After a great week 5, the week 6 fantasy football sleeper page was a hit. Josh Downs came through, although it was quite clear, but other than that little went right. Ja’Lynn Polk was the wrong New England receiver to get promoted, Daniel Jones had another nightmare game at home and we failed to find traction in the backfield.
There will be more weeks like this. We are ready for week 7.
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. 49ers (44% on list)
I can’t believe Smith-Schuster is still available for this column, but he’s still floating free in more than half of Yahoo’s leagues. Are memories that short?
Smith-Schuster was galloping freely the last time we saw him in Week 5 (7-130-0, eight goals), and let’s not forget that Smith-Schuster had 78 catches for 933 yards the last time he was a regular in Kansas City was – that was just two years ago. He already has the trust of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. If Travis Kelce doesn’t lead the Chiefs in targets this week, JuJu will. He should be included in every medium and deep fantasy football league. He is certainly welcome in all my teams.
QB Drake Maye (14%), WR DeMario Douglas (35%) vs. Jaguars in London
The Maye debut wasn’t perfect, let’s be clear about that. There were pockets; there were bad decisions at times. But the speed of the professional game didn’t overwhelm him, and there were plenty of highlights, too: three touchdown passes and a whopping 38 rushing yards.
Now the match will be divine: the Jaguars’ defense. Jacksonville’s had the worst pass defense in the league by a significant margin last month.
Douglas might be an even easier fantasy ticket to hit. He has become a target in New England’s offense (nine goals in three of his last four games), and there was a touchdown in Week 6, along with increased opportunities down the field.
Overall, we think Douglas is similar to New York’s Wan’Dale Robinson – a horizontal receiver – but there may be more upside than initially thought. Whatever you think of Douglas long-term, his fantasy stock gets a bump with Maye under center, and that leaky Jacksonville secondary on the other side. Get up early on Sunday.
RB Tyler Goodson vs. Dolphins (7%)
The league is filled with injury-plagued backfields these days, and this is another one of those. You can’t start Goodson until we know for sure that Jonathan Taylor (ankle) can’t start. But if Taylor is scratched, we have to acknowledge that Goodson has been much more efficient than Trey Sermon this year (look at those yards-per-touch stats), and that Sermon himself isn’t entirely healthy.
Miami’s defense lives up to the record as it is the third friendliest matchup for opposing running backs. This feels like the week the Colts released Goodson and see what he can do with a bigger opportunity.
WR Bub assets vs. Broncos (5%)
Resources could be the last man standing in a New Orleans receiver room riddled with injuries. We won’t see Rashid Shaheed for a while, and Chris Olave (concussion) has also been ruled out for Week 7. Patrick Surtain II has also been ruled out – a boost for the Saints.
Means didn’t set the world on fire with his first substantial snaps last week, but most PPR-related formats play a 5-45-1 line, and he has scored eight goals for the team. Obviously, he has led the scout team reps with newly minted starter Spencer Rattler; Reports have already been drawn up. It’s pretty easy to give Means some projectable volume in Thursday night’s game, and I think he’ll do something with that opportunity. He’s a reasonable WR3 option for Week 7.
RB Tyler Allgeier vs. Seahawks (36%)
No one expects Allgeier to steal the starting job in Atlanta — Bijan Robinson is that good — but the Falcons have made it clear that Allgeier deserves a seat at the table. Atlanta’s No. 2 back has racked up 55 touches in his last five games, and last week he got into the end zone twice: once on a traditional touchdown, once on a two-point conversion.
In a normal week, Allgeier looks at 7-12 touches. If he gets the hot hand or Robinson encounters an accident, the role could easily be expanded. Seattle also favors opposing running backs, allowing the 11th most points to the position.
Sometimes you have to get a little creative with your flex play as we navigate through the bye and injury season; this could be one of those moments.
TEs Cade Oton vs. Ravens (36%), Noah Fant at Falcons (29%), Colby Parkinson vs. Raiders (19%)
We know many fantasy managers will be without Cole Kmet and Jake Ferguson this week, and we hate to lose set-and-forget options at fantasy’s toughest position. So here are three possible tight streamers to consider:
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Otton is a secondary part of Tampa Bay’s passing game, but the Ravens struggled in seam coverage and he had a touchdown last week.
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Fant’s role could be primed for a bigger role after racking up all 17 targets in the past four games. Andy Behrens would also mention another Fant fact: He attended the University of Iowa, home to so many talented tight ends.
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Parkinson’s selection was likely postponed due to the bye week, but he has scored 20 goals in his last two games, reaching a respectable TE11 in that period. All three of these players also work with competent quarterbacks, a time-honored way to break a tie.
