Key Starters and Tough Calls - Lineup Spotlights for Week 6

Scott Engel provides Week 6 fantasy football lineups analysis, spotlighting key NFL players to start and tougher lineup start/sit decisions to make.

Welcome to Week 6, RotoBallers! Below you will find some of my spotlight choices and players to go with or consider avoiding when faced with tough lineup decisions in Week 6 of the fantasy football season.

These choices are based off my Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller's NFL Premium Pass. Enter promo code KING at checkout for a 10% discount and get access to all of my ranks in all formats, plus a full roster of tools and analysis for the entire 2020 season.

Skill position picks here are based on PPR ranks.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
• Best ball fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Week 6 RB Spotlight Options

Jonathan Taylor; He is tied for the lead among rookies with 3 rushing TDs and ranks 3rd with 307 rush yards this season. Taylor only has a long run of 16 yards  and has not shown much ability to create extra running room or big plays. If he doesn’t have his best game yet this week vs. Cincinnati, you may have to think about trading him if your fantasy team is not above .500. He eventually may display more upside, and is a must-start RB2 this week, but he needs to show us more soon.

Phillip Lindsay/Royce Freeman: Here is an interesting tweet from my friend and one of my favorite fantasy analysts nowadays, Jacob Gibbs of SportsLine. It reminds us that the Broncos have never been fully trustworthy of Phillip Lindsay. So if you are desperate for an RB option this week, expect Royce Freeman to get in he mix for Denver. New England is fifth-best in Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to RBs, so neither is an ideal option, yet you can still get enough from Lindsay to use him as a flex option and hope for close to 10 points for Freeman. With injuries and bye weeks forcing us to go deep, you have to look for potential volume over matchups in many cases.

Phillip Lindsay's career-high snap rate in 32 games is 65 percent. He's only played more than 60% of the snaps in three games.

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 17, 2020

La'Mical Perine: If you have a pressing need at the RB2 spot this week, you can consider Jets rookie La’Mical Perine. The frequently misguided Adam Gase has indicated he cannot expect to heavily lean on a 37 year-old Frank Gore with Le’Veon Bell gone. But Gase has proven he will often forgo the best apparent route of potential success. So a time share between Gore and Perine is very possible. Yet Perine may get enough touches to ably plug your flex or gaping RB2 hole this week, and even Gase can likely see that Gore has no goal-line potential anymore. No matter their record, the Jets always play Miami tough, so you may be able to get a decent amount of Fantasy output from Perine this week.

Darrell Henderson/Cam Akers; Henderson has 4 TDs in his past 3 games on the road. Cam Akers had a career-high 61 rush yards last week. Henderson has earned more playing time than expected, but Akers was drafted to play a significant role in the Rams offense. This backfield situation has the look of an emerging time share. San Francisco is an obviously challenging matchup, but Henderson remains in play as a low-end RB2 with better TD potential for now and Akers may get enough quality touches to consider him as a desperation play.

Week 6 WR Spotlight Options

Brandin Cooks: The suddenly resurgent Cooks led the Texans with eight catches for 161 yards and a TD in Week 5.  With Bill O’Brien gone, and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly free to operate the offense as he sees fit, Cooks re-emerged in the form we have often seen in the past. The Titans rank 24^th vs. WRs, so Cooks has a better matchup than you may anticipate, and he is a quality fantasy WR3 play in Week 6.

Travis Fulgham: He set career highs with 10 receptions for 152 yards and had his second career TD catch in Week 5. The matchup looks very unfriendly vs. the Ravens this week, but again, we are looking for potential volume over matchups right now. Fulgham has already won the trust of Carson Wentz by making big plays and showing the willingness to battle for tough catches. He can be a worthy flex or deep WR play if you are thin at either position this week.

Preston Williams: The second-year man had four catches for a team-high 106 yards and TD last week. He has a TD catch in 2 of his past 3 games.  Williams seems to be finally getting close to his pre-injury form of his rookie year, when he was a very pleasant fantasy surprise. Expect another TD catch vs. the Jets this week. Isaiah Ford is also worthy of desperation consideration because of the matchup with the Jets.

Mecole Hardman: There is a lot of Hardman fantasy love going around this week with Sammy Watkins out. I can see starting him if you have a very pressing need at WR or the flex spot. But I would certainly not use him over a more reliable or proven option. Hardman has yet to show he can be reliable, even when Watkins has been hurt or simply not performing as hoped. While Watkins dealt with injuries for a three-game stretch last year, Hardman had receiving lines of 4-79, 4-45 and 2-28 with a TD. He has not yet proved that he can turn increased opportunities into more upside.  I am not saying a good outing cannot happen, but I need to see it first before I consider Hardman as anything more than a deeper streamer.

Week 6 QB Spotlight Options

Matthew Stafford:  He has two or more TD passes in his past three road games. We have not seen his best fantasy game yet this season, and Kenny Golladay is healthy after getting the bye week for extra rest from an earlier injury. The Jaguars are 25^th in Fantasy Points Per Game Allowed to QBs, so he is a good streaming option, especially if you have Russell Wilson, Drew Brees or Justin Herbert unavailable this week.

Kirk Cousins: I expect the Vikings to continue to lean more on the run, because that is who they are. I don’t have Cousins ranked inside the Top 15 even while facing Atlanta. Cousins ranks 24^th in completions and 20^th in passing yards. I would not be surprised to see two-plus TD passes, but I am not expecting a 300-yard game, either. He is a respectable streamer, yet I am not expecting too much upside.

Week 6 TE Spotlight Options

Eric Ebron: Ebron has caught TD passes in two consecutive games. With JuJu Smith-Schuster underperforming, Diontae Johnson out and Chase Claypool sure to draw more defensive attention this week, Ebron will have opportunities to make more key plays for the Steelers in a big AFC North showdown with the upstart Browns. Cleveland is also 27^th in FFPG allowed to TEs.

Robert Tonyan: When Tonyan caught three TD passes in Week 4, he became the first Green Bay TE since 2011 to pull off the feat (remember Jermichael Finley?) You may be wondering if Tonyan is going to be here today, gone tomorrow. I say he is here to stay as a quality fantasy option. There was much internal and inner circle chatter about Tonyan in the preseason. He worked out with George Kittle in the offseason and Green Bay does not have a dependable pass-catcher outside of Davante Adams. TE is extra-thin with Darren Waller, Hunter Henry and Jared Cook off this week. Tonyan is a top 5 play in Week 6 regardless of matchup.

More Weekly Lineup Prep