Flex Options for Week 6 (Fantasy Football)

Welcome back to another edition of my weekly flex options article. Last week, we made some bets on rookie RBs who we thought were ready to break out. If you took a chance on Jacory Croskey-Merritt, you’re welcome. If you played any of the other rookies (RJ Harvey, TreVeyon Henderson, Woody Marks), I’m sorry. Who knew JK Dobbins, Rhamondre Stevenson, and the ghost of Nick Chubb were going to be so difficult to beat out for touches? Anyways, this week we’re going with some more proven commodities that I think can help you win your week. As always, these players are currently ranked outside the starter range in The Fantasy Footballers’ Rankings, but I think they have a good chance to finish higher than their rankings this week.

Here they are:

Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Charbonnet has scored a TD in three of the four games he’s played this year, and he seems entrenched in Seattle’s goal-line role as long as he’s healthy. He’s averaging only 2.8 yards per carry on the season, but whether he deserves the role is a topic for another day. For now, he’s a solid bet to flop into the end zone on any given Sunday, and Jacksonville’s defense seems primed to let him do just that. Kareem Hunt (similar plodding archetype) scored two TDs against Jacksonville on Monday night, and I think Seattle’s offense will have redzone opportunities this week in a 46.5 point O/U. Charbonnet is a flex with benefits as Kenneth Walker’s handcuff, and I think this is a week you can flex him. 

Tony Pollard, RB, Tennessee Titans

Pollard enters the flex options article for the third consecutive week, as he continues to represent one of the safer floors you will find in fantasy. Our questions were answered as far as how the backfield would be split once Tyjae Spears returned from injury – Pollard continued to operate as the lead back in a 75/25 split. Pollard’s 17 opportunities were right in line with what he’s been seeing all season, and he once again turned in an efficient performance, averaging 4.8 YPC. It’s a good matchup again for Pollard, who draws the Raiders 23rd 23rd-ranked defense against RBs this week. Last week, I told you not to expect a TD, since the Titans’ offense scores so few of them, and Pollard found the end zone anyway. This week, we’ll take a similar pessimistic approach and hope that it works out again. 

Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Speaking of TDs, Kareem Hunt is getting my TD guarantee this week. This game between Kansas City and Detroit has a 51.5 point O/U, and Kansas City is favored by 2.5. That’s a 27-point implied team total for Kansas City. In other words, they’re going to be in the red zone a lot. Hunt is in a timeshare with backfield-mate Isaiah Pacheco, but he got four redzone touches last week to Pacheco’s zero, converting two of those for TDs. I don’t expect either back to be particularly productive in this game against a stout Detroit run-defense, but there are going to be TDs, and I love Hunt’s chances of scoring at least one of them. Flex him over struggling starters like Pacheco and Chase Brown.

Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants

The deep-league WR landscape remains pretty stinky this week, but injuries and bye weeks have left some managers with no choice but to reach to the depths of their bench for a flex play. If you’re in that boat, I present to you Wan’Dale Robinson, who is a fringe flex option every week based on volume alone. I’m especially interested in him this week due to the game script I expect to play out against Philadelphia. If the Eagles jump out to an early lead, the Giants will be forced to throw like they did in their two losses to Philadelphia last year. Wan’Dale saw 20 targets in those two games and did absolutely nothing with them, but every target is a chance for something good to happen. Wan’Dale should see close to 10 targets on Thursday night, and for that reason, you can flex him. 

Kendrick Bourne, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Bourne supremacy was in full effect last week, as the veteran WR caught 10 of 11 targets for a career-high 142 yards. Bourne benefitted from the absence of George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings from the 49ers’ receiving corps, playing 91% of snaps against the Rams on Thursday night. The injury status of those players is in question once again for Week 6, and as of right now, none of them have returned to practice. If any/all of them miss another week, Bourne should be a great play once again. The 49ers are going to need to score points to keep up with a Tampa Bay offense that is humming right now, and Kyle Shanahan praised Kendrick Bourne for his outstanding effort in Week 5. Monitor the practice reports this week, but Bourne should once again play a significant role this week. He’s worthy of flex consideration.