At my day job, I'll sometimes get pulled into a problem that's already been picked apart for weeks. There are spreadsheets, test data, a slide deck that's somehow 50 charts deep. Everyone's in the weeds. And the most useful thing I can do is usually ask the dumbest question in the room: "OK, what are we actually trying to do here?"

It's wild how often that clears things up. Once you know the goal, the noise falls away and the right next step gets a lot more obvious.

NFL offenses work the same way. We (mostly me) can drown in stats. But six weeks in, we've seen enough to start answering the bigger question: what is each team trying to be? And once we have a sense of an offense's identity, we know how to approach its players in fantasy.

So, let's step back and look at what a few teams have shown us.

Maybe Drake Maye's MVP Runner-Up Finish Wasn't a Fluke 

What a difference a few weeks can make. Drake Maye went from being a "Justin-Herbert-level" disaster through the first three games to the QB4 in total fantasy points in the same amount of time. Sunday in Week 6 reminded us why he was in the MVP discussion less than a year ago.

While facing the Jets didn't result in Maye's most productive day, it was one of his cleanest outings. No sacks. No turnovers. Still rushing to extend drives. But using New England's wins to characterize the offense would be short-sighted. Zoom out, though, and the Patriots look like a balanced offense.

I built a broad-view graphic of the Patriots' games to date, with their opponents in mind, for a couple of reasons. First, they were tough! Week 6 was the first time the Jaguars allowed more than one passing TD. Half of the teams to face Pittsburgh have left with less than 200 yards through the air. Second, the Patriots' PROE on the season being just above expectation (+0.4 points) speaks to the offensive equilibrium. Plus, Maye's rush rate (11th amongst all starters) didn't track to the quality of the opponent. The production did as the schedule eased up. With those two points in mind, let's dig into what this means for the offense in the short term.

A.J. Brown's drops are going to be the focus ahead of TNF. But his route tree, along with how often Maye targeted him, should give us some confidence that Brown won't be reading another book on the sideline. Maye's attempts in the short area of the field have picked up over the last few weeks. Not only that, but he's used the middle of the field on 46.7% of his attempts over the last three weeks, allowing his receivers to create after the catch.

Brown took 28.5% of the low-aDOT looks on in-breaking routes. He also led the team in targets once they got into scoring position. Assuming the ankle holds up, there's a buy-low window open with some uncertainty around the Patriots' WR1. But there are a couple of other options worth picking up for Week 7 and beyond.

• (Week 6) Route Rate: 74% (DeMario Douglas), 69% (Hunter Henry)

• Target Share: 28%, 14%

• MoF Target Rate: 62.5%, 20.0%

Romeo Doubs' injury pulled Pop Douglas into a larger role, as the veteran receiver hit a season-high 31% TPRR on eight looks. But his typical downfield utilization shifted as the team was without a designated WR2. Henry's only issue is the state of the offensive line. As more linemen go down with injury, Henry may spend more time as a blocker (already at 16.8% pass-blocking snap rate). But no other pass-catcher has generated more first downs. He also has the second-most red-zone targets. However, with the team also relying on its running game, a new addition to the backfield should at least be on our bench.

Watching Corey Kiner, not Rhamondre Stevenson or TreVeyon Henderson, salt away the game on Sunday should have everyone's attention. But before you toss him into your starting lineup, let's consider the context. 

First, TreVeyon Henderson fumbled with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Kiner's first carry didn't come until there were 90 seconds left in the third quarter. Second, Rhamondre Stevenson still played the majority of the snaps and took 44% of the carries. Even worse for all of the RBs, it was their lowest target share as a position group of the season (3.3%).

Henderson's nagging ankle injury should keep Kiner on rosters. But as Maye and the passing game continue to pick up, Stevenson's chops as a pass-blocker will make him the only one worth using on a week-to-week basis.

The Steelers Are … Good … for Fantasy?

Admittedly, my Bengals' bias will show here. But I've been curious about the Steelers offense. Not in a "let's learn more" way, though. My interest is more of the "why are you the way that you are" variety. Because every time I think they'll fall short, like when they played Cincinnati, Aaron Rodgers keeps proving me wrong.

Week 6 was a vintage Rodgers game. Some movement in the pocket to extend plays. The arm arrogance. And, of course, the short "stat-padding" TD to boost his box score totals. Rodgers is like Josh Allen at the goal line; he just prefers to throw the ball instead of running. But the future Hall of Famer is averaging the 11th-most passing yards per game and is on a four-game streak with two or more TDs.

This offense, as much as I hate to admit it, is good for fantasy. And there are a couple of reasons why.

• Pass Rate Over Expectation: +4.9%, 2nd

• Average Time to Throw: 2.63s, T-10th-fastest

• Passing aDOT: 6.7, 7th-shortest

• Middle-of-the-Field Throw Rate: 55.2%, 6th-highest 

Pittsburgh's offensive line has one of the better protection units through six weeks. Rodgers has an average time to pressure of 2.68 seconds. For reference, the league average sits around 2.55. He's also below average in rate of quick pressures (41.2%; league average at 54.4%). The result has been the "Grip It and Rip It Show," featuring No. 8. However, instead of pushing the ball downfield, Rodgers has leaned on the high-percentage looks in the MoF instead. But when coupled with his pass-catching talent, I get it.

It took two injuries to get us here, but Germie Bernard has been the ideal complement to DK Metcalf. Bernard only has two weeks at a 90+% route rate, but he led the team in targets in his debut and scored the go-ahead TD to help secure their win on Sunday. Operating as the team's slot receiver with a 3.6-yard aDOT, Bernard is the perfect fit for how Rodgers wants to play. His contextualized usage emphasizes this point. Of Bernard's 21 targets, 18 (81%) have come on timing routes (e.g., hitches, outs, slants, etc.). Said another way, concepts that require timing and rapport with one of the least-likely-to-trust-a-rookie-receiver QBs ever.

Remember, Bernard saw his greatest red-zone usage the same week that Pat Freiermuth's (team lead in RZ targets) calf injury limited him to a season-low 7% target share. Bernard's scoring potential may vary each week, but his short path to the ball should keep him a high-end WR3 for the rest of the season.

I'm not so sure about a couple of his teammates, though.

I incorrectly looked at Rico Dowdle's return as a minor issue for Jaylen Warren. But by the end of the first half, Dowdle had more opportunities (8 to 7) and yards (30 to 25) than the guy who was leading all RBs in scrimmage yards during Dowdle's absence. And I came into this assuming the split was more of HC Mike McCarthy giving his RB from Dallas some work. But Dowdle was more effective than Warren on limited touches.

• Success Rate: 42.9% (Dowdle), 21.4% (Warren)

• Adj. Yards After Contact per Att.: 4.0, 2.8

• Forced Missed Tackle Rate: 14.3%, 21.4%

Warren secured the only goal-line touch, but didn't convert. Dowdle was the better rusher. Warren was the more efficient receiver. Even worse for Warren, Dowdle did take 50% of the short-yardage snaps, indicating high-value opportunities are in his future.

I wouldn't put Dowdle in my starting lineup, but Warren's value takes a hit and will only drop once the rest of Pittsburgh's receivers get healthy.

The Kansas City Kenneth Walkers

If I told you at the start of the season that the Chiefs would be one of the three teams that were still undefeated after Week 6, you likely wouldn't blink. That's par for the course when it comes to Patrick Mahomes. But speaking of the two-time MVP, what if I told you these facts were also true:

• He has fewer passing yards per game than Kirk Cousins

• Bryce Young is averaging more fantasy points per game than he is

• Jacoby Brissett has accounted for the same number of TDs

And that's where the (current) reality in Kansas City runs tangent to our usual perception of the AFC West juggernaut. The idea of the road to Super Bowl LXI going through Arrowhead Stadium isn't a surprise. Mahomes not being The Engine of the offense is. But coming out of the bye, their offensive identity isn't hard to discern. 

If you drafted Kenneth Walker III, congratulations. He was the lone bright spot at the 1-2 turn and is yet to disappoint. His lowest finish in PPR formats has been RB8. Week 2 was the only game where he didn't score at least one touchdown. But he still accounted for 178 all-purpose yards. More importantly, it hasn't drastically changed how often we see No. 15 drop back to pass.

• 2025 (Weeks 1-15): +5.1% (PROE on All Downs), +6.3% (PROE on Early Downs)

• 2026: +3.8%, +4.8%

Walker's presence hasn't changed what the Chiefs do on offense — they just do it better now. At this point in 2025, the RB duo of Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco averaged 4.0 and 4.3 YPC, respectively. Walker's at 5.8. But looking at the metrics that explosive runs don't skew, the reigning Super Bowl MVP still comes out on top.

• (Early-Down) Rushing Success Rate: 49.5% (Walker), 39.4% (Hunt), 45.8% (Pacheco)

• Forced Missed Tackle Rate: 40.7%, 12.1%, 10.4%

• Receiving Yards per Route Run: 1.00, 0.76, 0.33

The "Walker Effect" also shows up in Mahomes' passing efficiency on third down. Compared to last year, they're closer to the sticks before snapping the ball (7.0 yards needed to convert in 2025, 6.6 in '26). But now, with a credible threat out of the backfield, Mahomes' EPA per dropback in obvious passing situations has gone from -0.17 to 0.29. And that's with fewer scrambles to move the chains.

Essentially, it's the same offense, but the pop from the running game overshadows how devastating Mahomes can be with his arm. The other part, that some aren't ready to admit yet, is that he's doing it with familiar pass-catchers.

I noted last Friday that Xavier Worthy had the inside track on becoming the team's WR1 coming out of the bye. He's leading the WR rotation (89% route share) instead of being a part of it. His shortened aDOT (4.7 air yards in Week 6) was conducive to more catchable targets. Simply put, Worthy can finally use his speed to gain yards versus just tracking the ball downfield. However, he's yet to have a big game. His best finish has been WR22. But with back-to-back games with a target share over 25%, the time to acquire Worthy is now, before he hits for a touchdown or two.