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Injuries have ravaged the running backs position for a second straight week, allowing several backups to find feature roles. The super-charged ‘handcuff’ Kareem Hunt leads the pack, who is a viable play every week without injury, and now becomes the top play on the slate at $6200. My attitude with Hunt is similar to Mattison last week. He’s a game script proof option in an elite environment. There’s no path to a comfortable fade.

It is going to be extra imperative to find structural ways to reduce your ownership this week with so much consolidation around the top games. Chiefs-Football Team and Ravens-Chargers are the clear-cut top games and injuries in both leave very few paths to differentiation within your stacks. Especially when playing those lineups, you need to implement structural leverage points to stay unique.

Brandin Cooks continues to occupy the top spot in the paying up section. Despite his season-low output in Air Yards last week, and his first instance of not leading the Texans in Air Yards on the week, Cooks remains a focal point of the offense. Squaring off against a Colts secondary that just got toasted by the similarly statured Marquise Brown, look for Cooks to bounce back big. He remains a preferred play in all formats.

Henry Ruggs is quietly progressing in his second season. He averages 11.7 (No. 42) Fantasy Points Per Game and has been efficient on his opportunities, posting a +8.5 (No. 46) Production Premium. He remains the Raiders’ field-stretcher, evidenced by his 18.3 (No. 3) Average Target Distance. Ruggs is THE preferred contrarian play this week in the hopes that he can get behind the Broncos secondary like he did in Week 2, where he finished as the WR9 on the week.

The High Value Touch DFS Index is here to help you find the best plays for the dollar in DFS. This is done by looking at leaders in Carries Inside The 10-Yard Line Per Game and Targets Inside The 10-Yard Line Per Game and comparing their prices on DraftKings and FanDuel to create a rating. We look at these touches close to the end zone because touchdowns lead to fantasy points, and fantasy points lead to cashing our lineups in DFS!

D’Andre Swift and Darrel Williams are my two favorite running backs to use in cash games this week due to their usage inside the 10-yard line along with their floor created by being targeted frequently. Aaron Jones, Ezekiel Elliott, and Devontae Booker are running backs I would include in my player pool when setting tournament lineups for Week 6. 

Through five weeks, Mark Andrews is seeing a 74.6-percent (No. 15 among qualified tight ends) Snap Share; an improvement from 2020. The fourth year TE owns a 24.5-percent (No. 3) Target Share, trailing only George Kittle and Darren Waller. Andrews leads the position with 400 receiving yards, churning out a healthy 13.8 (No. 4) yards per reception. The biggest TE gainer on the dynasty rankings, Andrews gains 17.22 Lifetime Value points to rise two spots to TE6.

Hopes were high for the Jets’ second round pick throughout the offseason. To this point in the season, Elijah Moore has failed to meet expectations. Playing four games, Moore has hauled in eight of 20 targets for 66 yards (No. 114). He has averaged 66.1-percent of snaps (No. 65). Moore drops five spots to WR40, this could be a good time to take advantage the value dip. After all, the rookie does have 206 Unrealized Air Yards (No. 20).

This new season-long mini-series is brought to you by the RotoUnderworld Game Analyst Team. The Game Analyst Team consists of over 75 individuals that chart and re-watch every snap from every game in the NFL between game end, and Monday afternoon. The guys you have generally not heard from before stop in to drop some tidbits from their weekly game charting process in hopes to give us a sneak peek into the depth of the games each Sunday.

Through five weeks, it is all but clear in the NFC who the top dog is, The Arizona Cardinals beat the Rams in Week 4 and the Rams beat Tampa in Week 3. The Cowboys are 4-1 with one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, and we haven’t even talked about Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay or the two most underrated defenses in the NFL in Minnesota and Carolina.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter today with one of the best overall teams in the NFL. Tom Brady is playing like he’s 25, Leonard Fournette has unlocked bell-cow mode, and all three starting receivers are in the top 16 in Fantasy Points Per Game. The Bucs have a tough matchup on a short week, but look to stay firing on all cylinders.

The Philadelphia Eagles come in with a struggling, but talented, offense and a firewall of a defense. Jalen Hurts has been electric for fantasy, accurately spreading the ball around and staying effective on the ground. Rookie Devonta Smith, his number one target, is primed for his biggest game of the season against washed veteran Richard Sherman.

What is Chris Ballard’s plan?

Was Jon Gruden holding Derek Carr and Las Vegas back? Unlike Jamal Adams, Stefon Diggs was actually worth a first round pick.

Darrell Henderson is seeing all of the fantasy-relevant backfield touches in LA, and has a mouth watering schedule going forward. Tee Higgins doesn’t see the same elite level of Opportunity Share, but is an alpha receiver who is the secondary target on a team increasing in pace by the week.

DeVante Parker is soaking up opportunity and dominating production in Miami’s receiver room. Miami is throwing the ball at a high rate, getting Tua Tagovailoa soon, and hitting their softest stretch of schedule.

Justin Fields averaged 9.4 (No. 5 among qualified quarterbacks) Air Yards Per Attempt prior to Week 5 and has looked a bit better each week. He hasn’t been running the ball as much as expected, but that will come given his speed. The Packers will be without Jaire Alexander, and replacement corner Kevin King ranks outside the top 100 among CBs for yards per receptions allowed and Passer Rating allowed. Fields has been airing the ball downfield in his first few starts, so expect him to connect on a couple of those against a Packers secondary that is a little more breakable without Alexander.

Cleveland’s defense has been stingy against the run, with Austin Ekeler’s 66 rush yards being the most an RB has gotten against the Browns so far this season. Cleveland’s opponents often go pass-heavy, a game plan that favors Arizona’s receivers and Chase Edmonds more than James Conner. With 5 TDs this season, Conner has been the goal-line back for the Cardinals. However, he only has 4 total receptions and averaged 3.2 (No. 58) True Yards Per Carry prior to Week 5, before gaining just 2.9 yards per tote. Conner won’t see a good matchup for his skillset this week in Cleveland.

Devontae Booker should draw a few starts while Saquon Barkley deals with an ankle injury. Booker filled in well this past week when Barkley left the game, finishing with 58 yards rushing and a TD. Expect high-volume touches for as long as Barkley is out. He certainly meets the criteria if you are a “pay for touches” type with your FAAB bidding.  

David Njoku is coming off an incredible seven-catch, 149-yard and a TD performance in Cleveland’s shootout loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Njoku saw 10 targets. This game is most likely a one-off, but he should be added this week on the chance that he sees increased usage based on production.