Well, from last week, Evans wasn’t great, Shepard and Parker got injured, but at least Brown wasn’t a disappointment. AHH. What could have been if there weren’t these stupid, freaking injuries! I’ve got a good feeling about the matchups below and we are going to win some money and matchups this week! Let’s go!
Oh yeah, follow me on Twitter (@colbyrconway) as well!
Offense | Left WR | Defense | Right CB | Analysis |
| ARI | Jaron Brown | TB | Vernon Hargreaves | The Bucs have been generous to opposing receivers and Brown has quickly developed into one of the top three options in the Arizona passing attack. He has the fourth-most targets of 20 yards or more, but his catch rate on said targets is less than ideal.* He's seeing a fair number of targets and he continues to be a play in DFS for me while his price tag is low. |
| ATL | Julio Jones | MIA | Xavien Howard | The bye week should have helped Julio's nagging injuries and he should enter this matchup relatively close to full health. The Dolphins simply won't be able to contain him in this matchup, locking him in as a WR1. |
| BAL | Breshad Perriman | CHI | Prince Amukamara | Joe Flacco has been brutal this year |
| BUF | ||||
| CAR | Kelvin Benjamin | PHI | Patrick Robinson | Cam looks like he's getting back to his high-caliber play, and that has immediate impact on his receivers, notably Benjamin. Philadelphia's secondary is atrocious and Benjamin is going to feast on Sunday. Fire him up. |
| CHI | Tre McBride | BAL | Jimmy Smith | Don't sleep on Jimmy Smith. He's been an excellent cover corner this season and McBride has his hands full this week. Unless you're in the deepest of fantasy formats, McBride shouldn't even be near your roster. |
| CIN | ||||
| CLE | Rashard Higgins | HOU | Kareem Jackson | With questions under center, Higgins is an unattractive option in both seasonal and daily formats. Sure, the Houston secondary isn't as good as many thought, but Higgins' usage has been too inconsistent to trust. Consistency is key and Higgins doesn't possess that trait. |
| DAL | ||||
| DEN | Demaryius Thomas | NYG | Janoris Jenkins | I love Janoris Jenkins as a player, but I hate him when it comes to DFS. He practically neutralizes his opposition and I expect that to happen this week as well. Thomas drops into the flex realm for me this week. |
| DET | Kenny Golladay | NO | Marshon Lattimore | As bad as the Saints secondary is, it's not really the whole crew, but just a few bad apples. P.J. Williams has been picked apart, but Lattimore has been very good. Despite allowing an 80 percent catch rate, his yards per coverage snap is down at 0.74.* Golladay isn't a play this week. |
| GB | Davante Adams | MIN | Trae Waynes | Adams is coming off an impressive two touchdown game and he should escape lockdown coverage from Xavier Rhodes. If you want exposure to this game, particularly a Green Bay receiver, go right back to the well with Adams this week. |
| HOU | DeAndre Hopkins | CLE | Jason McCourty | Nuk is back, baby! Deshaun Watson has sparked life into the Houston offense and Hopkins is directly benefiting from that. He's received 12 or more targets in all but one game this season and is coming off a three touchdown performance. He's a WR1 this week. |
| IND | Donte Moncrief | TEN | Brice McCain | Moncrief hasn't been much of anything this year, but he does have a plus matchup this week. Brice McCain and Co. are allowing ample fantasy points to wide receivers, but the only holdup is that Jacoby Brissett just doesn't really target Moncrief. He's averaging just four targets per game and isn't startable in formats. |
| JAX | Marqise Lee | LAR | Trumaine Johnson | Lee is no more than an average flex option given the state of the Jacksonville passing attack, which is barely above nonexistent. The ideal gameplan is Bortles to attempt around 20-25 pass attempts and let Leonard Fournette and Chris Ivory pound the rock. Lee isn't for me this week. |
| KC | Tyreek Hill | PIT | Artie Burns | If you only look at the stats, with no context whatsoever, you would think Pittsburgh's pass defense is absolutely dominant. They aren't. The numbers look good because they've faced Blake Bortles, Case Keenum, DeShone Kizer, Mike Glennon and Joe Flacco. With possibly no Travis Kelce, Hill will see ample targets in this one. |
| LAC | Tyrell Williams | OAK | Gareon Conley | At this point, the only Chargers receiver I can trust on a weekly basis is Keenan Allen. Conley's 0.63 yards allowed per coverage snap is the best among Oakland's corners and the rookie is playing some good football. I'd look at another Los Angeles receiver if you crave exposure to this game. |
| LAR | Sammy Watkins | JAX | A.J. Bouye | Coach McVay said he wants to find ways to get Watkins the ball, but I don't see it happening this week. Bouye is a tough corner to beat and Jacksonville's defense is riding high after a huge game against the Steelers. Honestly, I'm not considering Watkins in any format right now. |
| MIA | DeVante Parker | ATL | Robert Alford | Parker is dealing with a sprained ankle, but he should be able to play. However, Jay Cutler has been a flaming pile of garbage and has derailed Parker's fantasy value to date. I played Parker in DFS last week, and well, I'm still butt hurt about it. |
| MIN | Laquon Treadwell | GB | Davon House | Treadwell doesn't get enough work in the Minnesota offense to truly be a fantasy asset. There's too many mouths to feed and he hasn't exactly pushed the envelope in terms of earning more targets. |
| NE | Brandin Cooks | NYJ | Morris Claiborne | Cooks is averaging 1.87 yards per route run and in case you didn't know, the Jets are very beatable in the secondary.* Oh yeah, he has a guy named Tom Brady throwing the football. Needless to say, Cooks is a solid options in fantasy this week. |
| NO | Michael Thomas | DET | Darius Slay | Slay will likely shadow Thomas in this one, but Drew Brees will make sure his top wide receiver gets the football. Detroit's top corner has done well in shadow efforts this season, but he did allow a touchdown to Carolina's Kelvin Benjamin last week. Thomas is a WR1, but expect WR2 numbers this week. |
| NYG | Travis Rudolph | DEN | Bradley Roby | Rudolph was just promoted from the practice squad and promptly has to square off against Roby. Good luck, Travis. |
| NYJ | Jermaine Kearse | NE | Stephon Gilmore | Of the New England corners, Gilmore isn't the one I prefer to target, but Kearse is the top option in New York's passing game. In PPR formats, I like Kearse, but in standard or half point, I'd rather play Anderson. The Jets will get blown out, so expect plenty of garbage time production for Kearse and Co. |
| OAK | Amari Cooper | LAC | Trevor Williams | Oh, Amari, what has happened to you? He's dealing with drops and Michael Crabtree has been the superior receiver in Oakland. Even without Derek Carr, Cooper couldn't produce and Crabtree did. He's been a fantasy disappointment to date, but he remains a buy-low candidate if you have excellent patience. |
| PHI | Alshon Jeffery | CAR | James Bradberry | Now that Patrick Peterson isn't on him, Jeffery resumes his role as a WR2 for his fantasy owners. Carson Wentz is playing excellent football and Jeffery is the top receiver in the passing attack. He's only scored twice on the year, but he should find it for the third time later this evening. |
| PIT | Antonio Brown | KC | Terrance Mitchell | Marcus Peters doesn't tend to stray away from his side of the field too much, leaving Mitchell responsible for covering Brown for most of the afternoon. Yes, Big Ben sucks on the road, but Brown will get his targets and have himself another successful fantasy day. He remains a WR1. |
| SEA | ||||
| SF | Marquise Goodwin | WAS | Bashaud Breeland | I wrote about him in the DFS WR Coach and I'll mention it again here. Washington is without Josh Norman and Goodwin is coming off his best performance of the year. He's boom-or-bust, but I really think this is a BOOM week for Goodwin. |
| TB | Mike Evans | ARI | Patrick Peterson | Evans is about to be the latest Patrick Peterson victim. Peterson is as dominant as they come out wide and no receiver has figured it out this season. Best case scenario, he finds the end zone on a nice catch, but don't expect a huge stat line. |
| TEN | Eric Decker | IND | Vontae Davis | In prior years, Davis was an excellent cover corner, borderline shutdown. However, as he's aged, he's more and more vulnerable out wide for Indianapolis. He's been beatable this season, but Eric Decker isn't exactly a threat, especially since Marcus Mariota is questionable for the contest. |
| WAS | Terrelle Pryor | SF | Dontae Johnson | Only three corners in football have allowed more receiving yards in coverage than Johnson.* He's really struggled in coverage and Washington is coming off a bye week, meaning Pryor is rested and had some extra time to work out the kinks with Kirk Cousins. This is Pryor's official coming out party as a member of the Washington Redskins. |
Offense | Right WR | Defense | Left CB | Analysis |
| ARI | John Brown | TB | Brent Grimes | John Brown is a decent receiver in his own right, but he's not my favorite Arizona receiver, let alone favorite Brown on the team. He's nothing more than a GPP dart. |
| ATL | Taylor Gabriel | MIA | Byron Maxwell | Coming off a bye, I expect Atlanta to be fired up and ready to play. Opposing quarterbacks have a 97.5 quarterback rating when targeting Maxwell and he leads Miami's corners with 1.78 yards per coverage snap.* Gabriel is a sneaky play in Week 6. |
| BAL | Mike Wallace | CHI | Kyle Fuller | Despite being a deep threat, Joe Flacco just hasn't taken many shots to Wallace down the field. However, on the seven targets to Wallace of 20 or more yards, they've hooked on four of them for 149 yards.* In theory, Flacco would take some shots again this week, but Baltimore is fickle and who the hell knows what product will be on the field each week. |
| BUF | ||||
| CAR | Devin Funchess | PHI | Jalen Mills | Much like Kelvin Benjamin, Funchess has an excellent matchup |
| CHI | Markus Wheaton | BAL | Brandon Carr | Wheaton caught just one pass last week with Mitch Trubisky at the helm but he could develop into one of the team's top receivers, but that's more of a knock on Chicago's wideouts. He's an unintriguing fantasy option at this juncture. |
| CIN | ||||
| CLE | Kenny Britt | HOU | Jonathan Joseph | Joseph struggled in coverage against the Chiefs, but Tyreek Hill and even Chris Conley are more formidable opponents than Britt. He was good a few years ago, but not anymore. Despite Houston's woes in pass coverage, don't start Kenny Britt. Don't do it to yourself. |
| DAL | ||||
| DEN | Emmanuel Sanders | NYG | Eli Apple | If you want to attack the Giants pass defense, your first option should be the opposing team's tight end, but secondly, it's the receiver that is covered by Eli Apple. He's allowed four receiving touchdowns this season and 305 yards on 25 receptions.* This week, Sanders draws him in coverage, and needless to say, he's the apple of my eye in Week 6. See what I did there? |
| DET | Marvin Jones | NO | Ken Crawley | Jones has had terrible matchups to open the year and the matchup on paper looks good against the Saints, but with coverage from Ken Crawley, expectations need to be tempered for Jones. Opposing quarterbacks have a mere 31.3 quarterback rating when targeting Crawley and he's allowed just eight receptions on a team-high 18 targets. Depending on your team, he could be a flex option, but if you have depth at wide receiver, you can look elsewhere. |
| GB | Jordy Nelson | MIN | Xavier Rhodes | Nelson missed action last week with an injury and now he gets an unfavorable matchup with Xavier Rhodes, Minnesota's top cover corner. His red zone rapport with Aaron Rodgers is extremely beneficial, but given Rhodes' track record, WR1 numbers could be tough to come by this week. |
| HOU | Will Fuller | CLE | Jamar Taylor | Fuller has already scored four touchdowns this season and he's already connecting with Deshaun Watson. He's a sell-high candidate, of course, but not only does he have a favorable matchup in Week 6, but a positive schedule moving forward. Excellent flex option this week. |
| IND | T.Y. Hilton | TEN | Adoree' Jackson | The Titans are struggling in pass coverage and T.Y. Hilton is coming off a monster game. He ranks second in the league in yards per route run and Jackson has had his rookie pains in coverage.* WR1 this week. |
| JAX | Keelan Cole | LAR | Kayvon Webster | Jacksonville isn't trying to light it up through the air and there just isn't enough targets to go around. Barring a ton of injuries or unexpected outburst, Cole won't be on my radar in any format. |
| KC | Demarcus Robinson | PIT | Joe Haden | The injury to Chris Conley was gruesome, but it opens the door for Robinson to step in with the ones. The offense is dominated by Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt, leaving the rest of the Chiefs to fight for the scraps. |
| LAC | Travis Benjamin | OAK | David Amerson | Benjamin leads the team in targets of 20 or more, but he hasn't had much success to date.* Amerson has allowed 1.9 yards per cover snap and has allowed the most receiving yards among Oakland's corners.* I like Benjamin in tournaments and standard scoring formats this week. |
| LAR | Robert Woods | JAX | Jalen Ramsey | Yikes. Tough luck here for Woods. Cooper Kupp is the wide receiver to play this week as the weaknesses in the Jacksonville defense are not out wide with the starting corners. I'd bench Woods in all formats. |
| MIA | Kenny Stills | ATL | Desmond Trufant | Jay Cutler has been terrible and really isn't helping any of his receivers' fantasy value. Stills has obvious deep threat ability, but when Cutler is struggling to compete passes within six or seven yards, how the hell will complete one beyond 30? In short, the stars just aren't aligning for Stills. |
| MIN | Stefon Diggs | GB | Damarious Randall | Diggs injured his groin, but it's not expected to be major. Green Bay's secondary is rather soft and the matchup for Diggs is pretty good. However, my only reservation about Diggs in this one is who is throwing him the ball. Sam Bradford looked like a shell of himself, and Case Keenum crashed back to Earth. Expect low-end WR2/premium flex option production. |
| NE | Chris Hogan | NYJ | Darryl Roberts | Hogan has been the most consistent Jets receiver this season and he's found the end zone in all but one game. Tom Brady will continue to look his way and Hogan is a reliable WR2 for me in Week 6. |
| NO | Ted Ginn | DET | Nevin Lawson | Willie Snead is expected to play and that just complicates things in the New Orleans passing attack. Snead slots ahead of Ginn, but the latter's role as the team's deep threat remains safe. The emergence of Alvin Kamara also hurts Ginn a bit, and this isn't a matchup to deploy Ginn in your lineups. In a GPP lineup, sure go ahead and hope for the best, but there are better deep threats to take a chance on. |
| NYG | Roger Lewis | DEN | Aqib Talib | Well, best of luck to you, Roger, going up against Talib. Lewis will be a popular waiver wire add, but he's not playable this week against a ferocious Denver defense. |
| NYJ | Robby Anderson | NE | Malcolm Butler | We all know that Anderson is a threat to strike a big one, and this week is an excellent opportunity. New England has really struggled defending opposing teams and Butler has taken a step back from his play in recent years. Butler is allowing 1.08 yards per coverage snap and a QB rating of 110.7.* I like Anderson in the flex this week. |
| OAK | Michael Crabtree | LAC | Casey Hawyard | Despite the absence of Derek Carr, Crabtree put up a quality outing last week. On the other hand, Cooper's down year continued. Crabtree is the more consistent guy and right now, he's playing like the top receiver in Oakland. He's a WR2 this week. |
| PHI | Torrey Smith | CAR | Daryl Worley | Worley has been pretty good this season for the most part, but Smith just hasn't found his niche in the Philadelphia passing attack yet. Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz and Nelson Agholor have developed into the first looks for quarterback Carson Wentz, but Smith remains a field stretcher. He leads the team in downfield targets of 20 or more yards, but two key drops have hurt production in recent weeks.* |
| PIT | Martavis Bryant | KC | Marcus Peters | Bryant has big play ability and Peters can be burned, but I don't think it happens this week. Bryant's big plays have come at home in the past, and although it doesn't affect Antonio Brown as much, Ben Roethlisberger's road woes certainly impact Bryant. |
| SEA | ||||
| SF | Pierre Garcon | WAS | Quinton Dunbar | The QB rating when throwing to Garcon ranks within the top 20 in football and his fantasy value is at its highest in PPR formats. He's yet to find the end zone, but it could happen in a matchup against the Josh Norman-less Redskins where the 49ers are going to need to score points. I like him as a low-end WR2 or solid flex option. |
| TB | DeSean Jackson | ARI | Justin Bethel | With Patrick Peterson shadowing Mike Evans, Jackson will need to step up in a big way. He's received the second most targets of 20 or more yards on the season, but he's caught just five of those 14.* Jackson will hit for a big one at some point in this game. |
| TEN | Rishard Matthews | IND | Rashaan Melvin | Melvin ranks just inside the top 25 in receiving yards allowed and opposing quarterbacks have targeted him the third-most.* Matthews would enter flex consideration if Marcus Mariota were to play under center, perhaps even low-end WR2 consideration. |
| WAS | Ryan Grant | SF | Rashard Robinson | Josh Doctson has more potential, but they continue running Grant out there. Grant has outsnapped Doctson in every week but one, but Grant's usage in fantasy is minimal. He's not worth starting, despite a favorable matchup. |
Now, here are my 10 favorite matchups in the slot this weekend.
Offense | Slot WR | Defense | Slot CB | Analysis |
| DET | Golden Tate | NO | Kenny Vaccaro | Vaccaro has allowed nine receptions on 13 targets this season, while opposing quarterbacks have a 121.3 QB rating when targeting him.* This matchup is the most advantageous among Detroit's pass catchers, and I expect Tate to take advantage of this opportunity. Fire him up in seasonal and cash games! |
| ARI | Larry Fitzgerald | TB | Robert McClain | Only seven corners have allowed more receiving yards out of the slot than McClain has this season.* Of the 16 targets his way, the opposing receiver has caught 14 of them.* Fitzgerald gets plenty of targets and McClain doesn't force many incompletions, so do you see why I like him so much? Good. |
| MIN | Adam Thielen | GB | Morgan Burnett | Regardless of Stefon Diggs' availability, I love Thielen this week. He has a great matchup with Burnett and he will put up numbers regardless of who is under center. He's an excellent play and I'm Thielen good about playing him in Week 6. |
| LAC | Keenan Allen | OAK | T.J. Carrie | Allen is Philip Rivers' favorite target and he will see his normal workload against the Raiders. He has at least four receptions in each game this season, but I like him to catch around seven this weekend. Lock him in as a WR2. |
| LAR | Cooper Kupp | JAX | Aaron Colvin | I've mentioned it numerous places now, but Kupp should be busy because attacking Jacksonville out wide is ludicrous. Kupp could easily see 10 targets in this game and I'm a fan of his for Week 6. |
| NE | Danny Amendola | NYJ | Buster Skrine | Amendola isn't my favorite New England receiver this week, but he's one of Tom Brady's favorites on a weekly basis. Hopefully the Jets can keep it close so we can get a full game's worth of production from Amendola. |
| GB | Randall Cobb | MIN | Terrance Newman | With Jordy Nelson likely to see a few less targets this week, Davante Adams and Randall Cobb should pick up the slack in the receiving game. It may not be the most ideal matchup, compared to other slot matchups, but I'm going to put my chips on Aaron Rodgers. |
| TB | Adam Humphries | ARI | Tyrann Mathieu | Mathieu has struggled in coverage this season, while Humphries has quietly put together a nice 2017 campaign. With Mike Evans being shadowed by Patrick Peterson, I expect DeSean Jackson and Humphries to pick up the slack in the passing game. |
| WAS | Jamison Crowder | SF | K'Waun Williams | Williams has allowed the most receptions and receiving yards out of the slot this season.* Also, Washington stated they want to get Jamison Crowder more involved. Seems like a perfect setup right? Play Crowder. |
| MIA | Jarvis Landry | ATL | Brian Poole | Oh, Jay Cutler, how you make things so difficult. I wanted DeVante Parker last week and he got hurt. I like Landry this week, so hopefully you can complete passes to him this week! Landry managed to find the end zone last week, so hopefully that happens again, at the very least. |
Elite
T.Y. Hilton vs. Adoree’ Jackson
Hilton is coming off a big game and has a plus matchup against Tennessee’s rookie corner, Adoree’ Jackson. Hilton has the second-highest yards per route run (2.76) this season and we all know the Titans’ woes in coverage.* Jacoby Brissett is looking to get the football to Hilton and it should happen on numerous occasions this week. Hilton has eclipsed 90 yards in three of his last four meetings against the Titans. He’s a locked-and-loaded WR1 in Week 6.
Ken Crawley is playing good football and Marshon Lattimore is a strong rookie outside, but Kenny Vaccaro is vulnerable in coverage. Vaccaro has allowed nine receptions on 13 targets this season, while opposing quarterbacks have a 121.3 QB rating when targeting him.*Conversely, Tate has caught nearly 75 percent of his targets and I expect him to be busy early on in this one. Also, with Matt Stafford battling an ankle injury, to keep him upright and safe, quick throws to Tate in the slot could be a big part of Detroit’s game plan.
Affordable
Emmanuel Sanders vs. Eli Apple
Janoris Jenkins will hone in on Demaryius Thomas, meaning Sanders will get to attack Apple. Trevor Siemian has a 96.8 QB rating when throwing to Sanders this season, while opposing quarterbacks have a QB rating of 128.8 when throwing at New York’s Apple. Fantasy is a game of numbers, so let’s put this in an equation:
Good QB rating when targeting Sanders + Great QB rating when throwing at Apple = BIG game for Sanders.
Yeah, let’s roll with Sanders!
Listen, if someone tells you that you shouldn’t play Tyreek Hill because Pittsburgh boasts one of the league’s best pass defenses this season, just nod your head and challenge them to a head-to-head contest on your preferred daily site. The Pittsburgh pass defense has good numbers because they’ve played Joe Flacco, Case Keenum, DeShone Kizer, Mike Glennon and Blake Bortles. Yeah, those guys aren’t the premium signal callers in the league by any means. Alex Smith, perhaps the league MVP at this point, comes to town and a concussion to Travis Kelce could keep him off the field. If that’s the case, with Chris Conley also out, Hill becomes the de facto top option in the passing game and he should set a new season-high for touches in this contest. Oh yeah, he returns kicks, too, so another outlet to earn fantasy points. Smith has a QB rating of 126.6 when targeting Hill and that will show on Sunday.* Hill is about a half step below elite this week.
Bargain Bin
Jamison Crowder vs. K’Waun Williams
Oh yeah. Listen up, #FANation… This is Crowder’s coming out party. I’m trying to contain my excitement but it’s really freakin’ hard! Williams has allowed the most receiving yards out of the slot and the Washington coaching staff wants to get Crowder more involved in the offense.* It’s the perfect storm that should lead to a big game for Crowder. For the type of production I’m expecting this week, Crowder is underpriced in DFS and you really should consider starting him in seasonal formats.
*Information gathered from research done at Pro Football Focus.