Fantasy Football: Week 6 Streamers To Consider
Week 5 was full of crazy comebacks, surprising upsets, and some incredible records. There were also quite a few week-winning streamers, like the Houston Texans’ Ka’imi Fairbairn, who scored 18 fantasy points and will now be back in the streaming pool, since the Texans and the Vikings are on bye. It’s a pretty mild rest week, with only two teams on bye.
Still, Fairbairn is proof that you should always take a look at which streamers are available in your league. Sometimes, plugging a disposable player with a favorable matchup into your lineup can be the difference between winning and losing the week. And that’s why this article exists. To provide viable streaming suggestions for your QB, K, D/ST, and TE positions, so you can evaluate whether they might outperform your current starter.
And if you need further assistance, you can always rely on Andy, Mike, and Jason’s weekly rankings, the Fantasy Footballers Star/Sit tool, and the Ultimate Dashboard, where you can get weekly spot-start suggestions tailored to your roster.
Now let’s look at some streamers for Week 6.
Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams (60% rostered)
Stafford has been more than OK this season. He’s been a solid QB1 over the past two weeks, and now he gets an extra-juicy matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, who have been terrible on defense this year. Hopefully, the Ravens will have Lamar Jackson back under center, which would help keep the scoreboard moving on both sides of the ball. But even if not, we saw last week that the Texans didn’t need much to keep scoring on Baltimore. Stafford is a must-start this week and a premium streamer if available.
Bryce Young – Carolina Panthers (21% rostered)
Even though the Panthers pulled off an amazing 17-point comeback against Miami last week, the Dolphins’ defense wasn’t as bad as usual against the pass. This week, Bryce gets another favorable matchup against the Cowboys, who have allowed the most fantasy points per game to QBs this season. Dallas is the only defense that has allowed over 300 passing yards per game on average. It might not be exciting to start him, but Bryce Young should be able to exploit this weak secondary.
Mac Jones – San Francisco 49ers (6% rostered)
It’s about time we show some respect to this guy. McCorkle Jones has been playing well as Brock Purdy’s backup. It’s still too early to say if Purdy will be back for this week’s game against the Buccaneers. But if Jones suits up again, he’ll be in streaming consideration against a defense that has allowed over 19 fantasy points per game to QBs this season. Last week, Sam Darnold looked brilliant against the Bucs. Now it’s Mac’s time to shine.
Dillon Gabriel – Cleveland Browns (11% rostered)
I know we’re all historically afraid of the Steelers’ defense, and we’re often hesitant to start rookie QBs, but hear me out. Last week, Dillon Gabriel made his first NFL start against Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, whose aggressive scheme can rattle even veteran QBs. But Gabriel performed reasonably well and even threw two TDs. Now he’ll face the Steelers, who haven’t been that strong on defense this season. They’ve allowed multiple top-12 performances to mid-tier QBs. If you’re desperate, Dillon Gabriel is a fine streaming option.
Kickers
Ryan Fitzgerald – Carolina Panthers (0% rostered)
A kicker who isn’t rostered anywhere and might score double-digit fantasy points this week? Where do I sign? Ryan Fitzgerald has been solid when facing exploitable defenses. Last week, he was perfect against Miami, nailing two field goals and three extra points. Now the Panthers will host the Cowboys in what Vegas projects to be one of the highest-scoring games of the week.
Matt Gay– Washington Commanders (33% rostered)
After two straight flawless weeks, Matt Gay is once again consolidating himself as a trustworthy kicker on a high-scoring offense. This week, the Commanders are 4.5-point favorites against the Chicago Bears in a game with a 50.5-point over/under. There should be plenty of kicking opportunities here. If you lost Ka’imi Fairbairn to the bye week, Gay might be your best replacement.
Cairo Santos – Chicago Bears (1% rostered)
If Matt Gay is already taken, Cairo Santos is almost certainly available after the Bears’ bye. He scored four field goals back in Week 4, and he should have plenty of opportunities to rack up fantasy points again this week in what’s shaping up to be a high-scoring affair.
Defense & Special Teams
Green Bay Packers (40% rostered)
Many fantasy managers dropped the Packers’ D/ST during their bye, so now’s your chance to grab them for a premium matchup against the Bengals’ awful offensive line. Last week, the Lions sacked Jake Browning twice and intercepted him three times. The Bengals are working hard to overtake the Titans as the best matchup in the league for opposing defenses.
Las Vegas Raiders (2% rostered)
Speaking of the Titans, it’s the Raiders’ turn to feast on Cam Ward. The rookie QB has had a brutal welcome to the NFL. He’s thrown an interception in three straight games and is on pace for 64.6 sacks this season. The Raiders aren’t a great defense, but this game has the lowest projected total of the week, making them a decent streaming option.
New England Patriots (20% rostered)
Everyone ran from the Patriots’ D/ST last week because they were playing the Bills, yet they held Josh Allen and company in check. They sacked him once, intercepted him once, recovered two fumbles, and allowed just 20 points to arguably the league’s best offense. This week, they’ll face the Saints, who are allowing over two sacks per game and are top-10 in fantasy points allowed to opposing defenses.
BONUS: Tight Ends
Harold Fannin Jr. – Cleveland Browns (54% rostered)
This TE should be more heavily rostered by now. If he is available in your league, grab him. His usage this season has been great for a TE. Even while sharing snaps with David Njoku, he’s remained consistently relevant. Last week, rookie QB Dillon Gabriel showed a strong connection with him, throwing him the first TD pass of Fannin’s career. Expect him to remain a key piece when the Browns face the Steelers in this divisional showdown.
Brenton Strange – Jacksonville Jaguars (57% rostered)
We gotta be careful with this one. He suffered a hip injury on Monday night, and the severity of it is still unknown at the moment of this writing. But when he is healthy, his volume and production are among the least volatile in the TE landscape. If he plays this week, he will get the best single matchup for TEs: the Seattle Seahawks. Even players like Cade Otton, who seemed like an unlikely streamer to some, became fantasy-relevant last week against Seattle.