One-Hit Wonders or Here to Stay? Analyzing Week 6 Breakout Players: Najee Harris, Demario Douglas, Evan Engram, Drake Maye and More

Week 6 is in the books, so now we can look back at the fantasy performances and make some judgments for what’s to come.

This series identifies fantasy standouts from the previous week of play and then determines if they are here to stay or just a one-hit wonder. Here’s last week’s story.

Also be sure to check out the panic meter series.

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Running Backs

Najee Harris and Tony Pollard are the top running backs I want to discuss after week 6.

Harris rushed 14 times for 106 yards and a touchdown this week, while adding 16 receiving yards on two catches and targets.

Harris got a similar amount of touches as he’s been getting, but was far more efficient than he’s been in any game this season. He also scored for the first time.

A lot of people want to say Harris is finally breaking out, but I’d say not so fast. Jaylen Warren has been banged up all season, and hasn’t eaten into Harris’ workload much yet. Both backs played in week 6, and while Warren went for just 18 yards on nine touches, he only played six less snaps than Harris (31-25). 

I’d say this fantasy performance was more of a one-week wonder, and I’d actually prefer to trade Harris while his value is high. I think Warren will start taking away some work from Harris, and this will turn into more of a committee, as it’s been for a couple seasons.

Pollard had 93 rushing yards and a touchdown across 17 attempts. He had three catches on as many targets, but lost five yards on those grabs.

It was the fourth time in five games that Pollard has topped 85 total yards, and he’s scored three times total now. Tyjae Spears had been viewed as someone who could take work away from Pollard, but Spears is now dealing with an injury. 

Considering both of those things, I’d say Pollard is here to stay, and worthy of starting spots in all league types, at least until Spears returns. 

Wide Receivers

Demario Douglas and Romeo Doubs are the wideouts we’ll discuss this week.

Douglas had 92 yards and a touchdown on six catches and nine targets. He had the same amount of receptions and targets in week 5, when he went for 59 yards. Douglas now has over 50 yards and six catches in three of the past four games.

Everyone was wondering how the Patriots’ offense would look with Drake Maye at quarterback, and it appears to be a positive thing early for the pass catchers, led by Douglas.

Seeing his recent games, I’m a believer in Douglas and think he’s here to stay. He’s got some tougher matchups coming up, but he’s definitely in the flex starting option debate now.

Doubs was suspended for week 5, but got back on the field in week 6 and immediately had his best game of the year. He went for 49 yards and two touchdowns on three catches and four targets. 

He’s got 35 or more yards in four of five games, but now has his first two touchdowns. Doubs has three or more catches in four of the five games as well.

Green Bay has a lot of offensive playmakers, so I can’t safely say he’s here to stay after his big week 6 showing. I think Doubs will remain involved each week, but I wouldn’t expect him to score twice a game, or even once a lot of times.

It’s somewhere in between for Doubs on whether he’s here to stay or not. He’s a player to roster after his breakout game, for sure. He’s on the start/sit line, and probably will be in start/sit stories with Douglas and other semi-productive wideouts, running backs and tight ends.

Tight Ends

Evan Engram and Zach Ertz are the two tight ends I’m going to talk about this week. 

Engram returned from a multi-week absence and caught all 10 of his targets for 102 yards. He had five yards on a catch and four targets in week 1 before getting hurt while warming up before week 2.

The Jaguars are a mess right now, and they’ve been playing from behind a bunch. That makes any of their pass catchers solid fantasy options, but because of inconsistent play from quarterback Trevor Lawrence, none of them are fantasy players you can confidently start every week.

Engram is part of a weak fantasy position, and for that reason, many people are hoping his week 6 performance is something that can be replicated going forward. I wouldn’t expect that many catches or yards most weeks, but I do believe Engram is a weekly fantasy starter in all formats for the time being. 

Scoop him up if he’s somehow available in your fantasy league, and hope he can provide you 5-7 catches and 40-60 yards and an occasional touchdown. That’d be high-end fantasy PPR production from a TE this season.

Ertz had 68 yards on four catches and five targets in week 6. It was his second time over 60 yards on the season, but his third time at five or more targets.

Again, we’re talking about the weak fantasy TE spot here. So while Ertz’s week 6 performance doesn’t look all that great, he finished 11th in PPR scoring this week.

Ertz has 13 targets over the past two games, and I’d put more value in that number than the ones he actually produced in week 5 (two catches for 10 yards). I think Ertz is here to stay as a fantasy option. The Washington offense is better than we expected because of the play of rookie Jayden Daniels, and because the team is trailing often still, a pass catcher like Ertz should be involved weekly and a decent fantasy starter as a result.

Quarterbacks

Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are the QBs we’ll discuss this week.

Williams completed 23 of his 29 passes for 226 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in week 6. He added 56 rushing yards on four attempts.

Williams has all nine of his touchdown passes in the past four games, and has been a good rushing threat the past couple games too. A lot of the big games have come against poor competition though.

There’s some promising things that Williams has shown, but I’m not quite ready to say he’s here to stay as an above-average fantasy performer. Until he delivers against a top-end defense, he’s just a streaming option against weaker opponents. He’s got a mix of favorable and tough matchups going forward.

Maye had 243 passing yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-33 passing in his first NFL start, but also threw two picks. He added 38 rushing yards on five carries to offset the picks a bit.

That was a pretty average matchup for Maye, and he’s got a rough schedule ahead. I liked some of the things I saw from Maye in his first start, but like in the case with Williams, I’m not ready to declare that Maye is here to stay.

He’s another weekly streaming option in the right matchups until he proves he can deliver against the top defenses a couple times.