Before diving into the meat of this week’s article, I wanted to give a tip of the cap to whoever runs the @SleeperHQ Twitter/X handle for a post they created on Sunday evening. The clip they posted of a person knocking on an apartment door, entitled “The blue tent today,” with a party going on and people falling down all over the place, was…. *chefs kiss* on point.

The blue tent today: pic.twitter.com/mYgTAmnCoT

— Sleeper (@SleeperHQ) October 14, 2024

Due to the blue tent being such a revolving door this weekend (more on that during tomorrow’s injury column), several projected studs quickly turned into duds, opening the door for other options in the limelight.

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Much to everyone’s delight, the 2024 rookie class showed out on Sunday, an encouraging trend for managers patiently waiting for breakouts to occur. Three of the top 11 quarterback finishes came from rookies, with several more standouts at running back and wide receiver.

Which performances happened to catch my eye? And are they repeatable? Here are my thoughts on the week’s studs and duds.

Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 6

Quarterback

STUD: Caleb Williams (QB – CHI)

Caleb Williams is currently ranked as the QB1 for the week, barring the outcome of Monday Night Football. His ascension from a fringe option to a solidified QB1 has occurred faster than I anticipated, and Chicago Bears fans must be thrilled with the early return on their top overall selection. Touted as a generational talent entering the draft, Williams fell into an extraordinary situation with Chicago, surrounded by veteran talent at wide receiver, tight end and running back.

It took Williams two weeks to find his footing, but he started to take off after Week 3 against Indianapolis, and the Bears have won every game since. This past week, Williams completed 23-of-29 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns, adding another 56 rushing yards to boot. His propensity to spread the ball to a bevy of different options allows him to have a much steadier floor of weekly points for fantasy purposes, making it difficult for defenses to stop him.

This past Sunday, five Bears had at least three targets. Having shares of Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze or DJ Moore will be frustrating at times since their output will be sporadic depending on defensive coverages (akin to Green Bay’s wide receiver situation), but Williams will benefit by having so many outlets to utilize each week.

DUD: Dak Prescott (QB – DAL)

I’m convinced that if Dallas only played games on the road moving forward, they would have a chance to make the playoffs. Their building is utterly cursed. Borrowing a statistic I came across from NFL Insider Adam Caplan, “The Cowboys have now given up 167 points in their last four home games (all of which have been losses), dating back to their playoff loss to the Packers — 48 vs. GB, 44 vs. NO, 28 vs. BAL and 47 vs. DET). A negative game script like that (partly due to injuries to their best defensive players) leads to an immediate shift in what the offense can call, and abandoning the run in favor of passing each down occurs.

Dak Prescott completed just 17-of-33 attempts for a paltry 178 yards, throwing two interceptions without a touchdown pass — and this was against one of the weaker secondaries in the league. The most annoying thing about this situation for Dallas? When they allowed Rico Dowdle an opportunity to run the ball, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry (YPC), yet Mike McCarthy placed the game entirely on the shoulders of Prescott to win. Prescott should certainly perform better given the contract he signed, but it is challenging to put the blame entirely at his feet — and that point of view comes from a devout New York Giants fan. Dallas performs best with a balanced game script where Prescott can utilize play-action, which isn’t a possibility right now due to their sieve defense.

Running Back

STUD: Sean Tucker (RB – TB)

Rachaad White who? After halftime on Sunday, Tampa Bay pulled away from the Spencer Rattler-led New Orleans Saints and opted to give Sean Tucker 14 carries late in the game, partly to spell rookie Bucky Irving. On those touches, Tucker finished with an absurd 136 rushing yards and a touchdown, adding in three receptions for 59 yards and a score as a receiving threat. Tucker’s 34.2 PPR points placed him well ahead of the pack, and his performance raises the obvious question: Where does Tampa Bay go from here in the backfield?

We can’t envision Tucker leapfrogging Irving or White on Tampa Bay’s depth chart, but his exceptional performance warrants at least a handful of opportunities moving forward each week. Tucker’s success will limit the need for White to push himself back from a lingering foot injury, but I envision his fantasy impact being a short-term one, so I wouldn’t rush to add him off the waiver wire.

DUD: Saquon Barkley (RB – PHI)

Saquon Barkley has long been prone to boom-or-bust performances since entering the league, as his all-or-nothing tendency to search for big plays results in the occasional flop. During an incredibly dull game against Cleveland where neither offense seemed capable of moving the ball, Philadelphia force-fed Barkley 20 total touches, but he generated just 54 yards of offense (47 rushing yards and seven receiving) against a stout Browns front. This is the second disappointing effort in a row from Barkley, who has hit the skids since a magnificent Week 3 outing against New Orleans.

Thankfully for him, Philadelphia rolls into New York to take on his former team in Week 7, and I anticipate a significant bounce-back effort, with head coach Nick Sirianni making it a point to stick it to Giants fans. Following the game in New York, Barkley has several plus-matchups on the horizon against defenses that struggle vs. the run, with Cincinnati (allowing the fifth-most rushing yards per game), Dallas (eighth-most) and the Los Angeles Rams (allowing the most rushing yards). He’s a good buy-low target if available.

Wide Receiver

STUD: Chris Godwin (WR – TB)

Want to win a bar bet with a friend? Ask them who the overall WR1 is through the first six weeks of the fantasy season. It’s Chris Godwin. This past weekend, Godwin caught a season-high 11 receptions on 13 targets, finishing with 125 yards and two touchdowns. With New Orleans emphasizing shutting down Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield peppered Godwin up and down the field, and the Saints failed to make any adjustments or changes in strategy.

Sunday’s outburst was notable, but it has been Godwin’s high floor that has me most excited for his 2024 finish. He has caught at least five receptions and surpassed 53 yards in every game and has averaged an astounding 21 PPR points per week. He is currently in line to shatter his totals from the past few seasons and has a real chance (barring injury) to surpass the best season of his career in 2019 when he finished with an 86/1,333/9 split. Baker Mayfield’s presence under center has done wonders to resurrect Godwin’s career.

DUD: Brandon Aiyuk (WR – SF)

Cue up the Natalie Portman Star Wars meme. In a game when San Francisco scored 36 points and quarterback Brock Purdy threw three touchdowns, surely Aiyuk had a good game, right? Right? Not so much. Aiyuk managed to catch just two passes on four targets for 37 yards. Total. As if that wasn’t frustrating enough, his 5.7 PPR points marked the fifth time in six weeks he has failed to eclipse double-digits. All this for a player who held San Francisco’s feet to the fire, demanding he be paid as a top-10 wideout in the league.

I’d attempt to paint a rosy picture for Aiyuk’s rest-of-season outlook, but that is a difficult endeavor. San Francisco has an embarrassment of riches on offense and things will become even murkier once Christian McCaffrey returns. The emergence of Jauan Jennings, the resurgence of George Kittle and a three-headed monster in the ground game make it difficult to envision consistent production moving forward for Aiyuk.

Tight End

STUD: Cole Kmet (TE – CHI)

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the overall TE3 through the year, Cole Kmet. Written off after a lackluster preseason when he appeared constantly behind Gerald Everett on the depth chart, Kmet became a popular streaming option after his Week 3 explosion against Indianapolis and followed it up with two relatively ho-hum efforts against Los Angeles and Carolina (totaling 6.4 and 8.7 points each).

On Sunday, it was clear Kmet was the focus for quarterback Caleb Williams around the red zone, as he hauled in all five red-zone targets for 70 yards and two scores in a winning effort against Jacksonville in London. The Bears get a brief reprieve in Week 7 with a bye, before coming back to face two leaky defenses in Weeks 8 and 9 in Washington and Arizona. Kmet will remain a startable fantasy start sit option for managers with a moderate floor of points in a pass-happy offense.