Week 5 did not quite turn out how I expected with some of my sleeper picks. However, that is fantasy football and things can go widely different than you expected. All you can do is trust your process and continue trucking along.
On the positive side, there were plenty of points going around so hopefully, you had some of the other players who had huge weeks to cover any of the disappointments or injured players that I identified as sleepers last week.
Daniel Jones was one of many New York Giants who left the game due to injury and only managed 4.82 fantasy points. Injuries are tough to predict but are a part of the game. Hopefully, Jones gets back to form soon as I still think he can be valuable moving forward. Especially with Kadarius Toney’s emergence in that offense.
Our lone running back pick, James Conner only managed 10.2 points this week on a 10-29-1 rushing line. He finished as a back-end RB3 as his ECR was RB31. He slightly outperformed his ECR but wasn’t what we were hoping for. Hopefully, Conner did not hurt you this week and you still managed a win. He definitely remains touchdown dependent and I think you can consider him a spot start as needed in a flex and continue to hope he gets in the end zone.
At wide receiver, DeVonta Smith had a decent outing finishing with 7 receptions for 77 yards and was ECR WR29. It was not as big of a game as we might have hoped, but the targets and receptions are still there. Think he can still be utilized moving forward as a WR2-3 type player on your team.
Jamison Crowder put up a dud this week and finished as ECR WR55 w/ just 6.4 fantasy points. I think I learned my lesson on this one, but I don’t want to have to start any Jets moving forward. However, he did still have 6 targets so if you need to start him I’d close my eyes and hope for the best.
Maxx Williams was another player we lost to injury this week after catching his lone target for 14 yards. From the injury reports, it looks like Williams may be out for the season. We wish him the best and hope he gets healthy.
As mentioned before, I will utilize several factors when exploring who my weekly sleepers will be. I will be looking at ADP (Fantasypros.com ADP), weekly positional rankings (Fantasypros.com ECR), rostership percentages, and some betting info (to help give perspective on possible outcomes). When referencing scoring in these articles this season I will be looking at Half-PPR scoring and in terms of league size, I will stick with 12-team leagues.
Quarterbacks: Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 6
Trevor Lawrence (QB, JAX) vs. Miami Dolphins
Lawrence gets to face off against the Miami Dolphins this week and currently is ranked as the ECR QB15. He sits at QB24 on the year, but is the QB13 in the last two games. It is always tough to go off small sample sizes, but what I take from that is that he is improving which is what you want to see from a rookie quarterback.
What is appealing is more so the matchup. The Dolphins currently are allowing 30.8 points per game and the Jaguars are also allowing 30.4 points per game. I feel like we won’t see much defense in this game, which is a positive for Lawrence.
Running Backs: Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 6
Devontae Booker (RB, NYG) vs. Los Angeles Rams
I didn’t get to go as deep as I try to with running backs this week as it gets murky real quick, but Booker currently sits as the ECR RB26 on the week. In week five he stepped in for Barkley and rushed 16 times for 42 yards and a touchdown while also netting 3 receptions for 16 yards and a touchdown. He looks to continue to fill in for Saquon Barkley and has the potential to provide RB2 upside this week as they face off against the Rams.
The matchup is less than ideal with the Rams with a 48.5 over/under and I would expect the Giants to be playing from behind most of the game. Booker however does have decent receiving abilities so this may be where he gets to attempt to do most of his damage. With the Giants so banged up though, someone has to step up and do something.
Tony Pollard (RB, DAL) at New England Patriots
Pollard has been a little up and down in his fantasy productions running behind Ezekiel Elliot this year, but he currently sits as the RB21 on the season. The current over/under sits at about 51 points for the week and I expect a good chunk of that to come from the Cowboys.
Pollard has been flex-worthy most weeks, but could have a bigger game this week as if things go as expected the Cowboys should be nursing a good lead. He could potentially help the Cowboys run out the clock later in the game. I feel like he has a strong change at outperforming his current ECR of RB29 and could be played in a flex this week.
Wide Receivers: Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 6
Kadarius Toney (WR, NYG) vs. Los Angeles Rams
Listing Toney is almost cheating here, but he currently sits at ECR WR36 for the week. This is likely due to him being banged up from last week and I expect his ECR to climb drastically if he does end up suiting up.
He may not be a “sleeper” as most people probably were aware of what he did last week, but I think if he suits up you should probably try and find a way to get him into your lineups.
Tim Patrick (WR, DEN) vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Patrick currently sits at WR ECR39, but has had a decent start to the season. He currently ranks as the WR30 in half-PPR formats. Last week he managed to catch 7 of his 9 targets for 89 yards. His targets have continued to increase each week as well. The matchup with the Raiders isn’t ideal, but if you’re looking for a bye week or injury fill in I like my odds with Patrick.
Tight Ends: Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 6
Zach Ertz (TE, PHI) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I’m getting this article in a little later than usual so if you happen to catch it before the Thursday Night game, Ertz has a good shot at a good week. He’s currently ECR TE11, which still is a TE1 but once you get past the top 4-5 guys it’s a crapshoot. What makes him a good play is that Dallas Goedert is likely to miss the game due to Covid. Ertz is wheels up as a streamer this week.
Dan Arnold (TE, JAC) vs. Miami Dolphins
Arnold is currently the ECR TE15 in a solid matchup for tight ends against Miami. He caught 6 receptions for 68 yards on 8 targets. What’s appealing is how quickly he’s been involved in the offense. With Lawrence as a sleeper quarterback, I feel like Arnold could continue to see a similar volume share and could outperform his current ECR.
