Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 6: Quarterbacks

Week 6 of the fantasy football season is here, and the quarterback position is seeing some stability. Cam Newton and Carson Palmer are back from concussions, while Russell Wilson is close to full health after his bye week. Drew Brees is also back from bye and those players can all be plugged back into fantasy lineups without much worry.

However, if you don’t have one of the top fantasy quarterbacks, it’s mostly a guessing game as to which one should be started. We’ll try to help out with three quarterbacks worth taking the plunge on, as well as three you should probably avoid for Week 6.

Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills (@ San Francisco 49ers)

Taylor is hard to predict, and even harder to use as an every-week starter. However, he has as good a chance as any week to put up QB1 fantasy numbers against a 49ers defense that’s now without NaVorro Bowman. Taylor is worth gambling on in deeper leagues this week.

Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans (vs. Cleveland Browns)

Mariota has really struggled so far this year, but he finally showed signs of life last week, throwing for three touchdowns in the win. The Browns’ 26th-ranked pass defense represents another opportunity for Mariota to be a fantasy asset, although he’s not improved enough to be starting every week. But if you’re streaming QBs, Mariota is a decent choice this week.

Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals (vs. New York Jets)

Back from his concussion, Palmer hasn’t always played like his old self this year, but he has a juicy matchup with the Jets’ abysmal pass defense, one that’s possibly missing Darrelle Revis for another week. With John Brown heating up and Larry Fitzgerald a steady presence, Palmer should be a great option for fantasy owners in Week 6.

Brian Hoyer, Chicago Bears (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars)

Hoyer is somehow playing good football this year and has yet to throw an interception in four games. That said, he’s still Brian Hoyer and we’ve seen this from him before, alternating between stretches of competence and completely collapsing. Hoyer will have QB2 upside some weeks, but this isn’t a good time to use him against Jacksonville’s seventh-ranked pass defense.

Eli Manning, New York Giants (vs. Baltimore Ravens)

Manning is playing straight-up bad football right now and he hit a new low last week, completing just 18 of 35 passes for 199 yards against a middling Green Bay Packers defense. Now he faces the Ravens and their secondary, which is allowing just 190.8 passing yards per game, fifth-best in the league. Manning can no longer be trusted as an every-week starter.

Kirk Cousins, Washington (vs. Philadelphia Eagles)

Cousins has been playing fairly well after a shaky start to the season, but with Jordan Reed in the concussion protocol, he’ll be without his best and favorite weapon in the passing game this week. That’s not a good recipe going up against Philly’s sixth-best pass defense (193.5 passing yards per game). Fantasy owners can leave Cousins on their bench until Reed returns.