We’ve arrived at Week 6.
Teams have had to deal with injuries, postponed games, and constant roster movement. We are nearly at the mid-way point, and the fantasy playoffs are only two months away for most leagues.
We had a few COVID-related scares (MIN-ATL, DEN-NE) but as of this moment, it looks like we will have a full slate of games. This could always change on Sunday morning, although the league seems intent on not moving around any more match-ups. We also see a few fantasy-friendly teams (NO, LAC, LVR, and SEA) on byes.
While we are not in a chaotic week, lower rostered players always will produce. Lets see if we can identify a few players who could provide some nice value.
As always, our threshold for ownership is players rostered in less than 10 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
J.D. McKissic RB Washington Football Team (10%)
It is very hard to dumpster dive at the RB position.
We have had one big hit (Rex Burkead, Week 3) and most weeks hardly any backs that even apply. This week, we cannot ignore McKissic as a floor play, one you could plug-in as a desperation flex. McKissic has earned a role as the passing down back for Washington and the last two weeks, he has had 6- and 7-catch games back-to-back. Terry McLaurin should see a lot of James Bradberry, potentially limiting Washington’s best pass catcher. McKissic could end up seeing enough targets to produce double digit fantasy points in PPR scoring formats.
Irv Smith TE Minnesota (8%)
Smith has had a wildly-disappointing season. I loved him in the preseason as a potential breakout name at the postion, and so far he has had little opportunity or production.
Last week, there was a glimmer of hope as he saw a season-high 5 targets. This week, he could see even more usage against Atlanta. The Falcons are one of the worst teams in the league at defending the TE. This game has one of the highest point totals of any game on the board. While it is clearly speculative play, Smith could reward fantasy teams who want to gamble on talent and situation.
Darren Fells TE Houston (4%)
Fells is coming off a 57-yard and 1 score game against Jacksonville. He now will have another week without fellow TE Jordan Akins. Fells has nice chemistry with Deshaun Watson and can be considered if you are in a pinch at TE.
Damiere Byrd WR New England (4%)
Byrd appeared in our Dumpster Dive last week, but his game against Denver was pushed back due to COVID-19. Now we get QB1 Cam Newton back as the Pats’ signal-caller. Byrd has a 9-target and 10-target game this season, but no touchdowns. That could change this weekend against Denver and their poor secondary.
Gabriel Davis WR Buffalo (4%)
Davis makes the Dumpster Dive two weekends in a row. John Brown should be back against Kansas City, but it is hard to ignore just how good Davis looks.
He had a touchdown called back last week against Tennessee; Davis is the biggest wide receiver (6-2, 210) Buffalo has and quarterback Josh Allen seems to have no hesitation passing him the ball in any situation. On Monday Night Football against the Chiefs in a potential shootout, Davis should be looked at as a high-ceiling/low-floor flex option. On a side note: If you play dynasty and Davis is still available, go get him.
Demarcus Robinson WR Kansas City (1%)
Sammy Watkins is out. While Mecole Hardman is going to be in a ton of fantasy lineups against a leaky Buffalo secondary, Robinson will also see a significant uptick in snaps and a few more potential targets. Robinson has had almost no production this season, but has been a role player in the Chiefs’ offense for three years and has caught 4 touchdowns passes in back-to-back seasons. This is purely a speculative (and deep) play, but when you are in a bind, attach yourself to receivers who play with Patrick Mahomes.
Best of luck in Week 6!