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Scott Engel breaks down his Week 6 fantasy football lineup rankings, 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 plays and tough lineup decisions for the upcoming week of the fantasy football season.
These player selections 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 2019 season.
Note that all skill position picks here are based off of my PPR ranks.
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Spotlight RB Starters for Week 6
Damien Williams, KC : He was back as the lead RB for the Chiefs last week, playing on 56 percent of the snaps. The Texans have allowed the most receptions to opposing RBs and Williams should also get into the end zone.
Carlos Hyde, HOU: He has scored in two of his past three games and the Chiefs have allowed the most rushing yards in the AFC. He might come through with his best outing of the 2019 season so far.
Phillip Lindsay, HOU: Some other injuries at RB and other options on byes should make you go with Lindsay, who rushed for 114 yards and a TD last week. The best way for Denver to move the ball may be on the ground considering how tough the Titans secondary looks.
Spotlight WR Starters for Week 6
Michael Gallup, DAL: He is emerging as a high-end Fantasy WR2 and is a must-start in Week 6. The Jets are going to have all kinds of trouble with is what is arguably the best WR combo in the NFC.
D.J. Moore, CAR: Right now, the Buccaneers look like they have the worst pass defense in the league, and it is not going to get better any time soon. Some teams can try to fix their issues, but it appears hopeless for Tampa Bay to defend the passing game. Roll with Curtis Samuel if you can, too.
Dede Westbrook, JAC: Marshon Lattimore blanked Mike Evans last week and is going to be focused on trying to limit D.J. Chark. That will open up things for Westbrook, who should flourish against the Saints’ vulnerability in slot coverage.
Spotlight TE Starters for Week 6
Gerald Everett, LAR: He is coming off two good outings including the best one of his career in Week 5. No team defends the TE better than the 49ers, but you have to overlook the matchup if you do not have another Top 8 TE.
T.J. Hockenson, DET: All indications are he will be cleared to play on Monday night. With how thin the position is, you simply have to start Hockenson if you do not have another top-notch TE. As we said with Everett, most lower-ranked players at the position cannot be started over more potentially productive guys no matter what their matchup is. If you have anyone outside the Top 9 or so, they cannot be used over another TE ranked ahead of them.
Spotlight QB Starters for Week 6
Kirk Cousins, MIN: Outside of Tampa Bay, the Eagles might have the worst pass defense in the NFC. They may try to compensate with a strong pass rush, but Cousins will then get the ball to Dalvin Cook in the screen game and he’ll help his QB’s production.
Philip Rivers, LAC: He will rebound from his worst outing of the season. The Steelers Defense will spend a lot of time on the field. Look for more of Melvin Gordon to better support Rivers this week, too.
Tough Week 6 Lineup Decisions
Melvin Gordon over Malcolm Brown: There is a lot of fantasy excitement surrounding Brown, but the Niners have been the stingiest team in the NFC in terms of Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to RBs and have not allowed a TD to the position. Meanwhile, Anthony Lynn was very dissatisfied with the running game last week and will likely expand Gordon’s rushing workload more against the Steelers, who no longer have a fearsome run defense.
Adrian Peterson over Devonta Freeman: Washington interim coach Bill Callahan has made it clear he intends to run the ball and the Dolphins have allowed the most FFPG to RBs. Freeman has only one game over 30 rushing yards with no TDs as a runner. He has been contributing in the receiving department but Peterson should outrush him and has a better shot at TDs. Ito Smith could vulture Freeman and Peterson is the only true goal-line runner for the Redskins.
Curtis Samuel over Robert Woods: We already reminded you of how bad the Tampa Bay pass defense is. Woods has been underperforming this season and has a very challenging matchup with the revived 49ers.
Preston Williams over Emmanuel Sanders: The undrafted rookie is a quality start this week against the Washington pass defense. Sanders has failed to reach the 15-yard receiving mark in two of his past three games and it won’t be easy to break out against Tennessee.
Gerald Everett over Delanie Walker: This may seem like a challenging decision, but it’s really not when you consider Walker has one catch in each of his past two games. He only has 14 yards in that span and has really started to fall off recently.
Kirk Cousins/Philip Rivers over Aaron Rodgers: The Packers superstar is now in the midst of taking on a revised approach under a new coaching regime that has discovered a running game in Green Bay. Rodgers no longer has to carry the offense and the much improved balance will also keep him healthy. But the reworked schemes have him at QB16 overall after five weeks.
