With four teams on bye this week, there are a lot of holes to fill in your lineup. Yes, that takes into account Jahmyr Gibbs, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Justin Jefferson, Chase Brown, Jared Goff, Sam LaPorta, among others. What it doesn’t cover are bad matchups, injuries, and flat-out poor performances. Depending on your situation, you might have to go deep and potentially start players who weren’t on your radar. Heading into Week 6 of the NFL season, let’s take a look at some of those fantasy football sneaky starts.
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Sneaky Starts for Week 6 of Fantasy Football
Kirk Cousins, QB, Las Vegas Raiders
Was Cousins actually drafted in any 10- or 12-team leagues that allow you to start one quarterback? Most likely, the answer is no, as Cousins has looked terrible in recent memory. However, drafts are now ancient history, and Cousins is performing like a borderline QB1 this season.
After throwing three touchdown passes in each of his first three games, Cousins has thrown two, and then one touchdown pass in the next two weeks. Last week was just a lost cause as the Raiders were blown out by the New England Patriots. A week after throwing for a career-high 365 yards, his total dropped to 243. In Week 6, though, Cousins gets a soft landing spot against the Buffalo Bills.
The veteran faces a Bills defense that is at the top of the list for fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. There’s only one game in which an opposing quarterback didn’t throw for multiple touchdowns against Buffalo this season. Additionally, four of five quarterbacks have met or exceeded 269 passing yards to go along with those touchdowns. Cousins should be able to take advantage of Brock Bowers here in what’s shaping up to be a strong week.
Michael Penix, QB, Atlanta Falcons
Penix will be under center for the fourth straight game after missing the first two games due to injury. In each of his first three games, Penix has thrown one touchdown pass. While he hasn’t exactly aired out the ball, he’s thrown for between 223 and 256 yards to begin the season.
There’s a lot to like about Bijan Robinson, and Drake London has seemingly gotten past his early season struggles. We’re going to avoid going down the path of Kyle Pitts, but the short story is that Penix has weapons to work with.
The Bears have allowed 1,143 yards and six touchdowns to begin the season, but it’s been a tale of two extremes. There have been some rough performances that they shouldn’t get all the credit for (facing Geno Smith and Carson Wentz) but also some big passing games against them. We’re not expecting Penix to throw for the 367 yards Jordan Love did last week, but two touchdowns and 250 yards are very possible.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans
We might be going a little deep here, but sometimes that’s necessary. It seems as if anything the Titans try on offense doesn’t work, but that brings us to Spears. Utilizing a running back in the passing game can sometimes be seen as taking the easy way out. Instead of trusting Cam Ward to work the ball down the field and to make decisions, Tennessee is just dumping balls off to Spears in the flat.
Based on the fact that they are 0-5 and generally playing from behind at the outset, Tennessee doesn’t wait long before getting into the passing game. Ward’s struggles then leave them in third-and-long situations, which leads to Spears being busy.
In Week 5, he only had 28 receiving yards, but with nine catches, it was a strong PPR performance. This week, Spears faces an Indianapolis Colts team that allows a league-high 53 receiving yards per game to opposing running backs. The expectation is that Spears will be busy once again.
Woody Marks, RB, Houston Texans
It’s a tough matchup for Marks against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. The Texans have to travel to London this week to face a Jaguars team that is ranked in the top-5 against opposing running backs this season. However, this is a play on quantity, potentially more so than quality.
With David Montgomery sidelined, Marks is now front and center in Houston’s backfield. Montgomery got injured pretty early on in Week 5’s game, and Marks had 19 touches. He carried the ball 15 times for 62 yards while also catching four passes for 23 yards.
In each of his two prior games, Marks had a touchdown run, so we know he has a nose for the end zone. Marks also has shown the ability to play a role in the passing game, and now he’s a three-down back.
Germie Bernard, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Michael Pittman is on the Injured List, and Roman Wilson exited last week with a hand injury. That elevates Bernard to a starting role in a solid matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The main thing here is the trust. When it comes to Aaron Rodgers, that’s very important. However, based on what we’ve seen from the rookie to begin the season, Bernard has already earned it.
After catching seven passes for 60 yards over the past three games, Bernard broke out in Week 5. After Wilson went down, Bernard caught six passes for 80 yards. Entering Week 6, Bernard can now prepare, along with Rodgers, for his larger role. Wilson already had touchdowns in consecutive weeks, and that could fall to Bernard.
Tre Tucker, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
We are targeting Cousins this week, so it makes sense to also look at one of his biggest weapons. We know all about Brock Bowers, but the Buffalo Bills also rank at the top of the list of fantasy points allowed to wide receivers.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Tucker this season, but he’s been targeted 28 times overall and at least four times per game. In each of his last three games, Tucker has four catches with an average of 42.6 yards per game. He had one big game in which he caught five passes for 119 yards and a touchdown, but he hasn’t stood out aside from that. In a favorable matchup against the Bills, we are looking at another big day for Tucker.
Brenton Strange, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
While Strange hasn’t caught a touchdown pass since Week 1, that doesn’t mean he won’t find the end zone once again. The Jaguars’ tight end is part of a strong offense, and the Houston Texans defense has been vulnerable this season.
In each of the past two weeks, Strange has seven receptions on eight targets for 95 and 68 yards, respectively. He has a clear role in Jacksonville’s offense, and you can do a lot worse from a streaming perspective. With an 80.8% catch rate, Strange is a dependable option who’s formed a real connection with Trevor Lawrence.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
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