Week 6 is just around the corner and the season is really getting into full swing. Amidst all of the injuries we’ve already seen a number of quarterback changes and coach firings and things don’t look like they will let up any time soon. As always there is some great value to be had in your fantasy matchups and here are some of the players to start and sit in this weekend’s action.
Quarterbacks
Start ‘Em
Andy Dalton – After Dak Prescott’s horrific ankle injury Dalton finds himself as the starter in Dallas for the rest of the season. We haven’t seen much of him yet, but he will be surrounded by offensive weapons and we’ve seen how quarterback friendly this scheme is. Prior to his injury, Dak was averaging over 400 passing yards per game and whilst Dalton may not reach this height, he should do well in fantasy terms. He’s facing a leaky Cardinals defense this weekend and I fully expect Dallas to put up a bunch of points.
Tom Brady – Brady wasn’t great last week against the Bears and his mental error on fourth down has been the cause of much attention over the past week. Nevertheless, that was just one game and he has a great chance to turn things around against a poor Packers pass defense. Chris Godwin will return for this one and you get the feeling that this game is going to be a shootout.
Sit ‘Em
Jimmy Garoppolo – What happened to Jimmy G last week? He threw two picks and finished the game with a passer rating of just 15.7. This was the lowest number recorded by any quarterback since Week 7 of 2019 and resulted in him scoring -0.9 fantasy points and being benched for C.J. Beathard. Whilst their injury crisis has been a problem, things just aren’t clicking for this offense. They face a Rams team who rank seventh against opposing quarterbacks and Aaron Donald is sure to cause a tonne of problems up front. Avoid Garoppolo in this one.
Joe Burrow – Jimmy G wasn’t the only quarterback who had a game from hell in Week 5. Burrow looked like a deer in the headlights and the Bengals’ offensive line couldn’t cope with the Baltimore’s blitzes. Burrow was sacked seven times, as well as throwing a pick and fumbling twice. He finished the game with just 4.3 points, the second fewest of any starting quarterback. He faces the Colts this week who are currently ranked as the No. 1 defense in the NFL and it could be a challenging one.
Running Backs
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David Montgomery – Montgomery has been getting a good chunk of carries for the Bears all the way through the season. What has really elevated his stock from a fantasy perspective has been his involvement in the passing game since Tarik Cohen’s injury. Over the first three weeks he had a total of six receptions. He had more than that last week alone, with seven catches for 88 yards, finishing the game with 18.9 points. This week he will face a Panthers defense that are allowing a league-high 36.02 points to running backs. Expect points in this one.
Jonathan Taylor – As expected Taylor has hit the ground running as a rookie and is currently ranked as RB13 entering Week 6. He has had a pretty steady supply of volume and whilst he doesn’t offer much in the receiving game that shouldn’t be a problem this weekend against the Bengals. They rank 18th against the run and are allowing 24.5 points to running backs per game. I’m expecting another big game for him here.
Sit ‘Em
Joe Mixon – Right now Mixon ranks as RB10, but this is heavily skewed by a monster game against the Jags where he put up 42.1 points. Across his other four games he has managed just 42.6 points, averaging just over 10 per game. In three of those games he has averaged less than three yards per carry. This weekend he is coming up against a Colts team that rank third against running backs, allowing just 17.9 points per game. Given how they were able to contain the Browns’ backfield they should make short work of Mixon.
Jerick McKinnon – As replacements go, McKinnon has been one of the better ones with Mostert out injured. Prior to their game against the Dolphins he had back-to-back weeks of double digit rushing attempts and was averaging over 16 points per game. With Mostert back though it looks like McKinnon’s time as a fantasy starter is over. Last week he had a single rushing attempt for no yardage and two catches for five yards on the way to 2.5 points.
Wide Receivers
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Chase Claypool – Claypool is coming off one of the best games we’ve seen from a receiver this year, becoming the first rookie since 2006 to score four touchdowns in a single game. Fantasy players everywhere have been scrambling to get him this week as he scored a massive 42.6 points against the Eagles. Clearly we can’t expect those numbers again and if Diontae Johnson returns he is unlikely to see double digit targets like he did last week. Nevertheless, he is facing a depleted Browns secondary who rank 31st against receivers, allowing 46.8 points per game.
Justin Jefferson – I had Jefferson as a starter last week but he didn’t really deliver against the Seahawks. I’m doubling down this weekend and with an opportunity to face a terrible Atlanta secondary he should have plenty of opportunities to rack up points. The Falcons rank 24th against receivers this season and have allowed 42.1 points per game to the position. Don’t be surprised to see the Vikings air it out either if Dalvin Cook is out injured.
Sit ‘Em
Brandon Aiyuk – I liked Aiyuk as a prospect coming out of the draft and whilst he has been decent at times, he’s been too inconsistent. He had two impressive games against the Giants and the Eagles, combining for 13 receptions and 34.7 points. He was subdued against Miami though and there is no getting away from the fact that the 49ers receivers have combined for a single receiving touchdown all year. This week will be a tough matchup against a Rams team who are allowing the fewest points to opposing receivers in the NFL. Add in all of the quarterback uncertainty and I wouldn’t consider Aiyuk a starter right now.
Darius Slayton – The Giants have been really poor this season but Slayton has been one of the few bright spots. Right now he ranks as WR22 and is coming of a 129 yard performance against the Cowboys last weekend. This was his second 100+ yard game and the second game where he has scored over 20 points. He isn’t consistent though and this makes him a concerning option. In each of their other three games the Giants have faced teams ranked in the top 10 against receivers. In those games Slayton has averaged just 6.8 points and has failed to score a touchdown. Coming up against Washington who ranked third in this metric doesn’t bode well for this weekend.
Tight Ends
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Robert Tonyan – Tonyan was probably a name familiar to only die-hard Packers fans prior to the 2020 season. He looks like he’s having a breakout campaign and entering Week 6 he finds himself as TE5, averaging 20.1 points per game. Whilst these numbers might not be sustainable, he has earned the trust of Aaron Rodgers and looks like he may have displaced Jace Sternberger as the Packers’ top tight end. Even if Davante Adams is back Tonyan should still get a decent number of targets and his ability in the red zone is always a bonus.
Eric Ebron – I picked Ebron last week as one of my starting options at tight end and I’m definitely going to take him again this week. Whilst he didn’t put up a tonne of points he was a key factor in the Steelers’ passing game, wtih five catches on six targets. This week he comes up against a Browns team that rank 27th against tight ends and have allowed 17.5 points per game to the position.
Sit ‘Em
Tyler Higbee – As someone who drafted Higbee in one of my fantasy leagues this year, I’ve been feeling the frustration as much as anyone. There was so much promise coming into the season after he had double digit targets in each of his last four games in 2019. He’s been a disappointment so far this season though. Higbee has been solid enough as TE11 but he has scored double digit points just once so far this season and sharing targets with Gerald Everett hurts him from a value standpoint.
Logan Thomas – Thomas looked like a pretty decent option at tight end for the first three weeks of the season but his production has since fallen off a cliff. He has scored just 3.2 points across his last two games and his target share has dropped significantly. After 24 targets in the first three games he has had just eight since, with two catches for 12 yards. The Giants have also allowed the third fewest points to tight ends so far this season.
Defenses
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Miami Dolphins – I’m wary of over-reacting to the Dolphins’ surprise win over the 49ers last weekend, but their defense looks like a solid option in fantasy football on Sunday. They face a Jets offense who managed to put up just 10 points against a poor Cardinals defense and I can’t see them doing much here either. Miami rank as the ninth best defense in fantasy football and the Jets are allowing 10.4 points per game to opposing defenses. This looks like a good option.
Sit ‘Em
Buffalo Bills – This was probably going to be my pick before Tuesday night’s game against the Titans. That result just served to confirm my choice. The Bills looked dreadful and allowed Ryan Tannehill and co put up over 40 points on them on their way to a big victory. This weekend doesn’t get any easier, coming off a short week to face the Chiefs, who will be looking for a bounce back after a tough loss to the Raiders.