Week 6 of the NFL season is here and the bye weeks are upon us. Four teams are on bye this week: Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, and Minnesota Vikings.
Injuries continue to devastate fantasy rosters every week, so make sure to get those players put on the IR and grab some players off of the waiver wire. Check out our Fantasy In Frames IDP waiver-wire article every week.
Below are my educated guesses of individual defensive players to Play And Fade for Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season. As we continue to get more data, we get a better idea of who to lean on throughout the season.
As always, I am going to give you some players I think could have a better week than expected or might have a worse game than predicted.
Here we go!
Plays
- Travon Walker, DE Jaguars vs Bears
- Walker finally had the breakout game that everyone has been waiting on since he was the top overall draft pick in 2022. He was the top scoring DL in Fantasy Pros scoring in Week 5 with 31.8 points with five tackles and a career-high three sacks.
- Walker has been super hit and miss this season. He has had two huge games and three duds. I’m betting he can keep things going against a poor Bears offensive line that has given up 17 sacks this season and would seem to be a much better matchup than he had last week against the Colts.
- Derek Hall, DE Seahawks vs 49ers
- Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe have been battling injuries and Derek Hall is taking advantage. Hall has a 12.3% pressure rate this season.
- Hall has five sacks in five games this season. He also has seen a snap share of over 60% the last four weeks.
- Logan Hall, DT Buccaneers at Saints
- If you are looking for some help up front on the defensive line, I like what I have seen lately from Hall. He had a 12.5% win rate and 17.5% pressure rate in Week 5.
- The second round pick from Houston in 2022 is starting to put it together. He has five tackles and three sacks the past two weeks.
Fades
- Jadeveon Clowney, DE Panthers vs FalconsOd
- Clowney only has one sack this season. He has not looked particularly impressive at any point this season. At this point, the name recognition is way better than the fantasy production.
- Clowney left Week 5 with a shoulder injury. It’s not known what his availability will be for week 6, but I wouldn’t want to take the chance even if he is fully cleared.
- Khalen Saunders, DE Saints vs Buccaneers
- Saunders had a nice Week 5 with 13.3 points in Fantasy Pros scoring. He had an interception and five assisted tackles to help his total for the week.
- Saunders only saw a 43% snap share in Week 5, and 39% share in Week 4. Expecting a double-digit performance from Saunders again would be hard to bet on.
- Odafe Oweh, DE Ravens vs Commanders
- Oweh has 3.5 sacks this year, so he does have some production, but I’m not seeing it this week against the rushing ability of Jaylon Daniels.
- Oweh has too many games with a 0% pressure rate for my liking. This week shouldn’t be one of his better weeks.
Plays
- Trevin Wallace, LB Panthers vs Falcons
- The Panthers linebacking core has been crushed by injuries. Insert rookie LB Trevin Wallace. In his first real action this season Wallace tallied 15 tackles with 10 solo tackles in Week 5 against the Bears.
- Wallace got 100% of the snap share in Week 5 and had an 18.9% tackle efficiency rate. If Josey Jewell comes back it could affect how Wallace is used going forward. But if he stays in the lineup against the Falcons high flying offense in Week 6, he should keep busy all day.
- Frankie Luvu, LB Commanders at Ravens
- Luvu was the highest scoring LB in Fantasy Pros scoring in Week 5 with 27.3 points. He had seven tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery.
- Luvu has scored nine points or more in every game but one this season. He’s consistently getting more than 90% of the snap share for an improving Commanders team. Now he gets the run heavy Ravens in Week 6.
- Jerome Baker, LB Seahawks vs 49ers
- Baker missed the last two weeks with an injury, but came back in a big way in Week 5. Baker scored 24.5 fantasy points in Fantasy Pros scoring against the Giants. He played 100% of snaps on defense and had 14 tackles, eight solo stops, and added a sack.
- Baker looks to be good to go now. He gets the 49ers on Thursday night football and should see a decent amount of RB Jordan Mason out of the backfield.
Fades
- Krys Barnes, LB Cardinals at Packers
- Barnes had his second double-digit scoring week of the season in Week 5. But the usage is terrible. Barnes only saw a 19% snap share in Week 5. He had three tackles and was saved by having a sack.
- If Barnes hasn’t had a game with a sack his numbers are awful. He is averaging just 1.5 points per game in the three games he didn’t record a sack.
- Zaven Collins, LB Cardinals at Packers
- Collins is only averaging around a 50% snap share this season. He is mostly playing a rush end role which hurts his ability to get many tackles.
- Collins only has one sack this season, and has struggled to get many tackles outside of Week 1. He might look like a solid pickup off the waiver wire, but I’m avoiding him unless I’m desperate.
- Jahlani Tavai, LB Patriots vs Texans
- Tavai was a player I had high hopes for in 2024. Then Ja’Whaun Bentley was injured for the season, and it was expected that Tavai would pick up some of the slack, but that hasn’t happened.
- The past two weeks, Tavai was under a 90% snap share and had nine tackles combined to finish as LB55 in Fantasy Pros scoring the past two weeks. I’m fading him against Houston.
Plays
- Tyler Nubin, S Giants vs Bengals
- The rookie safety has put together two good weeks in a row. He finished second in Fantasy Pros scoring with 18.5 points in Week 5 after he had nine tackles with seven solo stops and a fumble recovery. This comes after he had eight tackles and six solo tackles in Week 4.
- Nubin has seen almost 100% snap share this season. The Bengals have been in offensive battles this entire season. Nubin should have plenty of chances to make plays this week.
- Xavier McKinney, S Packers vs Cardinals
- McKinney is off to an unbelievable start this season. He has an interception in all five games and leads the league in that category.
- McKinney is playing 100% of snaps this season. While he typically plays deep safety (56.4%), I was encouraged that he got 34.6% of his snaps in the box. Eventually the interception streak will end, but I’m riding the wave for now.
- Jaylon Jones, CB Colts at Titans
- Teams keep going at Jones this season. He faced six targets again last week and I would expect him to see a decent amount of balls thrown his way this week against the Titans.
- Jones is playing 100% of snaps. He also has three top 10 finishes in Fantasy Pros scoring for DBs this season. Especially if you are in a start CB league, then he should be finding his way into lineups.
Fades
- Justin Simmons, S Falcons at Panthers
- Simmons is still a good NFL player, but his fantasy production has plummeted this season. He has played 99% of snaps in four of five games this season, but only has one game scoring in double figures and that was because he had an interception.
- Simmons Fantasy Pros DB finishes this season are 68, 57, 16, 84, and 43. That is not what you want to see. Simmons is playing almost all his snaps as the deep safety as Jessie Bates has seen an increase in box snaps, which is helping his IDP value.
- P.J. Locke, S Broncos vs Chargers
- Locke had a good finish to the 2023 season, but that hasn’t carried over into the 2024 season. Locke is getting 100% snap share but has only had one game this year where he has finished in the top 10. Every other week he has finished as DB39 or worse according to Fantasy Pros scoring.
- Locke played 60% of his snaps at deep safety in Week 5. And now he faces a Chargers offense that isn’t pushing the ball downfield. If he continues to play outside of the box, then his fantasy value is going to keep taking a hit.
- Geno Stone, S Bengals at Giants
- Stone is playing nearly 100% of snaps, but he is playing 60% of those snaps at deep safety. The LBs are eating up all the tackles for the Bengals.
- The tackle floor is low for Stone. His highest finish this season is 37th among DBs according to Fantasy Pros scoring. I don’t see the upside with Stone.
