We are officially through 6 weeks of the fantasy regular season. If you’re 2-4 or worse then some significant changes are needed. Swing for the fences and focus on winning this week and nothing else. If you’re 4-2 or better, you can start planning for the playoffs a little, and finding a guy you can stash on your bench now could make the difference between a title and missing the playoffs entirely. With that in mind, here are my risers and fallers after Week 6.
Check out the rest of our weekly fantasy football advice
Week 7 Risers
Mr. Ryan had a terrific Week 6, throwing 58 passes in his team’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He completed 42 of his 58 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns. All of these were the best of the week, leading Ryan to finish as QB2 with 27.16 fantasy points. Only Joe Burrow (QB – CIN) scored more for fantasy than Ryan and all of this was without their stud running back, Jonathan Taylor.
Do I expect Ryan to play like this every week? Heck no. But it’s not something that can be ignored either. In most 1QB leagues Ryan was either dropped or benched due to his previous poor performances, but due to bye weeks, it’s possible that some fantasy managers got lucky and wound up being forced to start him. Boy were they happy. If you roster Ryan now would be a great time to try to sell high because it’s hard to say if or when this kind of output will happen again. Get what you can and be done with it. If he does it again, at least you can say you got something in return.
It’s finally Rhamondre season, and I couldn’t have been more excited about it. I like Damien Harris just fine, but I’ve always said that the issue in the New England backfield is that there isn’t a bell cow RB. With Harris being out that all changed. Stevenson ran 19 times for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns, adding 4 catches on 5 targets for another 15 receiving yards. In PPR leagues Stevenson finished as RB2 and made all of his truthers feel vindicated. Will it last? Hard to say. But I’m fine holding and riding the wave as long as it lasts with Stevenson myself.
Thanks to Matt Ryan’s great day, Pittman also had some success for fantasy this week. He caught 13 of 16 passes, both Week 6 highs among WRs. His 134 yards were third only behind Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs. Pittman didn’t see the end zone though which is why he finished as WR5 on the week in PPR scoring. That being said, if Ryan is rising, so too should his pass catchers. With Pittman being the true WR1 in Indianapolis now, I think he’s turned the corner and should be a solid WR1 for fantasy going forward. I’m actively sending offers for him on teams that I don’t have him, and I don’t mind buying high here if need be. I just think he’s worth it.
The New York Giants had a few bright spots this week, but the biggest riser was the appearance of Bellinger on the box score in a big way. He caught all five of his targets for 38 yards and a touchdown, good enough for TE7 on the week in PPR scoring. You may be asking yourself: “That’s all it takes to be TE7 these days?” To which I would say “Yeah, it’s pretty bleak.” That being said, Bellinger performed well and is likely on waivers in your league. If you’re desperate, or if you have a bench space going to waste, I think Bellinger could be the real deal on an offense looking for firepower. I’m adding him where I can but I’m not counting on him as a starter until he does it again in the coming weeks.
Week 7 Fallers
Russell Wilson had a rough Monday night. He finished as QB15 on the week completing a meager 15 passes on 28 attempts for 188 yards and only one touchdown. He rushed four times for 23 yards, but it wasn’t enough to make him a true QB1 on the week. I’m holding onto Wilson in dynasty leagues but in redraft, I’m out. I’d rather drop or trade him than start him at this point. I’d rather stream the position than be forced to put “Mr. Unlimited” in my lineup. He just looks different than his old self, and the Broncos’ offense isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders either. No, thank you.
Finishing right behind Wilson in weekly rankings is the GOAT: Tom Brady. He completed 25-of-40 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown on his way to a QB16 finish. Like Wilson, Brady is stressing me out. I’d much rather send him away to another team in exchange for bench depth than start him at this point. In dynasty, I’ve been out for a few weeks now, but I’m 100% done with him now. Also like Russ, Brady just doesn’t look like himself here. Maybe it’s a changing of the guard at the position, but these older QBs are not making fantasy managers happy at the moment.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB – KC)
We might look back on Week 6 as the changing of the guard at RB for the Chiefs. CEH got more work than teammate Isiah Pacheco (nine carries to two), but Pacheco got two catches to CEH’s zero. Pacheco actually outscored CEH in PPR thanks to those catches, but both performed terribly for fantasy. CEH finished as RB46 on the week with a terrible 3.3 PPR points. His 3.7 yards per carry wasn’t exactly stellar either. Perhaps this Chiefs offense needs something new to spark it back to relevance, but I don’t think CEH is going to be the guy there much longer if he keeps this up. Best to trade him away while his name value might still be worth something to another manager.
My sole WR faller for the week is Rondale Moore who finished as WR34 in PPR scoring in Week 6. He caught 6-of-10 passes for a mediocre 49 yards. A lot of Moore’s success, or lack thereof, is due to Kyler Murray also struggling so far this year, but this offense is about to go through a massive change. Early reports are that Marquise Brown dodged a serious injury and may only miss six games. The timing is perfect though because DeAndre Hopkins returns from suspension on Thursday night when the team faces the Saints on a short week.
Even with all of the changes around him and the way the team has struggled thus far, Moore is still a buy-low candidate for me. If he’s on my roster I’m not selling him for peanuts just yet, but this value drop could end up paying off if you buy the dip. He’s getting plenty of targets but they’re just paying off right now. Will he come back to WR2 relevance? Only time will tell, so tread carefully if you decide to add him to your team.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
Andrew Hall is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, follow him @AndrewHallFF.