The Houston Texans are set to take on the New England Patriots this Sunday at 1:00 pm Eastern. Unfortunately for the Texans, their No. 1 wide receiver Nico Collins will be sidelined with a hamstring injury, as he landed on injured reserve this week. This leaves slot receiver Stefon Diggs to step up as the de facto No. 1 receiver, with Tank Dell moving into the No. 2 role and Xavier Hutchinson as the No. 3 option.
Former No. 4 wide receiver Robert Woods is also dealing with a foot injury, which caused him to play behind Hutchinson in the Texans’ Week 5 win over the Buffalo Bills. Woods only saw 16 offensive snaps compared to Hutchinson’s 48, according to PFF.
Tank Dell, who has had a slow start to the season, remains an affordable and smart buy-low player for fantasy football managers. Meanwhile, Hutchinson is a rookie sixth-round pick from the 2023 draft, who brings size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) to the Texans’ wide receiver group.
The New England Patriots have been allowing the 13th-most expected points added (EPA) per play (0.233) to opposing wide receivers. Their secondary will be without one starting safety and possibly both this week, which could open up opportunities for the Texans’ passing game.
Tight end Dalton Schultz could also be a viable option for fantasy football players in Week 6, as the Patriots have been giving up the fourth-most EPA per play to opposing tight ends (0.473).
In another Week 6 matchup, the Cincinnati Bengals will face the New York Giants on Sunday night at 8:20 pm Eastern. Bengals running back Zack Moss suffered a foot injury in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens, while running back Chase Brown appeared on the injury report with a quad issue.
It remains unclear whether Brown’s injury is a strain or a contusion, but it seems unlikely to keep him out for Week 6. Moss, who was able to return to the game last week, saw Brown overtaking him as the top running back for the Bengals.
In the past two weeks, Moss logged 85 offensive snaps, 24 rushing attempts, 45 receiving snaps, eight targets, 13 red zone snaps, and 11 green zone snaps. On the other hand, Brown had 49 offensive snaps, 27 rushing attempts, 21 receiving snaps, six targets, 11 red zone snaps, and five green zone snaps during the same span.
Brown has shown his ability to break tackles with 3.7 yards after contact per rushing attempt and has four explosive run plays with a 4.7 yards per rushing attempt average. Moss, however, averages 1.8 yards after contact, 3.1 yards per rushing attempt, and only has two explosive run plays to his name.
