Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 6 Sunday Games: Rico Dowdle, Kimani Vidal and More

Another NFL Sunday of action is in the books. Let's take a look at some fantasy football takeaways from the sixth Sunday of the season.

Check back later for an IDP roundup from the day. Here is the takeaway/IDP story from Thursday's game.

Check out fantasy football waiver wire targets all season on FantasySP.

Dowdle does it Again

Going into the Monday night games, it's Carolina's Rico Dowdle who leads all fantasy players in week 6.

He had 34 touches in the team's win over the Cowboys. Dowdle rushed 30 times for 183 yards and caught four of his five targets for 56 yards and a score.

Dowdle has starred with Chuba Hubbard out the last two weeks, and now some are wondering if Dowdle is going to ever give the lead role up. Hubbard has been good over the years, but Dowdle's emergence shows why most teams aren't willing to hand their top backs big and long contracts.

Dowdle needs to be added in all fantasy leagues, at least until we get an answer on who the lead back in Carolina will be. Hubbard will probably start being dropped in some fantasy leagues, especially if there isn't an IR spot you can throw him in.

Dowdle has turned a locked-down fantasy backfield situation into a big question mark after just two weeks. We'll see if the team decides to part ways with one of the backs, or if either or both of them can remain fantasy relevant when both are healthy.

Vidal is Lead Charger Back

With Najee Harris suffering a season-ending injury and then Omarion Hampton going on injured reserve too, the Chargers' backfield was up for grabs. Many expected Hassan Haskins to lead the way, but it was Kimani Vidal who powered LA's backfield.

Vidal rushed 18 times for 124 yards, while catching three of his four targets for 14 yards and a touchdown. He played 43 offensive snaps, which was 67% of the team's total.

Haskins was on the field for 20 snaps, which was just 31% of the team's total. He rushed six times for 14 yards and caught his lone target for nine yards.

Haskins was picked up in most leagues before the team's week 6 game kicked off, while Vidal was added in most deeper leagues. Things should flip going into week 7.

So Haskins can be dropped in standard leagues, and maybe just stashed in deeper leagues, because he's not a very good starting option on his week 6 numbers. Vidal should be added in all leagues, and immediately can be started in them all as well.

Hampton will be out several more weeks, so this backfield could change hands a time or two, but for now, Vidal is the Charger back you want to own.

Maye Continues to Shine

Drake Maye and the Patriots continued their surge with a win over the Saints on Sunday.

Maye was 18-of-26 passing for 261 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He rushed nine times for 28 yards as well.

Maye now has 1,522 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions through six games this season. He's completed 73.2% of his passes. Maye has rushed for 138 yards and two scores on 36 attempts, which adds even more fantasy value to his name.

Most expected Maye to take a step forward this season, but he's probably outperformed most people's expectations. He has at least 200 passing yards in every game, with 250 or more yards in all but two contests. Maye has multiple TD passes in four of the six contests so far.

He's added a bit on the ground too, so he's been a very good fantasy option. Maye is QB6 on a per-week basis so far, so he's a locked-in fantasy starter until further notice.

I'd be more inclined to want to add Maye than sell him high. I see him continuing his strong start to the season, so I'd want him on my team, instead of ditching him for a nice return. The only way I'd consider moving Maye is if I got one of the top-end fantasy QBs in return, so Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, etc.

Maye will be the main fantasy QB for a lot of fantasy playoff teams at this rate.

Mayer Emerges with Bowers Out

Michael Mayer stepped up with Brock Bowers missing another game due to injury.

Mayer caught five of his seven targets for 50 yards and a touchdown to help the Raiders past the Titans on Sunday.

It was Mayer's first big fantasy shwing of the season, so it kind of came out of nowhere. He ended up playing 92% of the team's offensive snaps.

The status of Bowers will determine if Mayer is worth future fantasy starts, but Mayer is at least worth adding in some deeper leagues for now. Tight end is a weak fantasy position again, so until he loses the main role, Mayer is worth adding and utilizing.