5 Daily Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit in Week 6

Chicago Bears Rushing Offense

Unlike some of our other focuses this week, Jordan Howard isn't out of anybody's mind. He has shown the past two weeks that he can absolutely slay, and he's going to attract eyes because of it. It'll just be hard to lay off of him even with that in mind.

Howard enters Week 6 ranked eighth in Rushing NEP per carry of the 34 running backs with at least 35 attempts. This is fine as it is, but it looks even more impressive when you consider that Jeremy Langford would have ranked 31st if he had enough carries to qualify. The Chicago Bears are 31st in rushing efficiency as a team, but Howard is doing his best to dig them out of that hole.

More important than Howard's efficiency is his volume. In two games without Langford, Howard has played at least 91% of the snaps in each, and he has a combined 44 touches. His 95.5% snap rate in Week 5 came even while Ka'Deem Carey was active, so there doesn't seem to be much doubt that Howard is the workhorse until further notice.

You could contend that Howard's breakout has come against cake opponents. That's absolutely true. The Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts are 29th and 30th, respectively, in Adjusted Defensive Rushing NEP per play this year. We do need to consider this when looking at Howard's productivity.

His matchup this weekend just happens to be even easier.

The Jacksonville Jaguars top both the Lions and Colts by sitting 31st against the rush through their first four games. The only running back to top a 70% snap rate against them -- Melvin Gordon -- rushed 24 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. Howard will provide another test this weekend.

Howard gets an additional boost from having Brian Hoyer at quarterback. Hoyer is seventh in Passing NEP per drop back and second in Success Rate of the 36 quarterbacks with at least 50 drop backs, meaning the team is better equipped to generate touchdown drives. Howard has 10 red zone carries the past three weeks with four inside the 10, giving him upside to go with the floor that his snap rate creates.

The Bears are 2.5-point favorites, meaning they should be able to run the ball. Even if they fall behind, though, Howard's passing-game involvement could save his owners in a doom's day scenario. This is why he's worth the salary despite the abundant other high-priced tempting options.