Fantasy Football NFL 2024: Start ‘em, Sit ‘em: Week 6
We’re already at week 6, which means we have pretty solid data to work with when figuring out which matchups favor which players and which matchups we should avoid. Suddenly ‘which’ doesn’t sound like a word.
Anyway, fantasy managers will be without their Dolphins, Chiefs, Vikings, and Rams players as they’re sitting this week out, meaning they’ll have to work with Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones, and Kyren Williams on their benches.
Paired with a new list of injuries makes for the perfect typical fantasy football conundrum. QB Josh Allen took a rough hit to the head in their loss to the Texans; he should be fine, but something worth monitoring. RB Zack Moss suffered an ankle injury – he should be fine but with Chase Brown in the mix as well be wary with him in your starting lineup.
TE David Njoku, to no one’s surprise, is injured again. WR Nico Collins injured his hamstring against the Bills and will be questionable to play this week (UPDATE: COLLINS HAS BEEN PUT ON IR). RBs Joe Mixon and Jonathan Taylor are names who should be monitored. On the bright side, both DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown returned to practice and should be set to play this week.
Isn’t this fun?
Ian’s Record: 22-13
Start ’em
Caleb Williams (QB, Bears) vs Jaguars
While the Jaguars figured it out and finally won a game, Chicago’s offense has been humming the past couple weeks as everything seems to be coming together. Williams has hit the 300-yard mark in two of his last three games and is now faced with the delicious matchup of Jacksonville’s defense.
The Jags currently rank dead last in fantasy points allowed to opposing QBs. Expect Chicago to keep their foot on the gas in order to stay afloat in the NFC North race.
Jets RBs vs Bills
Breece Hall, while he hasn’t been performing at the level he should be, is always an obvious start. This week however, fantasy managers that have him should also look to Braelon Allen in what should be a huge get-well game against Buffalo, who’s been surprisingly atrocious against the run so far.
They’re allowing 100+ rushing yards a game through five weeks and 4.72 yards per carry. Pair that with Aaron Rodgers currently hobbling on his bad ankle, and you’ve got a run-heavy game script that could result in a couple rushing touchdowns.
Terry McLaurin (WR, Commanders) at Ravens
Don’t look now, but the Commanders may be good at football.
QB Jayden Daniels is having a generational rookie season, Dan Quinn’s defense has been tightening up after a rocky first few games, if Washington keeps this up, they could become a massive problem for the teams at the top of the NFC who are currently struggling.
Although it doesn’t sound true, Baltimore is currently giving up the second most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers with a lot of big chunk plays. Scary Terry should be able to take advantage, and we’ve already seen Daniels’ ability to hit him deep.
Tucker Kraft (TE, Packers) vs Cardinals
In an extremely shallow tight end pool this year, fantasy managers should be bee-lining it to their waiver wires in hopes of snagging Kraft after this past week.
Christian Watson is hurt. Romeo Doubs is suspended. Jordan Love will be forced to feed both Kraft and Jayden Reed, both of whom are fully capable of making big plays downfield. Kraft also has three touchdowns in two weeks, which puts him at a three-way tie for first in the league among tight ends.
Sit ’em
Trevor Lawrence (QB, Jaguars) vs Bears
Although the were finally able to muster up a win, I like Lawrence to cool down this week in a brutal matchup through the air. Chicago is currently surrendering the second least amount of fantasy points to opposing QBs and just had their way with Andy Dalton.
RB Tank Bigsby also just had a massive breakout game, so I’d expect the Jags to target the run game – where the Bears are much more forgiving.
Cowboys RBs vs Lions
Rico Dowdle has pretty much made himself all but the number one back in Dallas, but don’t go chasing his breakout game into this week up against Detroit. And definitely don’t rely on Ezekiel Elliott turning the tide with a red zone touchdown. It’s not gonna happen.
The Lions are only allowing 3.6 yards per carry to opposing backs so far. Mike McCarthy might try to get Dowdle involved in the pass game, but the Lions have been good at covering that up too. Pass.
Rashid Shaheed (WR, Saints) vs Buccaneers
Shaheed is always a fun start because of his anytime ability to grab a 40–50-yard touchdown. In fact, all of his touchdowns this year (3) have been from 40 yards or further.
Unfortunately this past week, Derek Carr went down with an oblique injury and is expected to miss multiple weeks. It’s possible whichever backup QB takes his place (Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler) is able to continue finding him downfield, but the likelihood takes a concerning drop with Carr out.
Ravens TEs vs Commanders
It’s really disappointing to include Mark Andrews in this grouping, but both him and Isaiah Likely haven’t been consistent enough yet and are too risky of plays in this tough matchup.
Washington remains tough against tight ends, only surrendering a measly 5.1 fantasy points per game after finally allowing a red zone touchdown to Browns TE Jordan Akins last week. Likely could find the end zone after finding it twice last week, but Lamar Jackson will probably focus more on his receivers against the Commanders’ cornerbacks.
BYES: MIAMI DOLPHINS, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, MINNESOTA VIKINGS, LOS ANGELES RAMS
