Week 6 Flex Rankings: To Chase or Not to Chase

Chase Claypool scored four touchdowns in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory against Philadelphia on Sunday. In doing so, he became the fourth rookie wideout (and first since 1979) to accomplish the feat. That type of performance will definitely have an impact on my Week 6 Flex rankings. Admittedly, Claypool’s place is much higher than it was last week. However, his outstanding game notwithstanding, my ranking of Claypool has as much to do with the status of Diontae Johnson as it does with the rookie’s historic effort last week.

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Claypool saw the field for 33 percent of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps over the first two weeks of the season. He was on the short side of splitting the Steelers’ third receiver spot with James Washington. During those two games, Washington played 53 percent of the team’s snaps, while mainstays Juju Smith-Schuster and Johnson were in on 88 and 84 percent of snaps, respectively.

Johnson suffered a concussion early in Week 3, and not coincidentally, both Claypool and Washington saw an uptick in their involvement, with Claypool seeing more snaps but Washington on the receiving end of more targets. Johnson also had an early exit in Week 5, as he left with a back injury. Once again, Washington and Claypool had a significant increase in playing time. Though Washington was on the field for an extra snap, clearly Claypool enjoyed the far bigger day.

Overall, Johnson has been in on just 16 percent of snaps over Pittsburgh’s last two games. Therefore, I do not know how much stock we can put in Claypool’s 73 percent snap rate during that stretch. The same goes for Washington and his 66 percent rate. It is certainly possible that Claypool has overtaken Washington as the team’s third receiver spot, but I still expect them to split reps to a degree.

The good news for fantasy managers who have rostered Claypool (and Washington for that matter) is that Johnson has yet to practice this week due to his back issue. If Johnson remains sidelined, Claypool would likely settle in as a WR3 while Washington would be worth considering in the Flex spot.

WTF? (Who’s Travis Fulgham?)

Last weekend, I was scouring the wire in one of my leagues for receivers. I had Julio Jones and Allen Lazard out, Marvin Jones on a bye, and I did not trust that John Brown would play due to a combination of Covid and his calf injury. I saw Greg Ward on the wire and added him confidently. After all, I thought, the Eagles were without their top three wide receivers plus Dallas Goedert. Who else were they possibly going to throw to? Well, I and the rest of the world found out the answer to that question in short order.

Travis Fulgham caught 10 of 13 targets for 152 yards and a score in Philadelphia’s loss to the Steelers. To say this performance came out of nowhere would be an understatement. Before Week 4, he had never caught a pass in the NFL. He played three games with the Lions last year but made little impact. In fact, he did not even see a target in any of those three games.

Detroit cut ties with their sixth-round pick in September of last year. Fulgham bounced around a bit before ending up on Philadelphia’s practice squad. With all of the injuries to the Eagles receiving corps, he was promoted to the active roster before Week 4. He turned a 60 percent snap rate and three targets into a 2-57-1 line in that game before last week’s explosion. WTF indeed.

I do not expect Fulgham to be a long-term contributor throughout the season for the Eagles. Once the health of their receivers improves, Fulgham will probably fade into obscurity. He may even wind up back on the practice squad before long. However, as is reflected in my Week 6 Flex rankings, he is very much in the Flex conversation. The matchup against Baltimore is not ideal, but he could be in line for plenty of work if Alshon Jeffery and/or DeSean Jackson cannot suit for this week’s contest.

Jets Set Bell Free

Well, it sure has been an interesting week, with most of the drama occurring off the field. One player who will not be featured in my Week 6 Flex rankings is Le’Veon Bell. The New York Jets waived the running back Tuesday night after they could not find a trade partner. I have Bell on multiple teams and am going to hold onto him wherever possible.

There have been plenty of running back injuries already this season, so I would not expect Bell to sit on the sidelines too long before finding a new home. Having said that, he will likely experience a slight hit to his fantasy value. Bell averaged 19.6 touches in his Jets tenure. That number will likely shrink regardless of where he ends up, but he should be a decent Flex option once he signs elsewhere.

As for what is left in the Jets backfield, it ain’t pretty. Frank Gore is 37 years old and has exactly one play of 20-plus yards in his last 16 games. That is a stretch spanning 180 touches. If you are in desperate need of five points out of your Flex, you can grab Gore in the 44 percent of leagues in which he is available. I would rather speculate on fourth-round pick Lamical Perine.

I would not get carried away using a priority waiver claim or a significant amount of FAAB. But the Jets need to plan for the future, assuming they know how to do that, of course. That future likely does not include Gore. Josh Adams and Ty Johnson could also be in the mix, but this is largely a situation to avoid altogether.

Week 6 Flex Rankings

If you enjoyed Mick’s Week 6 Flex Rankings, make sure to check our full slate of Week 6 Fantasy Football Analysis.

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