The Biggest Start/Sit Decisions for Week 6 (Fantasy Football)
“You cannot start Tonyan. You’re hoping for a touchdown, but if you get the touchdown, you probably still don’t get 10 points. And that’s just impressive.”
— Jason Moore
Howdy, Footclan! Welcome to Week 6 of the Start/Sit series, where we’ll identify and discuss your most commonly asked “Who should I start?” questions for the week.
The projections between any two players on your roster may appear similar, but this “simple” choice could be the difference between your team’s victory or defeat. Luckily, the Fantasy Footballers have created an amazing Start/Sit tool to easily compare any two (or more) players with insight from the Ballers themselves, and trust me — it’s an extremely valuable asset that will help you make these crucial lineup decisions that could ultimately lead you to your #FootClanTitle. Please note that the Footballers’ rankings are constantly being updated as news breaks, so make sure you check out the tool for yourself to catch any last-second changes.
So, without further ado, let’s kick things off with the most popular Start/Sit questions for Week 6:
Featured Matchup
RB:
Kenneth Walker III (SEA) or Eno Benjamin (ARI)?
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|
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|---|---|---|
| EXPERT PROJECTIONS | ||
| Proj. Points | 12 | 11.9 |
| Andy Rank | RB #20 | RB #19 |
| Mike Rank | RB #13 | RB #16 |
| Jason Rank | RB #15 | RB #16 |
| MATCHUP DETAILS | ||
| Opp. Rank | 13 | 28 |
| Home/Away | Home | Away |
| Over/Under | 50.5 | 50.5 |
| Line | +2.5 | -2.5 |
With loss comes opportunity. Such is the case in fantasy football, especially in the brutal RB position, which is where we find our featured matchup with backs from both sides of Lumen Field. Both Kenneth Walker III and Eno Benjamin find themselves suddenly in charge of their team’s backfields after injuries to their starters (Rashaad Penny and James Conner, respectively). It’s a close divisional battle with one of the week’s highest implied totals, and both guys are more than competent to flourish and should see at least 15 opportunities.
What this boils down to is “potential” versus “opportunity.” Do you trust Walker’s unknown potential, born from his elite pedigree as the 2nd RB taken in the 2022 NFL draft? Or do you go with Benjamin’s opportunity as a “JAG” that is temporarily the lead back on a prolific offense with a great matchup?
Kenneth Walker III goes 69 YARDS and the @Seahawks take the lead!
📺: #SEAvsNO on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/X4lelc0SFE pic.twitter.com/vHH47E0n0A— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
Walker certainly took advantage of his opportunity, scoring a 69-yard TD after Penny left the field. And the Seahawks will certainly lean heavily on Walker, but they haven’t exactly relied on their RBs as the team has the 5th lowest rushing attempts per game (22). Walker also won’t be involved much in the passing game as he wasn’t even targeted last week despite taking over the reins and seeing the most snaps (58%) of his short career. But he’s still a slam dunk play pending game script and a recommended DFS option, just temper expectations as he’s still a rookie with makeshift protection that will be up against a defensive front that just held Miles Sanders to 58 scoreless yards on 15 attempts.
Benjamin certainly has the edge in his matchup, seeing as the Seahawks have been bleeding points to opposing RBs, allowing at least 100 yards from scrimmage to every lead RB that’s faced them this season. They most recently gave up 194 all-purpose yards to Alvin Kamara and 112 rushing yards (plus 3 rushing TDs) to Taysom Hill. Benjamin may not share the same accolades or o-line as the Saints RBs do, but there’s more than enough room for him to feast on this porous defense with obvious TD upside, making him a strong DFS FanDuel and DraftKings play.
The Verdict
Mike is bullish on Walker, but I’d go with Benjamin until we see more from the rookie.
QB:
Geno Smith (SEA) or Kirk Cousins (MIN)?
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|
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|---|---|---|
| EXPERT PROJECTIONS | ||
| Proj. Points | 17.9 | 17.3 |
| Andy Rank | QB #8 | QB #10 |
| Mike Rank | QB #8 | QB #12 |
| Jason Rank | QB #10 | QB #11 |
| MATCHUP DETAILS | ||
| Opp. Rank | 25 | 30 |
| Home/Away | Home | Away |
| Over/Under | 50.5 | 45.5 |
| Line | +2.5 | -3.5 |
It feels like deja vu, but it’s fantasy’s QB11 being favored over the QB7. Kirk Cousins has been ol’ faithful for your lineups barring Week 2’s fiasco at Philadelphia, and he even surprised fantasy managers with a rushing TD, something he’s done only once a year since 2018. But with a great matchup against the Dolphins who’ve allowed the highest expected points per pass attempt, Cousins is a safe top-12 QB and Jason’s QB Start of the Week.
Meanwhile, Geno Smith has been a true underdog story that hasn’t gotten his fair due from the media, probably because of his infamous past. But Smith has been on fire, throwing for 300+ yards in Weeks 3 and 4 while throwing three TDs in Week 5. In fact, Smith scored more fantasy points in Week 4 than Cousins has since Week 17 of the 2020 season. He gets another soft matchup against Arizona’s soft coverage, so he’s a highly recommended DFS play in both FanDuel and DraftKings, and a popular stack option. But buyer beware, as — just like Jared Goff — Geno could easily plummet back to his catastrophic ways, especially if Tyler Lockett is hobbled.
The Verdict
All three Ballers are riding with Geno, but I’d play it safe with Cousins.
TE:
Evan Engram (JAX) or Robert Tonyan (GB)?
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|---|---|---|
| EXPERT PROJECTIONS | ||
| Proj. Points | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Andy Rank | TE #13 | TE #11 |
| Mike Rank | TE #13 | TE #11 |
| Jason Rank | TE #12 | TE #14 |
| MATCHUP DETAILS | ||
| Opp. Rank | 29 | 16 |
| Home/Away | Away | Home |
| Over/Under | 42 | 45 |
| Line | +2 | -7 |
Oh boy. The projections are the same, but this is essentially floor (Engram) versus TD upside (Tonyan). Evan Engram is coming off his best game of the short season, catching six of 10 targets for 69 nice yards. However, like most of the guys in my home league, he’s yet to score this year. It doesn’t help that Trevor Lawrence avoids him at the goal line, targeting Engram in the red zone only twice this year.
Speaking of scoring, Robert Tonyan is a proven Chad that already has five red zone targets this year, despite a slow recovery from a torn ACL. Since 2020, Tonyan’s averaged a TD in every other game played, while Engram has only managed one TD in roughly every 10 games. At the same time, Engram has garnered 5.8 targets per game in that time span, while Tonyan has 3.7. Therein lies the fundamental difference between the two.
The Verdict
Engram, but just barely. Idk bro, check the intro.
WR:
Isaiah McKenzie (BUF) or Romeo Doubs (GB)?
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|
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|---|---|---|
| EXPERT PROJECTIONS | ||
| Proj. Points | 8 | 10.3 |
| Andy Rank | WR #46 | WR #31 |
| Mike Rank | WR #46 | WR #29 |
| Jason Rank | WR #46 | WR #30 |
| MATCHUP DETAILS | ||
| Opp. Rank | 26 | 17 |
| Home/Away | Away | Home |
| Over/Under | 54 | 45 |
| Line | -2.5 | -7 |
Who’d’ve thought, but six-year veteran receiver Isaiah McKenzie is finally breaking out. He’s on a 17-game pace for nearly 90 targets, 64 receptions, and almost 13 TDs, good for over 10 fantasy points per week. In just four games this season, he’s already seen four 10-zone targets and converted three of them, which is more TDs than Romeo Doubs has ever scored in the NFL. McKenzie is on a red-hot offense and is likely the cheapest entrance fee you’ll find to join the Bills-Chiefs bacchanal that ensues this Sunday. QB Josh Allen has proven to sling it to any and whatever weapon is available, and that should persist in this week’s firefight against the Chiefs (although WR Stefon Diggs just may erupt by his lonesome instead).
Romeo Doubs will continue to work his way as QB Aaron Rodgers‘ WR1… but, akshually, will he? Sure, fellow rookie Christian Watson is out, and journeyman Randall Cobb has been feasting lately, but there’s no one else for Rodgers to target besides Allen Lazard, who outperformed Doubs last week. Doubs now faces a Jets secondary that has been stellar as balls, most recently holding off the Dolphins’ premier duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to just 10 combined catches for just 70 scoreless yards. Angry Aaron Rodgers confidently exists in my imaginative realm of narratives, where he lobs moonball TDs to any and every Packers’ teammate.
For example. This looked like a bad throw, but Romeo Doubs probably back pedals into the end zone if the flat-footed cornerback doesn’t commit illegal contact at the 45. pic.twitter.com/4HoUlSjRJm
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) October 11, 2022
This is essentially a game of “idk him but he’s been decent and catching balls from that studmuffin Josh Allen” against “ooh he’s a lottery ticket working with State Farm’s Aaron Rodgers?”
The Verdict
McKenzie for floor, Doubs for upside.