Week 6 is upon us and it's time to lead your team on a game-winning drive. These tips could have your squad raising their hands in victory by the time Monday Night Football ends. With every game having playoff implications from here on out, it might behoove you to heed these pointers.
Bye-Week Teams: Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Starters You'll Need to Replace
Cowboys: You'll need to replace veteran tight end Jason Witten. Quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant are still recovering from their respective injuries.
Raiders: You may need a backup for receiver Amari Cooper, who has hauled in 386 yards and two touchdowns this season. Also, running back Latavius Murray.
Rams: Rookie running back Todd Gurley is coming off a 159-yard performance Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers in his best game as a pro. In addition, you may need to replace the Rams defense, which has been pretty solid this season.
Buccaneers: Second-year wide receiver Mike Evans and veteran running back Doug Martin are probably the only drafted players you have from Tampa Bay...but even then you might have had them riding the bench for most of this season.
Need a Running Back? Claim Them Off Waivers Now: Charcandrick West, Knile Davis, Thomas Rawls
Jamaal Charles tearing his ACL on Sunday was absolute nightmarish news for fantasy owners, especially considering the Kansas City Chiefs was chosen as high as No. 1 in many leagues across the country this season.
Still, anytime a superstar suffers a season-ending injury, it presents an opportunity for another player to shine. The question for the Chiefs is who will that player be? By the sheer volume of Charles's workload — which was 14.2 carries and 4.2 receptions per game before he got injured — either Charcandrick West or Knile Davis is going to wreak the benefits from his absence. Or...they'll combine to form a backfield by committee, which would be frustrating for owners.
The best play here is to try to add both West and Davis via waivers if possible. While Chiefs coach Andy Reid hesitated to name a new feature back just yet, but I expect West to be up to the task a bit more than Davis. Still, being able to snag both off waivers would afford you the luxury seeing who emerges as that feature back to maximize potential. With their Week 6 opponent,
In addition to West and Davis, if Seattle Seahawks' rusher Thomas Rawls hasn't been scooped up in your league just yet, add him. In for Marshawn Lynch, Rawls went off for 169 yards rushing and a touchdown for 22 fantasy points in Week 5. While early reports are indicating that Lynch could be back Week 6 against the undefeated Carolina Panthers, it would be a wise move to get a hold of Rawls as an insurance policy. Being the most violent rusher in the NFL — as Lynch is, inviting contact on every carry — takes its toll and we could see Rawls again.
Need a Wide Receiver? Claim Them Off Waivers Now: Willie Snead, Kamar Aiken, Ty Montgomery
Tech Times highlighted Willie Snead as a waiver add in Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles and sure enough his six receptions for 141 yards made us look good. If Snead is still available, grab him and put the New Orleans Saints wide receiver in play against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football. Drew Brees's arm seems to be back and that means a boost in numbers for his receivers.
Elsewhere, the San Francisco 49ers' defense has looked so porous this season, that plucking Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Kamar Aiken off waivers could see a huge payout. If Aiken was able to pile 78 receiving yards against the Cleveland Browns last week, just imagine how he could potentially light up the struggling 49ers. He's definitely worth of a one-week fill-in play.
Moving on, this might be a long shot at this point, but if Green Bay Packers wide receiver Ty Montgomery is available, do anything to add him to your team as a free agent. Yes, the rookie out of Stanford is the Packers third, maybe even fourth receiving option out there...but he's playing with arguably the best quarterback in the game in Aaron Rodgers. Plus, Montgomery showed fantasy owners what he could do with five targets, tallying 59 receiving yards and a touchdown for 11 points in non-points per receptions (PPR) leagues. That was against the St. Louis Rams defense last week. This week, he should be able to go off even further against the San Diego Chargers secondary.
Anticipated Letdowns: Antonio Brown, Cam Newton
When Michael Vick took over for an injured Ben Roethlisberger as quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, you just knew that Antonio Brown would suffer a drop off in stats. I told you to anticipate a letdown from the dynamic wide receiver last week and sure enough, he records three catches for 45 yards and no touchdowns for a paltry four points in non-PPR leagues. Oof. That was against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football.
Don't expect him to fare much better against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals in Week 6. The Cardinals have a better secondary than the Chargers do and could stifle Vick into throwing interceptions, which would spell another long day in the office for Brown and fantasy owners with the star wideout on their team. There's no doubt that back-to-back four-point fantasy performances have already caused plenty of owners losses, possibly even being removed from the early playoff picture.
Still, even with Vick in the pocket, Brown remains a starter in all leagues across all formats in Week 6. When you have a player as special as him, you just don't bench him...hoping that he'll make a remarkable play and find the end zone. At the same time, though, expect a letdown.
Elsewhere around the league, the 2-3 Seattle Seahawks are playing for their season, when they host the undefeated Carolina Panthers coming off a bye week. While Cam Newton has shown flashes of being a rockstar this fantasy season, expect him to come down to earth and be tamed by the Seahawks defense, especially its secondary. A drop off in stats this week for Newton at CenturyLink Field should be anticipated. The last thing Seattle wants to experience is slipping to 2-4 in the same NFC West division, in which the unbeaten Arizona Cardinals are rolling.
Sleeper Picks: Teddy Bridgewater, C.J. Spiller, Larry Donnell
Why is Teddy Bridgewater a sleeper pick at QB this week? It's simple. No defense has allowed more fantasy points to quarterbacks than the Kansas City Chiefs, allowing them 26.4 points per game. That bodes well for Bridgewater, who might even get back wide receiver Charles Johnson for the Minnesota Vikings' Week 6 home game against the struggling Chiefs. Don't be surprised if Bridgewater flirts with 300 yards passing and two touchdowns on the day...making you look like a genius in the process.
As good as the undefeated Atlanta Falcons have been this season, they have one glaring weakness — their poor run defense. The Falcons defense is giving up 25.4 points per game to opposing running backs, which spells a good situation for the New Orleans Saints' tandem of Mark Ingram and C.J. Spiller. Expect Ingram to do his damage receiving out of the backfield and piling up yardage. But when it comes to straight carries and rushing attempts, Spiller should be the one racking up the numbers. Nice sleeper pick this week, for sure.
Fresh off of his game-winning touchdown grab and nine-point fantasy performance in non-PPR leagues, New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell could be a good play against the Philadelphia Eagles in a pivotal NFC East tilt on Monday Night Football. A similar six-reception, 35-yard and one-touchdown performance — like he put up in Week 5 — isn't out of the question by any means.
Confusion By Committee: Eagles tight ends Brent Celek and Zach Ertz
The 2-3 Philadelphia Eagles have been as unpredictable as any team in the NFL this season. It seems like week to week, fans don't know if they're going to be on or off...a situation that isnt exactly comforting for fantasy owners.
This week the Eagles host the NFC East-leading New York Giants in a crucial game at Lincoln Financial Field. And they enter the game with some concerning confusion by committee as well — with their tight ends Brent Celek and Zach Ertz. Take their Week 5 victory over the New Orleans Saints for example. Celek was targeted three times, hauling in all three receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown for 10 points in non-PPR leagues. Nothing wrong with that.
But examine the situation a little closer and you'll see that Ertz was targeted more than double the amount of times Celek was with seven targets, recording five catches for 60 yards and six fantasy points in non-PPR leagues.
This predicament isn't a welcoming one for owners with either tight end on their squad. The good news is that the Giants have been awful defending tight ends, allowing them to rack up 12.8 fantasy points per game. The bad news is you just don't know whether Celek or Ertz is going to do more damage. Good luck with that.
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