Some wide receivers lived up to their billing in week 6, while some were scratched from the lineups on gameday. Martavis Bryant was not activated by the Steelers as it came out that he tweaked his knee in practice; his status bears monitoring over the next couple of weeks. Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal were both ruled out for the Bears, leaving some lesser known commodities to try to pick up the slack. Jaelen Strong carried the Texans offense, scoring twice on very limited targets. Even old man Lance Moore got in on the fantasy scoring, putting up a touchdown for the Lions.
Week 5 Recap (Standard League Points):
- Eddie Royal CHI - DNP
- Rueben Randle NYG - 4 pts (injured midway)
- Tavon Austin STL - 8 pts
- Ty Montgomery GB - 11 pts
- Martavis Bryant PIT - DNP
All of these players are still worth having on fantasy rosters, although Randle is the least trustworthy of the bunch. I like Montgomery as long as he is seeing playing time in the Packers high-octane offense. Austin has the potential to explode every week.
Teams On A Bye Week 6: Dallas, Oakland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis
Week 6 Waiver Wire: Running Backs / Quarterbacks and Tight Ends
Week 6 Picks:
Willie Snead NO
At this point, Snead is becoming Drew Brees's favorite target. Two weeks in a row Snead has seen a large number of targets and he could be on the verge of a breakout, if one has not happened already. Brandin Cooks looks unlikely to produce the type of numbers that were predicted going into the season. It probably boils down to Brees not having the arm strength that he used to. Many passes are going to be short and moderate range, rather than bombing it out to Cooks. Playing time is another factor: Per analyst Adam Levitan, Willie Snead's snap percentages this year by game: Week 1: 24.3% Week 2: 50.0% Week 3: 61.1% Week 4: 65.8% Week 5: 71.0%. Either way, Snead should be owned in even shallow leagues until further notice.
Kamar Aiken BAL
It seems apparent that Aiken is the receiver who will pick up the slack with Steve Smith injured. The timetable for a return is not definite, but Aiken will probably retain some value even after Smith returns to the field. Flacco is finally developing some trust in a secondary receiver and it will likely pay dividends for the remainder of the season. San Francisco will probably be a decent matchup next week and the Ravens tend to be in shootouts anyway, since their defense cannot stop anyone.
Doug Baldwin SEA
I was surprised to see that Baldwin is owned in less than 50% of fantasy leagues, and his ownership is on the decline. With Baldwin, you are clearly not looking at a player with a high ceiling, but he does have consistent targets and a couple of touchdowns. Russell Wilson trusts Baldwin and this will limit the number of times that he will put up a real clunker. For steady, if unspectacular production, Baldwin is a decent choice.
Don't Get Crazy - Andre Johnson IND
Johnson having a solid game and scoring twice against his former team was a nice story. Despite playing more snaps recently, little has changed for Johnson. He seems to have a nice rapport with Matt Hasselbeck, but Andrew Luck appears almost ready to return. This probably means that Hilton and Moncrief will go back to being the top dogs in the offense. If Johnson can be had for nothing, by all means pick him up and see what happens. If you were thinking about trading for him though, I would reconsider that move.
