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We're still wading into the byes, and they don't start ramping up until Week 7. But this week is still a rough one for quarterbacks with Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford both out.
It becomes even more troubling with uncertainty surrounding the performances of Russell Wilson, Carson Wentz and Andrew Luck. Thankfully there's one elite option on the waiver wire in over half of CBS leagues.
QB
Tired of streaming quarterback? Jameis Winston could be the reason you stop. He's in an outstanding situation, surrounded by high-end weapons with a high-flying offensive system and one of the worst secondaries in the league.
Winston should be involved in numerous shootouts throughout the year. But even if you're not sold on him as a must-start option for the rest of the season, you should use him this week.
Winston faces a Falcons team with about half of its defensive starters available, and it's not the good half. The Falcons have allowed 27,30, 49 and 33 Fantasy points to quarterbacks the past four weeks. The only quarterback they've slowed is Nick Foles, and that was in Week 1 before many of their injuries. Winston is a top-six quarterback this week.
Want a little more motivation to trust Winston? Eli Manning is the second-best option. Manning has scored 23 Fantasy points in two of his past three games, and the Eagles defense hasn't been very good on the road. In fact, their secondary has been downright bad. The important thing to remember with Manning and Carr is neither is top-12 in my rankings this week. If you streamed Andy Dalton the past two weeks, I'd stick with him.
Derek Carr is a frustrating quarterback to figure out. HIs yardage and efficiency numbers look good. But he's turned the ball over way too much and the Raiders have leaned on Marshawn Lynch in the red zone. If I was confident Carr was a good quarterback, I'd suggest touchdown regression was coming. Thankfully, he faces a mediocre Seahawks defense this week, so he should be serviceable.
TE
Like Winston, Cameron Brate could be a longterm answer at his position. At least until O.J. Howard returns. In 2017, Brate saw 14 percent of the targets from Winston and caught 26 percent of the touchdowns he threw. In 2016 he was at 13.7 percent and 25 percent. This game will be a shootout with Winston attempting close to 40 passes, 6-7 of which should go Brate's way.
As you can see, it's not a bad idea at all to get as many players as you can from this Falcons/Buccaneers game. Austin Hooper saw 12 targets from Ryan in Week 5, and this looks like another game where Ryan will have to wing it to have a chance. If it wasn't for an errant Ryan attempt in Week 4, Hooper would have top-12 performances in three of his past four games.
Dalton and C.J. Uzomah were disappointing streamers in Week 5, but that had more to do with their defense scoring two touchdowns than anything else. Uzomah gets another boost this week due to an injury to Tyler Kroft. I'd expect Uzomah is in on near 100 percent of the Bengals snaps, and Dalton is forced to throw more than the 30 pass attempts he did in Week 5.
DST
Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers
The Packers defense has some holes, but I trust it at Lambeau. Especially in prime time, and even more when the Packers are facing C.J. Beathard.
Cleveland Browns vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Did you know the Browns are the No. 3 defense in Fantasy points scored this season? Somehow they're still just 40 percent owned. The Chargers are a very good offense, but I don't expect them to be as efficient in a game that starts at 10 AM their time.
New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Jets have also been a surprisingly good defense this year, and the Colts are thin on bodies. I'm assuming they'll be without T.Y. Hilton and Jack Doyle again this week.
K
- Ka'imi Fairbairn vs. Buffalo Bills
- Chandler Catanzaro at Atlanta Falcons
- Graham Gano at Washington
Fairbairn continues to be underrated, but he's a great play this week with a positive game script and an offense that has struggled in the red zone.
Catanzaro is in a shootout in a dome, and Gano is a good kicker who is still under-owned because of his Week 4 bye.
So who should you sit and start? And what shocking QB could win you Week 6? Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy football rankings for every single position, and see which shocking QB finishes in the top 10 this week, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.