Fantasy Football Saturday Mailbag for Week 6
Good Morning, FootClan, and a very warm welcome to Week 6 of The Fantasy Footballers’ Saturday Morning Mailbag! As always, I am here bright and early on a Saturday morning to select a handful of your questions from The Fantasy Footballers’ Discord server and answer some of the hot topics that didn’t quite make it to that week’s edition of The Footcast. The Ballers’ Discord is home to the biggest and best online fantasy football community in the world, and is your go-to if you are looking to talk about all things fantasy football. Head over today and get involved with thousands of members across dozens of dedicated channels for start/sit questions, trade advice, and waiver wire insights, as well as exclusive areas which are only available to members of the FootClan.
And then there were none. Week 5 saw the last two unbeaten teams, the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills, put to the sword by the powerhouses, the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. Arguably, the Bills defeat at home to Drake Maye and company on Monday Night Football wasn’t the biggest shock of the week – an honor shared by the Houston Texans after boat-racing the Ravens 44-10 in Baltimore, and the Jacksonville Jaguars – who have somehow overcome the pre-season shame of Liam Coen’s “Duuuvaaaalll” to move to 4-1 and sit atop the AFC South – after toppling Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Monday Night. We sadly lost the Chargers’ promising rookie RB Omarion Hampton to the IR (don’t panic, Jim Harbaugh says he will return after the four weeks) and not content with missing the first three games of the season, Vikings’ WR Jordan Addison decided he needed more time on the sidelines, missing the opening quarter in London after violating team rules…what a guy.
In this week’s mailbag, we’re talking potential rookie breakouts, Omarion Hampton replacements, and just who will be the lesser disappointment ROS out of Tee Higgins and DeVonta Smith. All that and more…so without further ado, let’s dive in!
Question #1 – Season-long Strategy (Rookie Breakouts Edition)
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Hi Ballers! Are there any rookies that have yet to put up any big fantasy numbers that you think will level up this season? – Emeeka Eggbeggboo
Answer: As sure as day follows night, every year the fantasy community will place an insane amount of pre-draft hype on a whole host of rookies, inflating their ADP and setting the level of expectation stratospherically high…all before these new recruits have even taken a snap. Sometimes things pan out – think Ezekiel Elliot back in 2016 (drafted RB4 – finished RB2) or Saquon Barkley in 2018 (drafted RB6 – finished RB2) – but sometimes they don’t…I’m looking at you Marvin Harrison Jr. So far this year we’ve been thrilled with the emergence of Omarion Hampton (RB14), Cam Skattebo (RB5), Tyler Warren (TE4) and of course, Rob Gronkowski’s personal favorite; Emeka Eggbeggboo aka Emeka Egbuka (WR3)…but who’s flying under our radar that may develop into a late bloomer as the season wears on?
At the tippy-top of my list of potential rookie breakouts are a WR/TE duo who just so happen to be on the same team – Chicago Bears debutants Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland. Da Bears invested hefty draft capital into Loveland back in April, selecting him with their 1st round pick at number 10 overall…yet despite recent successes of highly drafted rookies at the position, we are still waiting to see just exactly what persuaded Ben Johnson and co call out the former Michigan Wolverine’s name so early at Lambeau earlier this year, but that will soon change.
Loveland has disappeared off fantasy radars and in many leagues may have found his way to the waiver wire following the combination of a hip injury he sustained in Week 3 and Chicago’s bye week creeping up in Week 5. As Jason Moore says, Loveland was “drafted to be great,” and coming out of the bye, I fully expect him to surpass Cole Kmet as the lead TE in this sneaky-good Bears passing game. Right across the line from him is another rookie who seems to be set for a significant increase in fantasy production – 2nd round selection, Luther Burden III. We saw in Week 3 what the 39th overall pick can do, dropping over 100 receiving yards and a score on the hapless Cowboys defense in a 31-14 win. Burden’s opportunity will, in part, come through his talent, but also via the lack of production and potential trade rumours surrounding the team’s former WR1 – D.J. Moore. Something isn’t right with Moore this season – a solitary WR29 finish back in Week 3 being the only time he’s been even remotely usable for fantasy – and that was largely off the back of the TD he scored and not his four receptions for 21 yards. If Moore is shown the exit door from Soldier Field, expect a major uptick in work for Burden. Either way, the arrow for these two young cubs is (as Mike Wright would say) pointed up.
Other names I’d be keeping an eye on as we head into Spooky Season are Detroit’s electric rookie pass-catcher Isaac TeSlaa and the Browns’ multi-talented TE Harold Fannin Jr.
Question #2 – Trade Advice (TE Special)
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Yo yo yo Ballers! I have both Darren Waller and Tyler Warren in a Full-PPR league. Am I crazy for considering trading Warren for help at either RB or WR? – MoneyTreeY2K
Answer: As a lifelong proponent of never rostering more than one TE, I fully support your decision to jettison one of these players and bring in some depth at either the RB or the WR position…kudos to you MoneyTreeY2K. The real question here, then, isn’t whether you should be considering trading away Tyler Warren, but rather, should you actually be looking to trade away Darren Waller?
As it stands, Indianapolis’s rookie sensation is currently the overall TE4 on the season and – alongside a rejuvenated Michael Pittman Jr. – looks every bit one of the main focal points of this Colts’ passing offense. Unlike the above-mentioned Colston Loveland, Warren is not only living up to the hype, but surpassing it, and that doesn’t look like stopping any time soon – making him my preferred hold of the two TEs on your roster.
Darren Waller – after the longest ramping up period in NFL history – is showing us all just why Miami traded a 6th round selection for the man who had been officially retired for over a calendar year. The Wallerus has eclipsed 16 fantasy points in both of his starts this season despite seeing only 28% and 58% of the team’s total snaps, and is on course for almost 900 yards and 26 TDs – if these trends continue…aaaay! Joking aside, we saw how the Dolphins utilised Jonnu Smith last season, and all signs seem to point to Mike McDaniel involving the 33-year-old in exactly the same way now that he is fully healthy and up to speed. Add in the prolonged absence of Tyreek Hill, and we may once again see a TE from South Beach being a potential league winner for fantasy managers.
So, who should you hold on to and who should you trade away? Well, it’s as simple as who do you think you will get the most value for right now? Personally, I would be trying to sell Waller off the back of his two huge games, targeting a TE-needy manager who is awestruck by his 3 TDs. Tyler Warren definitely feels the safer ROS play, and in my eyes is in a much better offense with a far more “reliable” QB (take that to mean whatever you wish). Both of these guys have the potential to finish in the top-5 at the position come the end of the year…so know your league and sell high on the player with the most hype around them at this time…just sell one of them at least.
Question #3 – Trade Advice (Omarion Hampton Desperation Edition)
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Hey Ballers. In my 10-team Full-PPR league, I just lost Omarion Hampton and only have Jahmyr Gibbs and Zach Charbonnet at RB—should I trade either Drake London or Garrett Wilson for Ashton Jeanty? – Glizzonator
Answer: As a fellow Omarion Hampton manager in my main League of Record…I stand with you during these dark times. Irrespective of format or how many RBs your league dictates need to start each week, having only Gibbs and Charbs on your roster is a recipe for disaster, so now is definitely the time to make some moves and solidify that RB core if you want to stand any chance at making a push for a #FootClanTitle.
While you may be a little bit shy at RB, you must be absolutely stacked to be in a position to trade either Drake London or Garrett Wilson away – but which of the two will garner more value when looking for a top-tier RB in return? In the brand new Rest of Season Rankings (available for all FootClan members on the site), Andy, Mike, and Jason have Garrett Wilson as their consensus WR10, with Drake London a few spots ahead at WR5. Both wideouts are the clear No.1 option on their respective teams – London has seen 28% of looks from Michael Penix, with Wilson boasting an impressive 32% of the Jets’ total targets – but as we say here at Ballers’ HQ, “not all targets are equal”.
Wilson sits behind only Puka Nacua (62) and Chris Olave (54) with 48 total targets on the season and is the current WR6 for fantasy…I point this out as I’d recommend copying and pasting it word for word in the trade offer you send to the Ashton Jeanty manager to make that deal happen. Sure, Wilson is an elite-level talent, but his supporting cast in New York is most certainly not, and it won’t be every week that Gang Green gets to play the generous pass defences of Miami, Dallas, and Tampa Bay. This week, Wilson will get the Patrick Surtain treatment as the Denver Broncos visit East Rutherford – so try to get a deal done before the inevitable down-game tanks his trade value for a couple of weeks.
Jeanty seems like a fair value for Wilson, but if you can stretch that to either De’Von Achane (RB10) or Josh Jacobs (RB15), your roster will be in formidable shape…especially with Hampton expected to return immediately after his four-week spell on the IR.
Question #4 – Season-long Strategy (Mediocre WR2 Edition)
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Yo yo yo Ballers! Would you trade Tee Higgins away for DeVonta Smith? I already have Jalen Hurts for a potential stack if that sways things. – Ron Burgundy
Answer: Every week, there is one question that stands out as being absolutely gross…and it looks like we’ve found it with this one.
Tee Higgins and DeVonta Smith, two guys who – despite being WR2s on their respective teams – could easily find themselves in a leading receiver role for any number of NFL franchises. Oh yeah, that’ll be the same Tee Higgins and DeVonta Smith who, between them, have amassed only three double-digit fantasy performances in the opening five (and a half if we include TNF this week) games of the season…woof.
On paper, Smith’s current overall standing as the WR22 on the season is actually an improvement on his ADP of WR24…but ask any fantasy manager who happens to have him on their roster if they are happy with the investment thus far, and the answer is sure to be a resounding “no”. While the fifth-year pro may be putting up better numbers than team-mate A.J. Brown (which in fairness, wouldn’t be that hard right now) – his positioning as a tail-end WR2 is flattering to deceive. Smith has only eclipsed the 60-yard mark once so far on the year and has one solitary trip to the end zone – unsurprisingly, these two performances were the only time the Eagles’ leader in reception and yards has found himself inside the top 50 at the position through six weeks.
Things haven’t been much better for Tee Higgins… well, for any of the Cincinnati Bengals, if we are being honest. Higgins was widely drafted in the middle of the 3rd round back in August, just outside the WR1 bracket as the 13th receiver off the board; so far, he’s the WR49. The injury to Joe Burrow back in Week 2 has thrown the fantasy value of all Bengals’ skill players into a flaming dumpster, with the coaching staff being so desperate as to trade for 40-year-old Joe Flacco from neighboring Cleveland. Yes, Joe Flacco—the man who lost his job to Dillon Gabriel—was considered a better option at QB than Jake Browning, that the Bengals’ Front Office was willing to give up a 5th-round pick to acquire his services.
Flacco is, of course, an upgrade on Browning, but unless he comes with a new O-Line as part of the bargain, I don’t see how things dramatically improve for the Bengals’ pass-catchers in what’s left of the 2025 season. Adding Smith – as you mention – will give you an Eagles’ stack, which of course raises your potential ceiling on any given week…but with one of the most pass-shy offenses in the entire NFL, it also significantly lowers your floor. I’d give it another week to see just how Higgins looks with Flacco against the Packers – if he’s trash, then by all means go get your stack. If we see chutes of recovery, then I’d be holding on to Meat.
Question #5 – Waiver Wire (Packers WR1(?) Special)
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Hey Ballers! Could Christian Watson be the answer to the question of “Who is Green Bay’s WR1?” Jayden Reed is hurt, Matthew Golden hasn’t done much, and Watson got a surprising contract extension in the offseason – FrostyHammer
Answer: I’ll try to keep this one short. In a nutshell, Christian Watson could 100% be the answer to “who is Green Bay’s WR1?”…but I would reply to that with another question…”Do we really care?”.
In the Packers’ opening day win over the Detroit Lions, sixth-year QB Jordan Love completed a pass to no fewer than ten different receivers – this is a guy who is clearly not afraid to spread the love (pardon the pun). Heading into their Week 5 bye, Love had targeted five separate players between 14-20 through the opening four games of the season, with WRs Romeo Doubs (19), Dontayvion Wicks (16), and rookie Matthew Golden (14) all seeing fewer looks from their signal caller than TE Tucker Kraft.
Love is utilizing every one of his weapons in the passing game, and the reintroduction of Christian Watson is unlikely to change an approach that is clearly working for this offense. Watson may have secured the bag in the summer with his new $13.25 million extension…but he is just another mouth to feed, and one with a high-risk of re-injury, who probably hurts the fantasy value of every other player on this roster not named Jordan Love. My personal 2024 My Guy pick may very well end up being the Packers’ leading receiver come the fantasy playoffs…but that’s not a position I personally feel will have as much value for your fantasy team as it does for the Green Bay Packers…avoid, avoid, avoid.
It’s time for Rapid Round…
Do I have your permission to bench Derrick Henry this week? My other RBs are Josh Jacobs, Cam Skattebo, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt. – Beekay
Answer: Not only do you have permission, you have encouragement. King Henry has been a shadow of his former self on this anaemic Ravens offense – with Cam dropping a 30-burger on TNF, Jacobs a top-5 guy this week, and Bill coming off the back of a breakout game…The Yeti can go into early hibernation for your fantasy team.
What do I do with Joe Mixon? Injuries are piling up, and with Omarion Hampton going down, I need the IR space. – marcor20
Answer: What’s that old saying: “no news is good news”…well, not when it comes to injuries and fantasy football. Mixon looks increasingly unlikely to come back this season with each week that passes. Let him go, fire Hampton into the IR slot, and move on.
Full-PPR, do we like Hunter Henry or Darren Waller? – chuckinsauce
Answer: Unsure if you mean for Week 6 or ROS…but the answer is the same. Fire up The Wallerus this weekend as the Dolphins play catch-up at home to the Chargers, and keep him in that TE slot as a solid TE1 for the rest of the year…Goo-Goo G’joob!
Is it time to cut Chase Brown? – JayMorg
Answer: As tempting as it may be to wave goodbye to the overall RB34 on the season…you can’t cut that guy! With a new QB in town, there may be some life in this Bengals’ offense yet – but don’t expect miracles from that offensive line. Brown has been a disaster for your team in 2025, but he’s a stand-alone starting RB for an NFL franchise, and those aren’t easy to find. Bench him for sure, but keep him on your roster for now.
Good luck in Week 6, FootClan!