We have officially arrived at the mid-season slog! The casuals are thinning out, the waiver wire is barren, and our IR slots are filling up quicker than we would like! This has been a seriously odd year (at least to me) in many ways. We are still getting a lot of ugly football for this late in the season. Weekly upsets still make you question if this is reality or if we are all living inside the Matrix. Amid it all, we have some dynasty championships to win! The bye-weeks are upon us, and options are getting scarce!
Last week was far better than Week 5 for the flex article. Let’s have a quick look back and see how we fare before firing ahead to Week 7!
Week 6 Hits
Jordan Addison, WR MIN
This certainly wasn’t the smash pick I had hoped for as a Vikings fan, but it got the job done. Three receptions on only five targets is not great, but at least one was a touchdown. This was such a weird and disgusting game to watch. Justin Fields got injured, and everyone just sort of played awful for most of the game. Jordan Addison was on the field for 86% of snaps and tied with KJ Osborn for the most targets to a wide receiver. He is probably a risky-with-upside weekly flex option going forward.
Jakobi Meyers, WR LV
Jakobe Meyers was a nice hit for the week. He led the Raiders in targets and had 5 receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown. The worrisome part for Meyers is that, once again, Jimmy G is banged up. Also, Adams was not 100%, which may help him in the overall target category. Meyers has hit the ground running in Vegas and could have put himself in the weekly flex consideration as long as there is a semi-competent quarterback for the Raiders.
Zay Flowers, WR BAL
Another call that felt good when it happened was from my man, Zay Flowers. I have been a huge fan of his throughout the whole pre-draft process and had him as my overall WR2 in this class. Flowers led the entire Ravens offense in targets and receptions in Week 6. He finally managed to get into the endzone, which always helps for fantasy. Zay finished as WR14 on the week with 17.1 PPR points, so it’s not a bad haul for your flex spot!
Elijah Moore, WR CLE
The game itself surprised me (and a lot of people) as the scrappy Browns not only managed to hang around but shockingly snagged a win against the juggernaut San Francisco 49ers. What did not surprise me was Elijah Moore‘s fantasy day, sadly. PJ Walker led the team to ultimate victory but could not get the ball to Moore enough to be fantasy-relevant in Week 6. On a positive note, Elijah was on the field for 80% of snaps and had the 2nd most targets behind Amari Cooper. Once Deshaun Watson is back and the matchups are a bit easier, brighter days could be ahead for Moore. I think he could be a sneaky buy-low at the minute.
Curtis Samuel, WR WAS
Curtis Samuel made the hit list not through volume but through efficiency. To be fair, Sam Howell only threw the ball 23 times, and Curtis did have the second most targets. It may be a small pie, but at least Samuel is getting his share. He did manage to find the endzone, which leaves Samuel managers feeling sufficiently relieved if they took the chance and threw him in the flex this last weekend. Strangely enough, Samuel is on the field less than Jahan Dotson or Logan Thomas. He just seems to make plays when he is on the field.
Week 6 Misses
Jerry Jeudy, WR DEN
I tried. I really did. I knew it was gross, but I wanted to find a way to believe in Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, or some piece of this Broncos offense this season. I will have to admit defeat for now. Russel Wilson only threw the ball 22 times. Jerry Jeudy was only on the field for 65% of the snaps. I don’t know what to tell you folks, except probably don’t start Jerry Jeudy unless you have no other options.
Jameson Williams, WR DET
This is super annoying; it is a classic example of the right process, wrong results. Jameson Williams only played 23% of snaps and had 3 targets. That is NOT something you want to bank on. However, he did find the endzone, which gave him 13.3 fantasy points. We all know Williams is a big play waiting to happen. He has yet to string it all together into regular fantasy success.
Recap
A very respectable Week 6 has brought this year’s tally to 18 hits and 14 misses. Slightly more respectable 56% on the season. That Week 5 hurt in a lot of ways. All we can do is keep soldiering on, get on the right side of 60%, and see how things end up!
As a reminder, I am using the FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking (ECR) as my guidelines each week. I will pick wide receivers and running backs outside their top 24 to discuss. I will give a couple I like and maybe one or two I don’t and brief reasonings as to why. Hopefully, these studs give you more than 10 PPR points and will all end up in next week’s “hits” section!
Week 7
Christian Watson, WR GB (WR26) ⬆️
Watson missed the first few games of the season with a hamstring injury. He was eased back in for Week 4 and then had his snaps and targets ramped up in Week 5. After the Week 6 bye, he is officially off the injury report and has a phenomenal matchup against the hapless Denver Broncos. Christian Watson managers need not second-guess themselves about sliding Watson into the flex spot and hoping for good things against Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos.
D’Onta Foreman, RB CHI (RB32) ⬆️
This feels kind of scary, so I get it if you don’t want to play D’Onta Foreman. The Bears are likely without Justin Fields and will rely on rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent. This does make me wonder how much they will try and rely on the passing game.
The good news is the Las Vegas Raiders are one of the most generous defenses to the fantasy running back through six weeks of the season. Foreman went straight into the starting lineup last week and handled most of the rush attempts. He had 15 carries while averaging over 4 yards per attempt. The Raiders are bottom 10 in most statistical categories against opposing running backs, so there is a world where Foreman gets enough work and falls in the endzone to make it worth your time.
Jeff Wilson Jr., RB MIA (RB42) ⬆️
Jeff Wilson Jr. is finally back from injury! He has been a full participant all week in practice, and with the rookie sensation Achane missing time, he is certainly worthy of your RB2/Flex considerations. It is a fairly tough matchup on paper, but this Miami offense seemingly scores for fun. The Dolphins running back room has been putting up silly numbers this year, and I wouldn’t mind taking a shot at Wilson if you need some upside in your squad.
Diontae Johnson, WR PIT (WR31) ⬆️
It feels like it’s been three seasons since we have been able to slide Diontae Johnson into our lineups! I am just happy we finally have some good news stories about players returning from injury instead of heading to injured reserve!
Johnson has had a couple of full practices this week and is trending in the right direction for a return to action. The matchup is not that juicy, especially considering how bad the Steelers have been. The Los Angeles Rams have been a top 5 defense against fantasy wide receivers. However, a player of Johnson’s caliber deserves consideration most weeks. Especially considering the injury and bye-weeks we are all dealing with, I would slide him into the starting lineup in most squads.
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR NYG (WR41) ⬆️
Wan’Dale Robinson appears to be handling his return from injury well. He was upgraded to a full participant again in practice and seems to be good to go for Week 7. He has been commanding targets in his last three weeks of action, and with Daniel Jones potentially returning, I think you could consider Robinson in Week 7 against the Commanders. Robinson is boasting a targets-per-route-run rate of 27.5%, the 14th best in the NFL. When he is on the field, he is making plays. The Giants need that desperately.
Zach Evans, RB LAR (RB26) ⬇️
The unfortunate injury to Kyren Williams has suddenly thrust rookie Zach Evans into a potential starting opportunity. I know Evans was a big fan favorite amongst certain sections of the Devy community, but the reality is that he is a sixth-round pick who was very low on the depth chart before injury struck. The Rams have also brought in Myles Gaskin, Royce Freeman, and former Rams running back Darrell Henderson. Call me a skeptic, but I want to see at least a week of action from this motley crew before trusting my lineup to Mr. Evans.
Conclusion
It is a tough week with bye’s ramping up and injuries galore. Hopefully, these options have given you some solid food for thought heading into this weekend’s matchups. Good luck in your lineup decisions this week! Trust your gut, and in the wise words of Han Solo, “Never tell me the odds!”
If you want to chat fantasy football, you can always find me on X / Twitter @FFEvanlution. You can also check out my year-round dynasty fantasy football podcast (@DynastyDebates) on all major podcast listening platforms!
