Week 6 Fantasy Football Studs and Duds
Week 6 of the NFL season was a wild one. Teams combined for 684 total points, with the winning teams averaging over 30 points scored. Scoring like this makes for exciting NFL games, but it also leads to some amazing fantasy football stats. Unfortunately, the losing teams averaged just 18 points. So for every high, there was a low and thus for every stud, there is a dud. Check out the full discussion on the podcast for Week 6 Studs and Duds.
Studs
Quarterbacks
Jameis Winston @ ATL
395 passing yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs, 31 rushing yards
Everyone saw this fantasy explosion coming. The only surprise here is that Winston didn’t throw for over 400 yards.
Matt Ryan vs TB
354 passing yards, 3 TDs, 13 rushing yards
You can’t have a track meet without someone to race against. Matt Ryan and the Falcons were happy to oblige.
Dak Prescott vs JAX
183 passing yards, 2 TDs, 82 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD
Struggling offense against one of the toughest defenses in the league, the odds were definitely stacked against Dak and the ‘Boys in this one. But Prescott got it done, albeit through somewhat unorthodox means.
Mitch Trubisky @ MIA
316 passing yards, 3 TDs, INT, 47 rushing yards
Over his last two starts, Trubisky is averaging 335 passing yards to go with 50 yards rushing per game. He also has 9 total TDs over the pair of games. After the poor effort by the Patriots defense on Sunday Night Football, I’d expect Trubisky to tack on another solid game in Week 7.
Brock Osweiler vs CHI
380 passing yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 pt conv
Stop laughing. It happened.
Running Backs
Todd Gurley @ DEN
28 carries, 208 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 2 receptions, 17 receiving yards
Road game plus freezing temperatures just screamed “Gurley game!”.
Melvin Gordon @ CLE
18 carries, 132 rushing yards, 3 TDs, 2 receptions, 18 receiving yards
Melvin Gordon has made a name for himself in fantasy football by being a TD scorer on a good offense. What he hasn’t been known for is efficiency. That wasn’t a problem for him in Cleveland. Gordon was able to rip off big play after big play and the Browns couldn’t find an answer.
Saquon Barkley vs PHI
13 carries, 130 rushing yards, TD, 9 receptions, 99 receiving yards
If your average fantasy RB only carried the ball 13 times and his team got waxed 34-13, you would assume that he had a terrible fantasy day. It’s safe to say Barkley isn’t your average RB.
James Conner @ CIN
19 carries, 111 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 4 receptions, 18 receiving yards
Can we get the HBO Hard Knocks crews to set up in Pittsburgh over the next two weeks? I need to see the spectacle that takes place when/if Le’Veon Bell strolls back into the building.
Latavius Murray vs AZ
24 carries, 155 rushing yards, TD, 1 reception, 3 receiving yards
When Dalvin Cook reaggravated his hamstring in warmups, you could’ve written this outcome in stone. The Cardinals need reinforcements on both sides of the football. Murray took advantage.
Tarik Cohen @ MIA
5 carries, 31 rushing yards, TD, 7 receptions, 90 receiving yards, fumble
The day could’ve been even bigger if it weren’t for an offensive penalty calling back another TD.
Sony Michel vs KC
24 carries, 106 rushing yards, 2 TDs
Hopefully, Michel’s injury status and ‘game-time decision’ designation didn’t scare you off. It scared me off, I went with Yeldon in the early window instead. Mistakes were made.
Kareem Hunt @ NE
10 carries, 80 rushing yards, 5 receptions, 105 receiving yards, TD
Hunt almost got “Andy Reid‘ed” in this one. 10 carries shouldn’t have been enough for Hunt to have a good game, but Hunt had other plans. He had a GREAT game.
Wide Receivers
Tyreek Hill @ NE
7 receptions, 142 receiving yards, 3 TDs, 12 targets
Either Hill is wearing PF Flyers, or everyone else is running in quicksand. Tyreek’s speed is next level.
Albert Wilson vs CHI
6 receptions, 155 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 9 targets
Backup QB, stout Chicago Bears defense, why not?
Cole Beasley vs JAX
9 receptions, 101 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 11 targets
If you had to start Cole Beasley in your lineup this week, sorry, not sorry.
Tyrell Williams @ CLE
3 receptions, 118 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 4 targets
Tyrell had 2 receptions for 89 yards and a TD on a single drive. It was a 2-play drive.
Adam Thielen vs AZ
11 receptions, 123 receiving yards, TD, 15 targets
Nobody is playing the WR position better than Adam Thielen. He has a special connection with Kirk Cousins that has resulted in 6 straight 100-yard receiving games for Thielen.
Alshon Jeffery @ NYG
8 receptions, 74 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 12 targets
The story last season was that Alshon was battling injuries all year. What if he’s finally healthy?
Tyler Boyd vs PIT
7 receptions, 62 receiving yards, 2 TDs
Boyd has to be in consideration for breakout player of the year. At least breakout WR of the year.
Tight Ends
Austin Hooper vs TB
9 receptions, 71 receiving yards, TD, 10 targets
Hooper is starting to string together a couple of solid performances this season. He may be ascending into a weekly start at the position.
Eric Ebron @ NYJ
4 receptions, 71 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
If you don’t believe that you can lose your starting job to injury, just ask Jack Doyle.
David Njoku vs LAC
7 receptions, 55 receiving yards, TD, 12 targets
The TD came when the game was already out of hand for the Browns, but the 12 targets are encouraging for Njoku owners.
O.J. Howard @ ATL
4 receptions, 62 receiving yards, TD, 4 targets
Someone forgot to tell O.J. Howard that he was injured and wasn’t supposed to play this week.
Zach Ertz @ NYG
7 receptions, 43 receiving yards, TD, 9 targets
Ertz has been spoiling his fantasy owners, so it is likely that this performance feels underwhelming, but 17 points from a TE in PPR is no joke.
Duds
Deshaun Watson vs BUF
177 passing yards, TD, 2 INTs, fumble
15 completions with weapons like Hopkins, Fuller, and Coutee is not enough.
Derek Carr vs SEA
142 passing yards, 2 fumbles
Carr appeared to sustain an injury late in this contest. He and the rest of the team will have a week off to tend to their wounds.
Marcus Mariota vs BAL
117 passing yards, 25 rushing yards
Let’s see how well you play after being sacked 11 times.
Jared Goff @ DEN
201 passing yards, INT, 14 rushing yards
There were concerns pregame, as expressed by Eric Ludwig in the Weather Conditions article, about how Jared Goff would adjust to the cold. He didn’t.
Running Backs
Carlos Hyde vs LAC
14 carries, 34 rushing yards
Carlos Hyde can catch the football but he isn’t the ideal RB to have on the field when you’re getting boat raced like the Browns were on Sunday.
Isaiah Crowell vs IND
13 carries, 40 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 12 receiving yards
If you had any sense about you, you knew Crowell was going to come back down to earth this week after his monster Week 5 performance.
Royce Freeman vs LAR
9 carries, 22 rushing yards
There was a narrative/game script that called for the Broncos to grind clock against the high powered Rams and give Freeman a heavy workload. The best-laid plans…
Dion Lewis vs BAL
5 carries, 9 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 5 receiving yards
Derrick Henry vs BAL
7 carries, 21 rushing yards, 1 reception, 5 receiving yards
Consider all of the Titans’ big boy pants revoked until further notice. Their offense can’t sustain a single fantasy relevant player, much less 2 RBs.
Javorius Allen @ TEN
1 carry, 1 rushing yard, 3 receptions, 18 receiving yards
Buck has been a useful fantasy RB based on TDs and receiving work. It feels bad when he doesn’t score though.
Jordan Howard @ MIA
14 carries, 69 rushing yards, fumble
Howard’s day was derailed by a glumble (goalline fumble). He only slightly made up for it with 34 rushing yards in a single overtime drive.
Marshawn Lynch vs SEA
13 carries, 45 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 14 receiving yards
This game was in London, with any luck, the Raiders will be able to shake off this loss through their bye week.
Wide Receivers
Jarvis Landry vs LAC
2 receptions, 11 receiving yards, 9 targets
The volume was there but Landry just couldn’t connect with Mayfield.
Antonio Callaway vs LAC
2 receptions, 9 receiving yards, 10 targets, 2 pt conv
Callaway is a household name, thanks to Hard Knocks, but it is important to remember that he is a rookie WR playing with a rookie QB. There will be growing pains.
Corey Davis vs BAL
1 reception, 24 receiving yards, 4 targets
Corey Davis had 47% of the teams receiving yards. Think about that for a second. Or don’t.
Stefon Diggs vs AZ
3 receptions, 33 receiving yards, 5 targets, 9 rushing yards
This was a tough matchup for Diggs. Even though the Cardinals may not seem like a formidable opponent, they had only given up 1 receiving TD to opposing WRs in the first 5 weeks of the season.
John Brown @ TEN
2 receptions, 28 receiving yards, 3 targets
To put it simply, Smoke’s services were not needed at Tennessee.
Will Fuller V vs BUF
2 receptions, 33 receiving yards, 3 targets
Will Fuller has often been described as a boom or bust player. This was the latter.
Odell Beckham Jr. vs PHI
6 receptions, 44 receiving yards, 10 targets
The Giants need to manage their star WR, his season could go sideways if his head isn’t in the right place.
Sterling Shepard vs PHI
3 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 7 targets
I thought this would be a good spot for Shepard corralling short passes from Eli Manning, but Saquon Barkley cornered that market on Thursday Night.
Larry Fitzgerald @ MIN
5 receptions, 39 receiving yards, 8 targets
Fitzgerald’s most important role on the Cardinals team now is to be a mentor to Christian Kirk and Chad Williams.
Brandin Cooks @ DEN
2 receptions, 53 receiving yards, 6 targets
Whether it was the injury, the weather, or the defense, Brandin Cooks was put on ice in Denver.
Tight Ends
Jared Cook vs SEA
2 receptions, 10 receiving yards, 2 targets
I don’t know if it’s all in the game planning or what, but the Raiders target distribution has been difficult to predict week to week.
Kyle Rudolph vs AZ
4 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 4 targets
Rudolph didn’t play poorly, catching all of his targets, he’s just a TE who didn’t score.
Jordan Reed vs CAR
5 receptions, 36 receiving yards, 9 targets
We’ve come to expect a healthy Jordan Reed to do much more with 9 targets.