Volume is the lifeblood of fantasy football success. The Workload Report was created to help visualize the crucial snaps, targets, touches, air yards, and other advanced usage metrics that matter.
The Workload Report is broken into three distinct sections: opportunity, production, and results. The ultimate goal is to dive in and discover where these coveted fantasy points are coming from in Week 6 for every team.
Each week, we’ll highlight several categories, such as snaps, targets, volume, and air yards. Then, dive into which players showed up and why. At the bottom, I’ll give a few positional charts comparing underlying stats to current fantasy rankings to help uncover the best players to buy-lows and sell-high at each position.
In addition to the screenshots below, check out the full version of The Workload Report to dig into all the data yourself.
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DOWNLOAD: THE WORKLOAD REPORT – WEEK 6
(Sort by Team, How to Use, Team Totals)
WEEK 6 FANTASY ALL-STARS
Dedicated to the players who break 25 PPR points each week
Out-of-Body Experience: These performances are true outlier games, typically involving 3-4 touchdowns, double-digit receptions, 200 rushing/receiving yards, or combinations of all three. Raheem Mostert was your “had to have it” guy of the week.
Just Another Week in the Life: These players had awesome performances this week. However, their scoring output wasn’t really that crazy relative to the rest of their season’s performances. Tyreek Hill and Adam Thielen both had 28+ points and should have more in the future.
Seems like an Outlier: This type of performance doesn’t happen that often, but when you look at the box score, it just doesn’t make much sense. In Week 6, we have two guys here who are coming off of injury, so while it looks like an outlier in the “Delta” column, there’s sure to be plenty more where this is coming for Amon-Ra St. Brown and Cooper Kupp.
SAVED BY THE ENDZONE
These players may have a high fantasy score, but most was due to TD “luck.”
Random Tight End of the Week: It seems like every single week, there are a handful of tight ends who show up in the box score for one catch, a few yards, and a TD. Putting too much weight into these performances is hard, so be weary if targeting them on the waiver wire. This week, Quentin Morris and Brenton Strange fit this description.
Don’t Fall in Love with the TDs: These players might have had a “get right” week in the fantasy football world. Generally speaking, they are good players that we want more production from. However, purely TDs only is not the production we want. Don’t yet chase the steam on Kadarius Toney, Antonio Gibson, or Robert Woods.
A TOUCHDOWN AWAY FROM BREAKING THE SLATE
Had any of these guys hit paydirt, we may have been hearing a lot more about them this week.
On the Edge of Glory: These players had significant usage and production this week. However, they couldn’t get into the box for six more points. We should feel confident that they had a good performance without the TDs, because each of them has an underlying stat or two that makes us excited. Travis Kelce (target share, aDOT, WOPR all increasing off the injury), AJ Brown (41% Air Yard Share), Stefon Diggs (low 0.65 RACR this week), Michael Pittman (RACR on the rise), and Alvin Kamara (23 receptions in last three weeks) make the list in Week 6.
May Have Peaked: All things considered, these players had great performances this week, even without scoring a TD. However, some of their underlying metrics are more concerning and should highlight that this performance may not indicate future success. Drake London (high 0.95 RACR this week), Kendrick Bourne (low Air Yard share and 4.05 RACR is an outlier), and Garrett Wilson (absolutely elite target, air yard, and WOPR, but RACR needed to be high this week to even make list) fit this category.
DOMINATING THE DOMINATOR RATING
(Rec. Yds + Rush Yds)/(Team Rec. Yds + Team Rush Yds) + TD Share + Air Yd Share (WR/TEs) > 40%
Skewed by TDs: Dominator Rating is a metric that measures your overall team share in rushing, receiving, and TDs scored. In weeks where a team only scores one touchdown, that player will have a 100% TD share, which will skew the DOM number a little bit. Jordan Addison (receiving share and RACR both went down without Justin Jefferson), Kareem Hunt (not on the field enough), Rashid Shaheed (aDOT almost too high at 23.7), and Courtland Sutton (big jump up in receiving share from 19% to 48%) all have some underlying stats that don’t fully support their “dominant” rating.
Taking the Bull by the Horns: These players busted onto the scene this week and fully overtook their respective backfield/receiving room. If this production continues, they should be a constant on the list each week. Zay Flowers (RACR ticking up), Cooper Kupp (elite everything), Jakobi Meyers (30%+ Air Yard and 11+ aDOT), Breece Hall (rushing share down, but receiving share way up), and Derrick Henry (75% rush share) fit this build.
Consistently Dominant: This is by far the category that should get you the most excited. These guys fall into two different subcategories: either they didn’t see much change to their rushing/receiving share and finally scored some TDs, or they didn’t see much change to their DOM rating, and it’s still elite. Adam Thielen (40%+ receiving share and awesome WOPR), Kyren Williams (88% rush share, now injured), and Kenneth Walker (70%+ rushing share) really stand out this week.
AIR YARDS= FUTURE PRODUCTION
Who saw Air Yards > 35%, but fantasy share < 20% this week?
This is arguably the most impactful section each week, and I try to spend the most time parsing through the numbers. There are three different buckets that we can separate these players into:
Ready to Explode: In this bucket, I want to look for players who have seen a solid WOPR to start the year, but whose RACR has not been efficient. If the opportunity share holds, the efficiency should bubble up and create a big week. Marquise Brown, DeVonta Smith, DK Metcalf, Christian Kirk, and Sam LaPorta fit this category.
Need More Volume: These guys see a prominent Air Yard Share, and their RACR is relatively high. However, their number of Air Yards is lower relative to other players. In other words, if more volume comes, more big games should be in store for Calvin Ridley, Mark Andrews, Chig Okonkwo, and Jaylen Waddle.
Potentially Smoke & Mirrors: All of these guys have some sort of red flag. Either their WOPR isn’t very high, meaning they have just seen a couple of long bombs (“Prayer Yards), or they’ve never really consistently shown signs of an efficient RACR in the past, so there’s no sense trying to hold out hope this year. Darius Slayton, DeAndre Hopkins (want his RACR to be more consistent), and Trey Palmer headline the more cautious part of this list.
RECEIVING ALPHA DOGS
Anything above a 0.8 WOPR is considered ‘ELITE‘
With six games under our belt, we can start to make some headway in this category. For Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR), we want to compare this to Receiving Air Conversion Rate (RACR) to parse how well players perform from an efficiency standpoint.
One-Week Wonders: These players posted an above-normal WOPR this week and have some underlying stats that could give us pause when assuming they will continue with this role for the rest of the season. Terry McLaurin (20% receiving share prior) and DJ Moore (RACR came crashing down) fit the mold in this category.
On the Rise: These players have all seen an increase in WOPR, and their RACR also tracked up as similar or better efficiency with the added volume. If this continues, this is the exact cohort of players we want to try and pounce on early. Adam Thielen (RACR running extremely hot) and Garrett Wilson (needs a QB!!) are worth monitoring for the next few weeks.
Elite, Elite, Elite: These players have a history of posting WOPR above 0.8, so they are no strangers to this list. Along with big opportunity weeks, these guys have underlying stats that skew very positive, so it’s an extra vote of confidence to see them appear in this category. Stefon Diggs, Brandon Aiyuk (down RACR week), Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill, and Ja’Marr Chase fit the bill from Week 6.
RUSHING WORKHORSES
Which players commanded more than 75% of their team’s rushing yards?
Stranglehold on RB Opportunities: This is seemingly a rare species in today’s NFL, a bell-cow running back. When we find one, we want to study and track it for multiple weeks. At the running back position, one of the easiest things to consistently bet on is volume, and it’s hard to deny that these guys have it. In Week 6, Alexander Mattison, Josh Jacobs, Kyren Williams, and Joe Mixon fit this description.
Separating within the Backfield: These players have seen their rushing and snap share ticked up. It’s not yet hitting those elite marks each week, but this week’s performance was a significant step in the right direction. Chuba Hubbard, Alvin Kamara, and Derrick Henry should keep separating.
SNEAKY PASS-CATCHERS
Non-WRs who saw a hefty receiving share this week.
Low Usage, High Involvement: While the snap counts for these players aren’t at very elite levels, their consistent involvement in the rushing/passing game on the field indicates that they have a defined role in the offense. We want to focus on the receiving role since receptions are more fruitful than rushes. Tyjae Spears is a name to remember if the guy in front of him goes down. Meanwhile, Breece Hall, Michael Mayer, and Trey McBride are all trending in the positive direction after slow starts to the year.
Nothing New for these TEs: Since this list comprises non-receivers, there are typically a lot of tight ends. The players in this category make the list more often than not and should be counted on as those true Alpha-TEs who aren’t just TD-dependent to score fantasy points. Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Dalton Schultz, and TJ Hockenson fit the mold in Week 5.
RUNNING BACK USAGE TO LOOK OUT FOR
These RBs are all seeing decreases in their USG rating.
A Thorn in Their Side: It’s hard to say flat-out that these guys are no longer RB1s due to one low usage week, but their performance is indicative that either the coaching tendencies, their backfield teammates, or both are going to be prohibitive for their fantasy domination this year. Zack Moss (JT is back), Rachaad White, and Dameon Pierce must shake off that thorn and break free. David Montgomery and Christian McCaffrey are only on this list due to missing snaps in Week 6 due to injury.
Losing their Grip on RB1 Status: A low snap share and a low usage rate generally combine for a pretty bad RB fantasy performance. That’s exactly what happened to these guys this week. It’s essential to monitor their usage moving forward or potentially cut ties now and get them off your team. Samaje Perine and Matt Breida could both be getting outplayed in their own backfields.
PLAYER RANKINGS: BUY LOW, SELL HIGH
The statistics and metrics included within The Workload Report have proven to be highly correlated to fantasy points scored. Ideally, we also want high fantasy performers to be high Workload Report performers. These are the types of players we can put all of our faith in starting each week.
However, if players perform well in fantasy but not on the Workload Report, that may signify that they are “running hot” (read: extremely efficient) and may be a good target to sell high. On the flip side, if players are performing well in the Workload Report, but it hasn’t shown up in the fantasy stats yet, they are a great buy-low candidate to bet on in future weeks.
