The marquee matchups this week have to be the Bills-Chiefs and Cowboys-Eagles games. The former is the 4:25 p.m. ET start with the latter capping Sunday's action in prime time. Cooper Rush will try to make it 5-0 (4-0 this season) as the Cowboys starter while we'll find out if Jalen Hurts and the Eagles can get past the best defense they've faced this year. The Bills and Chiefs looks like the game of the year, and could give us the front-runner for MVP, either Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. The winning team will top my Power Rankings next week.
If you're looking for help deciding which players to start and sit this week, look at my Week 6 Fantasy Football rankings here. Here's a look at five things you should pay attention to heading into Week 6.
1. Watch the Christian McCaffrey situation.
With Matt Rhule gone and the Panthers looking like they'll be on a long, disappointing road, it's possible skill players like McCaffrey get moved to better, or maybe even worse, situations. Reports about the Bills reaching out to the Panthers about McCaffrey aren't confirmed, but the possibility has excited fantasy managers. Other teams could start inquiring about the running back, so pay attention to what his situation is. You don't want to be caught flat-footed if he moves at an inopportune time of the week or if he goes to a team with an established running back.
2. Lots of fantasy starters in Bills-Chiefs, but who's Kansas City's No. 1 wideout?
The clever answer is Travis Kelce, but he's a tight end. It might be a savvy play to start one of the Chiefs wideouts if a good Bills defense elects to focus on covering Kelce. Marquez Valdes-Scantling has 19 catches for 258 yards while JuJu Smith-Schuster has 22 catches for 257 yards as the two are virtually tied as the top Chiefs WR. Neither has a touchdown while Mecole Hardman, who has 12 receptions for 144 yards, is tied with Justin Watson with one TD at the position. Watson only has three catches for 60 yards while rookie Skyy Moore has eight catches for 76 yards. If I had to pick, I'd go with Valdes-Scantling to start in a flex spot since the games has a high over/under.
3. Assessing the tight end prospects in Week 6.
For years now, the position has been in shambles. You've had to make a decision early in drafts on whether or not to take one of the typically three or four can't-miss tight ends. Recently those guys have been Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Darren Waller and Mark Andrews. This season Kelce has been great, thanks to Tyreek Hill moving on to the Dolphins. Mark Andrews as well has been top tier. But both Waller and Kittle have been disappointing. Add them to the mountain of unpredictable tight end performers. This week, though, Kittle has to be better than his previous games as he faces the Falcons, who are fourth worst in points allowed to the position. Other tight ends poised to produce due to good matchups: Zach Ertz (vs. Seahawks), Evan Engram (vs. Colts), Taysom Hill (vs. Bengals) and Will Dissley (vs. Cardinals).
4. Some players to insert into your lineups as bye week replacements.
With the Texans, Lions, Raiders and Titans off in Week 6, these typical starters will have to be replaced: Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Dameon Pierce and Darren Waller. One player who could make his way into your lineup is Kenneth Walker, who will start for Seattle after Rashaad Penny's injury. Walker had a strong showing in Week 5 and is the main man now. Another option could be Eno Benjamin if James Conner continues to miss action. One sneaky play could be Travis Etienne, who didn't have a great game against the Colts the last time around but has seen more work recently and is coming off his best game. See No. 3 for tight end suggestions.
5. Here are a few somewhat sneaky WR starts.
These aren't the kinds of players you'll start every week, but they could be good flex or WR2 plays this weekend. We'll start with DJ Moore, who looks pretty good after a terrible Week 3 against the Saints. He has a great matchup with the Rams. Brandon Aiyuk is another player I like this week as he faces the Falcons who have given up six touchdowns to wideouts. Rondale Moore rounds out this sneaky trio, as the second-year player is coming off a strong game of seven receptions for 68 yards against the Eagles. Marquise Brown is the No. 1 receiver for the Cardinals for now, but Moore has big-play potential and they're not shy about giving him opportunities.
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