The 2021 NFL season is in full swing as we head into Week 6. The bye weeks are officially here as well and this week we’ve got the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers on byes. This means if you’ve been riding the high on guys like Deebo Samuel or Cordarrelle Patterson you need to find some replacements. We’ve got our FF Faceoff staff coming to you this week to give you some of our favorite starts and sits. Check them all out here in Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em Week 6.
Quarterbacks
Taylor Heinicke
Taylor Heinicke is a prime streaming option this week if you’re missing a quarterback due to injuries or a bye week. He gets the struggling Chiefs defense who have been a sieve to opposing quarterbacks in fantasy points allowed. Heinicke’s sneaky rushing ability only adds to his floor here in what should be a shootout with both defenses struggling. He could flirt with QB1 status this week and is a great start if you need a quarterback. – Brandon Hamer @DoubleHFantasy1
Joe Burrow
Coming off a tough loss in overtime in a crazy matchup against the Packers, Joe Burrow is in a nice spot in Week 6. Burrow has put u 20+ points in three straight games, depending on your scoring system. He’s seeing high volume in an offense that regardless of how bad the offensive line situation is, he’s got great weapons and is seeing plenty of volume. Detroit’s offense hasn’t been anything special and is giving up just over 250 passing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks. If you need a starter this week, there’s a chance he’s on the wire in redraft leagues and isn’t a bad option as a low-end QB1. – Aaron Schill @aaron_schill
Running Backs
Chuba Hubbard
Christian McCaffrey is still dealing with a hamstring issue and has been officially ruled out for Week 6 against the Vikings. It might go without saying, but there’s absolutely no reason to sit Hubbard unless you’re loaded. More than likely, he needs to be in your lineups and is someone that has high-end RB2 upside in a nice matchup at home against the Vikings. Last week without McCaffrey, Hubbard saw 24 carries for 101 yards and caught five of six passes for another 33 yards. The only other game that Hubbard started was on the road against Dallas, which was a significantly tougher matchup for running backs. Fire up Hubbard with confidence this week as an RB2. – Aaron Schill @aaron_schill
Latavius Murray
While Latavius Murray led Ravens’ backs in snaps last week with 34, Devonta Freeman (20) and Ty’Son Williams (14) were both in the mix as well and he’s someone I’m not starting this week. What’s more, if the Ravens are not playing with a lead, Murray’s overall usage and fantasy upside are capped. Last week, we saw our fair share of Freeman running with the offense when the Ravens were in hurry-up mode. The Chargers present a terrific matchup on paper. However, if they get a lead on the Ravens as the Colts did last week, Murray would be even more touchdown-dependent than he already is. Murray has scored in 3-of-5 games this season but has returned fewer than 9.8 PPR points in 4-of-5. – Anthony Cervino @therealnflguru
Darrell Henderson
Darrell Henderson hasn’t exploded for a game where he just completely carried your whole team to win. But he has been one of the safest, most consistent running backs in fantasy football. In the four games he’s played, he hasn’t scored less than 14 fantasy points in 1/2 PPR and hasn’t been outside the top-24 on any given week. The cherry on top, the Los Angeles Rams play the New York Giants in Week 6. The Giants rank seventh in D-PAC against the running back position and just got gashed by Ezekiel Elliott for 110 yards on the ground and two total touchdowns. If Mike Glennon has to start the game, the Rams should be in control from start to finish and will lean on the running game to put this one away. Henderson could easily be your third option at running back but should be in 100% of starting lineups this week. – Phillip Caldwell @DumpsterDiveFF
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Wide Receivers
Julio Jones
Julio Jones looks like he’s ready to come back from his injury in Week 6. However, he and the Titans will meet a tough Bills defense this week. The Bills are allowing the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers this season and have only once given up more than 63 receiving yards to a wide receiver and that was Mecole Hardman who tallied 76 yards last week but it took him nine catches to get there. Jones only has 12 receptions in three games, largely due to the success of Derrick Henry. The likely offensive game plan for Tennessee will be to attempt to open up the run game with a few passes here and there, not enough for a big day for any of their wideouts. If you have a decent backup option, I’d go with them instead of Jones. – Benjamin Ditlevson @FFRabbitDad
Brandin Cooks
After a couple of less-than-helpful weeks, fantasy managers may be unhappy with Brandin Cooks. Don’t fret, because better days are coming for the veteran pass-catcher. The Colts are a very nice matchup for wide receivers as they have surrendered 10 touchdowns to wide receivers in 2021. Cooks, himself, has found success against this team with 17 catches for 205 yards in three career games versus the Colts. Indianapolis has also been rather stout against the ground game and they’ll need to throw the ball to compete this week. With the bye weeks finally here, you could definitely do worse than Cooks in a good matchup. – Benjamin Ditlevson @FFRabbitDad
Allen Robinson
Until I see something out of Allen Robinson, I am wary to start him. Even with bye weeks now underway. Normally quarterback-proof, Robinson has been anything but in 2021. While his matchup with the packers is a favorable one, especially with Jaire Alexander out of the equation, it is hard to trust a player who has returned fewer than 9.5 PPR points in 4-of-5 games this season. To make matters worse, Robinson has drawn fewer than six targets in each of his past four games. I rather see Robinson pop for the first time on your bench than see him bust in your starting lineup. – Anthony Cervino @therealnflguru
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Tight Ends
Noah Fant
Noah Fant was a popular breakout candidate this year and hasn’t been overly impressive, but he does still sit as the TE11 on the year in PPR scoring, making him technically a low-end TE1. He’s got two games with 10+ points and in both of them, he’s found the end zone. The Raiders currently give up the second-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends and Fant getting more involved is a huge piece of this Broncos pass attack that they need to get more involved. Fant has all the talent to put up numbers and now it’s just a matter of getting him a bit more volume. I fully expect Fant to get things going this week in a great matchup against a Raiders team that’s starting to trend in the wrong direction in just about every aspect over the last three weeks. – Aaron Schill @aaron_schill
Robert Tonyan
After a fantastic 2020 season, Robert Tonyan has fallen off in a big way and is currently TE33. He’s found the end zone once this year after scoring 11 times last year. That’s not even the worst of it, as Tonyan is 21st for tight ends in targets with 17 and 34th in receptions with just nine. The Bears give up the second-fewest points to tight ends in the NFL and Tonyan has no business in your starting lineups until further notice. – Aaron Schill @aaron_schill
Dawson Knox
This last one is becoming pretty obvious at this point, but it’s worth noting that Dawson Knox needs to be in your starting lineups until further notice. The third-year breakout party for Knox has been real and he’s seen a 21.8% target share over the last three weeks. He’s got five touchdowns on the year and has scored in every game besides Week 1 in a tough matchup against the Steelers. Last week Knox played in 96% of the offensive snaps and that number has gone up steadily over the past three weeks. Knox is becoming a key piece of this offense and a favorite target of Josh Allen’s. Start Knox until further notice as he’s looking like the breakout tight end of 2021. – Aaron Schill @aaron_schill
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