Chiefs Fantasy Outlook for Week 6: Should You Start Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice and More?
The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the hottest teams in the NFL after winning four straight games. KC will look to keep things going on Thursday night when taking on the Denver Broncos.
Every fantasy knows that quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce are starters for every week they are healthy, but what about the team’s running backs and wide receivers? Let’s discuss some of the options Kansas City will play this week and determine which guys should be started, or at least considered.
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Patrick Mahomes Fantasy Outlook
While Mahomes is a quarterback you should be starting every week he is healthy and the team is playing, he hasn’t been his other-worldly self quite yet.
Mahomes has completed 123-of-184 passes for 1,287 yards to this point of the season. He’s averaged two touchdowns a game (10 in total), but also almost has one interception a contest (4 total). Mahomes is running more than he has in the past, with 154 yards gained on 23 attempts so far. He’s only been sacked four times and fumbled once, although the team recovered it.
Even though it’s been a bit of a down season by his standards so far, Mahomes has thrown for at least 200 yards and a touchdown every week. He has two or three passing touchdowns in four of the five games. He had rushed for at least 25 yards in each contest before not attempting a single rush in week 5.
As you’ll find out, this is a very favorable matchup on paper for the Kansas City offense. Denver’s defense is tied with Chicago for the worst defense in stopping opposing quarterbacks, with 22 fantasy points allowed on average. QBs are averaging about 282 yards and nearly three touchdowns.
Mahomes is the third-ranked quarterback in our week 6 projections, behind only Justin Fields and Josh Allen.
Running Back Fantasy Outlook
Isiah Pacheco has become Kansas City’s workhorse back over the past few weeks. He’s nearly 50 touches ahead of any other running back and has at least 17 touches in the past three games.
Pacheco has rushed for 325 yards and three touchdowns on 71 carries. If that wasn’t enough, Pacheco also has caught 11 passes for an additional 99 yards. Even with Mahomes and Kelce starring on offense, Pacheco has been able to consistently contribute.
Jerick McKinnon has overtaken Clyde Edwards-Helaire for the backup role. McKinnon has played 104 snaps to just 63 for Edwards-Helaire.
McKinnon has attempted just seven rushes and gone for 21 yards, but makes his biggest impact as a pass catcher, with nine catches, 71 yards and two scores to his name. He’s gotten between 3-5 touches the past four contests.
Edwards-Helaire hasn’t done much with his touches so far. He’s rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries and caught five passes for 27 yards. He’s had just seven touches the past two weeks combined.
The Broncos’ defense is the worst in the league when it comes to slowing opposing backs, allowing an average of 42 fantasy points a game. The 164 rushing yards allowed on average is the worst in the league by nearly 30 yards.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
Outside of Kelce, the Chiefs’ pass catchers remain a work in progress. Rookie wideout Rashee Rice has started to separate himself from the rest of the receivers though.
Rice has caught 17 of the 24 passes thrown his way for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He’s been targeted seven times in the red zone, which only trails Kelce’s mark by two. Rice should keep seeing more and more playing time as the season rolls along.
Kadarius Toney has been targeted the second most among receivers, but has only 14 catches on 19 targets. Toney has 83 receiving yards and no scores. He played his most snaps (25) in a game last week, but that still was less than 40% of the team’s total.
Skyy Moore has nine grabs on 17 targets this season, but has just two targets in each of the past two weeks. He’s gone for 123 yards and a touchdown. He’s played the second-most snaps among the team’s receivers.
Justin Watson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling also have double-digit targets, with 16 and 11, respectively.
Watson has 219 yards on his 10 grabs, which makes him seem like a boom-or-bust player. Diving into the numbers further though shows Watson at 45 or more yards in four of the team’s five games. He’s caught a pass in every game, but no touchdowns yet.
Valdes-Scantling is another deep threat, with seven catches and 116 yards to his name. He’s been inconsistent and had three games under 20 receiving yards, and also hasn’t caught a touchdown.
Travis Kelce Fantasy Outlook
Let’s finally talk about Kelce in depth. He’s questionable for the contest with an ankle injury. After coming back into last week’s contest, I’d expect Kelce to give it a go.
Even after missing a game and missing part of last week, Kelce leads the team with 37 targets. He’s also the leader in catches (27), yards (222) and touchdowns (3).
His connection with Mahomes is simply one of the best in the game, and the quarterback is going to look his way early and often if he’s on the field.
Shocker here, I know, but Denver’s defense also struggles against opposing tight ends, with an average of 15 fantasy points allowed per contest.
Kelce is second in the weekly projections behind only Mark Andrews, although I’m sure that’d be different if Kelce were healthy. If Kelce plays and Denver can stay in the game most of the way, Kelce could have one of the higher fantasy point totals of any player this week.
Kicker and Defense Outlook
Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker is the highest-ranked kicker in our weekly projections. He’s been his usual dominant self with 10 field goals made in as many attempts. He’s also a perfect 14-of-14 on extra points.
The only thing you really have to worry about this week is Kansas City’s offense finishing every drive off with a touchdown, leaving only extra points for Butker.
The Chiefs’ defense has been pretty strong so far this season and it’s reflected in our rankings, which have them third.
I’m not sure I’d have them that high. The Broncos’ offense hasn’t been their problem so far. With a veteran like Russell Wilson at quarterback, that makes it more likely that the Broncos can at least hang in the game and score a decent amount of points. Wilson hasn’t turned the ball over a bunch, so Kansas City might get many takeaway points.
Who to Start in Week 6
There sure are a lot of really enticing matchups for the Chiefs against the Broncos’ defense.
Mahomes and Kelce are no-brainer starts every week and have really favorable matchups this week. Even if Kelce doesn’t end up playing, or is on a snap count restriction, I think Mahomes is going to torch the Broncos’ defense.
Pacheco has kind of quietly become one of the league’s better fantasy backs, and with another favorable matchup on the horizon, I’d start him in a heartbeat. I think Edwards-Helaire and McKinnon will both play and turn in some respectable plays, but probably only be starter quality in deeper leagues.
As for the receivers, that’s where there’s actually some legit questions. I like Rice the best of the bunch, but wouldn’t automatically start him. If you’ve got receivers that have been more consistent so far and also have favorable matchups, then I’d say sit Rice. All of the other receivers I’d pass on in typical redraft leagues.
In deeper leagues, all of the Chiefs’ receivers we discussed are decent plays. The production will probably be spread pretty evenly amongst them, but if I had to choose a favorite, I’d go with Watson after Rice.
Butker is the top-ranked kicker for a reason. I wouldn’t drop him if you are actually seriously worried about him not getting any field goal attempts. If he doesn’t get many field goal looks, he should make five or six extra points to at least give you some points.
The Chiefs’ defense I would actually probably stay away from, despite what our rankings say. Denver has kept most games pretty close and that’s because of their offense. Kansas City has a good defense, but I give the advantage to an offense on Thursday nights, and think you should look elsewhere for your defense.
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