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Top 10 Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 5 Usage

1. Did Tank Bigsby Just Take Over?

For the first time ever, Bigsby out-snapped Etienne in the win over the Colts. Bigsby's advantage came in the fourth quarter, when he out-snapped Etienne 11 to two and out-carried him six to 0.

HC Doud Pederson said afterward that Etienne played sparingly in the final frame because he aggravated his shoulder injury. I'm not fully buying that. I think Jacksonville rode the hot hand. Bigsby's final carry of the third quarter went for a score -- and then he ripped off a 65-yard TD in the fourth.

We're projecting a 50/50 carry split in Week 6, with Etienne hanging on to most of the passing-down work. But if Bigsby continues out-producing Etienne on the ground, he could again come away with the carry lead -- both this week and for the remainder of the season.

2. Kareem Hunt Controls Chiefs Backfield

Hunt's 27 carries on Monday night were his most in a game since his 2017 rookie season -- and the fourth most by any RB this year.

His rushing role was similar to Isiah Pacheco's. Pacheco handled 65% of Chiefs carries over the first two games of the season.

Hunt ceded some passing-down snaps to Perine but still led Chiefs RBs in routes.

If he maintains this role coming out of the Week 6 bye, Hunt will be a strong RB2 in fantasy lineups in the short term. Pacheco isn't expected back until sometime between Week 8 and Week 10.

3. Mark Andrews’ Worst Outing Of The Season?

Andrews scored a season-high 9.5 PPR points in the Week 5 win over the Bengals. But it might have been his most discouraging outing yet.

Andrews got ideal game environment. The Ravens trailed for most of the game, threw 42 passes, and scored 41 points.

And Andrews managed just 9.5 PPR points. TEs Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar out-scored him. Andrews ran a route on fewer than half of Baltimore's pass plays. And he drew just 12% of the teams targets.

If this is his ceiling -- coupled with a 0-point floor that we've already seen twice this season -- there's little reason to be interested in Andrews in a fantasy starter.

4. Rico Dowdle’s Ascent Continues

Dowdle set season highs in the Week 5 win over the Steelers in snap rate, route rate, carry share, and carries (20).

While his snap rate has stayed mostly flat, Dowdle's carry share has steadily risen. He's handled 56% of Cowboys carries over the past three weeks.

Dowdle's passing-game usage has been erratic. He's at a 7.2% target share on the season.

Sitting 32nd among RBs in expected PPR points per game over the last three weeks, Dowdle looks like a solid RB3 or Flex play going forward.

5. Rhamondre Stevenson Maintains Backfield Lead

RB Antonio Gibson started Sunday's game vs. Miami and set season highs in snap rate and route rate.

Stevenson's playing time was a season low -- but his carry and target shares were right in line with the first four weeks of the season.

Most importantly, Stevenson did not fumble.

This backfield should be status quo going forward, with Stevenson handling about two-thirds of the rushing work and half of the passing-game work.

Negative game script remains his biggest risk factor. We'll see what QB Drake Maye means for Stevenson and the Patriots offense.

6. JuJu Smith-Schuster Does Rashee Rice Impersonation

Smith-Schuster turned back the clock on Monday night, catching seven balls for 130 yards. It was his biggest yardage tally in a game since 2018.

JuJu soaked up a lot of Rashee Rice's work. He played 45% of his snaps in the slot and registered a 6.3-yard average target depth. Rice was at a 44% slot rate and 5.2-yard average target depth this season.

The exciting thing for Smith-Schuster is that he still has room to add routes. Rice ran a route on 82% of Chiefs pass plays over the first three games of the season. Smith-Schuster was at a 77% route rate in his 78-catch season for Kansas City in 2022.

I'd expect him to be closer to that mark when the Chiefs come out of their Week 6 bye.

Smith-Schuster has a real chance to produce as a WR3 the rest of the way.

7. Tucker Kraft Is A TE1

Kraft's usage has been strong all season. It was just masked by QB Malik Willis and a run-heavy offense for a couple of weeks.

Kraft's 77% route rate for the year ranks 14th among TEs. His 14.9% target share ranks 16th.

He's certainly run hot the past two weeks, with back-to-back TE1 finishes in PPR points.

But Kraft's usage, talent, and offensive environment have him looking like a locked-in TE1 going forward.

8. Christian Kirk’s Declining Role

Kirk's 53% snap rate and 68% route rate in Week 5 were both season lows. According to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, Kirk did not play a single snap in 2-WR sets vs. the Colts.

It's just another concern for a guy who's also contending with a shaky offensive environment and the emergence of rookie WR Brian Thomas.

Kirk has still managed to have three solid fantasy outings in a row now, making him a prime sell candidate. He looks like a volatile WR3 moving forward.

9. Blake Corum Officially The Kyren Williams Handcuff

Outside of garbage time in a Week 2 loss to the Cardinals, Corum played behind Ronnie Rivers through the season's first four games.

That changed in Week 5. Rivers didn't play a single snap, while Corum handled five carries and one target. That included three high-leverage carries from inside the Packers' 10-yard line.

Corum still has no standalone fantasy value. But he's now the Rams' clear No. 2 RB, making him one of the highest-value handcuffs in fantasy football. A Kyren Williams injury would turn Corum into a top-20 RB.

10. Mike Williams’ Sneaky Encouraging Week 5

It didn't show up in the box score, but Williams was up to a season-high 81% route rate in the loss to the Vikings. He's been eased back after last year's torn ACL but figures to be close to a full-time player going forward.

Williams hasn't been drawing targets so far, sitting on a 11% target-per-route rate. I'd expect that to come up significantly. Here are Williams' target-per-route rates in the previous three seasons:

• 2021 - 21%
• 2022 - 19%
• 2023 - 23%

With the Jets offense looking for answers, more targets to Williams and fewer to Allen Lazard seems like a good start.

Williams remains an intriguing bench stash as a potential WR3 over the second half of the season.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.