Admin October 8, 2024
NFL Week 5 Overreactions: Ravens are back, Bills playoff hopes are dwindling
Sports Seriously’s Mackenzie Salmon ‘overreacts’ to the biggest storylines from Week 5— including the Vikings’ 5-0 start and the Cowboys’ thriller victory on SNF.
Sports Seriously
No matter your record through five weeks, there are plenty of questions you need answered before Week 6. Injuries are piling up. Other injured players are close to returning. It’s a very confusing time to be managing a team.
Last week, we informed you to start players like Brandon Aiyuk, Trevor Lawrence, and Wan’Dale Robinson. Each of whom had solid Week 5‘s that hopefully helped you win your matchup. However, a new week brings a new challenge. Whether you’re looking to claw into the playoff picture, stay undefeated, or just avoid last place, we’ve got answers to your Week 6 questions.
Here are eight players to start and eight more to sit in Week 6.
Fantasy football waiver wire Week 6: 5 players to pick up
Players to start in Week 6:
Quarterbacks:
The New York Giants were without star rookie receiver Malik Nabers a week ago, and were facing a very tough secondary in the Seattle Seahawks. Daniel Jones still managed to tally over 22 fantasy points. We just watched Lamar Jackson and the Ravens dice up the Bengals’ secondary. Even if Nabers does not return for the Giants in Week 6, the matchup is too good, and Jones’ connection with Wan’Dale Robinson is solid enough to warrant a start for Jones.
Something may have finally clicked for Williams in the Bears’ massive Week 5 win over Carolina. He was spectacular, tallying 304 passing yards and two touchdowns en route to his best fantasy performance of the season. While the Panthers are still a team that is bound to surrender huge performances from opposing quarterbacks, the matchup for Williams in Week 6 is not that much worse.
The Bears will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6, the same Jaguars that have allowed nine passing touchdowns over the last three weeks and have allowed opposing quarterbacks to score at least 25 points in every game during that stretch. If Williams has finally put some pieces together and can start playing at a similar level to what we saw in Week 5, he’ll be a huge add for your playoff push.
Running Backs:
It’s clear that Williams has finally established himself as the RB1 in Denver. After weeks of seeing Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie get sizable usage, Williams dominated snaps and touches in Week 5 and did not disappoint. He’s now earned 29 carries over the last two weeks and is still one of Bo Nix’s favorite targets. His floor seems to be slowly rising, and it should only get higher as his lack of touchdowns at his current volume is unsustainable.
- Tyrone Tracy/Devin Singletary, NYG
As was the case with Daniel Jones, the Bengals’ defense is a matchup gold mine across the board. So long as Devin Singletary remains sidelined, Tracy will feast on a Cincinnati defense that has let up at least 17 non-PPR points to opposing running backs in three straight weeks. Whoever starts for the Giants needs to be in your starting lineup.
Wide Receivers:
Robinson lucked out in Week 5, tallying a touchdown that saved his day. However, he still racked up six receptions, marking his fourth game in five weeks with at least six catches. In PPR formats, regardless of Nabers’ availability, Robinson is a must-start against a Cincy’s secondary that just got torched by Baltimore.
Through five weeks, Cooper has been the only startable player for the Cleveland Browns. Now, facing a weak Philadelphia secondary, Cooper should be in for a great matchup. That said, Cooper had a great matchup in Week 5 against Washington yet only managed 10 PPR points. Hopefully, Cooper and Watson can connect on a few more of their passes. If so, Cooper could be in for a massive day.
Tight Ends:
Can Kraft keep up this level of production we’ve seen over the last two weeks? Absolutely not. Does he have a great matchup against an Arizona Cardinals defense that has surrendered at least nine PPR fantasy points to opposing tight ends each of the last three weeks? Yes.
While the return of Romeo Doubs could play a role in Kraft’s target share, the tight end has developed a solid connection with quarterback Jordan Love it seems, and the pair have tallied three touchdowns together in the last two weeks. With how poor the tight end position has been this year, Kraft is a must-start until further notice.
Ertz was held in check by the Cleveland Browns in Week 5, but he still earned eight targets on the day. That kind of volume is bound to lead to more points in the future. Now Ertz gets to face a Baltimore Ravens defense that has allowed the third-most receptions to tight ends, on a per-game average? That’s a solid deal.
Players to sit in Week 6:
Quarterbacks:
Outside of the fact that the 49ers’ offense just seems to feel different without Christian McCaffrey, it’ll be hard to bet on Purdy against a Seattle secondary that held opposing quarterbacks to 11 or fewer points in each of the first three weeks. While Seattle’s defense has slowed down recently, allowing Jared Goff and Daniel Jones to each score 20+, Goff needed a perfect 18-of-18 completion rate for those points, which shouldn’t be expected of Purdy. Jones, meanwhile, was able to pull off his performance even without star receiver Malik Nabers. That said, I still have faith Seattle’s defense can survive a matchup with the 49ers.
Without Khalil Shakir, the Buffalo Bills’ passing offense looked atrocious against the Houston Texans. Even with Shakir likely back in Week 6 though, the Bills will face the daunting New York Jets’ secondary on Monday Night Football. All in all, it’s a tough matchup and the Bills have not looked like the unstoppable force on offense we’ve seen in years past.
Running Backs:
The Detroit Lions have been one of the best teams in the NFL against the run this year, and Dowdle, despite earning twenty carries and finding the endzone in Week 5, is not a running back you can trust to change that trend. Dowdle has struggled with his efficiency all year. So long as the Lions maintain a lead, which should be expected, Dowdle will see little to no value as a fantasy starter.
After it looked like Bucky Irving was taking over the Bucs’ backfield, White rose from the dead to outcarry and outsnap Irving against Atlanta. However, Irving will be in for a much tougher night against a Saints’ defense that, outside of a poor showing against Saquon Barkley and the Eagles, has been pretty stout against the run. They’ve yet to allow a touchdown in any other week, and with Irving still likely involved, there isn’t much upside for White.
Wide Receivers:
Through five weeks, the Titans have allowed the fewest points to opposing wide receivers. L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie have been outstanding for the team, and with Pittman facing issues of his own, it’s impossible to start him with much confidence in Week 6.
Although Sutton appeared to have built a connection with quarterback Bo Nix over the last few weeks, Sutton was held mostly in check in Week 6, which isn’t a great sign moving forward. The Chargers’ secondary will be fresh coming off a bye, and they have yet to allow a single WR room to record more than 11 catches in a game. You know Javonte Williams will get his fill, but there isn’t much room left for Sutton.
Tight Ends:
The Philadelphia Eagles have only allowed more than three receptions to opposing tight ends once all year. Now, with the Eagles coming off a bye, they should have had plenty of time to rest up and handle Njoku. Furthermore, given that Philadelphia’s weaknesses on defense lie in their secondary and run stopping, the Browns will likely look to exploit those weaknesses by running the ball and throwing to their wideouts, leaving little room for Njoku to produce.
Not only are the Cleveland Browns tremendous at defending against tight ends, but the Eagles are expected to have DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, and Lane Johnson back for Week 6. Goedert was great when he was the only player talented enough to get open, but with several key pass-catchers and a pivotal part of their offensive line returning, Hurts will look to his star wideouts more often, leaving Goedert in the dust.
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