2018 Fantasy Football: DraftKings NFL Week 6 Picks, Predictions & Sleepers

Week 5 was a smashing success for jamming the high priced RBs into your lineups (Gordon, McCaffrey & Conner) and then spending down for the cheaper WRs (Sanu, Valdes-Scantling). This week, there are a couple very high point total games to target in the Falcons/Bucs and Steelers/Bengals games, so constructing lineups around high price studs will require some diamonds in the rough to emerge and push you past the competition into the green.

QBs:

• Matt Ryan ($6,800)
  • The most expensive QB on the slate, and for good reason. Ryan fell back down to Earth last week in Pittsburgh, but there’s no better bounce back game than welcoming the Tampa Bay Bucs into the Mercedes Benz Dome. Tampa Bay has been more than generous when giving up points to opposing quarterbacks, and that secondary is going to have a very difficult time containing that heavy Falcons passing attack.
• Deshaun Watson ($6,400)
  • Take out Watson’s rough first game against the Patriots, and you have one of the most consistent and better performing QBs this year. Watson is averaging 29 DK ppg in those last four contests, and the Texans offense continues to favor a passing game script. While Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue have faded into the shadows, WR3 Keke Coutee has emerged and given Watson yet another weapon to throw to. His rushing yardage will always be a welcomed bonus, I’m just hoping they don’t dial back on his scrambles after the beating he took against Dallas.
• Jameis Winston ($5,800)
  • Welcome back Famous Jameis. Winston started the second half for the Bucs in their last blowout loss against the Bears. Despite his two picks, he finished 16-20 for 145 yards and a touchdown. This game has the highest implied point total of the week, and Tampa is littered with talented pass catchers to matchup against a depleted Falcons defensive unit.

RBs:

• Melvin Gordon ($8,200)
  • Two constants on Sundays. The sun will rise, and Melvin Gordon is a good play. Gordon’s price actually went down compared to last week and is the third highest RB on this week’s slate. His usage numbers haven’t dropped at all, and he’s still reeling in a handful of targets. He’s averaging 25 DK ppg and is as consistent as they come in terms of production. Roll him out there and bask in the glory of his top tier skill set.
• TJ Yeldon ($6,400)
  • With Leonard Fournette ruled OUT again this week, the backfield appears to be Yeldon’s once again. Corey Grant was also lost to injury, but Jacksonville signed Jamaal Charles to bolster their backfield depth. I don’t see Charles having a prominent role, and Yeldon has averaged just about 20 touches per game with Fournette out. He was a huge part of Bortles’ dump off game and racking up the garbage time points while chasing KC’s huge lead.
• Dalvin Cook ($5,700)
  • Contrarian pick here but should Dalvin Cook suit up to play, he lands in a very plus matchup. The Vikings should be big favorites over the Cardinals who have allowed opposing rushers to run through their defense like a hot knife through butter. Latavius Murray has done nothing with his chances to lead the Vikings backfield, so once Cook is able to get back on the field he should have complete control. Cook’s likely to have low ownership thanks to his injuries and underwhelming performance in 2018.
• Marshawn Lynch ($5,300)
  • This looks like a huge “revenge game” opportunity here for Beast Mode against his former Seattle team that refused to give him the ball at the 1 yard line. Playing from behind most of the game against the Chargers, Lynch wasn’t on the field much unfortunately which reflected his disappointing Week 5 stats. With the narrative surrounding this game, you can almost guarantee he’ll score a touchdown in what’s hopefully a big redemption day for Beast Mode.
• Chris Carson ($4,400)
  • This Seahawks running back situation has been bizarre but it looks like the team has finally sorted itself out between Carson and Davis. Carson has back to back 100 yard rushing games while just playing 35 out of the teams 60 snaps against the Rams. Seattle is currently favored against the Raiders, leaning towards a favorable game script for Carson and the Seahawks in their London game.

WRs:

• Mike Evans ($8,100)
  • Bucs WR Mike Evans has been absurd this season outside of the teams last dumpster fire performance against the Bears. Nonetheless, his stats have been super impressive and with an upcoming shootout against Atlanta on deck, I love for Evans to explode for a big day. Hopefully Jameis is back in sync with everyone, regardless Evans should still see close to double digit targets.
• DeAndre Hopkins ($7,700)
  • Hopkins sees his lowest price of the season so far, which may have to do with the Bills and corner Tre’Davious White. I’m not sure Hopkins necessarily lines up against White, but regardless Hopkins has shown he’s a freak with double digit targets in every game, and playing all but one snap for the entire 2018 season.
• DeSean Jackson ($5,900)
  • Similar to Evans above, I love targeting pass catchers in this game. Jackson is your prototypical boom/bust guy where you hope and pray he rips off a 50+ yard touchdown. He’s averaging 21.6 DK ppg, and boasts the third highest WR/CB advantage per PFF against Robert Alford. He saw a season high in targets last contest against the Bears, so hopefully his high usage continues heading into this plus matchup.
• Mohamed Sanu ($4,800)
  • We cashed big time on Sanu last week over the likes of Julio and Calvin Ridley and we’re gonna do it again. He’s out snapping and out targeting Ridley in Atlanta’s offense, and actually has touchdown upside unlike Julio who still hasn’t scored in 2018 (now that I write this, he’ll score twice against the Bucs). I love Sanu’s value once again in a high scoring affair.
• Keke Coutee ($4,600)
  • It could have just been a flash in the pan with Will Fuller out, but Keke Coutee showed that’s not the case for his role in Houston’s offense. He still played on 57/80 snaps and saw 7 targets in the offense, one of which went for a touchdown. He’s working the short routes and operating as the team’s WR3 that they’ve been missing for some time. He’s building chemistry with Watson and establishing a role within a high octane passing offense.

TEs:

• Jordan Reed ($5,200)
  • Reed and the Washington offense had a rough showing Monday night, but this week against Carolina should be a prime bounce back game for both the team and Reed. His projected matchup of safety Mike Adams registers as PFF’s most advantageous matchup of Week 6, as the receivers on the outside should have a more difficult time.
• Cameron Brate ($3,700)
  • Bucs tight end OJ Howard is still out with an ankle sprain, leaving the tight end snaps and routes all to Brate to eat up in Week 6. He’s scored touchdowns in back to back games, and now has the luxury of facing a leaky Falcons defensive unit. He makes for a solid pair with Winston in contests.
• Ryan Griffin ($2,500)
  • Texans TE Ryan Griffin emerged from nowhere with 9 targets last week against the Cowboys and finds himself at the TE minimum price in Week 6. The Texans cant run the ball, and Watson continues to throw the ball nonstop so a lucky Griffin touchdown would do wonders.

Defense

• Chicago Bears ($3,200)
  • The Bears have been the best fantasy defense this year generating plenty of sacks and turnovers on defense. The Bears travel to Miami this week who allowed two defensive touchdowns to the Bengals (scored 22 points in Week 5).
• Baltimore Ravens ($2,800)
  • The Ravens delivered in what was expected to be a solid spot in Week 5 against the Browns and now travel to Tennessee who despite their great record, haven’t lit the league on fire with their offense. The return of Jimmy Smith has bolstered their already solid secondary.
• Dallas Cowboys ($2,300)
  • The cheap dart throws have worked the past few weeks, maybe it will continue this week with Dallas. They held the Texans potent passing attack relatively at ease and got a ton of pressure to Watson. Dallas now returns home and brings in Blake Bortles who had a very uninspiring and turnover heavy performance against an awful Chiefs defense.

Do you have any early leans? Questions about which guy you should go with this week? Want to yell at me for missing an obvious play? Sound off below or hit me up on Twitter where you can follow for daily news or advice on players.