8 Keys to a Week 6 Fantasy Football Win

Fantasy Football analyst Sal Vetri highlights his keys to a Week 6 win.

Best spot of the week: DeAndre Hopkins vs. IND

Hopkins is coming off his bye week, and this should only benefit him. He has been dealing with a knee injury this season, limiting him to just 52% of the Titans’ routes over the past three games. But despite being limited, Hopkins has led the Titans in goals each of the past two games and could now see more playing time if he emerges healthier.

In Week 6, Hopkins has the perfect matchup against the Colts. They have allowed three straight 100-yard games to outside receivers. Last week, Brian Thomas caught five balls for more than 120 yards and one touchdown. Overall, Indy has allowed 105 yards per game to No. 1 outside WRs this season and Hopkins fits that description for Week 6.

Return of the week: Dontayvion Wicks

Wicks was a popular waiver add last week that many fantasy managers started with. Christian Watson was out and Romeo Doubs was suspended one game by the Packers. It was the perfect setup for Wicks to have a big day. But he didn’t.

Wicks posted just two catches for 20 yards on seven targets. Once again he had two drops in this match and was just missed by Love deep on two more targets. The box score looks bad, but we were inches away from a big day here. Most importantly, Wicks was open a lot in this match.

In Week 6, Wicks will have another strong game against the Cardinals, who are allowing the fifth-most yards per play this season. Start Wicks again in week 6.

Sketchy spot of the week: Brian Robinson Jr. vs. BALL

Brian Robinson Jr. was great this year. Heading into Week 5, he was dealing with a knee injury that kept him out of practice for most of the week. But Robinson was able to adapt and produced nearly 14 fantasy points, finding the end zone twice. An absolute star played through injury and found success. On the season, Robinson ranks 10th in yards created per touch and fourth in explosive runs of 10+ yards.

This week, however, Robinson finds himself in a vague matchup. He’s going up against the Ravens this season who are allowing the fewest rushing yards per game. Baltimore has allowed opposing RBs to average just 3.1 yards per carry, 14% less than any other team in the league. Not to mention, Robinson is a six-point underdog in this game. As a career underdog of more than 6 points, Robinson is averaging just 9.3 fantasy points per game according to the RotoViz game splits tool.

Pick-up-and-play of the week: Jalen Tolbert vs. DET

Tolbert is a must add in all fantasy leagues. Brandin Cooks is expected to miss at least three more games for the Cowboys. In Week 5, Dallas played their first game this season without Cooks. In this game, Tolbert led the Cowboys with 10 targets and turned that strong volume into seven catches for 87 yards and one touchdown.

Tolbert is a pick-up-and-play option this week against Detroit, a matchup that has the highest expected point total of the week at 52.5. It’s the perfect spot for fantasy production against a Lions defense that allows the sixth-most passing yards per game. Tolbert should benefit from defenses that focus their game plans on stopping CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. Pick up Tolbert and start in week 6.

Must Start: Chase Brown vs. Giants

Brown’s role has expanded over the past two weeks. Through his first three games this season, Brown played on just 20% of the Bengals snaps and earned just 14 total carries. However, over the past two games, Brown has played 40% of the snaps and handled 27 total carries. He has turned those usages into 22.2 and 12.9 fantasy point performances.

Heading into Week 6, Brown’s running mate Zack Moss is dealing with an ankle injury. His status is uncertain for Sunday, but Brown is a starter this week regardless. He’s a favorite in a good game against the Giants. According to NFL Pro, New York allows the third-most rushing yards per game. Start Brown regardless of whether Moss is active or not.

Trending in RB: Kenneth Walker III

Walker might be a top-three running back for the rest of the fantasy season. He’s coming off a week in which he ran for just 32 yards in 14 attempts. Not great. But it was his new receiving game role and a score that saved his Week 6.

Walker has now run 30 routes for the third straight game. This is important because prior to this season, Walker had only run 30 routes in a game once in 30 games. This receiving play practice has led to strong production. Walker has earned 16 targets over the last two weeks – including Week 6, where he caught all eight targets for 37 receiving yards, saving his fantasy day despite an inefficient day on the ground.

Since returning from injury, Walker has handled 65.2% of backfield snaps and 31 of 40 RB carries. There are no signs of his injury holding him back. Trade for Walker if you can; I’d be willing to part ways with Chris Godwin or Garrett Wilson for him.

Something to look at: Blake Corum’s use

Corum entered this season with some hype as a third-round rookie. He was one of the best running backs in college football over the past three seasons and landed in a quality NFL offense with a great coach in Sean McVay. But through the first four games of the season, Corum saw moments in just one game. This was in Week 2, where Corum played eight snaps and earned eight carries — all of which went into garbage time during a blowout when the Rams pulled their starters.

This means that Corum is entering week 5 zero meaningful snapshots of the year. He was behind both Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers on the Rams depth chart. But in week 5, Corum saw a bigger role. He played 11 snaps on the season and earned six chances against the Packers. He converted this usage into six touches for 33 yards, averaging over 5.5 yards per touch. Corum’s usage is something to keep an eye on as he now appears to be the RB2 behind Kyren Williams for the Rams.

Trend Down: Travis Etienne

Etienne’s worries reached an all-time high in Week 5. He played a season-low 40% of snaps and earned just six carries. Teammate Tank Bigsby led the way with 42% of snaps and 13 carries. Bigsby continued to produce at a high level, turning 14 total touches into 129 yards and two touchdowns in Week 5. Bigsby was the RB1 of the week and has now beaten Etienne in all three of his healthy games this season.

Etienne reportedly took a big hit in Week 5, which is why his touches were limited. This is important context to add, but it doesn’t fully explain his poor play through five games. It’s hard to see Etienne getting this backfield back at a high level, because Bigbsy has literally been the most efficient RB in the NFL.

Bigsby leads the league in true yards per carry and explosive run rate according to Player Profiler. He averages 8.6 yards per touch, which is 83% more than Etienne. This now looks like a split backfield, with Bigsby at the head of it. It’s a bad time to be a fantasy manager of Etienne, he’s in serious decline.

Buy Low of the Week: De’Von Achane

Achane is at an all-time low right now for his fantasy value. He left in week 5 with a concussion and did not return. Achane has now failed to crack the top 10 in fantasy points in three straight games and has seen his production dip each year over the last four weeks. To make matters worse, both Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Wright saw success in Week 5 with Achane out.

It’s a frustrating time to be a De’Von Achane fantasy manager, which makes it a good time to send in a buy-low offer. Achane is entering his bye week, so he should be good to return from his concussion after the bye in Week 7. During his bye, you might be able to get him at a discount since he’s not useful to his current managers.

But the real reason you want to buy low on Achane is because Tua Tagovailoa tends to return in Week 8. In the two games Tagovailoa has started this season, Achane averaged 22.8 fantasy points per game. He ranks fourth in yards created and sixth in yards per route run this year. Buy low on Achane as he enters his bye week. Try to trade Mike Evans or DJ Moore for Achane if you can.

Sales topper of the week: Nick Chubb

Chubb started practicing for the Browns last week. He was able to practice on a limited basis all three days, which is an encouraging sign. Chubb is returning from a serious knee injury that could take up to two years to recover from. But he’s already back on the practice field, just 13 months after suffering the injury in Week 2 of 2023.

This is great to see and according to Deepak Chona, Chubb could be close to returning this week or in Week 7. But a return for Chubb would not mean that he is immediately back to his old self. It could take weeks for the Browns to get him back into a fantasy-relevant workload. But even if he reaches this point, there is still a big question about how the injury will have affected his abilities. We’re also concerned about this Browns offense and their messed-up offensive line that currently ranks 31st in run-blocking grade, according to PFF. Try trading Chubb for someone like Rashid Shaheed or George Pickens if you can.