The Fantasy Footballers’ Starts of the Week for Week 6

Thursday’s episode had The Fantasy Footballers bring their Starts of the Week to the table. They listed off their starts as well as the reasoning behind their choices. An outline of who the guys selected this week is listed below, while the episode can be found here.

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Andy’s Starts of the Week

QB – Trevor Lawrence vs MIA
When Jacksonville plays in London, it’s like another home game. Lawrence gets Andy’s start of the week at the QB position. Lawrence has already been a top-12 quarterback twice this season (weeks 1 and 5). For context, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, and Aaron Rodgers are the only other QBs to be top-12 quarterbacks twice this season. Don’t forget that Lawrence can be used around the goal-line, and he is also solid on his feet. He is averaging five rush attempts a game. This week, Lawrence faces the Dolphins, who are allowing the second-most points per drive this season. Miami also is allowing the second-most plays per game and the second-most 20+ yard passing plays.

RB – Darrell Henderson @ NYG
Henderson takes on New York Giants team allowing the sixth-most rushing yards per game. The Los Angeles Rams are a 10.5-point road favorite, with a team implied total of 29-points. Henderson has an average of 80-percent of the snaps in 2021, and he has established his worth on that LAR offense. Andy stated on the show that he thinks Henderson could be a top-5 RB this week.

WR – Stefon Diggs @ TEN
Can you believe that Diggs is ranked 26th through five weeks? Fantasy managers find themselves tilting at the moment, wondering if they overspent for Diggs this year. Could he have been a one-year wonder? Well, Diggs finds himself in a great spot this week as he is up against the Tennessee Titans, who give up plenty of fantasy points to wideouts. The Titans defense is allowing 40 fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers, giving up the most points to that position in the NFL. They are also giving up 70-percent of targets to WRs, which is most in the NFL as well. The Buffalo offense knows how to put up points, and Diggs is a talented wide receiver. He should see a big game in Week 6.  

TE – Zach Ertz vs TB
Here’s Andy’s pitch – No Dallas Goedert. That’s the pitch. Goedert finds himself on the Covid-IR and will not play in Thursday Night’s game. Ertz’s yards per catch is up, as well as his catch percentage. The veteran tight end has been seeing a higher target share than Goedert this season. Ertz finds himself taking on Tampa Bay, a team allowing double-digits to the tight end position each week. The Buccaneers are tough against the run, so Jalen Hurts will have to throw.

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Jason’s Starts of the Week

QB – Taylor Heinicke vs KC
Jason selects Mike’s Stream of the Week for his QB start of the week. This matchup is good, with Kansas City giving up the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. The Chiefs have no pass rush, an additional boost for Heinicke. Kansas City has the lowest sack rate in the league. This contest has the highest total of the week at 55.5, as the Washington QB will have to throw the ball to keep up with the KC offense. Heinicke has seen only one dud week this season. Before that, he came in at QB12, QB9, and QB5. Heinicke can also do work on the ground, with five rush attempts and 25 rushing yards per game.  

RB – Joe Mixon @ DET
It looked like the Bengals were going to be pass-heavy for the 2021 season, but the run game is currently seeing its time in the spotlight. Right now, Cincinnati possesses the sixth-highest rush rate and second-highest rush rate in neutral games scripts in the NFL. Per Rich Hribar, 71.4-percent of touchdowns allowed by Detroit this season have been scored by RBs. The next closest team, the Las Vegas Raiders, comes in at 51.3-percent allowed to RBs. Mixon is in for a productive day, especially with Samaje Perine on the COVID list. Look for his snaps to return to normal.

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WR – Brandin Cooks @ IND
The last two weeks for Cooks haven’t been the greatest, but he has still seen a whopping 34-percent of the target share on the season. That share is second on the season, only behind Davante Adams. This week, the Texans take on Indianapolis, who just got torched on Monday Night Football, conceding 442 pass yards. For the season, the Colts are allowing the highest pass success rate in the league. Cooks should see a good fantasy outing considering the Colts rank 25th against fantasy wideouts.

TE – Ricky Seals-Jones vs KC
Insert the “seal noise” drop. Seals-Jones took over for Logan Thomas last week, managing to see 99-percent of snaps. Last game, RSJ ran 36 routes, something that he should build off of in Week 6. He is a talented player, talked about for fantasy purposes in the past, and this should be a situation where he shines. He should see a solid fantasy game and is someone you can find on waivers. Jason notes that Seals-Jones could not score a touchdown and still be fine for fantasy purposes. If he ends up with a touchdown, he’ll end up with a top week.

Mike’s Starts of the Week

QB – Joe Burrow @ DET
Mike points out that Detroit’s secondary stinks. They might have good hygiene thanks to products like this hemp hand sanitizer, but on the field, they have not looked good. Burrow has been finding Ja’Marr Chase plenty and should continue to throw long TD passes his way. The Cincinnati QB not only has Chase but two other high-powered weapons in Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. On the season, Burrow has completed 72-percent of his passes. Over the last two weeks, the Bengals’ passing volume has increased. Against Jacksonville, there were 32 pass attempts, while versus Green Bay, there were 38. Burrow finds himself on the injury report with a throat injury, but he is healing up and on vocal rest. Burrow is a safe bet to put in your starting lineup this week as he has thrown two or more scores in each game this year.     

RB – Latavius Murray vs LAC
This contest is a good matchup for Murray as the Chargers allow the most rushing yards per game this season. Murray is still the 1a for the Ravens run game (unfortunately), but Mike believes the Ravens use more of the run game than usual in this one. The Chargers are ranked seventh against the pass, so it makes sense that they would rely more on Murray in this matchup. 

WR – Chase Claypool vs SEA
It has been a strange year in terms of Claypool. Perspectively, it feels like Claypool hasn’t done much. He has averaged over 85 yards per game this season, so he’s producing even when it does not seem like it. This week, JuJu Smith-Schuster is out, giving Claypool even more of an opportunity to shine. Seattle is third-worst in giving up 300 passing yard games this season. Claypool can be started with confidence this week.

TE – Mo Alie-Cox vs HOU
Alie-Cox faces a Houston team allowing top-10 points to the tight end position every week of this season. The Texans have not faced Travis Kelce, Darren Waller, or Mark Andrews, three players who skew results if you have played against them. Houston is just bad against tight ends. Over the past two weeks, Alie-Cox has had 40+ yards. This player is a deep streamer but worth taking a shot on if in a major bind.