a scramble that turned into a 42-yard Kimani Vidal scamper on the very next play.

Running Back

J.K. Dobbins: 18 Carries, 68 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 6 Yards

Dobbins was the Denver offense, which says more about Denver than it does about Dobbins. Eighteen carries at 3.8 a pop with a long of 14 isn’t efficient, but he scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and out-touched the rest of the backfield 20 to 5. With Nix throwing for 123 yards, the Broncos had no other option, and Dobbins carried the load fine. That’s an RB2 day in a game that produced almost nothing for anyone else.

RJ Harvey: 3 Carries, 7 Yards | 1 Target, 0 Receptions, 0 Yards

RJ Harvey had just three carries for seven yards and a target he didn’t catch. He’s been squeezed out of this backfield entirely, and a game where Denver ran 29 times and gave him three of them tells you where he stands.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Evan Engram: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 55 Yards

How do you know the Broncos offense is broken? Evan Engram had the longest play of the game by either team. Engram caught everything thrown at him, including a 34-yard catch-and-run down to the Los Angeles 5. Fifty-five yards doesn’t sound like much until you realize it’s 45% of Denver’s entire passing output.

Jaylen Waddle: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 19 Yards | 1 Carry, 9 Yards

Jaylen Waddle‘s stat line is a microcosm of the Broncos’ offense as a whole. Waddle had a team-high five targets for a total of 19 yards. The volume is nice, but this is what happens when your quarterback averages 4.6 yards per attempt. Until this passing game starts to remotely function, he’s a WR3 you start and regret.

Courtland Sutton: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards, TD

Caught Bo Nix’s only passing touchdown of the afternoon. Courtland Sutton‘s line is ugly in every way except the one that scores six fantasy points. Touchdown-dependent weeks are sadly the new normal for Sutton.

Troy Franklin: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards

Troy Franklin caught both of his targets for 16 yards, but appears to be behind Engram, Waddle, and Sutton in the pecking order. The way Bo Nix is playing, there’s not enough volume to make Franklin even FLEX-worthy.

Marvin Mims Jr.: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 6 Yards | 1 Carry, 3 Yards

Lil’Jordan Humphrey: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

Lil’Jordan Humphrey had one catch for eight yards. Marvin Mims had nine total yards from scrimmage, but flipped the field in the fourth with a 26-yard punt return to the Los Angeles 27 that set up a Lutz field goal for one of the most important plays of the afternoon. Neither is close to fantasy relevance.

Los Angeles Chargers

Quarterback

Justin Herbert: 14/24, 121 Yards, TD, INT | 6 Carries, 54 Yards

If there’s one positive to take from this game for Los Angeles, it’s a reminder that Herbert is a more mobile quarterback than people give him credit for. The solid rushing production does very little to soften the blow of what was another incredibly disappointing performance. Yes, he was without his top two receivers in Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, and lost Tre’ Harris along the way in this game. Yes, his offensive line is dealing with a ton of injuries as well. No, we are not recommending him as a start if he gets these players back in the near future.

Running Back

Omarion Hampton: 14 Carries, 33 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards

Kimani Vidal: 8 Carries, 57 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, -1 Yards

Keaton Mitchell: 6 Carries, 11 Yards | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 18 Yards

The play of the day for this group (and the Chargers as a whole) was obviously Vidal’s 42-yard scamper for a score, but outside of that, there was not a single impressive moment for this entire group. All of Vidal, Omarion Hampton, and Keaton Mitchell were bottled up and found no room to run with the depleted offensive line. Hampton is still the lead back based on volume and talent, but it’s hard to recommend him as a startable asset with how dire things are right now for this team. Leave all of these players on your bench if you can.

Kimani Vidal with the 42-yard TD run 🏃@DENvsLAC on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/oWVJwoYm5a

— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Charlie Kolar: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 37 Yards

Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards

Theo Wease Jr.: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 16 Yards

Tre’ Harris: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards

Hayden Rucci: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards, TD

Oronde Gadsden: 1 Target, 0 Receptions

Not to sound like a broken record, but there’s truly nothing worth chasing here with the struggles from the offensive line, quarterback, and coaching staff. To make matters worse, Harris left this game with a hamstring injury, but he did make an impressive grab earlier in the contest. He’s a buy in Dynasty leagues if you can get him for cheap.