With all but one game in the books for Week 6 (Bills at Jets on MNF), we’ve come upon some new revelations. Now, we’ve got several games under our belts and we’ve passed the initial excitement of thinking a team can win the Super Bowl after starting 2-0, or thinking a team is dead to rights after falling to 0-2. Now, our fantasy teams are taking shape and, just think, after next week we will have played half of the fantasy season! The truth is there are still players we’re not even thinking of right now who will help us down the stretch, but for now let’s get to the ones who are getting it done for our teams now and the ones who aren’t.
STOCK UP
Caleb Williams, QB, Bears
Is Williams finally at the point where he is a weekly starter in fantasy? I say yes and It seems that way on a day where he completed 23-of-29 passes for 226 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, he also added an additional 56 rushing yards on four carries. This was good enough to be QB1 in fantasy for Week 6 (MNF pending). To be fair it was against the Jaguars defense, which have been getting lit up by everyone, but he’s completed 74% of his passes, thrown seven touchdowns and one interception over his last three games (QB8 in that span). The Bears have a bye in Week 7, but will return to face the Commanders and Cardinals, two teams in the bottom 12 at defending quarterbacks in fantasy. Williams and the Bears’ offense is finally clicking, all of his playmakers are involved and he’s showing why he was the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
J.K. Dobbins, RB, Chargers
Dobbins has had a nice comeback season thus far, but now he’s entering a territory he’s never been in since being in the NFL. Dobbins had a career-high 25 carries in Week 6 against the Broncos that he turned into 96 yards and a touchdown, good for RB12 with MNF pending. With Gus Edwards on the IR, Dobbins has assumed a workhorse role and has done quite well with it. Kimani Vidal was active, but only went 4-11-0 in the run game. His biggest play came on a 38-yard touchdown reception, but he seems more likely to be used as someone to spell Dobbins at this point. Over the next few weeks the Chargers have the Cardinals (a bottom-six team defending running backs in fantasy) and the Saints who just got run through by the Bucs’ running backs. Expect Dobbins to continue being one of the fantasy steals of 2024.
Sean Tucker, RB, Buccaneers
Even if it’s one game, how can we ignore a guy who just had 192 yards, two touchdowns (RB1 in Week 6 with MNF pending) on 17 touches? We can’t. I know Rachaad White will be back, but the Bucs haven’t gotten close to this type of production out of their backs this season. To be fair, the Bucs’ staff attended a hell of a lot more practices (I was at zero, surprise, surprise) this season and saw who they felt fit to get touches in the backfield. I’m not suggesting you go out and blow your FAAB on Tucker. If anything, Tucker’s performance will make the Bucs’ backfield even more confusing from a fantasy perspective. With Bucky Irving also having success (16 touches, 105 yards and a touchdown) in White’s absence, it’ll be interesting to see how the Bucs’ backfield looks moving forward.
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STOCK DOWN
Calvin Ridley, WR, Titans
Ridley has been on a milk carton for weeks now, but somehow he’s avoided this column. Well, that was a mistake. Ridley is coming off a performance where he managed to catch none of his eight targets. He came into Week 6 having caught 2-of-6 targets for 14 yards in his two previous games. It’s not entirely on him (or even close to that matter) as Will Levis only has one game with over 200 passing yards this season. In Week 6 against the Colts’ 26th ranked passing defense, Levis only managed 95 passing yards. With matchups at Buffalo, at Detroit and vs. New England on tap, it may be wise to put him on your bench. I wouldn’t go as far as dropping Ridley just in case of a quarterback change, but right now he’s looking like a wasted pick.
Amari Cooper, WR, Browns
It was another disappointing outing in Week 6 for Cooper who failed to score more than 10 fantasy points, again. The last time he did so was Week 3 against a weak Giants’ secondary. This week, against the Eagles, was the first time Cooper did not see at least eight targets in a game, which had been the reason to keep starting him. Going forward he’s a risky starter at best as Deshaun Waston and the Browns’ offense just doesn’t have the answers to move the ball consistently. At this point, Cooper’s best chance at reaching his ceiling may be to get traded. That’s a spit ball comment, not me saying I know anything. Start or sit Cooper based on your options and the matchup.
George Pickens, WR, Steelers
While Pickens is a top-tier playmaker who has amazing body control when going up for the ball, the fantasy numbers haven’t registered. Despite getting 7.3 targets per game this season, Pickens has failed to reach more than 60 receiving yards in four of six games this season. He also has only two games this season where he has more than five catches. The Steelers have Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator, so it should be no surprise that Pickens isn’t part of some high-flying passing offense. However, it is an effective offense in terms of moving the ball downfield (in between the 20s) with Justin Fields leading the unit. Pickens simply won’t get the opportunities to put up big fantasy numbers with lower passing volume. Still, he’s a good enough player to where he should be considered in your flex spot weekly.
