Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 6
Our Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 6 article offers plenty of advice on handling your lineup, especially as you get into the second third of the fantasy season.
You might be 5-0 and dominating your league. Or, you might be 0-5 and crying at the bottom. Many of us are 4-1, 3-2, 2-3, or 1-4, with some bad luck happening in some way or another. Let’s go over what I got right and wrong in the Week 5 start ’em sit ’em suggestions.
D’Andre Swift was my best pick, going off for the second consecutive week and finishing with 20 fantasy points. Also, Michael Pittman scored a touchdown and finished with 14.7 fantasy points. Tyler Conklin rumbled across the pond with 11.5 fantasy points. Also, I was correct about Zack Moss struggling, as he finished with 8.2 fantasy points. Jordan Addison finished with just 6.6 fantasy points, proving me correct when I had him as a sit. Moreover, I was right about Dalton Kinkaid struggling this week.
Brock Purdy was my biggest miss. Unfortunately, the offensive line had Purdy running for his life, and he held onto the ball too long, finishing with 13.1 fantasy points. Najee Harris also had a letdown, finishing with just a measly 9.7 fantasy points. Of course, you could blame the horrible weather conditions for that (always check the weather in addition to reading our Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 5 article). Amari Cooper got 10 targets, but many were way over his head, as his erratic day resulted in 10.6 fantasy points. Likewise, James Cook defied my pick of doom and gloom by scoring 17.9 fantasy points.
As you can see by my trend, I tend to hit on (not that way) the sit suggestions more often than not, with Cook being the only bad choice last weekend. Let’s make this Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 5 article memorable, especially with many teams on a bye week.
You should probably check the fantasy football points team ranks to see how teams have done against certain positions, which is a good tell sign of how they might do this weekend.
Our NFL recap tells you everything you need to know about what happened in Week 5, including some major upsets. Of course, remember to optimize your lineups with our NFL Optimizer. It will help you a lot.
Week 6 Starts
*Start Stat Percentage, Via Yahoo
Caleb Williams
Chicago Bears vs. JAX (60% started)
Caleb Williams finally came alive this week, exploding for 23.6 fantasy points. It was a very clean game and showed how good Williams could be when he was firing on all cylinders. Williams finished with 304 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers. Now, he will face the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are currently last in the NFL in points against fantasy quarterbacks. Fire Williams to the moon this week.
James Connor
Arizona Cardinals vs. GB (96% started)
James Connor had an explosive second half, finishing with 19 runs on 83 yards for an average of 4.5 yards per carry. Ultimately, it showed his resilience, especially in the searing heat. Connor is a good play because the Green Bay Packers allowed Kyren Williams to run all over them a week after letting Aaron Jones march down the field. He is also one of the top options in this offense and will likely have another good week.
D’Andre Swift
Chicago Bears vs. JAX (92% started)
Swift is on fire, having another good game after going off against the Carolina Panthers. Now, he gets another good game, as he faces the Jaguars, who are fourth against fantasy running backs this season. While the Jaguars held Trey Sermon to 10 rushes on 38 yards, they allowed him to run in for a touchdown, in addition to six catches on 25 yards. Even without a touchdown, that would still be 12.3 fantasy points, which meets expectations. However, I expect Swift to have another good game because the Bears have learned that leaning on him helps Williams, which helps them win games.
Zay Flowers
Baltimore Ravens vs. WAS (95% started)
After posting two consecutive duds, Zay Flowers erupted for 19 fantasy points this week. His seven catches for 111 yards on 12 targets was exceptional, and now he will look to replicate that against the Washington Commanders. While the Commanders did not get burned this week, that had more to do with Deshaun Watson’s inefficiency than their actual talent in the secondary. Washington is still in the bottom 7 in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers, and this is a good spot for Flowers, especially since he has a good quarterback throwing to him.
Terry McLaurin
Washington Commanders vs. BAL (94% started)
On the other side of the field in the same game, the Washington Commanders will also have some chances to throw. Terry McLaurin had above-average numbers this week, catching four of eight targets for 112 yards and 13.4 fantasy points. Now, he will face the Ravens, who allowed Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to burn them. McLaurin also has a red-hot Jayden Daniels throwing to him. Additionally, consider the fact that the Ravens might be leading in this game, which might lead to more chances for McLaurin.
Tyler Kraft
Green Bay Packers vs. ARZ (62% started)
Tyler Kraft has exploded over the past two weeks. Amazingly, he went off again, this time hauling in 10 catches for 141 yards and two scores while amassing 24.8 fantasy points. To this humble reviewer, there is a lot of familiarities with George Kittle and Trey McBridge in Kraft, and I expect him to continue cheesing it up (double pun) this weekend against the Arizona Cardinals, who just allowed George Kittle to catch eight passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. This is a prime opportunity for Kraft to establish himself as a weekly reliable tight end.
Week 5 Sits
Trevor Lawrence
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. CHI (54% started)
Trevor Lawrence finally had a good game last week, passing for 371 yards and two touchdowns while celebrating his 25th birthday with a bang. He finished with 21.2. fantasy points, which was a season-high. But it’s time to slam the breaks before inserting him into your weekly lineups. This week, Lawrence will face the Chicago Bears in London, and the Bears are the best team in the NFL in fantasy points against quarterbacks. The Bears even held CJ Stroud to 14.3 fantasy points in Week 2. Ultimately, this is a matchup to stay away from.
Brian Robinson Jr.
Washington Commanders vs. BAL (93% started)
Brian Robinson Jr. has been rumbling lately and is getting into the endzone a lot, scoring four touchdowns over his last three games and five overall this season. But four things are working against him. First, he has a minor knee injury, which may limit his snaps. Also, Daniels may take a lot of his running chances. Likewise, he will face a tough Ravens defense that stifled the Bengals’ running game. Consider the fact that he ran seven times for 18 yards, which is awful. If he had not scored those two touchdowns, he would have finished with 1.8 fantasy points. Do you want that? No, I didn’t think so. Play someone else this week.
Alexander Mattison
Las Vegas Raiders vs. PIT (51% started)
This advice also applies to Zamir White if he is available to play this weekend. Mattison took over for the injured White and finished with 10.5 fantasy points while also averaging 2.5 yards per game on the ground. It will get even worse this weekend, as Mattison (or White) will face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are the fourth-best in the NFL against fantasy running backs and bottled up Rico Dowdle for 20 rushes for 87 yards. While that is not horrible by any stretch of the imagination, it is when you consider the Dallas Cowboys attempted to run the ball several times from the goal line and could not get in. It will be more of the same for Mattison.
Ladd McConkey
LA Chargers vs. DEN (55% started)
Ladd McConkey has had a mixed start to his NFL career. While he did not start last week because of the bye week, it is still not time to trust him as a weekly starter. It will not get any easier this week as he faces the Denver Broncos, who are the second-best team in the NFL in points against fantasy wide receivers. Remember, this defense bottled up Mike Evans earlier this season, holding him to two catches for 17 yards. It might be a tough day for McConkey.
Courtland Sutton
Denver Broncos vs. LAC (71% started)
On the other side of the field, Courtland Sutton also may struggle. Despite the Broncos trouncing the Raiders 34-18, Sutton barely did anything, catching two of five targets for 32 yards. He has had two solid (not great) weeks sandwiched between three duds. It’s hard to trust Sutton, especially when he has Bo Nix throwing to him. It also does not help that he will be facing the Los Angeles Chargers, who are the third-best team in the NFL against fantasy wide receivers.
Isaiah Likely
Baltimore Ravens vs. WAS (56% started)
Isaiah Likely finally broke out last weekend, with 16.3 fantasy points, after three consecutive duds following his Week 1 explosion. But he is facing the Washington Commanders this week. While the Commanders struggle against wide receivers, they have no such issue against tight ends, whom they rank fifth-best in the NFL in points against fantasy tight ends. Additionally, consider that he is still sharing the field with Mark Andrews. There may be a lot of fantasy points in this game, but it might not come from the Baltimore tight ends.
