We’re getting to the time of year in fantasy football where people who are either leading their league in terms of record or who are last in their league start to get cute with roster decisions based on where they took people in their respective fantasy drafts. Don’t be one of those people.
Fantasy draft season is over folks. It has been for some time. At this point in the season, you need to start focusing on players who have shown consistency over the past 6 weeks both positively and negatively and add them to your lineup accordingly.
How do you make those decisions though?
Fantasy statistics and common sense are your best friends when trying to avoid getting cute when making your roster decisions from week to week. If you take anything away from us this season at least take this lesson with you. First, look at the matchups and where your fantasy player’s strengths and weaknesses are against their given opponent from week to week, and THEN let your common sense guide you from there.
This week, in my 4-EYED PREVIEWS for Week 6, I’m going to give you a list of players that I feel you should start this week using not only statistical information but heavy dose of common sense to go with that information. Can some of this advice be extremely subjective? Absolutely. Is there logic being used when constructing my arguments? Of course. Despite all that could I still get things wrong? You bet. Do I even drop a hot take or two? Heck yeah! But no matter what the narrative is that you are given YOU have to take the information that’s right in front of you and do what’s best for your fantasy football team. Hopefully, these suggestions serve you well!
Quarterbacks: Gardner Minshew II will score at least 20 fantasy points this weekend
Gardner Minshew II is QB5 on the season in terms of rushing yards at the position and QB9 in terms of quarterback rating. He’s QB12 on the season averaging 17.9 fantasy points per game. The Saints rank 8th in the league in pass rushing and 18th in the league in pass coverage. This Jaguars offense has both a top 10 and top 5 running back and wide receiver in terms of fantasy point production which allows for more creativity in terms of play-calling and utilization of weapons on their roster.
I mean this is pretty much the type of offensive-to-defensive matchup you would want for a quarterback any week. Fire him up with confidence in week 6
Running Back: Vintage Adrian Peterson will show up against the Dolphins on Sunday
These are dark times in the Nation’s Capital. The only bright spot, from a fantasy standpoint, is that the Redskins interim head coach, Bill Callahan, is one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL and will more than likely emphasize the running game this week versus a Dolphins defense that ranks 20th against the run.
Enter Adrian Peterson.
On the season Peterson has led this backfield in rushing attempts with 40 and given Callahan’s propensity to establish the run over the course of his head coaching career look for there to be plenty of opportunities for “All Day” to produce on Sunday.
*Yeah, I know this is an extremely hot take hence why I’m making it my bold prediction of the week!*
Wide Receiver: Calvin Ridley will have a get right game versus the Cardinals
Averaging 11.2 fantasy points per game, Ridley is 3rd on this Falcons team in targets but should get a boost this week as he’ll be lining up across from Kevin Peterson from the Arizona Cardinals who give the Falcons their second-best receiving matchup against cornerbacks this week. On the season the Cardinals rank 19th in pass coverage and given the fact their defense will be aiming to take away the top two receiving targets for the Falcons, being Julio Jones and Austin Hooper, look for Ridley to return to fantasy relevance this week.
Tight End: Will Dissly will feast against the Browns
Did you…did you all see what George Kittle did to the Browns on Monday Night?!
Look I’m not saying Dissly is Kittle, but what I am saying is Dissly is being treated like Kittle in terms of targets and usage in the Seahawks passing game. With Cleveland’s top corners likely out again and their starting strong safety still trying to recover from a quad injury, Dissly should be in line for heavy usage in the red zone this week as he has been the most productive tight end in the red zone this season among all tight ends.
IDP Of The Week
Defensive Back: Vonn Bell will look to stop the Jaguars rushing attack
Strong safeties play against the run. That’s where they get a bulk of their tackle numbers: playing against the run and while covering opposing tight ends. The Jaguars and their bell-cow running back, Leonard Fournette, are 4th in the NFL in terms of rushing attempts, yet Fournette is 33rd among all running backs in terms of juke rate meaning he’s a “run right at you” type of running back. This, of course, is perfect for strong safeties as they tend to rush downhill quickly to make plays against the run. This seems like an IDP match made in heaven if you ask me.