It’s time for Start Sit Week 6 in Fantasy Football! Which players should you be starting this week, and which players should you consider benching? We will cover it all in this weekly article!
Every week of the NFL season, fantasy gamers juggle players to insert into lineups at each position. Are you questioning which players face easy matchups and which players face tougher paths to production? You are in the right place! For seasonal leagues, DFS, and more, this week’s must-start and must-sit picks can give you some guidance on setting your lineups.
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Quarterback Start Sit Week 6
Start: Caleb Williams
I’m surprised Williams’ start percentage isn’t higher after last week. The number-one pick in this year’s NFL Draft finds himself in a similar matchup as he did last week. Struggling heavily thus far, the Jaguars are giving up the fifth-most passing attempts, the second-most passing yards, and the second-most passing touchdowns per game. They’ll travel to London this week, where the Bears will reportedly have a couple of extra days of adjusting compared to the Jaguars. Hurricane Milton delayed the Jaguars’ flight, and the team won’t arrive until later Friday. Meanwhile, the Bears have been in London since Tuesday.
We got the right guy. This was beautiful pic.twitter.com/n9kGSCHQkd
— Chief (@BarstoolChief) October 7, 2024
This Bears passing attack is really starting to come together. Against another horrid secondary, this should be another week of really good reps for Caleb Williams. Even in a positive game script last week, Williams threw nearly 30 times. The Jags should be able to keep it slightly more competitive than the Panthers did, meaning we should see close to 30 attempts again.
Honorable Mentions (Starts): Justin Fields, Kirk Cousins, Daniel Jones
Sit: Jared Goff
It’s very obvious how the Lions are going to play against the Cowboys. They’ll give David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs 30 touches and make you stop them. And guess what … the Cowboys won’t stop them. Goff and the Lions haven’t had to throw much this season, totaling just 41 attempts over the last two games. They’re an efficient, run-heavy offense that has not been asked to do much through the air. This week probably won’t change that.
Goff can always pay off as your starter on efficiency (see his performance against Seattle), but that’s now how you want to place your bets every week. Volume is always key, and it’s simply tough to start Goff over volume guys like Caleb Williams or Kirk Cousins. Nor is it smart to play this archetype over rushing threats like Justin Fields. Long term, even if I get burned, I’m willing to sit Goff against run-funnel defenses in favor of QBs in higher-volume spots.
Honorable Mentions (Sits): Trevor Lawrence, Baker Mayfield, Drake Maye
Running Back Start Sit Week 6
Start: Chase Brown
The Chase Brown breakout is happening. He’s much, much better than Zack Moss, and the Bengals’ organization now 100-percent knows it. He’s begun to take over the backfield, with 17 carries (four in the red zone) and six targets in the last two games. Quietly, Brown is the fifth-best running back in terms of True Yards per Carry and is often forcing missed tackles and breaking off chunk plays. More importantly, they’re now deploying him in the red zone and at the goal line more often. We’ve seen his top-12 ceiling in the last two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Giants are allowing the third-highest rushing yards per attempt in the league, a perfect setup for Brown to rip off a couple of 15-yard runs. They’re also allowing the sixth-most targets and fourth-most receiving yards to running backs. The matchup is perfect, and the usage has been exactly what drafters were hoping for. Yes, Zack Moss will still get touches, but Brown is now the 1A here.
Honorable Mentions (Starts): Trey Sermon (If Jonathan Taylor is inactive), Najee Harris, Jerome Ford
Sit: Rico Dowdle
After a breakout fantasy performance, I’m putting Rico Dowdle right back on my bench in Week 6. Outside of the Kenneth Walker massacre in Week 4, the Lions are allowing just 3.3 yards per rush attempt at home, which would rank second among home defenses this year. This is a stiff matchup for the Cowboys, who have struggled to get the run game going this season. Last week was a bit of an anomaly, with the Cowboys needing the resort to the run game in a wet Sunday night contest where Dak Prescott struggled. This week, I expect the Cowboys to try and beat the Lions like most teams do: through the air.
The Lions cede the second-most pass attempts per game and the second-lowest rushing attempts per game. That’s basically all you need to know for this one. You’re praying for a touchdown if you start Dowdle.
Honorable Mentions (Sits): Javonte Williams, Travis Etienne, Alexander Mattison
Wide Receiver Start Sit Week 6
Start: Darnell Mooney
Darnell Mooney is a weekly starter. Maybe he’s just in flex consideration against the toughest matchups, but the usage is making the case for starting Mooney very clear. He’s currently averaging eight targets per game and earning a 24-percent target share and 34-percent air yards share. Coming off a massive 16-target game where he scored twice (nearly thrice) and racked up over 100 yards, the Falcons are likely going to keep honing in on what works. Kirk Cousins is feeling more and more comfortable in the pocket and, as we know, will always feed his playmakers.
Darnell Mooney just tormenting DBs.
Flips his aiming point every time the defender adjusts their hips. https://t.co/X2rtPE5ftA pic.twitter.com/G9lnljL6l4
— JetPack Galileo (@JetPackGalileo) October 5, 2024
Atlanta faces the Carolina Panthers, who allow one of the league’s highest yards per reception to receivers and the second-most touchdowns. With both defenses struggling, I expect this to be a pretty tight battle in a get-right spot for Carolina. That’s why I’m not worried about Bijan Robinson completely taking over the game against the run-funnel. I think Carolina keeps this close, and we see roughly 30 pass attempts from Cousins.
Honorable Mentions (Starts): Ladd McConkey, Tank Dell, Christian Kirk
Sit: Rashid Shaheed
Rashid Shaheed‘s run has been incredible thus far, turning into one of this year’s biggest values. However, the landscape of the Saints’ offense completely changes without Derek Carr. First, we simply have no idea if Spencer Rattler is any good. Odds are, he’s not going to come out of the gates firing. The odds are even greater that he’ll likely be more conservative in his first start, so it’ll be tougher for Shaheed to give you a long score.
Rattler came out and said he’s specifically going to look at Chris Olave more when he’s in. I’m not sure how much weight to put into that, but it definitely doesn’t make me feel more comfortable about rolling Shaheed out in my lineups against a Tampa defense that always looks to buckle down when it comes to this division rivalry.
Honorable Mentions (Sits): Amari Cooper, Alec Pierce, Courtland Sutton
Tight End Start Sit Week 6
Tight ends are perhaps the most disgusting they’ve ever been for fantasy football. If you have one of these guys, you’re probably looking to just start them every week and hope for the best:
If not, consider these options:
Start: Zach Ertz
Despite a quiet day against the Browns, Ertz tied with Terry McLaurin as the team target leader with eight targets. On the season, Ertz is drawing an 18-percent (10th among TEs) target share and has earned at least four targets in four of five contests. Given the talent and the targets, it’s clear he’s the team’s second receiving option. This week, he’ll line up against Baltimore, who have ceded the second-most targets and the third-highest yards per target to tight ends. They’ve done a good job of keeping the position out of the end zone so far, but there are some key points that make me think that changes this week.
First, Ertz is finally drawing red zone targets, getting three last week. Second, the Commanders are seven-point underdogs and are expected to be behind for the majority of the game. We haven’t seen the Commanders in true comeback mode yet this year, and we could see a game with 30+ Daniels pass attempts. Playing from behind, I see Ertz being this week’s top streamer.
Honorable Mentions (Starts): Tucker Kraft, Dallas Goedert, Cade Otton
Sit: Dalton Kincaid
There’s little that can convince me to play Dalton Kincaid at this point. Without Khalil Shakir, Kincaid should’ve dominated the stat sheet, or at least led the team in targets. He did neither, drawing fewer targets than Mack Hollins. The dream of his breakout tight end season is officially dead. Now facing a Jets defense that’s allowed the fifth-fewest targets and eighth-fewest yards per reception to tight ends, his chances at making this the breakout game are slim. If Shakir is out again, the Jets’ defense will be honing in on Kincaid like most teams have been. As if Kincaid’s outlook couldn’t be worse, the Jets’ DC is their new interim head coach, and the Jets should be absolutely fired up in a pivotal home divisional matchup.
Honorable Mentions (Sits): Tyler Conklin, Isaiah Likely
Set Your Lineups!
It is time to set lineups! Fire up those fingers and plug in your productive players (and bench the sits!). Check back for weekly must-starts and must-sits based on the action that unfolds this season. Need some more options? Check out PlayerProfiler’s Upside Finder or DM me on Twitter! It’s time again for a season full of ups and downs. Buckle up!
