Fantasy Football: A Quick Look at Week 6
With one game still to be played, Week 5 has had its fair share of studs coming through with big games (I'm looking at you Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, and Ezekiel Elliott) and some surprising breakouts by lesser-known commodities (Hey there, Sammie Coates and Cameron Meredith). With a quick look at the Week 6 schedule, what could we expect to happen?
Week 6 Hot Spots
- Russell Wilson has a juicy matchup at home with the Atlanta Falcons pass defense. Despite limiting Paxton Lynch to just 223 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, the Falcons have allowed the most FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks (24.7) and most fantasy points per game (23.6) this season, per Pro Football Reference. In Wilson's last 10 games at CenturyLink field, he's averaged 20.29 FanDuel points per game. Keep in mind, Wilson has scored less than 18 FanDuel points in five of those 10 games, and he hasn't scored more than 14 points at home this season. With that said, the matchup with Atlanta playing in their second consecutive road game at least 1,400 miles away from home is too good to pass up.
- Sound the alarm! Drew Brees is playing a game in the Superdome! And this isn't the dominant Carolina Panthers defense you've grown accustomed to. The Panthers have allowed the sixth-most FanDuel points to quarterbacks (20.3) in 2016. In his last 10 games at home, Brees has averaged a very healthy 26.75 FanDuel points per game.
- The New England Patriots are on to Cincinnati, and Brady is already the highest-priced quarterback on FanDuel at $9,000 this week. The Patriots are eight-point favorites in Gillette Stadium where Brady has been incredibly dominant. New England played eight games at home favored by a touchdown or more in the 2015 season, and Brady averaged 24.54 FanDuel points in those games, scoring fewer than 18.6 points only once.
- With a salary of just $6,800, Alex Smith is your FanDuel bargain quarterback of the week. Only Case Keenum, Blaine Gabbert, and Cody Kessler (who may not be able to start because of injuries suffered yesterday) cost less. Smith faces an Oakland Raiders defense that has allowed the second-most FanDuel points to quarterbacks (23.5) this season.
- C.J. Anderson faces a San Diego Chargers defense that has allowed the second most touchdowns (7) and FanDuel points (30.3) to running backs this season. Anderson has attempted 17 rushes inside the red zone (fifth-most), and has the second-most attempts (6) inside the five-yard line. The Denver Broncos are 2.5-point road favorites in a potential get well spot for their offense.
- Speaking of "get well" games, Lamar Miller gets the porous Indianapolis Colts run defense as a 3.5-point favorite at home this week. The Colts have allowed the fourth-most FanDuel points to running backs (27.6) this season. Before getting forced into a severely negative game script thanks to a waxing by the Minnesota Vikings defense on Sunday, Miller was averaging 23.25 carries per game. As an added bonus, Miller has averaged 3.4 targets and 2.8 catches per game this season. As luck would have it, the Colts have allowed the fourth-most receiving yards to running backs (319) and the most receiving touchdowns to running backs (3) in 2016.
- Priced at $6,500 on FanDuel this week, Ryan Mathews presents the opportunity for some serious value shopping. Matthews gets the Washington Redskins defense as a two-point road favorite in Week 6. The Redskins have allowed the second-most touchdowns (7), and third-most FanDuel points (29) to running backs this season. Mathews' usage is frighteningly erratic from game to game, but he has been consistently fed in one area -- in the red zone. Mathews' seven rushing attempts from inside the five-yard line are an NFL high this season.
- Jeremy Maclin's $6,900 salary on FanDuel looks extremely attractive this week against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders have hemorrhaged points to wide receivers this year allowing a league-high 38.5 FanDuel points per game. They are one of just two teams that have allowed over 1,000 receiving yards to wide receivers through five games this season. Maclin has been targeted at least seven times in every game this season, and averages 9.25 targets per game. Stacking Maclin and Smith on FanDuel this week would allow you to create a tournament roster filled with studs at other positions.
- It doesn't matter who's playing quarterback for the Carolina Panthers next week. Kelvin Benjamin has the potential to go bananas against a New Orleans Saints defense that has allowed 33.4 FanDuel points to wide receivers this season. Benjamin has been targeted an average of 9.3 times per game when playing teams not named the Vikings this season.
- The Buffalo defense is on fire right now -- they've averaged 18 FanDuel points per game in their last three games. In Week 6, the Bills get an offensively limited San Francisco 49ers team at home, favored by 7.5 points. So far this season, defenses playing at home and favored by at least a touchdown have averaged 9.45 FanDuel points per game.
As always, keep reading numberFire as we get closer to kickoff, as we'll have tons and tons of content covering Week 6 in depth. And, of course, good luck!
