Week 6 Rankings: Standard | PPR

Our trio of experts -- Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, and Heath Cummings -- publish their first rankings of the week every Tuesday, and Chris Towers is here to break them down for the week ahead.

1. Which typical must-start QB are you sitting?

Philip Rivers
IND • QB • #17
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Well, this doesn't look like a great week for the high-end quarterback class. Rivers has been arguably the best quarterback in the league so far, but has the toughest matchup possible in Week 5 -- the Broncos' dominant pass rush and secondary on a short week. Unless you're desperate, starting Rivers on Thursday night looks like a no-win scenario.

Matt Ryan
IND • QB • #2
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Ryan faced that same Broncos' defense last week and still managed to play well enough to get the Falcons a big win, but not well enough for Fantasy players' hopes. He came up with just 16 Fantasy points in Denver, and it might be hard to expect much more from him in Week 6 against the Seahawks. Ryan should be a must-start option from Week 7 against the Chargers, but if you can afford it you should probably avoid him in Week 6.

Eli Manning
NYG • QB • #10
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It is fair to say this has been a very disappointing open to the season for Manning. He tossed three touchdowns in the season opener, and looked to be taking advantage of the addition of Sterling Shepard and the return of Victor Cruz. However, in four games since, he has just two touchdowns on 159 pass attempts. You should expect more success than that from him moving forward, but the Ravens' defense has been solid, ranking seventh in points allowed and holding opposing quarterbacks to just 5.6 yards per attempt. Given Manning's struggles so far, he is a risky start, but it wouldn't surprise me if he caught up on some touchdown regression here either.

2. Which QB is the best to stream?

  • Jamey: Brian Hoyer
  • Dave: Brian Hoyer
  • Heath: Brian Hoyer
Brian Hoyer
LV • QB • #7
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We're all in agreement. Isn't that beautiful? It might be better if we were in agreement about a more interesting player, but Hoyer has certainly done enough to justify a roster spot, especially during a week when so many of the typically reliable passers look a bit less attractive. Hoyer has thrown two touchdowns in each of his first three starts, while averaging 338 yards per game. You will never mistake Hoyer for a franchise quarterback, but he has taken care of the ball and put up good enough numbers to be worth an extended look against what remains a mediocre Jaguars defense.

3. Which borderline startable RB has the best chance of hitting it big?

Ryan Mathews
PHI • RB • #24
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Mathews should have put concerns about Wendell Smallwood taking his job behind us in Week 5, as he played 24 more snaps than Smallwood and ended the game with 16 touches. However, it is worth noting that Mathews was still out-snapped by Darren Sproles, who has played 132 snaps to Mathews' 91 through four games. Mathews is still the running downs back, and Smallwood's much-diminished role in Week 5 confirmed that, so the question is whether he can get going on the ground. With a matchup against Washington -- ranked 25th against the run at ProFootballFocus.com -- Mathews certainly has a chance here. Helping his cause is the fact that Mathews remains the clear goal-line option for the Eagles.

T.J. Yeldon
BUF • RB • #22
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Yeldon finally showed some life before the bye, racking up 71 yards on the ground and 46 through the air in a win over the Colts in Week 4. He gets another nice matchup against a Bears' defense that is, at best, run of the mill. Yeldon's overall production remains lacking, but he has so far been able to hold off Chris Ivory, and remains a consistent part of both the running and passing attacks for the Jaguars. If Week 4 was any indication, his best days could be ahead of him.

4. Which RB in your top-10 worries you most?

Lamar Miller
NO • RB • #36
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C.J. Anderson
DET • RB • #26
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Three running backs with big expectations who have struggled in the early going, this trio is being paced by Miller's puny 3.7 YPC mark through five games. This isn't exactly what we expected, because all three were expected to be pretty close to must-start options this season. Given their rankings for Week 6, you'll have a hard time sitting any of the trio anyway, but if Miller and Anderson can't get going in this week against the Colts and Chargers, it might be time to seriously start panicking.

Todd Gurley
ATL • RB • #21
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Gurley might have a bit tougher of a matchup in the Lions in Week 6, but his issues run deeper than the opponent. This Rams offense is pretty dreadful all around, and he just doesn't have much room to make things happen. Of course, Gurley played for this same dreadful Rams' offense a year ago, and rushed for 140 yards and a pair of scores against this same Lions team, so I still have trouble sitting him. Gurley is a home-run hitter at running back, and he may only need one or two plays to justify starting him. That kind of upside is rare among running backs.

5. Which WR has the most to prove this week?

The confidence of the zero-RB cohort has to be a bit shaken so far, with the relative failures of some of the biggest wide receiver names through the first third of the season. We've spent more than enough time discussing Hopkins' struggles lately, so I'll just focus on the other two names here.

Alshon Jeffery
PHI • WR • #17
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Jeffery has some decent excuses for his struggles. He has been a constant presence on the injury report, and is trying to figure things out with backup quarterback Hoyer. However, neither of those excuses necessarily should make Jeffery owners feel much better, because injuries have been a constant presence throughout his career, and Hoyer may not be going anywhere. The latter issue seems like a bigger one, because Hoyer has a pretty good chance to keep the job. Hoyer just hasn't been looking Jeffery's way much, preferring instead to throw to the likes of Kevin White, Eddie Royal and, most recently, Cameron Meredith. We've seen Hoyer sustain a Fantasy relevant receiver in DeAndre Hopkins last season, but that was when the Texans were force-feeding him the ball. That hasn't been the case for Jeffery, and his production has suffered as a result. He hasn't been bad -- Jeffery is on pace for nearly 1,300 yards -- but Jeffery has yet to find the end zone and, as we saw Sunday, that seems more like Hoyer's fault than Jeffery's.

Brandin Cooks
DAL • WR • #3
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Cooks similarly hasn't been featured as much as we hoped, though it's hard to blame Drew Brees much for that -- he's Drew Brees! We know Brees is going to spread the ball around, and Cooks has still been his top target, with one more pass thrown his way than Michael Thomas. Brees is sustaining three difference receivers on a 900-yard pace over 16 games, and a few more role players on pace for solid production, so consistency might be an issue for Cooks as Brees continues to spread the ball around. On the other hand, Cooks had just 53.8 yards per game in the first four weeks of last season, before finishing the campaign averaging 76.9 over the final 12. Don't be surprised if we see something similar.

6. Which of Week 5's breakout WR will keep it going?

Sammie Coates
KC • WR • #18
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It's nice when we can all agree -- and I do 100 percent agree with this one. Coates' big breakout came in Week 5, but he has been productive all season long, picking up at least 50 yards in each game and averaging 84.2 overall. He might be a bit more of a boom-or-bust play moving forward, because he is so reliant on the deep ball to pick up his yards -- 76.2 percent of his yards have come on just seven receptions traveling 20 or more yards down the field. On the other hand, Coates' downfield ability looks legitimate, and he has the benefit of playing with arguably the best downfield passer in the league. Ben Roethlisberger has sustained plenty of receivers on the strength of his deep passing -- look at how guys like Mike Wallace or Santonio Holmes regressed after leaving Pittsburgh -- and Coates looks like the next in line.

7. Who is the best streaming TE?

Jesse James
LV • TE • #81
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You're not going to get many yards from James, who picked up a career-high 43 in Week 5 and has averaged just 25.6 per game for the season. However, he has fit into the Heath Miller role nicely in the red zone, at least, hauling in three touchdowns in his last four games. He is about as touchdown-dependent as a tight end can get, but there is a bit more upside in that role when Ben Roethlisberger is the guy throwing your passes.

Charles Clay
ARI • TE • #85
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Clay is on the other end of the spectrum. He hasn't even scored this season, and has scored just three or fewer in a season four out of his five since joining the NFL. However, he has a bigger role in the Bills' offense overall, coming off a five-catch, 73-yard performance in Week 5. The 49ers have been pretty mediocre on defense, and the absence of NaVorro Bowman isn't going to help them cover tight ends any better. If Clay can find the end zone, he could be a top-five tight end this week.