2020 Fantasy Football: Week 6 Loves and Hates

COVID-19 causing games to get pushed back, a lack of a preseason causing injuries to be all too prevalent, and the emergence of surprise players have all been part of 2020 fantasy football. Last week, we made our loves & hates debut at every skill position for Week 5 and to be quite frank, it could have gone better. We’ll continue the weekly loves & hates in Week 6 and I’ll grade my performance at each position from the previous week before giving you an outlook for some names to look out for this week. 

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Week 5 Review

In case you missed my picks from last week, you can take a look at my Week 5 loves and hates here. Here are my self-evaluations of my picks given how they performed with a grade for each position; grades are in parentheses. 

Quarterback (C)

Daniel Jones, my QB love for Week 5, threw for a run-of-the-mill 222 yards against the lackluster Cowboys defense and fumbled the ball once. He did not throw any touchdowns. Despite the Giants scoring 34 points, it was on the back of four field goals and a 17-carry, 1-touchdown performance from Devonta Freeman, who finally got heavily involved in the Giants offensive scheme. In most leagues, Daniel Jones is droppable.

Carson Wentz, my QB hate for Week 5, did not, by any means, completely right the ship for his fantasy football owners but he used the unlikely story of Travis Fulgham yet again to aid himself into a somewhat relevant fantasy week. He couldn’t get much going in rhythm against the Steelers offense and threw for a season-low 57.1% completion rate and threw 2 interceptions, but his 2 touchdowns (to Travis Fulgham and Greg Ward) salvaged the week fantasy-wise, making my pick look not so great.

Running Back (F)

My goodness. Joshua Kelley, my Week 5 love, might have the talent to be a goal-line workhorse but Justin Jackson sure as hell god Anthony Lynn’s attention. Jackson, who got 59% of the snaps at running back, chugged 15 carries and worked efficiently (4.7 yards per carry) while also catching 5 passes for 23 yards. Kelley got 35% of the snaps at running back and got 11 carries for only 29 yards and sprinkled in a 9-yard reception. The touchdown load came from Justin Herbert’s passing game as neither Kelley nor Jackson found the endzone. It’s likely too early to tell what the running game for the Chargers will look like long-term in the absence of Austin Ekeler. The Chargers have a newly found bye in Week 6.

My Week 5 hate at running back decided to heavily outscore my love and that’s tough. Indeed, the volume for Jonathan Taylor was the lowest it has been since Week 2 with only 12 carries but he was also the most efficient he has been all season long, cashing in 74 total scrimmage yards and a touchdown to cap off a decent fantasy performance, especially if he is your RB2.

Wide Receivers (A)

Finally, something to celebrate. With the second-best PPR fantasy performance of the season by Robby Anderson, I finally hit on a love pick. Anderson totaled 115 scrimmage yards and was targeted a season-high 13 times against the dumpster fire called the Atlanta Falcons. It is noteworthy that fellow teammate DJ Moore also had a good fantasy day as he scored his first touchdown of the season.

My hate pick, Terry McLaurin, stunk it up with his first real no-show of the fantasy season. To be fair, I didn’t know that he would have Kyle Allen and Alex Smith throwing to him, hence I’ll refrain from the A+, but the Rams defense did what they had to do and McLaurin caught just 3 of his 7 targets for a total of 26 yards. His volume shouldn’t be a huge concern going forward in good matchups but it will be noteworthy to see if he can produce on the deep ball with the uncertainty under center for the Washington Football Team.

Tight Ends (D)

Maybe I deserve some credit for having the guts to pick Chris Herndon IV to do anything encouraging. Or maybe I was just naive. He got the opportunity with a quarterback that has historically thrown to tight ends and a matchup to boost. Instead, he got his season-low in snap percentage and caught 2 of his 3 targets. Please drop Herndon and pretend I ever mentioned his name.

On the hate end, Mike Gesicki not only caught 5 of his 6 targets but he averaged a season-high 18.2 yards on those receptions to produce his second-best performance of the season and the TE5 of Week 5.

Week 6 Loves & Hates

Last week took an L but tonight I bounce back. 

Week 6 Quarterbacks

Love: Gardner Minshew II (JAX)

Coming in as the QB12 on the season, Minshew has averaged 287.8 passing yards this season and has thrown 10 touchdowns, good for seventh-most amongst quarterbacks. In Week 6, he faces a matchup against the Detroit Lions, who are a bottom 10 fantasy defense amongst quarterbacks. Minshew’s fantasy value has relied on throwing to the endzone and if he gets D.J. Chark healthy, that potential can only skyrocket against a Lions secondary that sees the fifth-highest defensive average depth of target and has allowed 9 passing touchdowns in four games this season. However, the Lions are far from notorious at forcing turnovers, so the matchup doesn’t line up to be a daunting one for Minshew. 

Hate: Teddy Bridgewater (CAR)

The Carolina Panthers lost Christian McCaffrey, then casually rattled off three straight wins, largely in part due to the solid season of Teddy Bridgewater, who has been completing 73% of his passes this season. Outside of his Week 2 fantasy disappointment, Bridgewater has thrown 6 touchdowns and turned the ball over only once. Until now. 

In Week 6, Bridgewater faces a Chicago Bears defense that has allowed the lowest red zone touchdown rate, fewest passing touchdowns, and lowest completion percentage in the NFL so don’t expect a repeat blowup performance from Teddy Two Gloves. And if you’re setting a daily lineup, don’t fall prey to the hot streak of the Panthers offense. In fact, I’ll drop a bold prediction for this one just to spice things up — Bridgewater will complete a season-low 60% of his passes and turn the ball over 3 times. 

Week 6 Running Backs

Love: Myles Gaskin (MIA)

The snap share for Myles Gaskin has been stable all season and in Week 5 for the first time, he scored. Facing a New York Jets disaster that has allowed the second-most rushing touchdowns in the NFL this season, Gaskin is a value option for every lineup and in a game that could be another blowout early for the Dolphins against the barely-NFL-caliber Jets, expect Gaskin to lose no step in volume. I’m going to stay hot and drop another bold prediction for this one — Gaskin will reach the endzone twice for the first time this season. 

Hate: Aaron Jones (GB)

The Buccaneers run defense has been good since the Todd Bowles hiring and this season, they allow the fewest rushing yards per game at just 58.4, including shutdowns of Christian McCaffrey and the Chargers committee in Weeks 1 and 3, respectively.

With Davante Adams returning to practice for Week 6, it’s highly likely that it’s another instance of showtime for Aaron Rodgers, who has thrown 13 touchdowns and no interceptions in four games this season. Additionally, Tom Brady, who is coming off his most painful loss of the season, could have something to say about the perfect record of the Green Bay Packers, hinting at a possible shootout. Don’t get me wrong — if you own Aaron Jones, you’re going to be starting him. Jones’ volume has been consistent and his efficiency has been elite, registering 5.8 yards per rush, good for fourth amongst running backs this season. However, if the Bucs can cause that number to regress even a bit, the lack of an encouraging touchdown floor means you will want to spend your daily fantasy lineup funds somewhere else. 

Week 6 Wide Receivers

Love: JuJu Smith-Schuster (PIT)

With all the fantasy attention on rookie sensation Chase Claypool, who takes over as the highest Steelers fantasy scorer this season aside from Big Ben, do not consider sitting JuJu against the riveting matchup of the Cleveland Browns secondary. 

The Browns may be 3-1 on the season but it has definitely not been on the back of their passing defense. The Browns defense is now the second-worst, fantasy-wise, against wide receivers and they are the second-most exploited secondary with 215 pass attempts their way. Additionally, only the Falcons and Saints have allowed more passing touchdowns than the Browns. The beneficiary — nobody to shut down JuJu, who enters the week as the WR31 and possesses tons of value for a daily lineup. 

Hate: Amari Cooper (DAL)

A downgrade from the NFL passing leader (Dak Prescott) to Andy Dalton — it could be worse but the downgrade combined with the tough passing defense matchup of the Arizona Cardinals is enough for me to stay away from Cooper stocks in daily lineups and maybe even consider benching him shallow leagues in Week 6. 

There are just too many sources Andy Dalton can turn to if he does need a big play in the passing game, with the emergence of CeeDee Lamb and the relevance of Dalton Schultz in the endzone. Not to mention, the Cardinals run defense is run-of-the-mill at best, ranking outside of the top 10 in the NFL in fantasy points, yards, and yards per carry allowed to running backs. The Cowboys will turn to Zeke and a spread offense and Cooper’s potential to perform a disappearing act as he often does against good secondaries means the floor could be as low as a goose egg. 

Week 6 Tight Ends

Love: T.J. Hockensen (DET)

Remember when I said the Jaguars-Lions matchup has shootout written all over it? Coming off a Week 5 bye, I expect T.J. Hockensen to be one of the beneficiaries of a pass-heavy game from a pass-heavy offense facing a Jaguars defense that might just be the new Arizona Cardinals against tight ends. This season, the Jaguars have already allowed 4 touchdowns to tight ends (2 by Jonnu Smith, 1 by Mike Gesicki, and 1 by Darren Fells). Coming in as the TE13 in PPR formats this year, I expect Hockensen to have his best fantasy showing of the season in Week 6. 

Hate: Rams Tight Ends (LAR)

Tyler Higbee and Gerald Everett enter the week as the TE11 and TE28, respectively, but neither should be relevant against the 10th-best fantasy tight end defense in the NFL. Don’t let Higbee’s overall season production fool you into thinking he will be a consistent tool for Jared Goff and don’t led Everett’s slight emergence in Week 5 distract you from the fact that both are outside the top 25 in targets per game amongst tight ends. Stay away from this duo this week in daily lineups and consider benching them in your season lineup. 

Let’s just hope I strike gold on some of the picks outside of WR this week — who do you think I missed that you can snag this week for cheap in a daily lineup? Which surprise player are you benching in your regular fantasy football squad? Some important lineup decisions could determine whether or not you’re in contention for a championship in your league and this week, you have till Saturday to decide! 

If you enjoyed Ahaan’s Week 6 Loves and Hates, make sure to check our full slate of Week 6 Fantasy Football Analysis.

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