Skip to main content

Kyle Yates’ Week 6 Fantasy Projections (2020 Fantasy Football)

Kyle Yates’ Week 6 Fantasy Projections (2020 Fantasy Football)

Do you have a location that you can identify as your favorite place on earth?

This will look different for every single person, but maybe it’s a cabin “up north” or a fishing spot out at the lake. For me, it’s not a vacation spot or a place to relax. It’s not somewhere that you can go just to slow down and enjoy peace and quiet. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

My favorite place on earth is the United Center. I grew up outside Chicago, Illinois and I was a huge hockey fan growing up. I would fall asleep at night with my radio under my pillow listening to Chicago Blackhawks games being played and I can remember vividly sitting in the stands as a young kid watching the players on the ice.

When I was growing up, the Blackhawks were terrible and consistently placed towards the bottom of the NHL. Because of that, my dad and I were able to afford to go to close to 100 games throughout my childhood and teenage years. I’ve been back a few times over the past few years and there’s something about walking up to the stadium and being brought back to what it was like going there as a kid. Everything from the smells to the sounds to the food takes me back to walking up to the stadium as an eight-year-old. It is, and always will be, my favorite place on earth.

What’s your favorite place on earth? I’d love to hear from you over on Twitter!

With all that being said, it’s time to switch gears and look at the upcoming slate of games for week six. As a reminder, this article serves to help you in making your lineup decisions by looking at the most likely outcome for these players. Any player any given week in the NFL can explode and put on a clinic that would’ve been impossible to predict – hello, Chase Claypool – but the percentage chances of that happening are very minimal. This aims to take an objective look at each player with my thoughts for them in the paragraphs below.

HOU at TEN | BAL at PHI | ATL at MIN | CLE at PIT | CIN at IND | DET at JAC | CHI at CAR | WAS at NYG | DEN at NE | NYJ at MIA | GB at TB | LAR at SF | KC at BUF | ARI at DAL

Let’s take a look at who you should consider starting or sitting this week.

Houston Texans vs Tennessee Titans

Date/Time: October 18, 1:00pm ET
Odds
: Titans -186
Over/Under: 53 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Titans 28.25, Texans 24.75

Houston Texans

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Deshaun Watson 25/38 287 2 1 18 0 19.24
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB David Johnson 11 48 1 3 31 0 15.58
RB Duke Johnson Jr. 5 21 0 3 25 0 5.9
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Will Fuller V 0 0 0 6 77 1 16.67
WR Brandin Cooks 0 0 0 5 60 1 14.38
WR Randall Cobb 0 0 0 3 41 0 5.88
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Darren Fells 0 0 0 3 25 0 3.76

__________

Tennessee Titans

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Ryan Tannehill 20/33 237 2 0 17 0 19.17
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Derrick Henry 24 105 2 2 21 0 25.62
RB Darrynton Evans 3 11 0 0 0 0 1.09
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR A.J. Brown 0 0 0 5 69 1 15.5
WR Adam Humphries 0 0 0 5 47 0 7.08
WR Kalif Raymond 0 0 0 1 21 0 2.77
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Jonnu Smith 0 0 0 5 60 1 14.52

__________

Quarterback

Houston: Watson threw two picks in week five, but that’s not as important as the fact that he threw for three touchdowns and over 350 yards. Watson had struggled up until last week from a fantasy perspective, but he calmed fantasy managers with a dominant performance. The Titans pass defense isn’t exactly a stout unit, so Watson should have another fine day here. He can be viewed as a solid mid-range QB1 yet again.

Tennessee: Tannehill exploded last week and was crazy efficient yet again. While there are a lot of other enticing options for streaming QB this week, Tannehill should absolutely be considered against the average Texans defense. He’s a high-end QB2 in my rankings this week.

Running Backs

Houston: David Johnson continues to see a significant workload each week and he can be viewed as a steady low-end RB2. He doesn’t come with incredible upside, but he has a safe floor with his guaranteed touches.

Tennessee: Henry should go nuclear in this matchup. While he wasn’t efficient on the ground last week, this is the matchup that should get his numbers back up. The Texans are currently allowing 25.4 fantasy points on average to opposing RBs. Henry should easily come close to that number by himself this week.

Wide Receivers

Houston: Cooks frustrated fantasy managers everywhere last week after coming out and putting up a huge performance – most likely – on their bench. After putting up zero points in week four, Cooks came out and was dominant in week five. He saw 12 targets and turned that into over 160 yards and a score. He should be viewed as a low-end WR2 this week against a beatable Titans pass defense. Fuller has been steady this season, despite the disappearing act in week two, and should be viewed as a high-end WR3 every single week moving forward. While he always has the potential to disappear, he also comes with insane upside on a weekly basis. Cobb doesn’t provide insane upside, but he’s seeing enough targets to be viewed as a solid FLEX play every single week in Full PPR leagues.

Tennessee: Welcome back, AJ Brown! Brown put together a dominant performance in his first game back and there’s no reason to think that this won’t continue moving forward. In this matchup, Brown should be viewed as a high-end WR2. Humphries should be back in the lineup for this game, but he’s not worth looking at as anything more than a low-end FLEX play in Full PPR formats.

Tight Ends

Houston: Fells was able to break away for the long touchdown in week five, but he only saw two targets. He’s a touchdown-or-bust TE2 each week.

Tennessee: Smith absolutely now belongs in the top-tier tight ends conversation with Kittle, Kelce, and Andrews. He’s putting up essentially identical stats to Andrews this season, but in one less game. Start Smith as a top-5 tight end every single week moving forward.

FantasyProjection Buster: Normally, Fuller is the one who gets the nod in this section for each Texans game. However, now we need to apparently add in Cooks too. There’s a wide range of outcomes for these two wide receivers on a weekly basis. Hopefully we can start to see them being consistent receiving options moving forward.

__________

Baltimore Ravens vs Philadelphia Eagles

Date/Time: October 18, 1:00pm ET
Odds
: Ravens -345
Over/Under: 47.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Ravens 27.5, Eagles 20

Baltimore Ravens

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Lamar Jackson 18/27 219 2 1 43 0 19.06
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Mark Ingram II 10 43 1 1 9 0 11.72
RB J.K. Dobbins 5 21 0 2 12 0 4.05
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Marquise Brown 0 0 0 4 62 1 14.24
WR Miles Boykin 0 0 0 2 21 0 3.01
WR Devin Duvernay 0 0 0 2 20 0 2.83
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Mark Andrews 0 0 0 5 68 1 15.39

__________

Philadelphia Eagles

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Carson Wentz 24/36 262 1 2 8 0 11.23
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Miles Sanders 13 48 1 4 35 0 16.21
RB Boston Scott 2 7 0 3 23 0 4.36
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Alshon Jeffery 0 0 0 4 52 1 13.39
WR Greg Ward 0 0 0 5 51 0 7.71
WR DeSean Jackson 0 0 0 3 46 0 5.97
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Zach Ertz 0 0 0 2 24 0 3.67

__________

Quarterback

Baltimore: Jackson put up a fine performance for fantasy yet again in week five, but he did it on the back of his work in the passing game. Jackson threw the ball 37 times, but only ran the ball twice for three yards. Jackson should get back to being utilized heavily as a runner next week and, with that being the case, he’s a safe top-tier option yet again.

Philadelphia: Wentz has been able to do enough to be a viable fantasy option, but this is not a matchup that you want to start him with any sort of confidence. He’s a low-end QB2.

Running Backs

Baltimore: Ingram is seeing enough work to be considered for fantasy football, but he’s a touchdown-or-bust option. Against the Eagles run defense, it’s probably best to look elsewhere if you can. He’s a high-end RB3 every week due to his scoring potential, but he certainly has a wide range of outcomes.

Philadelphia: Sanders showed his athleticism several times last week against Pittsburgh and was able to put together a great fantasy day on limited opportunities. He has another very tough matchup here against Baltimore that just shut down Mixon and the Bengals offense. Sanders should be viewed as a mid-range RB2 again this week.

Wide Receivers

Baltimore: Brown was finally able to find the end zone in week five and he had a great fantasy outing as a result. It’s a tough matchup for opposing wideouts, but Brown should be viewed as a high-upside WR3 every week.

Philadelphia: Jeffery appears to be on track to play after getting in a limited practice on Thursday, but it’s still a situation worth monitoring. Even if he does play, he’s not worth trusting as anything more than a FLEX option in a tough matchup. Jackson also appears on track to play in this game, but he simply can’t be trusted for fantasy football with how often he’s leaving the game and heading to the sidelines to get worked on. Ward should continue to be a fine low-end FLEX option in Full PPR formats with Jeffery and Jackson on track to return this week. Fulgham has been playing out of his mind the past two weeks, but if Jeffery, Jackson, and Ward are all healthy and playing, Fulgham’s going to have a tough time getting onto the field. He’s best left on your bench for this matchup unless one of the other receivers sits.

Tight Ends

Baltimore: Andrews is as solid of a fantasy option as you’ll find at tight end. He’s a locked-and-loaded top option.

Philadelphia: Ertz can’t be trusted for fantasy football anymore. He always has the potential to emerge and get back to being a fantasy star, but he can’t be put in your starting lineup anymore. He’s hurting your lineup more than helping it.

FantasyProjection Buster: Ertz always has the potential to flip the switch and turn it back on for fantasy at any moment. However, there’s no way we can comfortably project that anymore until we see it happen.

__________

Atlanta Falcons vs Minnesota Vikings

Date/Time: October 18, 1:00pm ET
Odds
: Vikings -200
Over/Under: 54.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Vikings 29.25, Falcons 25.25

Atlanta Falcons

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Matt Ryan 25/41 280 2 1 4 0 17.62
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Todd Gurley II 15 59 1 2 17 0 14.8
RB Brian Hill 5 21 0 3 20 0 5.48
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Calvin Ridley 0 0 0 7 96 1 19.09
WR Julio Jones 0 0 0 5 57 1 14.27
WR Russell Gage 0 0 0 2 25 0 3.69
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Hayden Hurst 0 0 0 4 39 0 5.71

__________

Minnesota Vikings

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Kirk Cousins 28/40 287 3 1 11 0 22.59
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Alexander Mattison 20 88 1 4 27 0 19.45
RB Mike Boone 9 37 0 2 16 0 6.36
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Adam Thielen 0 0 0 7 90 2 24.66
WR Justin Jefferson 0 0 0 6 74 1 16.3
WR Chad Beebe 0 0 0 2 18 0 2.7
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Irv Smith Jr. 0 0 0 4 35 0 5.62

__________

Quarterback

Atlanta: Ryan has not played well the past three weeks. He’s only thrown one touchdown over the past three games, but he has a fine matchup here against the Vikings secondary. With that being said, you simply can’t trust him in your lineup right now. He’s a mid-range QB2 in week six.

Minnesota: Cousins didn’t have as big of a game as many people expected in week five, but he did enough for fantasy managers to feel confident plugging him in as a streaming option against Atlanta this week. Cousins should be viewed as a low-end QB1 this week.

Running Backs

Atlanta: Gurley continues to get it done on the ground and he had a great day last week against the Panthers run defense. While the Panthers are not a matchup that fantasy managers should be afraid of, the Vikings aren’t much better right now. Gurley should be started as a mid-range RB2 this week.

Minnesota: With the news that Cook will be out for this matchup, Mattison immediately moves up into top-12 consideration in this matchup. Mattison should easily see 18+ touches in this game with the opportunity to find the end zone repeatedly against this Falcons run defense. He’s an automatic start if you have him on your roster.

Wide Receivers

Atlanta: Ridley continues to dominate for fantasy football even with Ryan playing terribly. Even if Julio suits up in this game, Ridley should be started as a solid WR1. Gage was looking like a solid WR3 for a while there, but with the way this offense has been performing lately, he can’t be trusted anywhere near your lineup right now.

Minnesota: Thielen continues to dominate and soak up targets and touchdowns in this Vikings offense. He can be started as a solid WR1 every single week, but he has top-3 upside yet again in this matchup. Jefferson fell flat in week five, but he should be viewed as an automatic start this week against the Falcons secondary. Jefferson can be started as a low-end WR2.

Tight Ends

Atlanta: Hurst continues to see plenty of targets in this offense, but he simply can’t get anything done with the way that the unit is looking. Hurst is a low-end TE1/high-end TE2 this week.

Minnesota: Smith finally became a focal point of the offense last week in Minnesota. While there are questions surrounding Smith and his usage moving forward, there are simply too many fantasy rosters in need of tight end help that have to plug in someone this week. Smith’s a fine TE2 option with upside in this matchup.

FantasyProjection Buster: Ryan’s struggles lately have been well below what I would feel comfortable projecting. However, they’re obviously in the realm of possibilities. Obviously, Ryan has the talent to be a consistent top-10 fantasy QB, but he also has the possibility of playing like a bottom-15 QB too. Will the head coach switch energize this offense? We simply have to wait and see.

__________

Cleveland Browns vs Pittsburgh Steelers

Date/Time: October 18, 1:00pm ET
Odds
: Steelers -177
Over/Under: 51 points
Implied Vegas point totals
: Steelers 27, Browns 24

Cleveland Browns

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Baker Mayfield 25/38 287 2 1 9 0 18.34
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB Kareem Hunt 18 73 1 4 38 0 19.22
RB D’Ernest Johnson 11 42 0 0 0 0 4.25
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Odell Beckham Jr. 0 0 0 6 75 1 16.43
WR Jarvis Landry 0 0 0 5 64 1 15.1
WR Rashard Higgins 0 0 0 1 16 0 2.19
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Austin Hooper 0 0 0 4 47 0 6.64

__________

Pittsburgh Steelers

POS NAME COMP/ATT PASS YDS TDs INTs RUSH YDS TDs FPTS
QB Ben Roethlisberger 22/35 266 3 1 8 0 21.41
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
RB James Conner 17 65 1 3 24 0 16.41
RB Anthony McFarland Jr. 6 28 0 1 10 0 4.42
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
WR Diontae Johnson 0 0 0 6 73 1 16.29
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster 0 0 0 4 58 1 14.06
WR Chase Claypool 0 0 0 3 45 1 11.99
POS NAME CARRIES RUSH YDS TDs RECS REC YDS TDs FPTS
TE Eric Ebron 0 0 0 3 36 0 5.16

__________

Quarterback

Cleveland: Baker has had some moments this season of looking like the player we saw in his rookie season, but he’s still nothing more than a streaming option each week. In a tough matchup against the Steelers, Baker’s probably best left on your bench.

Pittsburgh: Ben’s been solid enough so far this season to be viewed as a consistent low-end QB1 moving forward. He should put together a fine day against a beatable Browns defense.

Running Backs

Cleveland: Hunt stepped right into the workhorse back role last week and delivered in a tough matchup. This is another stout defense that he has in front of him this week, but Hunt’s simply going to see too much work to not be viewed as a solid RB1. Johnson’s going to be involved in this offense, but he’s not going to see enough work to be viewed as anything more than a FLEX option. He’ll need to find the end zone for you to feel happy that you started him.

Pittsburgh: Conner had a tough matchup last week, but was able to deliver for fantasy managers by finding the end zone. The Browns have been good against opposing RBs, but Conner will see enough volume to be a safe start yet again this week.

Wide Receivers

Cleveland: OBJ had a monstrous game in a great matchup two weeks ago, but he came back down to earth a little bit against the Colts. With that being said, he’s still seeing enough volume to be viewed as a rock solid WR2 with upside every single week. Start him with confidence this week. Landry put together a good performance in a tough matchup last week, but it could have been even better. He had a couple of terrible drops in that game that would have inflated his overall numbers. Regardless, Landry should be viewed as a safe WR3 this week against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh: If Johnson is back – no pun intended – in the lineup this week, he’s worth firing up as a low-end WR2. At the time of writing, it looks like Johnson is on track to play after limited practices so far this week. Juju hasn’t lived up to expectations this year, but he’s still a great talent and worth firing up as a low-end WR2 with upside in this matchup. Claypool is obviously a hot name to plug into lineups this week after what he did against Philadelphia, but if Johnson is in the lineup, he’s merely a high-upside FLEX play. If Johnson is not able to suit up this week, Claypool would move up in my rankings to a high-end WR3.

Tight Ends

Cleveland: After essentially not being involved at all in this offense through the first several weeks of the season, Hooper came out and saw 10 targets in week five. While that’s unlikely to be the case every week moving forward, Hooper should be looked at as a low-end TE1 moving forward. With so many other TEs falling flat for fantasy, Hooper moves up in the rankings just by default.

Pittsburgh: Ebron continues to provide a safe floor each week in this offense. With the way other options are looking at the tight end position, Ebron should be viewed as a high-end TE2 in this matchup and could be plugged in as a safe option.

FantasyProjection Buster: Claypool obviously was a huge part of the offense last week, but they focused in on getting him the ball after his second score. Will he go back to what we were seeing before his big performance last week? Will he simply just receive one or two deep looks deep downfield or will he be more of a part of this offense moving forward?

More Articles

Dynasty Trade Advice: Quarterbacks to Target (2024 Fantasy Football)

Dynasty Trade Advice: Quarterbacks to Target (2024 Fantasy Football)

fp-headshot by Andrew Hall | 3 min read
Dynasty Draft Strategy, Rankings & Tiers: Wide Receivers (2024 Fantasy Football)

Dynasty Draft Strategy, Rankings & Tiers: Wide Receivers (2024 Fantasy Football)

fp-headshot by Pat Fitzmaurice | 5 min read
3 Must-Have Tight Ends to Draft (2024 Fantasy Football)

3 Must-Have Tight Ends to Draft (2024 Fantasy Football)

fp-headshot by Dennis Sosic | 2 min read
5 Running Backs to Avoid Drafting (2024 Fantasy Football)

5 Running Backs to Avoid Drafting (2024 Fantasy Football)

fp-headshot by Tom Strachan | 3 min read

About Author

Hide

Current Article

15+ min read

Dynasty Trade Advice: Quarterbacks to Target (2024 Fantasy Football)

Next Up - Dynasty Trade Advice: Quarterbacks to Target (2024 Fantasy Football)

Next Article