RADIO
Michael Florio's fantasy football sneaky starts, pivot plays, and post-waiver waiver pickups for Week 6 of the NFL season. Start 'em as under-the-radar fantasy sleepers this upcoming week.
Week 5 was a rough one. There is no way to sugarcoat it, it's going to be a little tough sailing for some teams for a few weeks. Just last week, we lost Justin Jefferson, De'Von Achane, and James Conner for a month each. We also lost Anthony Richardson. There are also lots of injuries that we have already been dealing with.
But there is no going down with the ship in fantasy football! It's going to be more challenging, but it is possible to piece it together week by week. It sounds cliche, but one week at a time. You should be able to keep your team afloat and remain in the playoff picture until your team gets healthy again.
Sneaky starts and pivot options are always important, but they feel more vital than ever given the injury landscape that we have been dealt with in the first five weeks of the season. Don't worry, I got you covered!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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Quarterback Pivot Options for Fantasy Football
Pivot options in case Daniel Jones and Deshaun Watson don’t play or you don’t like your QB's matchup…
Matthew Stafford has scored over 16 fantasy points in two straight games. He is also coming off his first multiple-touchdown game of the season. He has proven to be more of a safe floor QB to start the season -- but the ceiling is certainly raised with Cooper Kupp back in the fold. Now, he has two high-end receivers to throw to with strong secondary options. He has a great matchup this week against the Cardinals, who have allowed the fourth-most passing yards and the sixth-most touchdowns in the NFL. He is a strong streaming option this week.
Sam Howell is coming off his best fantasy game of the season where he threw for 288 yards, two touchdowns, and ran for 19 yards, finishing with over 25 fantasy points. He has now topped 19 fantasy points in three of his last four games. Do not expect the same results this week as he has a tougher matchup against the Falcons, but if you need a streamer, he does bring upside due to his rushing ability.
Joshua Dobbs was disappointing last week against the Bengals, throwing for 166 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, finishing with just 8.74 fantasy points. It was a reminder that his floor is not very safe and he can have a game like this at any point. But do not overlook that he had scored over 17 in the three prior matchups, including over 23 in two of them. He is at his best when he is running the ball, but this week he gets a better matchup against the Rams, who have allowed over 18 fantasy PPG to QBs so far this year. Dobbs is a bit of a boom-or-bust option, but he brings a rushing upside. He was likely thrown back onto the waiver wire so if you need a streaming option, he can come in handy.
Gardner Minshew is in play in two-QB leagues. He is an option in one QB leagues only if you are desperate. He scored 13 fantasy points in his prior start this season but he has averaged over 17 fantasy PPG in his career as a starter. The floor isn’t all that high, but he could give you something like 18 fantasy points. He could also be playing catchup in what is a revenge game against the Jaguars. Tyrod Taylor is solely for those who are desperate, as the Giants offense as a whole (and specifically their line) is in shambles. But he does bring some rushing upside. If you are in a two-QB format and just need someone who is starting, Taylor is an option for you.
Running Back Pivot Options for Fantasy Football
Pivot options if Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Miles Sanders don't play…
Salvon Ahmed is a top pivot options this week with De’Von Achane on the IR and Jeff Wilson Jr still out. I would anticipate that he would be the secondary back behind Raheem Mostert. Ahmed has flashed when given opportunities, both in the preseason and in the limited chances he has had during the regular season. In his two career games with 20-plus touches, he has topped 16 fantasy points. The floor is not very safe, but there certainly is upside. I at the least want him on my roster, just in case anything happens to Mostert this week. If you miss out on Ahmed, Chris Brooks is a deeper option. You want exposure to the best offense in fantasy and this is a way to get it.
Emari Demercado is the Cardinals back I am most interested in but he will not handle all of the work himself. That is why Keaontay Ingram is also in play as a pivot option. Demercado played 77 percent of the snaps and tallied 10 carries, 24 routes, and three targets in Week 5. He should at the least split groundwork and be the top pass-catching option there. Ingram is the secondary option and while he could steal ground work, he has not shown to be the most efficient runner. Demercado is the preferred option, but Ingram is certainly in play as a sneaky option. Tony Jones Jr. and Damien Williams are extremely deep dart throws with little to no floor.
Arizona Cardinals rookie RB Emari Demercado on being the number added player in Fantasy Football today.
The Cards undrafted rookie was added to over 525k teams in Yahoo! leagues. pic.twitter.com/yXKV3G8goz
— Bo Brack (@BoBrack) October 11, 2023
D’Onta Foreman is going to be heavily involved in the Bears rushing attack with Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson sidelined. Foreman has averaged just under 19 fantasy PPG in the games he has seen 20-plus touches in since last season. He is not a lock to see that much volume, but at least 15 touches feel safe for Foreman this week. Foreman could see a huge workload and he has shown the ability to both break long runs and be a force in the red zone. He is the top pivot RB option this week. But, the Bears under this coaching staff have rotated their backs by drives, with the lead back getting two out of every three. Darryton Evans is a sneaky option for those in deep leagues.
Reminder: D’Onta Foreman rushed for 914 yards just last season.
2022 yards after contact per rush leaders:
(200+ attempts)3.81 — Rhamondre Stevenson 😢
3.60 — Derrick Henry
3.58 — Tyler Allgeier
3.48 — Nick Chubb
3.40 — Josh Jacobs
3.28 — Dameon+Pierce" data-id="23223">Dameon Pierce
3.26 — D’Onta Foreman— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 10, 2023
Ezekiel Elliott played 45 percent of the snaps last week with eight carries, 10 routes, and four targets -- catching all four for 17 yards. That was the same number of carries, more routes, targets, and catches than Rhamondre Stevenson. It's been a rough start of the year for Stevenson, so Elliott being more involved and earning more work is certainly in the cards. He is more of a floor play than an upside swing, especially in this broken Patriots offense. However, for those in deep leagues, anyone getting consistent touches can come in handy.
Wide Receiver Pivot Options for Fantasy Football
Pivot options in case Davante Adams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tee Higgins, and Tank Dell don’t play…
K.J. Osborn is a top injury replacement if you were lucky enough to snag him off the waiver wire. Last week, he saw nine targets, catching five of them for 49 yards. He has shown to be more of a safe floor play but that all changes with Justin Jefferson sidelined. Kirk Cousins has thrown multiple passing touchdowns in every game this season and over 280 in all but one game. Plus, with the Vikings' defense giving up a ton of points weekly, they will always be in a position to throw. Osborn quickly becomes a player you want to fit into your starting lineups moving forward, especially this week against the Bears, who have allowed the third-most touchdowns to receivers.
Rashee Rice and Kadarius Toney are both in play as sneaky options this week. Toney played 39 percent of the snaps last week while Rice played 30 percent of them. Toney ran 17 routes while Rice only ran 10 but they still finished second and third in targets behind only Travis Kelce. Rice was able to score a touchdown. They are not consistently on the field but when they are out there, the Chiefs generate touches for them. They also are explosive so they bring upside. Especially this week against the Broncos, who allow a ton of points and production each week. The floor may not be there, but the upside has them in play as streaming options.
First-read targets per route (min 50 routes), per @FantasyPtsData:
1. Tyreek Hill (0.33 first-read targets/route)
2. Davante Adams (0.29)
2. DeAndre Hopkins (0.29)
4. Travis Kelce (0.28)
5. Rashee Rice (0.27)
6. Kadarius Toney (0.26)
7. Justin Jefferson (0.26)
7. AJ Brown (0.26)— Jake Tribbey (@JakeTribbey) October 11, 2023
Josh Downs is coming off his best game as a pro when he caught six passes for 97 yards. Both of his top performances have now come in games with Gardner Minshew. In Week 3, Downs was targeted 12 times, catching eight of them for 57 yards. He has also shown the ability to make big plays in each of the past two weeks, having at least a 30-yard catch in each. With Minshew starting again, expect the Colts to potentially pass more and especially take shorter, quicker throws. Anthony Richardson can move around and has a laser for an arm so he often tries to air it out. Minshew will take advantage of Downs in the slot. He is certainly in play as a streaming option this week.
Elijah Moore is coming off his worst performance of the season and then had a bye so there is a chance he could be on your waiver wire. Before the Week 4 game, he had seen at least seven targets in every game and nine in two of them. He has yet to turn it into much production but the volume keeps him in play. I would like him more with Deshaun Watson playing, but he is still in play as a volume option. The Niners are amazing at stopping the run and generating a lot of pressure, so expect whoever is playing QB for the Browns to try and get the ball out of their hands quickly. The 49ers are middle of the pack against slot receivers as well. Moore is a volume streamer for those in need.
Curtis+Samuel" data-id="18928">Curtis Samuel has seen 15 targets in the last two games combined. Last week, he caught six of seven for 65 yards and a touchdown. The week prior, he had seven catches on eight targets for 51 yards. He has now topped 50 yards in three straight and in four of five games. He is more involved than anticipated as the Commanders continue to spread the ball all over the field. Samuel does not bring the highest ceiling, but he is a safe floor pivot play this week.
Tight End Pivot Options for Fantasy Football
Pivot options in case Cole Kmet, Darren Waller, or David Njoku don’t play or you need a streaming option…
Logan Thomas is coming off his best game of the season, catching nine passes for 77 yards and a touchdown -- good for over 20 fantasy points. He has scored over seven fantasy points in all four of his games and twice broke double-digits. That may not sound like much, but for a tight end, that is a pretty safe floor. And now he is showing that he can bring a high ceiling at times. He is a top streaming option at the tight end position.
Pitts is now 5th in the NFL in xFP per game.
The Top 3 are the Top 3 by ADP.
Logan Thomas really buoyed by a whacky high pass volume game for WAS but still worth noting. pic.twitter.com/S3ZK9axzXJ
— Michael Leone (@2Hats1Mike) October 11, 2023
Jonnu Smith took a backseat to Kyle Pitts last week and still finished with six catches for 67 yards. A fumble dinged him down to 10.7 fantasy points in PPR leagues. Smith has now topped eight fantasy points in four straight games and double-figures in two. That may not sound like a whole lot, but it's enough to have him in play as a top-15, sometimes even top-12 fantasy TE. You do not have to feel great about it, but Smith remains in play as a streaming option.
Cade Otton leads the Bucs' tight ends in routes (100), targets (15), catches (12), yards (89), and touchdowns (one). He’s had very little competition. He has a good matchup this week against the Lions, who have allowed the third-most fantasy PPG to tight ends. Otton is not a tight end you want to start each week, but if you need a streaming option, he is certainly in play this week.
Noah Fant has been the Seahawks' top tight end option so far this season with 11 targets, 10 catches, and 160 yards. He also just missed a touchdown in his last game. The issue? Seattle uses three tight ends and they often get lost in the shuffle due to the receivers hogging many of the targets. Still, Fant is a sneaky option if you are diving deep or searching the waiver wire for someone to start. The Bengals have allowed the fourth-most fantasy PPG to tight ends this season. He is not someone you should be forcing into your lineup, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Make sure to follow Michael on Twitter, @MichaelFFlorio.
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