NFL Week 6 Start/Sit
Week 6 Start/Sit
By: Andrew Ferguson
I hope you all are reading these because we went 27-5 last week in our picks! And with that, I hope you’re all on top of your league standings. Look, I’m just a messenger. I follow multiple avenues of fantasy advice along with matching it up with the data that’s easily put together for me. It’s hard to take too much credit when all I’m doing is connecting the pieces to the puzzle. But at the same time, I’d like to think I know ball. So let’s get down. Again, I’m trying to avoid obvious picks here. And I think it’s obvious that Justin Herbert is on my ‘Bench him’ list the rest of the season. You’ll only see top tier players in this article if I think they should be benched. I know a lot of people don’t have any other options and benching is out of the question, but I can at least set some expectations for you. And with the byes starting to hit, injuries piling up, you’ll see some names that you’ll scratch your head to until I explain my reasoning. So here we go.
QBs to Start
Matthew Stafford- This one may sound obvious to some that you’re always starting him and he’s the only QB on your roster. Well, Stafford is passing TD dependent with 0 rushing upside and has 2 clunkers to his name this year fantasy wise. So a lot of my assessment comes down to his matchup. This week he plays the Cardinals which is a sure fire start for Stafford. The Cardinals pass defense is non-existent and ranks bottom 3. Stafford’s passing weapons are healthy and putting up numbers. Start him.
Jordan Love- Jordan Love has thrown for exactly 2 TDs in every game this year. He’s also gone over 300 yards in 3 of those 5. He’s quietly the QB9 this year and he gets the Cowboys defense at home who don’t know up from down or left from right. There’s no reason Jordan shouldn’t have 2 more TDs or even more this week.
Bryce Young- Bryce and the Panthers are coming off an early season bye but it also comes with Jalen Coker getting healthy and expected to play. The Eagles are a mess in many ways and their secondary is surprisingly beatable. Bryce is a safe start that should be a good game. The Eagles are already entering desperation mode but I think the Panthers offense will continue the momentum even on the road with an extra week to rest and prepare
Patrick Mahomes- Mahomes is getting the job done no matter who his WRs are. He too, has thrown for at least 2 TDs in each game this year and he goes up against the Chargers that are already in tank mode. A divisional matchup here that the Chiefs won’t take lightly and they’re coming off a bye at home. Mahomes should have a nice day against a Chargers defense that has been friendly to opposing fantasy QBs.
QBs to Bench
Jacoby Brissett- The Rams seem to be back on both sides of the ball even with the loss to Buffalo the other night. This is a must win for the Rams and the Cardinals are on the road. The Rams defend opposing QBs near the top 10 in the league and the only salvation Brissett might have is in garbage time. This is a bad matchup.
Thursday Night QBs- Bo Nix is terrible. I’ve said it many times. And this matchup is a nightmare. Short week, coming off a miserable performance with an early season playcaller change. No chance this has been fixed in 4 days. Seattle’s secondary leads the league in interceptions so I don’t see a road to success for Bo. On the other side, Sam Darnold struggled pretty badly against the 49ers this past week. Even with the injuries to the Broncos secondary, this defense is still tough. Darnold is worth starting in good matchups only and this is not one. I expect a low scoring game with the rushing attacks on both sides having to get the job done for their teams.
Deshaun Watson- Again, as the byes hit, we start looking at these types of names. If you have Burrow or Goff on bye, this might be an option for you. I’m saying ‘nay.’ Deshaun isn’t lighting the scoreboard up by any means and his fantasy numbers are being overshadowed by the little bit of rushing upside he has. He’s on the road against the Ravens that are quietly playing good football right now and keeping QBs in check.
Daniel Jones- Again, I hope you’re not considering this for your bye week plug in play. It’s almost not even worth writing. Go pick up literally anyone else. He can’t throw, he hasn’t thrown a TD in 2 games, he doesn’t run well anymore. This guy is the vanilla version of vanilla. Sorry I wasted your time.
RBs to Start
Rhamondre Stevenson- This is a smash start for me. With Henderson out, this backfield belongs to Stevenson as long as he doesn’t fumble. The Patriots offense is clicking right now and Rhamondre is a bellcow and is a must start. The Jets rank bottom 10 against RBs and Stevenson should have a big day.
Emanuel Wilson- Low scoring game ahead of us on a Thursday night and Wilson should be the person to take the load off of Sam Darnold. I like his TD upside as Darnold has struggled lately.
Woody Marks- Marks was already getting a lot of touches with Montgomery in the game. Now that Monty is hurt, Marks will be a 3 down back and will produce points based on volume alone. He can catch the ball and they’re in ‘we’re not effin around mode’ after starting the season 1-4. The Texans are a team I’m not giving up on, but even against a tough matchup against the Jaguars, Marks will have a lot of opportunities.
MarShawn Lloyd- We finally saw fantasy points from a Packers RB. Lloyd is technically the best RB option for the Packers and he’s getting the goal line touches. The Cowboys defense can’t stop the run and if there is ever a time for yardage AND touchdowns for Lloyd, it’s this week.
RBs to Bench
Quinshon Judkins- If he plays, it would be through an injury against Baltimore on the road. He’s had one good game this year and the Browns offense is unreliable. The Ravens stop the run well so Judkins is an easy bench for me.
Braelon Allen- I’ve been very impressed with what he’s done over the last 2 weeks as the lead man with Breece Hall out. However, I hate this matchup against the patriots. The Patriots offense is starting to click and if this score gets out of hand, it could cut into opportunities for Allen. Allen is a pure runner and doesn’t get a lot of targets so the gamescript is what concerns me here as the Patriots rank near the top 10 against opposing RBs in fantasy.
Jeremiyah Love- Love is playing through injuries on both of his ankles and looks like a shell of himself from what we saw throughout training camp. Until he is healthy, I’m benching him as the Cardinals fully trust Allgeier in the meantime. Love’s pass blocking also has brought up questions about his usage as a receiver. This is a tough matchup anyway against the Rams so he’s on the bench.
Dameon Pierce- Last week we saw Shipley thrown into the mix as the only healthy RB on the Eagles roster. Now it’s Pierce. This is even worse. This offense is abysmal to watch. And even with a friendly matchup against the Panthers, I’m not trusting Pierce or anyone on this offense. I need to see a bounceback game from the Eagles before I trust one player.
WRs to Start
Matthew Golden- Golden is about to be taken off this list and out of this article because he’s turning into a weekly starter no matter what. He had another 7 targets and had 123 yards last week. With the Packers run game still struggling, Love is being forced the sling the ball around and Golden is getting his more than fair share. The Dallas defense is his dream matchup in what should be a high scoring game.
Germie Bernard- Is this guy the WR1 in Pittsburgh? I’m sorry but I’m not a fan of DK these days and how he’s being used with the Steelers. Bernard has had two games this season with 8 and 9 targets so Rodgers seems to trust him. He even got a rush attempt. Roman Wilson and Michael Pittman are both out so Bernard is locked in as a starter. I like his matchup against the Bucs this week. How funny would it be for a rookie WR to light up the Bucs then Todd Bowles gets fired?
Denzel Boston- No matter the Deshaun struggles, Boston seems to get his points. He’s a consistent flex play at this point and even though I don’t like the matchup for Deshaun, Baltimore’s secondary is beatable and allows top 10 in scoring to opposing WRs. I’d say throw him in and start Boston. Especially if Concepcion is out.
Terry McLaurin- Both McLaurin and Daniels are finally healthy. McLaurin actually found the endzone last week but it was for a 2-point conversion. Diggs is still battling an injury so this could be some garbage time scoring between the duo against the 49ers that actually allows WRs to score points. With byes and injuries, I’m putting McLaurin in.
WRs to Bench
All Broncos WRs- Remember when I said Bo Nix sucks? Well this is the 3rd time this week I’ve said it. This portion goes for Sutton and Waddle. I’m not trusting them on a short turnaround against the Seahawks stout defense. If it makes you feel better, I drafted Waddle in the 4th round and I’m benching him.
Michael Wilson- This past weekend was a disappointment considering he had the matchup of a lifetime in front of him. Instead, Brissett decided to feed the ball around to Kendrick Bourne and McBride. Wilson still saw 7 targets but for a QB that threw the ball 47 times and Wilson only had 30 yards was a huge letdown. I hate the matchup this week against the Rams and unless they’re playing for some garbage time points, Wilson could have another dud. Be very cautious on this one.
Rome Odunze- Even if Williams returns, I think this offense will be very cautious with the hamstring injury. I expect the run game with Swift to be the focal point of the offense. Odunze is struggling to get going this season, but so are all the pass catchers. I’ll need to see one week of a healthy Caleb before I’m putting Odunze in as a flex.
Ladd McConkey- So far Ladd has had an injury ridden season between the ribs and now his foot. This offense is absolute ass right now and I’d be looking to shop McConkey at this point. McDaniel seems more intrigued with rotating 3 RBs than getting his best players the ball. Can’t trust anyone on this team right now.
TEs to Start
Tucker Kraft- I was wrong on Kraft last week and I’m happy I was. He’s coming off the injury and he’s easing his way back into this offense. His last 2 weeks he has 11 catches for 106 yards and a TD. Respectable for your TE position. He has the Cowboys this week to get back on track as a true TE1 in a game that I think will be a passing shootout.
Dallas Goedert- This offense is desperate. Goedert being healthy means he gets volume and he actually gets a lot of goal line opportunities. He lead the team in targets last week and seems to be Hurts’ favorite target right now as a safety valve. His volume numbers are what make me believe he’ll be a safe play this week against the Panthers who allow a lot of points to TEs.
Pat Freiermuth- Freiermuth is TE8? Mainly because Aaron Rodgers is having a great year statistically and a lot of Pittsburgh pass catchers are hurt. Rodgers is also loving his tight ends and feeding them plenty of targets. I think that will continue this week in the red zone. But be careful, Freiermuth is a TD dependent TE and hasn’t gone over 46 yards this season. But with the volume and looks he’s getting and 4 TDs on the season, it’s hard to ignore right now.
Juwan Johnson- I said to bench him last week and I was right. Put him back in. He’s very reliable and Shough loves him. This offense will get back on track with a much better matchup against the Giants than the number ranked defense of the Vikings. Vele is really his only competition in targets and without a reliable run game, Johnson will get his targets.
TEs to Bench
Brenton Strange- I love Brenton Strange. I love what he’s done the past 2 weeks and even with a crowded receiver room, he seems to be Lawrence’s 2nd favorite target only behind Parker Washington. However, the Texans do not play around with allowing TEs to beat them as they have not scored against them once this season and average only 46 yards to the position. I’m staying away from Strange this week and looking for a better streaming option if needed.
Colston Loveland- What a bust this pick has been. But hey, I called it. I don’t see it getting any better, especially if Caleb is out one more game. Even with his return, I imagine a heavy run game that won’t benefit Loveland. Like I said, show me Caleb is 100% healthy and I’ll hop back on board with some of these pass catchers in Chicago.
Dalton Schultz- Schultz is unreliable in the sense he’s going to get consistent volume. Since his big game in week 2, he’s had a 3 game stretch of 9 targets and 69 yards (nice). You can probably drop him at this point but don’t sit around waiting for him anymore.
Kyle Pitts- You know I had to end on a Falcons player. And it had to be Pitts of all players. Hell almost froze over last week when Pitts found the endzone. I wouldn’t expect it to happen again. He’s not a key piece of this offense right now unfortunately so I can’t rely on him for consistency. Even with the TD, he has 109 yards on the entire season. Don’t get excited and think it’s going to lead to more against the Bears who are top tier in defending opposing TEs.
