Week 6 of the NFL season had many surprises and noteworthy injuries. Both Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers lost to sub-.500 teams with backup quarterbacks. Breece Hall, DK Metcalf, and Amon-Ra St. Brown all left their games with injuries, changing fantasy matchups in the process. The week has been highlighted by the stack of Joe Burrow, Austin Ekeler, and Josh Jacobs, who are all scorching hot as of the last couple of weeks.
Week 8 will hopefully bring another entertaining slate of games headlined by a Thursday Night matchup between an underperforming Tam0a Bay Buccaneers team and the Baltimore Ravens. In this article, I will try to pinpoint some of the best performances and pickups for the week to help you set your lineup.
Quarterback:
Start of the Week: Kirk Cousins MIN
Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings offense had been rolling up to the bye and is a big reason why they are 5-1. Cousins plays the Arizona Cardinals this week in a game with the highest over/under of the week at 48. The Cardinals are coming off of a game where they allowed 26 fantasy points to Andy Dalton, and it is not out of the cards for Kirk Cousins to do the same.
HM: Tom Brady TB, Tua Tagovailoa MIA
Waiver Priority: Marcus Mariota ATL
Mariota remains the top waiver priority in fantasy football. His rushing upside makes him an intriguing play every week, as he has a sky-high ceiling. Mariota and the Atlanta Falcons play the Panthers and Chargers in the next two weeks. In both of those games, Atlanta’s offense will not be limited, and Mariota will show off his potential on the ground. Marcus Mariota is a great pickup for teams that need a replacement quarterback and should be owned in all deep leagues.
HM: Jimmy Garoppolo SF, Davis Mills HOU
Running Back:
Start of the Week: Derrick Henry TEN
Derrick Henry has been dominating opponents ever since his slow week two-week start. Despite being 28 years old, “King Henry” is still getting an insane 25 carries a game. Henry and the Tennessee Titans have an advantageous matchup against Houston this week. Ryan Tannehill is also a little banged up after last week’s game against the Colts. Derrick Henry has the perfect script to finish as the overall RB1 for the first week of his season, and you should raise your expectations for him this week.
HM: Miles Sanders PHI, Kenneth Walker SEA
Waiver Priority: D’Onta Foreman CAR
D’Onta is owned in less than 40% of leagues, and if you are in one of these, you need to get him immediately. D’Onta had a dominating 145-yard performance against one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL. Chuba Hubbard also injured his ankle and could miss time. D’Onta Foreman has the potential to be an RB2 if he gets this backfield all to himself, especially with the lack of weapons in Carolina.
HM: Jaylen Warren PIT, Sony Michel LAC
Wide Receiver:
Start of the Week: AJ Brown PHI
AJ Brown has provided great value to those that took a chance on him despite falling in drafts. Brown is back from a bye this week and has a fantastic matchup against the Houston Texans. If Houston can keep this game close for even a half, AJ Brown has the chance to go nuclear against a bad Houston Texans secondary. Confidently start AJ Brown in all leagues this week, as this matchup is too hard to pass up.
HM: Deebo Samuel SF, Tyler Lockett SEA
Waiver Priority: Parris Campbell IND
Parris Campbell has impressed many in the last two weeks as Matt Ryan has thrown him 23 passes. The former Ohio State Buckeye has emerged as a true second option to Michael Pittman and should continue to have a high target share. Campbell will provide immediate flex value and could be a potential league winner as he plays for an offense where game script will always be on his side.
HM: Tyquan Thornton NE, Nico Collins HOU
Tight End:
Start of the Week: Zach Ertz ARII
This week marked the first one of the season in which Zack Ertz did not score more than 10 fantasy points. As I mentioned previously, the Cardinals are playing in the projected highest-scoring game of the week. A high-scoring game combined with Minnesota’s struggles against tight ends provides perfect conditions for a vintage Zach Ertz performance. Ertz will bounce back this week and should put up an upper-half TE performance.
HM: George Kittle SF, Dalton Schultz DAL
Waiver Priority: Greg Dulcich DEN
Greg Dulcich had a slow start to his rookie season as an injury forced him to miss weeks 1-5. However, he immediately found his footing and scored over 10 points in each of the last two weeks. Dulcich has the skills to become a household name for fantasy, and it is best to get in on him while he is at his cheapest value.
HM Waiver Priorities: Hayden Hurst CIN, Mike Gesicki MIA
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