Once again, we have a double-header on Monday Night Football. Week 6 offers some interesting matchups, with two of four teams coming off a bye. All four teams have playoff hopes, and there are a handful of elite fantasy assets in each game. Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Rome Odunze return from early byes ready to perform for your fantasy teams. The tough start/sit decisions matter more, though, and we’ve got a full preview of the Monday Night Football slate in Week 6.
More Week 6 Fantasy Football Fun!: | Sneaky Starts | Fantasy Football Waiver Wire | Weekly Sleepers & Streamers | Starts & Sits | Skrip’s Week Winners | NFL DFS | NFL Player Props | IDP Analysis | Bold Predictions | Survivor Picks | NFL Injury Report | Dynasty Trade Targets | Weekly Rankings | Dynasty Risers and Fallers
Week 6 Monday Night Football Preview
Buffalo Bills (-4.5) at Atlanta Falcons O/U: 49.5
Kyle Pitts – TE, Atlanta Falcons
Believe it or not, but Kyle Pitts is finally having a season similar to his rookie year. He’s not on pace for 1,000 yards again, but Pitts averages 5 receptions (3rd amongst TEs) and 51.3 yards (8th amongst TEs) per game. Despite that, he is only the PPR TE14. A lack of TDs has plagued Pitts throughout his career, and it may not get easier in Week 6.
The Buffalo Bills allow the 2nd fewest points per game to TEs, and they’ve only allowed a single TD to the position. Pitts only has a single red zone target this year, and the Falcons have only thrown it 12 times in that area. They’ve run it 21 times in the red zone by comparison.
Darnell Mooney will miss this contest, which will allow the offense to be more consolidated. Pitts may provide a solid floor with his receptions, but he’s unlikely to be a difference maker for your team.
Dalton Kincaid – TE, Buffalo Bills
Like Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid is performing closer to his impressive rookie season. Also like Pitts, Kincaid gets a brutal matchup. The Falcons allow the fewest fantasy points per game to TEs, and they’re one of two teams to not allow a TD to the position yet. Kincaid and Pitts have fairly similar stats, but Kincaid has been more efficient with his receptions while also reaching the end zone three times. The difference between Kincaid, the TE3, and Pitts, the TE14, is just 2 points per game.
Kincaid is part of a much better passing offense, gets more red zone looks, and has been great with the ball in his hands. He should have a better chance of overcoming a brutal matchup, but expectations should still be tempered. Kincaid has had a fairly easy schedule thus far, and this will be a real test for him. You may not have a better option than rolling the dice on him, though.
Ty Johnson – RB, Buffalo Bills
Johnson is not getting serious start consideration in any leagues, but he does look like the handcuff to roster if James Cook ever misses time. Ray Davis has only played more than 12% of offensive snaps once this season, and that was in a blowout win against the Jets. The Bills defense has not allowed them to play in as many positive game-scripts as expected. Davis may have more rushes than Johnson, but 9 of 13 came in that Jets game. Ty Johnson is playing in 24.8% of offensive snaps, on average, and gets rushes and targets on a more consistent basis.
I only bring this up because Ty Johnson is rostered in 11% of Fantrax leagues, while Ray Davis is rostered in 59%. That split is just too high for a player who only saw an uptick in opportunities after the starters were taken out.
Check out all of our Week 6 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings
Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders (-4.5) O/U: 40.5
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders
“Bill” had his best game all season in Week 5. Rushing a career-high 14 times for 111 yards and 2 TDs, he finished as the PPR RB4 on the week. Is the efficiency and TD production sustainable on such few carries?
The early-down work has slowly moved into Croskey-Merritt’s favor, but Chris Rodriguez is still in the mix. Jeremy McNichols also gets some carries but primarily works as the 3rd down back. This isn’t a truly unpredictable backfield, but Bill does not offer a good floor yet. He’s a 7th-round rookie, and it’s still early, so that may change. His efficiency is great, averaging the highest rushing yards over expected per attempt per Next Gen Stats. His workload could increase sooner rather than later.
The Commanders will once again be without Terry McLaurin, but they are still favored at home, which bodes well for a positive game script. Chicago may be coming off a bye, but they are one of the best RB matchups in the league. The Bears allow a league-high 6.1 yards per attempt and the 4th most fantasy points to RBs. DL Grady Jarrett has been ruled out of Monday Night Football, too. Week 6 presents an enticing matchup for the Commanders’ run game.
Deebo Samuel & Luke McCaffrey- WR, Washington Commanders
While Chicago’s defense has been a letdown, they aren’t automatically an easy WR matchup. The Bears have been tough against WRs out wide, but one of the best matchups for slot receivers. Deebo Samuel plays a variety of roles but he does operate out of the slot more than anyone else in Washington. Outside of a blowout win against the Raiders, Samuel has been a great start at WR2 or FLEX. He should be an automatic start again this week if he plays.
Luke McCaffrey has seen a rise in rostership with McLaurin missing time, but is he worth a spot start? The sophomore WR has had two solid weeks so far due to TDs. That’s not entirely sustainable on his low volume. Even with McLaurin missing time, McCaffrey has not played more than 40% of offensive snaps in a game this year. The targets tend to funnel towards Deebo Samuel, and occasionally Zach Ertz and the rest of the receivers, based on matchup and game script. Washington gets a strong rushing matchup while being favored at home. It’s not impossible for McCaffrey or another WR to post solid results, but nothing has stood out to suggest that.
Kyle Monangai – RB, Chicago Bears
D’Andre Swift is getting as big a workload as he has ever had, but his efficiency has been awful. Amongst RBs with at least 50 carries this season, Swift’s 3.3 yards per carry is tied for the 3rd lowest. His rushing yards over expected per attempt is -0.39, 9th worst in the league according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Monangai has not played enough to be ranked on Next Gen Stats, but he has been slightly more efficient in his limited workload. The rookie RB has run 17 times for 62 yards, while catching 3 of 5 targets.
There hasn’t been a noticeable increase in snaps and opportunities for Monangai, outside of playing nearly 50% of snaps during a blowout loss to the Lions in Week 2. Perhaps the Bears will reconsider his usage after the bye, but nothing has suggested a massive workload yet. Monangai’s greatest strength is that the Bears are not using any other RBs. Roschon Johnson has played exclusively on special teams, so it’s just Swift and Monangai sharing RB work. Monangai is a solid handcuff to stash.
Colston Loveland – TE, Chicago Bears
Loveland has been a major disappointment compared to his draft position. With only 6 targets in 3 games, he’s not even worth a roster spot in most deep leagues right now. He runs plenty of routes, so it’s not like he hasn’t had the chance to separate. Loveland was a great TE prospect, but the reality is that the position takes a while to develop. There has been an uptick in rookie and sophomore TEs emerging as elite options, but that does not mean that everyone will suddenly follow that path.
Patience is key with Loveland, and a bye week could be beneficial for his growth. However, we have yet to see anything that would indicate that he will offer fantasy value soon. The Commanders are an above-average TE matchup so this could be the start of faint fantasy relevancy. He may be worth a stash if you truly have no better options, but you’re better off rostering a backup RB.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
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