2014 Fantasy Football Week 6 Start'em, Sit'em

In what actually turned out to be the closest Thursday Night Football matchup of the season, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and the Colts got out to an incredibly fast start.

With more nearly 150 yards for Hilton and a 24-0 lead in the first quarter, Hilton finished with a career-high 223 yards and a score as he continues to pose a huge problem for the Texans defense. In his five career games against the Texans, Hilton now has 31 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns.

Hopefully you had Hilton in your starting lineup(s) or did not have to go against him to start the week.

Looking ahead to the rest of this week’s games, here are some players to consider starting:

QB – Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (vs. DAL)

Underrated in preseason drafts with an ADP outside the top-12 quarterbacks, Wilson has scored the seventh-most fantasy points among quarterbacks, but he ranks third on a per-game basis (23.17/G) as the Seahawks have had their bye already. Finishing as fantasy’s QB1 in Week 5, Wilson has finished as a top-eight scorer in all four games this season despite throwing for no more than 258 yards in any game and 202 or less in three of four contests. Not only does Wilson make up for his modest passing yardage with rushing stats (122 yards and a TD on MNF), he has thrown multiple touchdowns in all four games this season.

Although the Cowboys have allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, you don’t have be a Cowboys fan (like me) to realize that their defense isn’t that good.

QB – Eli Manning, New York Giants (at PHI)

Speaking of bad NFC East pass defenses, Eli and the Giants get to face one this week. The Eagles have allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks and have allowed all quarterbacks they have faced (including Chad Henne) to finish as a top-12 fantasy quarterback. While Manning has only one top-12 outing (albeit a QB1 finish), he has finished no lower than QB16 over the past four weeks. During that span, Manning has thrown 10 touchdowns (and rushed for another).

QB – Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins (at ARI)

Excluding his five-turnover implosion in Week 4, Cousins has three top-eight performances in his four games played this season including last week’s QB8 finish against the Seahawks. While Arizona’s generousity to fantasy quarterbacks is a bit skewed by the 479 yards and four touchdowns they allowed to Peyton Manning last week, only four teams have allowed more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Turn $27 (entry fee) into $1 Million (top prize) in DraftKings’ Week 6 Millionaire Maker contest.

RB – Branden Oliver, San Diego Chargers (at OAK)

Just as we all expected, Oliver finished as fantasy’s top-scoring running back in Week 5. Seriously though, Oliver handled a large workload after Donald Brown sustained a concussion and performed extremely well against one of the league’s toughest run defenses with 182 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. This week, the Chargers are favored by more than a touchdown over the Raiders, who have allowed four top-10 finishes to opposing running backs in four games.

RB – Ben Tate, Cleveland Browns (vs. PIT)

In his first game back from his knee injury, Tate was clearly the lead dog as he gained 123 yards on 22 carries. Before leaving the opener against the Steelers, this week’s opponent, with that knee injury, Tate was running the ball well (six carries for 41 yards). Even though they have faced some struggling ground attacks in back-to-back weeks (Bucs and Jags), the Steelers are still allowing 4.5 YPC — only eight teams allow more — this season.

RB – Andre Williams, New York Giants (at PHI)

While Williams spelled Rashad Jennings for different reasons in Weeks 4 and 5, he’s been productive in back-to-back games. In those two games, the rookie out of Boston College has a total of 35 carries for 65-plus rushing yards and a touchdown in each game. With Jennings (MCL) out for a couple of weeks, Williams will get another heavy workload this week against the Eagles.

RB – Joique Bell, Detroit Lions (at MIN)

It appears that Reggie Bush will sit out this week, which should lead to a heavy workload for Bell, who has been cleared from the concussion that kept him out of last week’s game. Mentioned in our DraftKings must-start roundtable for Week 6, Bell should get 15-plus carries, the goal-line work and a handful of receptions as the Lions have averaged 9.4 targets per game to their running backs. The Vikings have allowed the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season.

WR – Golden Tate, Detroit Lions (at MIN)

All signs point to Calvin Johnson sitting out Week 6′s game with his high-ankle sprain, but Megatron has essentially acted as a decoy over the past two games when he has been on the field and Tate has upped his production in those games. Tate has at least five catches and 50 yards in all five games this season, but he has back-to-back games with 116-plus yards and scored his first touchdown of the season last week. Tate ranks 12th among receivers in fantasy points and he’s even better in PPR formats (WR8) this season.

WR – Brian Quick, St. Louis Rams (vs. SF)

Despite having his bye already, only 14 receivers have more fantasy points than Quick this season. Quick had seven receptions in each of his first two games for 74-plus yards but no touchdowns. Although he has only seven total receptions in his past two games, he has scored three times in those games. Quick has now finished as a top-25 fantasy receiver in four of four games this year.

WR – Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos (at NYJ)

Not only has Wes Welker returned in the past two games, but Demaryius Thomas set the franchise record in receiving yards and scored three touchdowns last week. That said, Sanders has three consecutive games of 100-plus yards. Sanders has yet to have less than six catches or nine targets in any game this season and there will be plenty to go around against the Jets, who have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season.

WR – Victor Cruz, New York Giants (at PHI)

With back-to-back 100-yard games in Weeks 3 and 4, Cruz had a disappointing outing in Week 5 against the Falcons with three catches for 22 yards on six targets. I expect a bounce-back performance for Cruz as the Eagles have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season.

TE – Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans (vs. JAX)

Walker has had a pair of mediocre games over the past three weeks (TE17, TE4 and TE14), but Walker has scored the fifth-most fantasy points among tight ends and he’s on pace for a massive stat line of 83/1,165/10 this season. Only the Cowboys have allowed more fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season than the Jags.

TE – Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins (at ARI)

There is one obvious concern with Reed — durability. Missing multiple games with a pair of concussions and dealing with other injuries last season, Reed has played only a fraction of a game in Year 2 as he has dealt with a hamstring injury. That said, there is no denying his physical gifts for the position and the favorable matchup to make his return. The Cardinals have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season after allowing the most last year.

Enter our FREE Week 6 fantasy football contest and win one of our site’s t-shirts.

Here are some players to consider keeping on your fantasy bench(es):

QB – Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys (at SEA)

The Seahawks enter Week 6 having allowed three consecutive quarterbacks to finish as a top-eight fantasy quarterback and have given up the ninth-most fantasy points to the position this season. In their two home games, however, they have allowed an average of 14.79 fantasy points per game to Aaron Rodgers (9.56, QB28) and Peyton Manning (20.02, QB7).

Although Romo has back-to-back top-10 performances, the Cowboys continue to lean heavily on their ground game and Romo is averaging just 31.8 pass attempts per game. That compares to 35.7 per game in 2013 and 40.5 in 2012.

QB – Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (at CIN)

Newton has three consecutive games finishing as the QB18 or worse. In his four games, Newton has only 14 rush attempts for 42 yards and no touchdowns. Although he carried the ball a season-high six times last week, two of those were kneel downs and he gained only nine yards. Even after giving up 292 yards and two touchdowns to Tom Brady last week, the Bengals have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.

QB – Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. CAR)

Speaking of the Bengals, Dalton is averaging only 15.91 fantasy points per game and has just four passing touchdowns on the season. The good news is he’s keeping the turnovers low (only one interception), but he’s averaging only 27 attempts per game and is on pace for just 432 throws in Hue Jackson’s run-heavy scheme. With A.J. Green (foot) out for Sunday’s game (and perhaps longer), Dalton shouldn’t be anywhere near your starting lineup.

RB – Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. BAL)

Missing a pair of games, The Muscle Hamster has just 94 rushing yards on 37 carries — 2.54 yards per carry — in three games. In addition, Martin’s matchup this week against the Ravens is not favorable. Through Week 5, the Ravens rank eighth in rushing defense (91.4 YPG allowed) and have allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs.

RB – Zac Stacy, St. Louis Rams (vs. SF)

Stacy left last week’s game early with a calf injury, but all signs point to him being ready to go on Monday night against the 49ers. That’s the good news. The bad news for Stacy is that the 49ers have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs this season.

RB – Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots (at BUF)

Perhaps we see a heavy dose of Ridley this week. Perhaps we don’t. In the Patriots’ five games this year, Ridley has eight, 25, 19, five and 27 carries, respectively. Ridley had 113 rushing yards and a score last week, but it’s hard to predict how Belichick will allocate the workload. In addition, the Bills currently rank second in the NFL in rushing defense (71.0 YPG, 3.0 YPC, zero rushing TDs).

RB – Toby Gerhart, Jacksonville Jaguars (at TEN)

Gerhart’s snaps have declined every week this season — 50 to 36 to 30 to 21 to 10. As his role continues to diminish and his production disappoints (2.56 YPC), Gerhart isn’t even worth a flex play despite the Titans allowing the seventh-most rushing yards (136.8 per game) this season.

WR – Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings (vs. DET)

In his past two games, Patterson has only two receptions and four targets in each game. Last week, he had just eight yards and finished as the WR97. Although the team says that they want to get Patterson more involved, it has yet to materialize. Until they get him going, I’d prefer to keep him on my bench. I’d rather be one week too late than (perhaps) several too early.

WR – Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers (at OAK)

I have Allen ranked as my WR25 this week so that may or may not mean that you should sit him. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chargers have plenty of success running the ball against the Raiders and Allen has another modest game. Without a touchdown yet this season, Allen has finished as the WR40 (or worse) in four of five games this season.

WR – DeSean Jackson, Washington Redskins (at ARI)

Is D-Jax due for another dud? Jackson is always capable of a big game, but he has yet to have two productive games in back-to-back weeks this season. Here are Jackson’s game logs: 8/62 (on nine targets), 1/19 (two), 5/117/1 (11), 1/9 (four), 5/157/1 (11).

WR – Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens (at TB)

Smith had eight targets last week and for the second time in three weeks, but he still has yet to catch more than three passes in any game this season. Smith is averaging 2.2 catches and 35.2 yards per game this year and has only once finished better than WR54 this season. Even though the matchup is favorable as the Bucs have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing receivers, it’s difficult to trust that Smith can capitalize on it.

TE – Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers (at STL)

Although Davis sat out in Week 5 (and Week 3), he is expected to return in Week 6. Davis had two touchdowns on his four Week 1 receptions, but he has yet to have more than four receptions in any game. In his past two games played, Davis has just three targets each week and that lack of volume makes him a touchdown-dependent play each week. That said, the Rams are one of the best teams in the league at defending tight ends. They have yet to allow a tight end to reach five catches or 50 yards.

TE – Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams (vs. SF)

A dropped touchdown pass in Week 3 against the Cowboys means that Cook has yet to finish higher than TE13 in any week on the season. Even so, Cook has yet to have any less than 44 receiving yards through four games. Coincidentally, the 49ers have yet to allow any tight end to finish with more than 43 receiving yards (Zach Ertz, Week 4).

To see who I would start based on your team, please consult with my Week 6 rankings:

• Week 6 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings
• Week 6 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings
• Week 6 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings
• Week 6 Fantasy Football Tight End Rankings

Keep track of our site’s updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle