Week 6 MUST-STARTS: The Best Fantasy Football Sleepers at Every Position (Ep. 2268)

0:01 All right, and welcome into the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. It's week six of the NFL season where we start to see the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders in just about every single league. We're going to help you be the former because that's what we do here on this primer episode of the program featuring... our favorite must starts.

0:19 I'm your host, Seth Wilcock. He's Derek Brown and D bro. While it may be easier for you to write up the primer this week, four teams on by, it certainly won't be easier setting those lineups.

0:28 So we're also making some sleeper start decisions.

0:32 No dude. I mean, you know, we're, we're dealing with the bloodbath. That is the, uh, the injury reports on a weekly basis. Plus cutting down good teams and available players. I mean, I know everything in between plus the volatility of the, of what we've seen so far this NFL season. I, it's, It's going to be very interesting. And on this episode, we got some deep pulls on this episode. So if you're dealing with bi-weeks and injuries and what have you, we might have some good starts this week for you.

1:00 Kind of like journeying to the center of the earth. I don't know if you have run that one, but it's.

1:05 Been a minute, but I have been a minute.

1:07 Not a bad little program there. Not a bad little program at all. As Derek noted, we're going to go deep.

1:13 We're going to give you the must-start plays that are more of the sleeper variety from the quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end positions. And before we get down to business, I just want to quickly thank everyone tuning into the program right here. on the famous pros YouTube channel or the audio feed. We're closing in right now on 300,000 subscribers. We're trying to get there by the end of the NFL regular season. We can only get there with your help. So please give this video a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel if you're new.

1:38 And let's go ahead and fire things up. We got the quarterback position up first where you're thinking one of these veteran journeymans are going to have a big day out there in the great state of New Jersey.

1:50 Yeah, buddy. YOLO Jameis Winston has decided to reappear for this season. It's been wonderful. I mean, over the last two weeks, dude has been a top 12 quarterback in fantasy circles. So I think he can keep the momentum going. I mean, since week four, Jameis Winston has had the eighth most passing yards in all of the NFL, the 11th highest passer rating, and the fifth highest ADOT. So YOLO Winston is back, and I think we could definitely ride the heater going against the Saints secondary. That's been quite god-awful, Seth. I mean, they're giving up the 10th most yards per attempt, the fourth highest passing success rate.

2:24 And so in a game where I think there could be a lot of back and forth, I think this could be a quiet shootout because both these defenses, I'm not scared of them. And both these offenses we know could be high flying if the matchup presents itself. So Winston, yeah, top 12 quarterback again this week, I think.

2:40 Yeah, I don't hate the call. The Saints have certainly been a very susceptible defense. They only have one interception on the entire year and like Derek, if you would have told me last week out of Kyler Murray, a guy who looked kind of dead to the world so far this season, he went 24 of 30, 229 yards, a touchdown, and 10 for 51 on the ground. It hasn't been like gaudy numbers the Saints have let up, right?

3:00 No passer has gone over 250 yards, but they've just been efficient. And it feels like that's kind of the efficiency you're looking here out of Jameis Winston. And keep in mind, like, while it's not like a revenge narrative against the saints, it was more like Dennis Allen and what he did to defy him. And one of his last goes, goes around there trying to get his ball boy, Jamal Williamson, the end zone.

3:19 One more time.

3:20 Definitely.

3:21 Maybe a little bit of eaten doves territory for Jameis Winston out here. How high would you go up? Like, are you playing him this week over the likes of like CJ Stroud against Jacksonville in London? Is that a bridge too far?

3:32 That's a little bit of a bridge too far, but I think we're on the right path here. And I will throw that out to everybody. Like, If you're turning your nose up at Jameis Winston this week, just realize he's been the QB8 and QB6 in weekly fantasy scoring over the last two weeks. So you're turning your nose up at a top 10 quarterback, top 8 quarterback. But just heading to Fantasy Pros ECR right now, I would be playing Jameis Winston over... If you're playing Kirk Cousins this week, I'd play Winston. I think Sprout is in the same kind of bucket.

4:08 Rodgers?

4:09 Oh, Aaron Rodgers? Definitely. I'd play him over Aaron Rodgers. But I think we're living in the high-end QB2, low-end QB1 type of area code where it's like, do you want to play Jameis Winston or do you want to play Jalen Hurts this week? I think Winston both has a very similar ceiling and the higher floor. So I'd play Winston over Jalen Hurts. And I even like Jalen Hurts this week. Yeah.

4:32 Yeah, you've been on that hill, you know, standing 10 toes down this season. So excited to see if Winston can come to the rescue for some fancy managers this week. And Derek, we're going to go to the running back position where you have a play that I am absolutely in love with.

4:46 I'm firing him up in all lines. I have some betting action down on him already. Who is it?

4:51 Blake Corham, baby. RB30 right now. If he gets into the end zone again this week, we could see him being an RB2 like he was last week. And yeah, So in a game where the Rams are heavily favored, so if they're going to score a ton of points, all of that's not going to Puka Nakua like last week. He's not getting another 20-plus freaking targets. Devontae Adams isn't going to score almost every single freaking touchdown. Corham got into the end zone last week, and he could definitely do it again this week. And the Cardinals, their run defense has been terrible, Seth. They're giving up the 10th highest explosive run rate, the 4th most yards up to contact per attempt. And they're also bottom three in missed

5:28 tackle rate. So all this says, Blake Corum, if he gets 10 to 12 opportunities, and he scores a touchdown, he's probably an RB2 for the week. But there's also a world where we could be living in where Blake Corum does his best Brian Robinson Jr. Maybe in garbage time, he gets into the end zone twice this week. I know that sounds aggressive, but the Rams are favored by more than 12 freaking points. The Cardinals run defenses got awful.

5:55 at some point the Rams could just say, look, we are absolutely beating the crap out of y'all. We're just going to run the ball and we're going to get out of here. And if that's the case, it's Blake quorum time.

6:05 Yeah, I completely agree with you on this one.

6:07 I'm already on the over nine and a half rushing attempts right now for my poly market prediction of the week. And I'm also considered trading right now to go after his rushing total because like no one can argue that Blake Corm hasn't looked good this season, right?

6:21 4.8 yards per carry.

6:22 And also Derek, I don't know, I'm sure you have noted this, but I don't know if the general public has, he right now is on pace this week to break his career high in receptions for an entire season. He's getting more dump off opportunities than ever. He almost had one wide open to the end zone last week for a touchdown, but Matthew Stafford missed him there in that primetime matchup.

6:42 And I agree with you.

6:43 I just think the issue is that he has not had the opportunity this season, right? The Rams have been in way more negative game scripts than anyone could have predicted, right? The only time they weren't was that Giants game where he got 12 carries for 79 yards. And the Cardinals, you mentioned how bad they've been against the running back position. Also, they've seen the most carries against running backs this season, 26.4 per game. And I just think they got to lighten Kyron's load a little bit at some point. So why not here in a spot where we know Blake Cormas had success against the Cardinals and Last year, Derek, when he faced Arizona, he averaged 12.5 carries, 93.5 rushing yards per game in those two matchups. So I'm with you,

7:21 10 toes down on Blake Corm. I think he's maybe not an auto start, but it would be really like, while I usually want my, I usually want my flexes to be wide receivers if I can over like some of these, you know, split backfield running backs.

7:34 But this week I'm firing up Corm over a lot of those receivers.

7:38 I mean, But yeah, but look at ECR right now. Let's just play a would-you-rather right now, okay?

7:43 Okay.

7:44 Bill or Blake Corum?

7:47 Not close. Corum.

7:49 J.K. Dobbins or Blake Corum?

7:51 I don't want the Broncos offense.

7:53 Amarion Hanson or Blake Corum?

7:55 Oh, that one's... Probably O'Meary or probably Blake Corum. I just, you know, it's a tough defense against Kansas City.

8:01 Damian Pierce or Blake Corum?

8:02 Corum. I don't want Damian Pierce.

8:03 Alvin Kamara or Blake Corum?

8:06 Blake Corum.

8:07 R.J.

8:08 Harvey or Blake Horham?

8:09 Blake Horham.

8:11 Tony Pollard or Blake Horham?

8:16 That one's close. That might be the line.

8:19 Quinn Sean Judkins or Blake Horham? But to this point, you are hesitating right now. I just got all the way up to RB22 in ECR.

8:32 We're inside the top 24.

8:34 And we could go even higher. Jeremiah Love or Blake Corum. Marshawn Lloyd or Blake Corum.

8:39 Woody Marks? Yeah, I'll take Corum.

8:43 We are in low-end RB2 territory, Seth. So it's not crazy. If anything, the rankings consortium is a little bit dismissive to Blake Corum this week.

8:55 Yeah, I agree. I was expecting to see him a little bit higher in ECR.

8:58 Same. I was very happy because it gets me a chance to talk about him on this show.

9:02 Yeah, let's go.

9:03 I appreciate that. Not too many times we get to find some just diamond in the rough running backs. Blake Corm, if you've held on to him this long, and even if you have Kyron Williams on your team too, don't be afraid to go some dole action Rams running back here against the Arizona Cardinals. And Derek, you were also getting invested from a receiver standpoint with one of the highest totals on the slate. It's a game that I think we see fireworks out in the Sin City for.

9:29 Yeah, Khalil Shakir, wide receiver 37. We don't know what happens with DJ Moore and the Keon Coleman of all things this week. I kind of lean that DJ Moore is going to be out again, open the week with a DMP, but we'll see what his practice reports look like throughout the week. Khalil Shakir, man, quietly over 80 receiving yards in each of the last two games. And now, I mean, his per route metrics have been quietly fantastic. 18.8% target share, 2.37 yards per route run. He's gotten five red zone targets. So I think the touchdown variants could come back this week. as well as a 23.4% first read share. I think this is a really good game for not only Khalil Shakir, but I think we're getting the dog Kincaid game where he gets fed this week.

10:08 So confidently starting both of these guys and the Raiders, they have been weak against slot receivers, Seth. They're giving up the fifth most yards per target and the eighth most fantasy points per opportunity to the position. So if you're struggling for a flex with Khalil Shakir, if you're wondering what the heck do I do with Dalton Kincaid because first two games, amazing. Looked like a league winner.

10:28 Last three games, where is he? We don't know. Send out the search party. Joe Brady also going down Narrative Street has also come out and said, look, this is an on-me thing. Dalton Kincaid, we're going to sit here and probably feature him more and get him more involved in the offense. So I think it's wheels up for Shakir and Kincaid this week.

10:47 Yeah, they need them both, right, because that passing offense last week against the Rams non-existent really took a lot of Josh Allen's on the ground just kind of thugging it out there. I think there's a lot of points in this game. I'm on the over 53 points flat, man. The Raiders top five in pace. They are really getting to the line quickly, and the Bills are– 20th in pace but they actually run the fifth fewest plays per game because they're scoring so quickly right so yeah i just think it's such a back and forth game here i want to be invested from a prop perspective in a lot of these players and i also want to be invested from a fantasy perspective as well like i'm firing everyone up from kirk cousins to matt gay in

11:24 this one right like this is one i'm really really excited about khalil shakir definitely enters that conversation as well uh the are they playing tool on dj more 23 right now again this will become a as the week progresses, but not looking great right now. We're going to keep it moving to the tight end position, but before we do, a reminder that you can take the guesswork out of your start-sit decisions with the Fancy Pro Start-Sit Assistant. Instantly see your optimal lineup based on your roster, scoring settings, and advice from over 100-plus fancy football experts.

11:54 Including downtown Derrick Brown.

11:56 You can even set your lineup with one click Get started at fancypros.com slash start sit. Derek, we are going to the tight end position where it's been rough out there. We have found some value in certain plus matchups, and you're going to try to do the same thing once again with some pretty gross names here.

12:14 Tyler Higby is not a gross name, sir. Thank you very much. Okay. Over the last two weeks, he has been tight in 12 and tight in 10. So he tied in one in weekly scoring. That is not a gross name, Seth. Thank you. But also, if we're going to talk about the Rams scoring a crap ton of points, also, Blake Corham is not scoring every single freaking touchdown, nor is Pupin Akur, Devontae Adams. The ball gets spread around some of the Rams. Tyler Higbee has been a big part of the offense. Over the last two weeks, he's got 2.0 yards per route run. Arizona has been god-awful against tight ends, giving up the most yards per target and the third most fantasy points per opportunity to tight ends.

12:55 Tyler Higbee... I'm going to have him ranked as a top 12 tight end for the week.

12:59 Wow. Yeah, I can understand.

13:01 Why is it?

13:01 Wow. He's been a top 12 tight.

13:03 End each of the last two weeks. If you want to go even further back, the game was supposed to be a fur game. He destroyed that defense too. So we got three weeks of sample, baby.

13:14 No, I can understand that.

13:15 And like, I don't know if you remember if the, if the memory goes back this far, but if you remember the Tyler Higg beast season.

13:22 Back, I think that was 2019 consensus.

13:23 I was like, I don't think that's coming back, and it didn't.

13:29 Yeah, and in that season, some of his best games of his career came against the Cardinals, right?

13:34 Oh, Cardinals have.

13:35 Been the flow state for freaking tight ends for multiple years.

13:42 Yeah, half decade for sure. he's out there on the field a lot. Higby is he's, he's getting some of the targets too. So I can't blame you here. Like I was worried that maybe Colby Parkinson would start to kind of show his head here like he did a year ago, but that hasn't been the case so far. So I don't mind the play on Tyler Higby, especially for, you know, a tight end position right now.

14:03 That's just strapped for options.

14:05 With a lot of injuries and a lot of, uh, gross matchups out there and you got another one here you're you're trying to kind of placate to my you know pittsburgh sealers fandom i i think what do you what do you got here on this one all.

14:18 Right so i'm gonna ask everybody to to buckle up we're about to go deep down the the statistical analytical coverage data rabbit hole okay so everybody just strap in follow me follow me through this pat ferrari youth is one of the most popular sleeper streamer tight ends out there, scored two touchdowns last week. So I think everybody is going to gravitate to possibly playing him this week. If you have a Sam Laporta that's on by, you have a Mike Gusecki that you've been playing the rollercoaster with.

14:48 The coverage data leans much more in favor of Darnell Washington this week than Pat Friermuth. If you look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have the second highest rate of single high coverage at 65.2% of their defensive snaps. You look at Darnell Washington this year, he leads the team with a 25% target per route run rate and 2.0 yards per route run against single high. You look at since 2025, he leads the team still even more than DK Metcalf and target per route run rate with 26% also while turning in. 2.1 yards per route run. This is over 140 route sample for Darnell Washington. So not only just this week, or excuse me, this season, but also last season as well. Also in that sample, again,

15:42 going back to the single high coverage of it all, Pat Friermuth against single high coverage. He has only a 12% target per route run rate, 0.80 yards per route run this season. Those splits for Pratt, Fryermuth, and Darnell Washington, again, going back to it, hold up not only this season, but last season as well. Massive Grand Canyon-sized splits for these two tight ends and how the Pittsburgh Steelers have been deploying them, not only under McCarthy's watch, but also going back to last season. Then you look at how just the matchup against this defense outside of coverage. Tampa Bay has given up the second highest missed tackle rate to opposing receivers, so that's wide receivers and tight ends,

16:29 as well as the seventh most yak per reception. Seth, you're a Steelers fan. Tell me, what is Darnell Washington's game predicated around? Put the ball in his hands and let the big man go break tackles amongst all tight ends right now. I think it's either 70 routes. All tight ends with at least 70 routes run this season, Darnell Washington. Third in yak per reception. First leading all tight ends in that sample in missed tackles force per reception.

17:01 Regardless of however I turn the data, the data looks at it and says, okay, this is Darnell Washington week. This is not Friar Muth week. Maybe Friar Muth gets in the end zone and saves his day. I'm on Washington is going to have a surprise game here, dude. He's been a tight end one already once this season.

17:21 I think he could do it again this week. Now tell me, am I crazy?

17:26 I don't think it's a crazy play, especially like the Steelers need to get more out of him personally. Like, I mean, we're paying him like he's a top 10 pay player on our team. I don't think he's quite there. And I've kind of been in the camp. Like, I don't know why we've paid him so much. Like he's a beast of a blocker. He seems like a great, you know, locker room type of guy, and he is a threat in the red zone. We saw that a couple weeks ago when the Steelers were trailing the Browns, and it was three straight passes from Aaron Rodgers going into the end zone and just trying to pick on some of these undersized cornerbacks and linebackers who are matched up against Darnell Washington in the end zone. So if

18:00 that's the play here, I can totally understand it. From a prop perspective, do you think it's more the yards that push him over?

18:07 20.5 receiving yards right now is.

18:10 I've already bet the over. Do you like two and a half receptions, too, or just the yards more?

18:14 I think you can bet both. I feel much better about the receiving yardage only because with his after-the-catch ability, it takes one catch. But what's his anytime touchdown line right now, Seth?

18:27 Four to one right now.

18:28 See, that's where I think you're getting the real value because the over-receiving yardage is minus money. Bet the anytime touchdown mark for him. Because he's getting red zone usage, like I said. And if the coverage, again, like with the coverage I just talked about, if he has a higher route share and they just run more 12, because the other thing about this, Roman Wilson is hurt. This is not a good coverage matchup for Jeremy Bernard. So I think you're going to see a lot of 12 personnel in this game. So Washington, who in for the season right now, Seth, only has, like he's got a 65% snap rate, but he's been playing as basically another offensive lineman for a lot of the season. with only a 35%

19:08 route share. If that tilts more in his favor and he's a 65% snap player this week, but he's got a 60% route share, that's where we really start to see him cook this week.

19:20 Okay.

19:21 Well, Darnell Washington, he's available out there right now in leagues for free. So go up and pick him up, put him in your lineups. If you need an option right there, at the TE position. Derek, great stuff as always here, man. That's going to do it for us right here on this primer episode of the Fancy Pros Fancy Football Podcast. Comment down below your favorite week six must-start players. And while you're here, make sure you're smashing that like button and subscribing to the channel if you're new.

19:45 For Downtown Derrick Brown, I'm Seth Wilcock. Take care, y'all.

19:48 Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts at fantasypros.com slash review or on Spotify. Follow us on X, Instagram, and TikTok at Fantasy Pros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com slash fantasypros.