Giants, Patriots present fantasy running back dilemmas in Week 6

Entering Week 6, several backfields have dealt with injuries or surprise breakouts. 

In Los Angeles, rookie standout Omarion Hampton was placed on the IR due to an ankle injury. In Tampa, Bucky Irving is trending towards being unavailable for a second straight week, with a chance at missing the following game. 

In Washington, Bill Croskey-Merrit had a monster game with 150 total yards and two scores, while Rico Dowdle ran for over 200 in Carolina. 

Fantasy football RB questions going into Week 6

Tyrone Tracy returns to New York

In Week 3, Tracy suffered a dislocated shoulder against the Chiefs. After missing two games, the Giants announced that Tracy will be back on the field Thursday. 

In his absence, rookie Cam Skattebo has taken over the backfield, totaling 138 yards on the ground on 40 carries along with 56 yards through the air on eight receptions. 

In the two games in which both Tracy and Skattebo were healthy, the Giants' run game struggled, only averaging 47 rushing yards a game. Since then, the Giants' offense has had an entirely new identity. 

With the loss of Malik Nabers, the team became less threatening at throwing the ball downfield. The Giants also promoted Jaxson Dart to QB1, bringing with him a new style of play. 

In three starts, Russell Wilson completed 59.5 percent of his passes, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt and 11.9 yards gained per completion. Dart's numbers show an increase in completion percentage to 65 percent, and a decrease in yards per attempt (5.2). Along with that, the Giants are throwing the ball less and running the ball more. 

With Tracy and Skattebo expected to split the rushing work, it's difficult to see a way for Tracy to see high value in fantasy. With Skattebo's physicality leading to more goal-line work, he should be in line for more fantasy points, but with a run-centered team identity, there is a world where both players can contribute at a high level. 

New England's backfield dilemma

In Week 5, Patriots back Antonio Gibson suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Before the injury, New England's backfield operated a three-man split. 

Although he was the third man, Gibson still managed a decent workload. Rhamondre Stevenson led the team with 51 touches, with 47 for TreVeyon Henderson and 27 for Gibson. 

The 21 percent of RB touches that previously went Gibson's way have been freed up. Those touches will be going directly to Stevenson and Henderson. 

There are two ways this works out. Either Stevenson maintains a significant lead in this backfield with majority of the freed touches heading his direction or the Patriots decide to give Henderson an elevated role. New England drafted Henderson in the third round in this year's draft, and he was someone drafted relatively early in fantasy drafts. 

Stevenson has been one of the league's most notorious fumblers. Over the last two years, no running back has fumbled the ball more than Stevenson, with seven last year and three this year.  

Over 47 collegiate games at Ohio State, Henderson ran the ball 590 times and caught 77 passes. Over 667 touches, he only fumbled twice, both of which he recovered. 

As the veteran, Stevenson was given the starting role at the start. But at a certain point, the Patriots should decide that Henderson's ball security and explosiveness are a better fit in this backfield. 

For the time being, it might be best to wait and see how the Patriots handling things before leaning on either Stevenson or Henderson.