Week 6 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Players to get in lineups to combat byes
Week 5 wasn’t a great fantasy sleeper week for us, unless you’re an easy grader and give us credit for Devin Duvernay. But we’re still trying to find under-appreciated values for you and actionable plays.
Sleeper, of course, is a nebulous term. Use whatever definition works for you. Likewise, this column is whatever you want it to be. Perhaps it helps you make a start/sit call this week or a DFS decision. Maybe you apply the information to an over/under prop. Perhaps you’ll add a player to your fantasy bench as depth, but won't deploy him this week.
We’re onto Week 6:
WR Rondale Moore at Seattle
When we think of the Seahawks, we think of a run defense that couldn’t stop a nosebleed. But Seattle’s pass-defense metrics are actually worse. Pete Carroll’s crew currently stands 31st in pass-defense DVOA.
It’s go-time for Moore, who’s trying to carve a significant role in the Cardinals offense before DeAndre Hopkins returns. Moore hasn’t been a downfield flash in his brief NFL career, but he did snag 7-of-8 targets last week and he’s still available to add in about two-thirds of Yahoo leagues. He’s too good not to be on a roster, and now that the bye weeks have arrived, he’s a possible starter in Week 6.
[Week 6 Fantasy Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | DST | Kickers]
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones vs. New England
There’s a core four in Cleveland and DPJ doesn’t make that list — the Browns offense is about Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Amari Cooper, and David Njoku. But the passing game has been a three-man tree, with Peoples-Jones seeing 16 looks the last two weeks and posting a reasonable 9-121-0 line. New England’s stingy secondary is surely going to prioritize Cooper, which makes it easy to imagine Peoples-Jones in the 6-8 target range again. His recent production level is a good place to start for your Week 6 expectations, with about a 20-25 percent chance at a touchdown. That would never fly in Week 1, but it might be useful in a skeleton-crew Week 6 situation.
RB Devin Singletary at Kansas City
I elevated Singletary to Circle of Trust status last week, which proved to be a mistake as the Bills trampled the Steelers but asked little of their nominal feature back. But Singletary’s biggest-touch games tend to come against opponents who can actually push back against the Bills, and that means he should be back in the 14-16 touch bucket for Week 6. His industry half-point PPR rank is outside the Top 20, which I suggest is about a half-tier too low. If you’re not starting Singletary this week, you’re blessed with a loaded running back room — we all envy you. I’m giving him another chance.
RB Travis Etienne at Indianapolis
Etienne isn’t the type of sleeper you can add off waivers, but maybe there’s a chance to capitalize on a trade or a DFS opportunity. I’m not sure the market has properly recalibrate this offense.
James Robinson received a lot of buzz for his quick start, but it was partially built off some long runs that were mostly gifts from defenses in the wrong coverage. Robinson is not a home-run hitter, and expecting him to sustain a long-run profile was always misguided. Etienne out snapped Robinson two weeks ago, and last week he outplayed Robinson by a significant market (114 total yards versus 39 total yards). The fantasy industry is still ranking Robinson above Etienne, which strikes me as a stark error. Etienne should continue to make a case for leading this backfield on Sunday.
[Play in Yahoo’s Week 6 $250K Sunday Baller DFS contest]
RB Josh Kelley vs. Broncos (desperation start or future stash)
We know the Chargers don’t want to overexpose Austin Ekeler, and the search has always been on for a reliable understudy. Kelley showed in Week 6 that he can be that back — 10-49-1 on the ground, 2-33-0 through the air. And that production didn’t come in garbage time — the Chargers and Browns were in a three-hour donnybrook. Kelley is rostered in just 13 percent of Yahoo leagues, which is comically low for one of the highest-upside lottery tickets on the board. Go check your waiver wire right now.
