By Jacob Denninger
Sports Columnist
Week 6 Stars
-QBs: Drew Brees (NO): 32 Pts, 465 Yds, 4 TDs, 1 Int; Brees’ 400+ yards and 4 touchdowns made him week six’s best fantasy QB.
-RBs: LeSean McCoy (BUF): 32 Pts, 19 Rushes, 140 Yds, 3 TDs, 2 Rec, 2 Rec Yds; Jay Ajayi (MIA): 32 Pts, 25 Rushes, 204 Yds, 2 TDs, 1 Rec, 3 Rec Yds; David Johnson (ARI): 31 Pts, 22 Rushes, 111 Yds, 3 TDs, 3 Rec, 27 Rec Yds. These three backs, two which could be expected, one which was not, racked up yards and touchdowns on their way to week six fantasy stardom.
-WRs: Odell Beckham Jr. (NYG): 32 Pts, 8 Rec, 222 Yds, 2 TDs. In his first game of the season that merited his pre-draft third overall ranking, OBJ completely outclasses all other receivers.
-TEs: Rob Gronkowski (NE): 22 Pts, 7 Rec, 162 Yds, 1 TD; Coby Fleener (NO): 19 Pts, 6 Rec, 74 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Rush, 2 Yds, Rush TD. Gronk had his first good game of the year, tearing up the Bengals after being out or limited with a hamstring injury in the first five weeks. Fleener had a rare tight end rushing touchdown, scoring 19 points after I and many others had given up on him.
-D/STs: Chiefs D/ST (KC): 11 Pts, 10 PA, 1 Int, 1 FR, 2 Sacks; Cardinals D/ST (ARI): 11 Pts, 3 PA, 2 Int, 1 Sack; Chargers D/ST (SD): 11 Pts, 13 PA, 2 FR, 2 Sacks. It was an average week for defenses, as none of the top three stood much above the rest. They didn’t stand out much from each other either, all posting similar stat lines.
-Ks: Dan Bailey (DAL): 13 Pts, 3/3 FG, 3/3 XP; Josh Lambo (SD): 13 Pts, 4/4 FG, 1/1 XP. Like defenses, neither of the top kickers this week really stood out.
Week 6 Busts
-Antonio Brown, WR, PIT: Brown got just 3 points, catching 4 passes for just 39 yards and no touchdowns, and his QB is now injured.
-Matt Forte, RB, NYJ: Forte had just 22 total yards from scrimmage, resulting in one point. Forte hasn’t gotten higher than 6 points since week three, and is averaging just 3.75 points per game in weeks three to six after having great games the first two weeks.
-Allen Robinson, WR, JAX: Robinson caught 3 passes for just 49 yards and 4 points. Last year’s receiving touchdown leader is averaging just 8.8 points per game and has gone without a TD in three of his five games.
-Jordy Nelson, WR, GB: Nelson had 68 yards, but had a season low in targets and had only 4 points due to a fumble.
-T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND: Hilton followed a 23 point outing with a four point one, posting the same stat line as Allen Robinson.
-Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI: Fitzgerald managed just 49 yards for 4 points on six receptions. He has been boom or bust this year, scoring 20 points twice and 6 points or fewer three times.
-Travis Benjamin, WR, SD: Benjamin had just 17 yards and lost a fumble resulting in -1 points against a tough Broncos defense.
Bengals and Panthers D/STs, CIN/CAR: These two defense got negative fantasy points, -3 for the Bengals and -6 for the Panthers as a result of getting lit up for 35 and 41 points, respectively.
Week 7 Injury Concerns
-Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT: Roethlisberger tore his meniscus and will be out through at least week 8.
-Carlos Hyde, RB, SF: Hyde injured his shoulder in the third quarter last week, returned briefly, but was seen in a shoulder sling at practice on Tuesday. He will be out this week.
-Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG: OBJ sustained a hip pointer on Sunday, but he played through it and scored 2 touchdowns. Watch his status, as he missed the media portion of Wednesday’s practice, but it looks like he’s going to play.
Week 7 Byes: Carolina, Dallas
Week 7 Pickups
-QBs: This week there are a plethora of quarterbacks with good matchups that might be on the waiver wire. Any could replace Cam Newton, who has a bye week this week. Kirk Cousins faces Detroit, the worst team against QBs and Andy Dalton faces Cleveland, the second worst. Both Cousins and Dalton are owned in under 70% of ESPN leagues. Marcus Mariota, Tyrod Taylor, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco (Questionable, throwing shoulder injury), and Jameis Winston, also have good matchups. All are owned in between 19% and 77% of ESPN leagues.
-Jay Ajayi, RB, MIA: Ajayi’s is almost certainly never going to repeat his 200+ yard, 2 touchdown performance, but he has most likely earned the job as the Dolphins’ workhorse back. Ajayi is a good pickup because more opportunity could result in fantasy success, but he’s not a great start this week against Buffalo, unless you’re in a deeper league.
-James White, RB, NE: White caught 8 passes, 2 for touchdowns, last week. The 8 receptions makes him a good PPR pickup, and despite the fact he is exclusively a pass catching back, the touchdowns merit him consideration in standard leagues as well. Brady obviously likes to look for White in the end zone. White’s two receiving touchdowns last game, give him an average of one per game in games Brady has played. Additionally, Brady has thrown 6 touchdowns since coming back, all to non-wide receivers. Obviously the receivers aren’t working for Brady, and he may continue to look to White, Gronk, and Bennett to fill the gap.
-Jamison Crowder, WR, WSH: Crowder has 4 touchdowns in the last five games, but no more than 4 targets in any of the last three games. He is a decent bye week fill in with a good matchup against Detroit this week.
-Hunter Henry, TE, SD: Henry has taken the number one tight end role from Antonio Gates in San Diego. With a touchdown and at least 12 fantasy points in his last three games, Henry is a good pickup, especially with a good matchup and Greg Olsen and Jason Witten on bye this week.
