Week 6 of the 2020 NFL season is around the corner, and our fantasy football teams continue to undergo construction, especially if you deploy a streaming strategy. This week’s options at the three streamable positions are plentiful, allowing us to accurately identify which players to target.
Listed below are the players best-suited to perform at the quarterback, tight and defense/special teams positions in the Week 6 slate of the fantasy football season.
QUARTERBACK
GARDNER MINSHEW, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — 51% ROSTERED
Quietly, Minshew ranks as QB10 on the season. Sure, the Jaguars aren’t as successful or talented as many of their counterparts, but their quarterback hasn’t had many issues putting together a strong season in 2020 with his 102.3 total fantasy points.
Week 6 pits Minshew against the Detroit Lions, who are coming off a bye week but have allowed the 10th-most points to opposing quarterbacks this year. While it isn’t the best matchup of the week, it is exploitable. And Minshew has proven this season that he's able to overcome tough situations.
KIRK COUSINS, MINNESOTA VIKINGS — 32% ROSTERED
Cousins has the best matchup of the week, as he is provided the luxury of dissecting an Atlanta Falcons defense that has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in 2020. The Falcons’ defense has also allowed the second-most passing yards and the most touchdowns (15) to the position.
Things clearly haven’t been smooth for Cousins nor the Vikings in 2020, but they have a great shot to put together a dominant performance against a far inferior opponent in the Falcons, who just fired their head coach and general manager. Expect Cousins and his pass game weapons to produce, regardless of the final score.
RYAN FITZPATRICK, MIAMI DOLPHINS — 21% ROSTERED
Somehow, some way, the Harvard Rifle just continues to find ways to be productiv, ranking as QB11 on the season. Here’s something I bet you couldn’t have envisioned at the start of the year: Fitz has outscored Lamar Jackson five weeks into the season.
It doesn’t appear likely that Fitzpatrick will be slowing down soon, as the Denver Broncos — his opponent for the week — have allowed the sixth-most points to opposing quarterbacks. Fitzpatrick is readily available in most leagues and is playing in one of the best matchups of the week, making him a perfect streaming option at the quarterback spot in Week 6.
ANDY DALTON, DALLAS COWBOYS — 3% ROSTERED
The unfortunate injury to Dak Prescott has cleared a massive path to relevance for Dalton to step in and immediately produce borderline QB1 numbers on a weekly basis, particularly with how stacked the Cowboys’ offense is at the skill positions.
Oct 11, 2020; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton (14) throws a pass in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Dalton’s matchup in the Arizona Cardinals isn’t too favorable, but his opportunity, veteran status and surrounding pieces are likely going to be enough to at least produce a QB2 week, if not better.
Scoop Dalton for the long haul, if possible. If not, he would at least offer a decent streaming option in Week 6 and likely in future weeks, too.
TIGHT END
ERIC EBRON, PITTSBURGH STEELERS — 53% ROSTERED
Ebron is coming off a rough week in which he fumbled the ball and dropped multiple passes, yet he still totaled 9.3 fantasy points and a TE14 ranking. It speaks to the lack of consistency and production from the tight end position, which is part of the reason why Ebron makes this list for Week 6.
The Cleveland Browns, his opponent in Week 6, have given up the ninth-most points to opposing tight ends this season. In addition, Ebron’s six targets in Week 5 ranked sixth among all tight ends, proving his workload is sustainable and worth targeting, particularly at a weak position.
IRV SMITH JR., MINNESOTA VIKINGS — 6% ROSTERED
As I mentioned before, the Vikings' offense is in a premium position to produce against a terribly weak Falcons defense. Like Cousins, Smith makes this list as a great streaming option for Week 6 because the Falcons are weak at defending both positions. They’ve allowed the most touchdowns to the tight ends this season (seven).
Smith’s teammate in Kyle Rudolph would also be a great play in this spot, but Smith is far more athletic and has seen the exact same number of targets (10) as the veteran.
DARREN FELLS, HOUSTON TEXANS — 2% ROSTERED
The intrigue and potential with Fells solely rest on the status of teammate Jordan Akins, who missed Week 5 with an injury. If Akins is sidelined again in Week 6, Fells becomes an intriguing streaming option for the week, as he totaled a TE5 finish (13.7 points) with Akins sidelined Sunday.
Oct 11, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Darren Fells (87) scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Fells will match up against the Tennessee Titans‘ defense, which has allowed the sixth-most points to the position. PFF’s strength of schedule (SoS) metric ranks the Texans’ matchup as the 10th-easiest in Week 6.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
TENNESSEE TITANS D/ST — 22% ROSTERED
The Titans will take on the Texans, who are riding a high after securing their first win in the 2020 NFL season. Still, Tennessee is a solid play to stream in Week 6, as the Texans’ offense ranks 19th in offensive scoring (21 points per game), in addition to ranking 22nd in interceptions thrown (five) and 27th in sacks allowed (19).
The Titans’ defense could make this a long game for the Texans’ offense; they should have every opportunity to harass Deshaun Watson.
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM D/ST — 7% ROSTERED
The Washington Football Team’s defense currently ranks 13th in scoring among all defenses, which definitely causes some confusion as to why they’re rostered at such a low percentage. Either way, use this to your advantage and add a relatively solid unit carried by a dominant defensive line, particularly this week against the New York Giants‘ lowly offense.
The Giants have allowed 19 sacks (27th), thrown five interceptions (22nd) and lost four fumbles (26th) on the season. Washington’s defense should have a field day in this contest.
MIAMI DOLPHINS D/ST — 3% ROSTERED
The Dolphins have quietly fielded a top-10 scoring defense (ninth) this season. It should be criminal to have such a low-rostered percentage for a team that has performed as well as they have, yet here we are.
Miami has a great matchup against the Denver Broncos, who are once again going to be without starting quarterback Drew Lock. Expect backup Brett Rypiento give Dolphins players multiple shots at making big plays, just as he did for theNew York Jets in Week 4 when they finished the week ranked fourth among D/STs in scoring.