Fantasy football highs and lows from NFL Week 6: Joe Mixon, Mark Andrews dominant

Week 6 of the fantasy football season featured several big performances around the NFL, from Joe Mixon's big workload to tight end Mark Andrews' second big week in a row to rookie Jaylen Waddle's career-high 29.0 PPR points. What does it all mean? Matt Bowen and Eric Moody offer their analysis.

Joe Mixon's versatility solidifies RB1 status: Many thought the Cincinnati Bengals would go after the Detroit Lions through the air with Joe Burrow and his receivers. Instead, Cincinnati relied heavily on Joe Mixon as a runner and a pass-catcher out of the backfield. This marked the third game he has had more than 20 opportunities (rushing attempts plus targets) this season, and with how Mixon and the Bengals' offensive line have performed, this trend should continue. Cincinnati ranked seventh in run block win rate heading into the week. Mixon and the Bengals have a very favorable schedule coming up with games against the Ravens, Jets, and Browns before their bye week, and Mixon is on everyone's RB1 list now. -- Moody

Mark Andrews shines for second week in a row: Lamar Jackson has thrown 25 touchdown passes to tight ends since 2019, the most by any quarterback in that span. Meanwhile, tight end Mark Andrews continues to destroy defenses in the middle of the field. He's averaged 6.3 targets, 4.7 receptions and 62.7 receiving yards per game since 2019. Jackson's progression as a passer should keep this trend going for the rest of the season. With Andrews' upcoming schedule, and his relationship with Jackson, Andrews is well positioned to move up the tight end rankings, especially considering Darren Waller's regression and George Kittle's placement on IR. -- Moody

I agree on this, Eric. And the Ravens' passing offense is much more heavily schemed this season under coordinator Greg Roman. That's creating more coverage voids and matchups for Jackson to target Andrews, who has at least five receptions a game over the past five weeks. -- Bowen

Herbert has rare off day against Ravens' defense: I thought Justin Herbert had some of the best tape of anyone at the quarterback position through the first five weeks of the season. Seeing it fast and driving the ball from the pocket. But after posting a season-high 42.82 points in the shootout win against the Browns in Week 5, Herbert (and the Chargers' offense) couldn't find any rhythm on Sunday in the loss to Baltimore. The second-year quarterback completed a season-low 56.4% of his passes in this one, and Los Angeles simply couldn't generate enough explosive plays through the air. After a Week 7 bye, Herbert gets coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots' defense in Week 8. Expect a lot of late movement, disguise and man-coverage from New England in that one. Herbert will be a lower-tier QB1 for me in that matchup. -- Bowen

Quick Hitters

Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: With only 8.6 PPR points in the Thursday night loss to the Buccaneers, Sanders has now failed to top the 10-point mark in four of his past five games. Sure, the matchup wasn't great against the Tampa Bay run front. However, I do have real concerns about the lack of run-game touches for Sanders and the offensive structure this season in Philadelphia. In a heavy shotgun system, one that leans on college run-pass option plays, Sanders has been limited to 29 carries over the past four weeks. Plus, with quarterback Jalen Hurts seeing carries inside the low red zone on designed rushes, Sanders' floor drops even more for an Eagles team that isn't running the ball with volume or efficiency. With a Week 7 matchup against the Raiders, Sanders will remain a Flex play in deeper leagues. -- Bowen

Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: At this point, let's lock-in Chase as a WR2 moving forward. The rookie out of LSU has scored 13 or more PPR points in all six games this season, and he's found the end zone in four of those games. Plus, with the vertical element he brings to the Bengals' pass game -- along with his ability to track the ball down the field -- Chase gives you some real upside as an explosive play target. And we saw that again in the Week 6 win against the Lions. Chase gets a matchup with the Ravens in Week 7. -- Bowen

Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins: The rookie posted a career-high 29.0 PPR points in the Dolphins' loss to the Jaguars in London. And with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back in the lineup, Waddle was a high-volume target on quicks/unders, which included two red-zone scores. You would like to see more big-play schemes here to get Waddle loose on inside verticals, but Miami did deploy the rookie out of a backfield alignment on his second touchdown grab. He has those motion/movement traits to see touches from a variety of alignments. The volume could take a dip here next week if receiver DeVante Parker is back in the lineup, but I still think Waddle has WR3 value in a good matchup versus the Falcons' defense in Week 7. -- Bowen

Khalil Herbert, RB, Chicago Bears: The undrafted rookie totaled 19.2 PPR points in the loss to the Packers, and he's showing us he can be a volume ball carrier in the Bears' run-heavy offense. For the second straight week, Herbert posted at least 17 carries. He's a decisive runner, too, with the downhill juice to find the second level in Chicago's zone schemes. With David Montgomery still weeks away from returning (knee), I expect Herbert to maintain a high level of carries, even when Damien Williams is active. He will be a lower-tier RB2/Flex in a tough matchup versus the Bucs' defensive front in Week 7. -- Bowen

Darrel Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs: Before Clyde Edwards-Helaire was injured last week, he averaged 16.8 opportunities and 85.3 total yards per game from Weeks 1 to 4. Williams took over Edwards-Helaire's workload against Washington, finishing with 23.9 fantasy points and a pair of touchdowns, even while splitting touches with Jerick McKinnon. More importantly, Williams was Kansas City's go-to back on critical downs. He has a favorable matchup against a mediocre Titans' defense in Week 7 and is a top-20 running back for as long as Edwards-Helaire is out of the lineup. -- Moody

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts: That's three straight games with 20-plus PPR points for Taylor, and the second straight week where he has shown us that explosive-play ability. Taylor, who had a 76 yard touchdown reception in Week 5, ripped off an 83-yard run in Sunday's win over Houston. He will get a much tougher matchup in Week 7 versus the 49ers. I like Taylor as backend RB1 there. -- Bowen

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars: I see an ascending player here in Lawrence. The rookie threw for 319 yards in the Week 6 win over the Dolphins. And he has now posted three straight games with at least 15 fantasy points. After the Week 7 bye, Lawrence and the Jaguars get a Seahawks defense in Week 8 that has really lacked coverage discipline this season. I'll take the rookie's high-level throwing and movement traits there as a low-end QB1 in 12 team leagues. -- Bowen