With Bye Weeks and injuries becoming more and more of an issue each week, it can pay off to be extra focused at this time of year and make sure the players you’re starting actually deserve to be started.

• Waiver Wire Advice
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Safest and Riskiest Starts

Safest

Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR)

Sure, winning the lottery is cool, but have you ever logged onto your fantasy platform of choice and moved Cooper Kupp off of IR and into your active roster? It felt pretty good to do that for a number of teams, and then even better when Kupp saw 12 targets and turned them into 19.8 PPR points. On Matthew Stafford‘s first drive of the game, Kupp was targeted on six of Stafford’s ten pass attempts, and of those six, Kupp caught five for 56 yards. With Puka Nacua‘s emergence over the opening four weeks, it was fair to question what this offense might look like with Kupp back, but after one game we can be assured that Kupp is Stafford and Sean McVay’s wide receiver one.

No easing back in Cooper Kupp (hamstring) whatsoever yesterday. #Rams WR routes run on 42 Stafford dropbacks:

* Puka Nacua 42
* Cooper Kupp 41
* Tutu Atwell 40
* Van Jefferson 1
* Ben Skowronek 1
* Austin Trammell 1

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 9, 2023

David Montgomery (RB – DET)

Since David Montgomery returned from missing Week 3, he leads all running backs in total touches with 55. Montgomery is also second in total yardage among running backs in that spell with 270, trailing only Devon Achane. Week 5’s blowout against the Panthers led to Montgomery only seeing 21 touches, despite Jahmyr Gibbs being inactive, but the last time the two backs were healthy Montgomery saw a whopping 34. The Lions are dedicated to running play action at one of the highest rates across the league and because of this they need a back who can pass protect and play on all three downs, right now that description fits Montgomery better than Gibbs. In Week 6 Montgomery and the Lions face a Buccaneers defense allowing 4.9 yards per carry, which should allow Montgomery another excellent week.

"David Montgomery isn't going to just step into the 17 TDs that Jamaal Williams had…"

David Montgomery: pic.twitter.com/Ut4qFHA5Vi

— Drew Davenport (@DrewDavenportFF) October 9, 2023

Adam Thielen (WR – CAR)

There weren’t too many people expecting Adam Thielen to be as relevant as he has been this year, but his move from an outside receiver to become a slot receiver on the Panthers has rejuvenated his fantasy relevancy, resulting in two top-five wide receiver weekly finishes in the last three weeks. The Panthers are a bad team and will likely continue to be in pass-heavy scripts all season, including this week’s game against the Miami Dolphins who rack up points with little sympathy for the defenses they victimize. Fortunately for Thielen, the Dolphins allow the fifth-highest catch rate to opposing wide receivers and Thielen should be able to continue his fine form for fantasy.

Jordan Addison (WR – MIN)

With the sad news that Justin Jefferson is headed to injured reserve for at least the next four games, the reality is for fantasy managers that we have to look ahead to what is left behind. Jordan Addison had been slowly working his way into the first-team offense, setting a season-high target share of 19.1% in Week 5, and turning it into his biggest fantasy output to date (18.4 points). Addison was an excellent prospect coming out of college and well-worthy of the first-round draft capital that the Vikings invested in him, now Addison will have to prove that he can deal with WR1-level coverage from opposing defenses. Fortunately for Addison, it starts with a game against the Bears who allow the sixth-highest yards per reception to wide receivers (14.1).

Tidy throw and anticipation from Kirk Cousins on this Jordan Addison TD.

Make sure to peek the endzone view and see when Cousins throws this. Takes away potential issues like the CB falling off towards the boundary. pic.twitter.com/jhFRGVPqGk

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 10, 2023

Riskiest

C.J. Stroud (QB – HOU)

Make no mistake C.J. Stroud has shown an incredible amount of ability and potential in the opening few weeks of the season, but Week 6 against the Saints might be a good time to bench Stroud if you have a better option. The Saints have given up an average of 14.3 points to opposing quarterbacks, the seventh-lowest rate and they have a habit of sucking the air out of games and turning them into slow and low-scoring affairs. In three of five games, the Saints have held opposing quarterbacks to under 200 passing yards. Stroud has been electric, but this might be a bad environment for a young and inexperienced team.

Deshaun Watson (QB – CLE)

The Browns’ defense has been incredible outside of a poor game against Lamar Jackson, and it’s made the offense’s struggles even more apparent. Deshaun Watson has a single game this season where he’s passed for multiple touchdowns, added to the fact that he’s only had one game over 250 passing yards, with two of three games below 56% completion rate. This was all before Watson suffered a contusion to his shoulder that kept him out of the Week 4 game against the Ravens, and despite a full bye week to recover, Watson still isn’t practicing ahead of the Browns’ Week 6 game against the San Francisco 49ers, who allow the second-lowest passing rate to opposing quarterbacks (5.5).

#Browns QB Deshaun Watson remains day-to-day with what sources say is a rotator cuff contusion.

After a surprise scratch in Week 4, Watson spent the bye resting and rehabbing. He didn’t practice Monday, but did some throwing. Status TBD for Sunday’s game vs. the #49ers. pic.twitter.com/tREXg6r83U

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 10, 2023

Brandin Cooks (WR – DAL)

The Cowboys play the Chargers in Week 6, in what might be termed a revenge game for Kellen Moore, the offensive coordinator of the Chargers who used to call Dallas home. While the Chargers’ passing game has been flying, their defense has been poor, allowing a league-leading 231 receiving yards per game to opposing wide receivers. This might sound like a prime matchup to be starting Cooks, but based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s not without risk. Cooks has totaled 73 receiving yards in four games, finishing as the wide receiver 79, 87, 55, and 78 to date.

James Cook (RB – BUF)

Hopes were high for James Cook for a period with it looking like the Buffalo Bills backfield might be fully turned over to the promising second-year back, but of late, it feels differently. Since Week 2 when Cook scored 19.9 points on a season-high 21 touches, Cook has seen his touches decrease each week with both Damien Harris and Latavius Murray mixing in for not only red zone opportunities but also passing down work and touches between the twenties. If Cook doesn’t have volume, and he doesn’t have high-value touches, then it rather caps Cook’s upside. The Giants have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, but are we sure James Cook will be the one getting them for the Bills?