For the second time this season, I nailed the player portion of one of my two-part hot takes. It was Brandon Aiyuk in Week 1 with 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Week 5 saw the resurgence of Joe Burrow with 300 passing yards and three touchdowns against Arizona. Unfortunately, the Bengals came up just shy of my 40-point prediction and I will not celebrate as rambunctiously as if it were perfect.
Week 6 wraps up the 2023 season’s first trimester, with a plethora of intriguing narratives to peruse. Injuries have run rampant through the league’s best skill players and fantasy managers are unraveling like a runaway ball of yarn. To make matters worse, players who were hyped up all offseason have seen some shockingly low usage and the buzzards are circling.
Let me be your spicy sherpa. To trudge to the summit of this fantasy football mountain, we must aim even higher than the clouds. Upside is everything in a game where so much hinges on luck. Correctly predicting breakout performances or tragic failures can almost guarantee victory in a given week. Don’t scoop the seeds out of the pepper and smile through the tears.
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Fantasy Football Hot Takes
Jakobi Meyers Exacts Revenge Against Disrespectful Patriots and is a Top-12 WR; Patriots Fail to Find the End Zone for the Third-Consecutive Game
The Patriots did not re-sign their best WR from the past couple of years to an extension this offseason. They failed to match the Raiders’ offer of three years and $33 million. They then turned around and gave the exact same deal to JuJu Smith-Schuster. Meyers has looked fantastic in Las Vegas so far, while JuJu has done virtually nothing.
In fact, New England has the worst offense in the entire league and haven’t scored a single touchdown since Pharoah Brown was left all alone from a blown coverage in the second quarter of Week 3. The Raiders haven’t been world beaters on offense either, but Meyers has enjoyed two WR1 performances in four games played opposite Davante Adams.
Maxx Crosby and the Vegas defense have also looked superb compared to the past decade of horrendous play on that side of the ball. Meyers won’t need to dig very deep to find motivation this week. I expect him to score a touchdown against his former team in addition to a flurry of targets.
Dan Campbell Defies His Own Press Conference Rhetoric to Make Jahmyr Gibbs a Top-5 RB; Lions Beat Bucs by Two Touchdowns on the Road
Coaches are filthy liars, especially when standing at a podium in front of a hot mic. Dan Campbell is thought to be one of the more predictable coaches when it comes to culture and player usage, but has still been on the business end of scrutiny from the fantasy community regarding rookie Jahmyr Gibbs‘ sparse usage this season. Gibbs is a spectacular talent, but has already proven to be a liability in pass protection and has been nicked up with injuries.
None of that means anything this week. Gibbs is expected to be active after missing Week 5, while everyone in the world has forced themselves to come to grips with the fact that David Montgomery is the “lead back.” While Monty will garner more touches than his younger cohort, it’s about time the talented RB from Alabama breaks off some huge plays. The Bucs defense has done well this season, but they will be overmatched by Detroit’s weaponry.
Tyler Conklin Leads the Jets in Fantasy Points; Philly and New York are Lowest-Scoring Game on the Slate
Watching Jets offense on tape isn’t exactly riveting. Zach Wilson is frustrating as hell, but one of his receivers has really stood out, and I’m not talking about Garrett Wilson. Tyler Conklin is getting wide open out there, even if Zach has been oblivious to it an agonizing number of times. If there is one knock on the unbeaten Eagles, it has been their inability to prevent TEs from putting up good receiving numbers. Conklin should have an easier pathway to points than Wilson, who will have to deal with Darius Slay and James Bradberry.
Lost in the great “Tush Push” debate has been Philadelphia’s lack of success scoring touchdowns in the red zone. Kicker Jake Elliott has been the one putting up a lot of points for the reigning NFC champs, instead of Jalen Hurts and company. The Jets have a ferocious defensive front and outstanding coverage corners on the outside. Each of these teams will lean hard on the running game and try to control time of possession and field position. I believe this slow pace will leave this game with a very low total, well below 40.
Dak Prescott Claps Back at the Haters and is the QB1; Cowboys Edge Out Chargers in 60-Point Shootout
I don’t think Dak Prescott is very good. He’s also not nearly as bad as the 49ers made him look last Sunday night. You’d never know Brandon Staley is a defensive coach with how many points the Chargers have been surrendering in his tenure. While some are focusing on the Kellen Moore revenge narrative, a lot can be said for the massive chip that must be on Prescott’s shoulder after one of the worst showings of his career.
Justin Herbert is a billion times better than Brock Purdy, who torched Dallas for four touchdowns last week. Austin Ekeler is also expected to return from injury, giving the Chargers a much more balanced attack for the Cowboys to respect. Points will be scored. I doubt that America’s Team will come out flat in consecutive weeks, but it’s not like either of these coaches is better-equipped to close out a narrow win. The ending to this one will probably be absolutely bonkers, with the losing coach’s rear end so hot it blisters.
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