We're looking at the good and the bad among matchups for Week 6. Only the Chiefs and Saints are on a bye this week, so fantasy owners don't have too much to worry about filling in. Last week's best decisions included starting Justin Forsett and sitting Alfred Morris. The bad featured sitting Kendall Wright (fluky two-touchdown game) and starting Delanie Walker.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 6
If you’re looking for roster advice this week, we have some great matchup plays you should exploit and a few players you need to avoid for Week 6.
Stephen Dunn
Let’s get right to this week’s top players to start and the matchups you should avoid for Week 6.
Start
QB Eli Manning, at Eagles: With 200 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons, owners were probably somewhat disappointed with Manning's Week 5 stat line. It was a bad game for him, but the upside seemed so much higher.
Now Manning gets a shot at the No. 29 pass defense. The Eagles made Austin Davis look like a Pro Bowl candidate last week, so roll with Manning again.
QB Ben Roethlisberger, at Browns: Roethlisberger went for 365 yards and a touchdown to start the year against the Browns. This time around it looks like Joe Haden will be out for Cleveland. The Steelers could be looking at 300-plus yards passing again. Roethlisberger has a high availability is most leagues in you're looking for a streaming option.
RB Branden Oliver, vs. Raiders: A huge Week 5 from Oliver led him to be one of the highest added players on the waiver wire. Donald Brown's concussion means another big workload for the rookie. The Raiders allow 158.2 yards rushing per game. Opponents are averaging 36.8 rush attempts per game against Oakland. Oliver's matchup couldn't scream, "start!" any louder.
RB Bishop Sankey, vs. Jaguars: We're going to do this again? Last week, Sankey seemed like a solid play against the Titans' poor run defense. He finished with eight carries for 27 yards. Can he he burn us twice in a row?
Shonn Greene did not participate in practice again on Thursday. Ken Whisenhunt is promising more touches for Sankey. The Titans are playing the league's second-worst defense in terms of points allowed to running backs. I'm starting Sankey as a flex, and I actually feel good about it.
WR Rueben Randle, at Eagles: Randle was on the start list last week and he managed to finally score his first touchdown of 2014. You have to love the amount of targets he’s seeing right now. Randle has 10 targets in each of his last three games.
The Eagles allow the most points to wide receivers. Odell Beckham Jr. might steal some targets, but it’s clear Eli Manning is ready to rely on Randle, especially in the red zone.
WR Mohamed Sanu, vs. Panthers: With A.J. Green not expected to play in Week 6, Sanu's value sees a big boost. Marvin Jones isn't going to play either, so that leaves Sanu as the primary target for Andy Dalton.
Carolina has given up six touchdowns to wide receivers. The Bengals will likely rely more on the run game, but a No. 1 receiver deserves a start in any league.
TE Owen Daniels, at Buccaneers: Daniels caught nine passes in his last two games. Last week he finished with 70 yards receiving. The Buccaneers have given up huge games to Greg Olsen and Heath Miller. Jimmy Graham's injury let them off the hook last week. Daniels should continue to post solid numbers.
Sit
QB Andy Dalton, vs. Panthers: Dalton threw four touchdowns in his first four games. The Panthers defense looks rough in pass coverage, but without A.J. Green, I worry about Dalton's value against any defense. The Bengals will likely focus on the ground game even more. Find another quarterback to stream.
QB Tony Romo, at Seahawks: Romo's past two games resulted in 586 yards and five touchdowns. Those game in the luxury of his own dome. Now he hits the road to face Seattle, a team that has allowed multiple passing touchdowns in three straight games.
That should be a good sign for Romo, but the Seahawks defense plays much better at home, as we saw against the Packers in Week 1. They gave up 303 passing yards at home to Peyton Manning, but we're not really going to compare Romo to him. If you're streaming, I would still shy away from Romo with this matchup.
RB Zac Stacy, vs. 49ers: While he's missing practice this week, Jeff Fisher assures us Stacy will be ready to go on Monday night. A less-than-100 percent Stacy facing the 49ers? No thanks.
San Francisco is the toughest defense for running backs to face, allowing 10.8 fantasy points per game. DeMarco Murray is the only running back to score on the 49ers in 2014. Stacy's stock is way down for Week 6.
RB Doug Martin, vs. Ravens: Martin is still leading the Buccaneers backfield in touches and snaps, but that hasn't led to a ton of fantasy success. He's rushed for 85 yards over the past two games. Bobby Rainey was the one who found the end zone in Week 5.
The Ravens have allowed just two running backs two score touchdowns, and both came in Week 3 against the Browns. Considering this position is giving owners fits in every league, it might be tough to sit Martin, but if you have other options, it would be best to wait for his schedule to ease up a bit after the Week 7 bye.
WR Cordarrelle Patterson, vs. Lions: Norv Turner continues to promise the Vikings are actively working to get Patterson the ball. They could probably just hand the ball off to him; that would be the easiest way to follow through with that concept. Patterson hasn't done a great job of getting open on routes, though, and his quarterback play hasn't been consistent.
Detroit allows the second-fewest points per game to wide receivers. Its defense has given up just two touchdowns to the position. Patterson is always bound to break loose, but I’d rather sit him until we see any type of consistency.
WR Sammy Watkins, vs. Patriots: The Patriots allowed three wide receivers to score over the first five games. A.J. Green caught his touchdown while Darrelle Revis left the game with an injury. Brandon Browner has also been activated from his suspension. It's a tougher matchup for the rookie receiver, and Kyle Orton doesn't offer a lot of upside.
TE Zac Ertz, vs. Giants: I was a huge fan of Ertz to start the year, but he just isn't panning out like many of us hoped. After two decent weeks to open 2014, Ertz hasn't even hit the 50-yard mark over the past three games. He looks like he's just another body out there in the Eagles passing game.
The Giants are allowing the second-fewest points to tight ends. That should be taken with a grain of salt considering the tight ends they’ve faced, but they haven’t given up a touchdown to the position through five games. Benching Ertz until he proves he’s worth starting is a wise route to go.
