When Sunday ends, my focus is on understanding not just what happened in Week 6, but what it means for my fantasy football team. Which of my guys are overvalued? Who’s undervalued? And who can I acquire to bolster my chances in Week 7? With that in mind, here are the most notable fantasy takeaways from each Sunday game.
Week 6 Fantasy Football Takeaways | Early slate
What performances and situations should we take note of from the 1 PM ET set of games?
Jaguars vs. Dolphins
A week after Laviska Shenault Jr. and Marvin Jones Jr. inexplicably caught just a pass apiece, they both got back on track once Jacksonville put the game more in Trevor Lawrence’s hands. Both earned 10 targets, and both should be no worse than weekly streamers, thanks to relatively soft schedules in the coming weeks.
For Miami, Jaylen Waddle and Mike Gesicki capitalized on the absence of Will Fuller, DeVante Parker, and Preston Williams. They are both screaming sell-high candidates if you can sell Gesicki as a top-eight TE and Waddle as a top-28 WR. If you can’t get that value, hold and hope they can be consistent fantasy starters.
Bears vs. Packers
Third-string rookie RB Khalil Herbert dominated. No one rostering a starter — in this case, David Montgomery, who averaged 18.8 touches in four starts — wants to see a backup shining. Fortunately for those rostering Montgomery, the Bears travel to Tampa Bay next week, where Herbert likely won’t be better than an RB5 (particularly if Damien Williams returns).
Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon both exceeded 5.0 yards per rushing attempt while splitting carries 13-11, respectively. Jones remains the 1A, and that showed up in the fantasy box score. But any given week, Dillon could be this backfield’s fantasy winner.
Lions vs. Bengals
Jared Goff has not scored a touchdown in three of Detroit’s last four games. That is almost an impossible feat in the NFL. And if you listened to my warnings about the overvalued Jamaal Williams two weeks ago, you sold high at the right time — he’s entirely TD-dependent.
Meanwhile, I pushed Chris Evans as a surprisingly good dart throw yesterday morning, and he came through for bold fantasy managers. His pass-catching skills should bump him above Samaje Perine on the depth chart, giving him strong handcuff value and potential RB5+ stand-alone value.
Colts vs. Texans
Jonathan Taylor is making a push for October’s fantasy RB MVP. I tried trading for him last week, and my opponent wisely laughed at me (or I can only assume he laughed). Also, T.Y. Hilton surprised me with an impressive return and leading Indianapolis with 4 targets. Those rostering Michael Pittman Jr. can officially worry that his weekly startability is now in serious doubt unless Hilton’s quad injury suffered in the fourth quarter turns out to be serious.
And Houston’s ugly offensive output should not overshadow the fantasy return of Brandin Cooks and the physical return of Nico Collins, who could wind up as Davis Mills’ No. 2 target going forward. Collins is an intriguing waiver add on a team that will be playing from behind often.
Giants vs. Rams
Kadarius Toney exited early, and Sterling Shepard resumed his spot atop the Giants’ WR pecking order. Most notably, former fantasy prospect Dante Pettis earned 11 targets and would be a solid streaming candidate if this receiving corps remains decimated by injuries.
For the Rams, Darrell Henderson got the job done and now has 5 touchdowns in five games. Admittedly, he has been more dominant than I anticipated. The talent has always been there. Yet, the ability to remain healthy has not. Thus far, he’s been able to manage a bell-cow workload.
Washington vs. Chiefs
Antonio Gibson’s injury issues returned, but J.D. McKissic and Ricky Seals-Jones came up big. If you listened to Tommy Garrett and me on the In the Mood podcast last week, you heard us tout both players for Week 6. McKissic was a weekly fantasy starter last year and should be again going forward.
I expected Patrick Mahomes to have an even bigger day, but most managers will take the points. More interestingly, Darrel Williams was a fantasy hero with 2 touchdowns, while Jerick McKinnon netted only 4 touches. However, Williams’ 3.0 yards per carry were less than inspiring, so let’s see how he fares next week at Tennessee.
Panthers vs. Vikings
Four of Minnesota’s six games have been decided in overtime or by less than 4 points. Although they almost gave this one away, it was a complete effort with Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, and K.J. Osborn all helping fantasy managers. Kirk Cousins has everyone he needs to produce another top-10 QB season. And remember, he had a preseason QB19 ADP. Don’t forget this next summer when your opponents are once again ignoring him.
Robby Anderson logged 11 yards on 11 targets, which has to be some kind of NFL record for target-based futility. While he salvaged his day with a late touchdown, he now has only 179 yards on 12 receptions through six games. Either his high target count suggests he’s vastly undervalued, or that target count is poised to decline if/when other WRs step up. We’ll know more in the coming weeks.
Ravens vs. Chargers
The last time Devonta Freeman, Latavius Murray, and Le’Veon Bell scored on the same day was forever ago. Last week, I warned readers to dump Murray because, in any given game, one of four RBs would rise to the occasion. I did not anticipate three of them would. Seriously, who would have thought after Week 1 that we’d see a game like this, where the only RB not to score (or even earn a touch) was Ty’Son Williams?
This was a disastrous loss for the Chargers. Credit Baltimore’s defense, and don’t overthink this: Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen, and a healthy Mike Williams form one of the most top-heavy teams in the NFL. They’re not likely to get shut down again this year.
Week 6 Fantasy Football Takeaways | Late-afternoon games
Which fantasy-relevant players from the 4 PM ET slate bear discussion?
Browns vs. Cardinals
All eyes are on Kareem Hunt’s injury, which reportedly concerns his calf rather than his Achilles. So, fantasy managers can exhale a bit as we await the MRI. And Donovan Peoples-Jones went from “streamer” to “wow” in one afternoon. In light of Jarvis Landry’s imminent return, it will be interesting to see how one of the most run-friendly teams in league history can feed more than one wideout per game.
And James Conner out-carried Chase Edmonds 16-4. After a quiet opening couple of weeks, Conner has been on fire in fantasy with 5 touchdowns in Weeks 3-5. Although his Week 6 fantasy output was unremarkable, his usage told the most compelling story.
Broncos vs. Raiders
I was wrong to dismiss Fant this summer as a back-end TE1. He’s earned 10+ targets in two of the last three games and is now the No. 6 fantasy tight end. However — and this is a big “however” — the bigger test will be when Jerry Jeudy returns. Will Fant remain a consistent top-three receiving option?
After getting only 3 touches combined in the last two contests, Kenyan Drake shook off the cobwebs to amass 73 yards and 2 scores on 6 touches. I have written continually these last 12 months about Josh Jacobs’ TD dependency. He is startable in fantasy because of scoring opportunities, not efficient running or a steady dose of receptions. If Drake is ascending, that will be trouble for those rostering Jacobs.
Patriots vs. Cowboys
Somehow, Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson both had good days. I keep waiting to see which one will seize control of this backfield. Meanwhile, after averaging 38 pass attempts in his first five games, Mac Jones threw a career-low 21 passes. In other words, head coach Bill Belichick probably game-planned Sunday to be a Harris/Stevenson-led offense. Don’t get used to both of them helping fantasy managers in the same week.
I traded for CeeDee Lamb Saturday night. He’s been one of my top acquisition targets for the past three weeks. There’s no conceivable way he should have had about the same fantasy point total as Dalton Schultz. Something had to give, and yesterday it did. I won yesterday on Lamb’s game-winning touchdown. Savvy fantasy management begins with paying attention to stats, expectations, and shifting market values.
Sunday Night Football
What were the biggest fantasy football takeaways from Sunday Night Football in Week 6?
Steelers vs. Seahawks
Ben Roethlisberger went toe-to-toe with a longtime backup QB, which pretty much sums up the 39-year-old’s injured body and/or declining abilities. Most notably, while Eric Ebron got a goal-line touchdown, fellow TE Pat Freiermuth earned more attention — 6 receptions for 56 yards (both career-high marks). Last night might have signaled that Freiermuth overtook Ebron as the better fantasy TE in Pittsburgh.
For Seattle, I was right about DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett being incredibly risky fantasy starters. However, I was wrong about Alex Collins’ low ceiling. Collins carried an offense that couldn’t do much of anything through the air. He will be the team’s only semi-safe fantasy starter until Russell Wilson or Chris Carson returns.