Week 6 Streamers and Stashes

Bye week mayhem continues with the unbeaten Chiefs and Vikings joined by the Dolphins and Rams on the shelf for Week 6. Last week, all four of our RB streamers finished in the top six. So let’s keep that roll going and sort out those perfect bye week streamers and late season stashes.

To keep things simple, we’ll define a streamer as any player you wouldn’t usually start who is a viable option for this week. They may be on your bench or they may be on waivers, depending on your league. We’ll define a stash as any player you can probably find on waivers that you should stash for the future, either because they have a favorable match-up coming up, or because they could become a future fantasy starter.

Please also check out my rankings at ffdfantasyfootball.com and you can find my long-form videos on the Fantasy First Down Youtube channel and my Slot/Wide analysis on the Razzball Fantasy Youtube channel. If you have any questions, throw them in the comments below.

Be sure to check out the latest tools on Razzball.com: Slot vs. Wide PPG Allowed | WR Slot vs. Wide| DEF Targets Allowed | Home vs. Away | Wins vs. Losses | TD Tool

I’ll also be reporting my streamer record from the season to date above each section, to give you an idea of what to expect. Strong finishes mean top third of starters at the position, moderate means the top half of starters and a bust is anyone else.

QB Streamers (Week 1: 5 strong, 3 moderate, 3 bust):

• Player: Caleb Williams
• Matchup: Jaguars

Caleb Williams continued his run of easy matchups by putting 304 yards and two touchdowns on the insipid Panthers in Week 5. He would have had a lot more points if not for the three goal-line touchdowns taken by running backs too. This week, he faces a Jaguars team who have conceded the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. That included 359 yards and three touchdowns to Joe Flacco. Williams remains a great bye week filler.

• Player: Dak Prescott
• Matchup: Lions

2024 Dak is a far cry from 2023 Dak, but he’s still averaged over 300 yards and two touchdowns over the last three weeks. This week, he gets the Lions and there’s only one way you can attack them: through the air. If the Cowboys don’t totally fall to pieces in Week 6 (which historically isn’t out of the question), Dak will have a productive outing.

QB Stash:

• Player: Kirk Cousins
• Matchup: Panthers

I’m just going to keep putting Kirk here until people listen! Hopefully last week’s record-breaking 509-yard, four-touchdown outing will convince you that Kirk Cousins is worth rostering. He’s a risky upside start in Week 6 but he’s a solid upside stash for the long-term, especially given his excellent playoff schedule. I should mention though that I prefer not stashing quarterbacks at all. There’s always someone playable on waivers outside superflex leagues.

 

RB Streamers (9 strong, 4 moderate, 5 bust):

• Player: Chase Brown
• Matchup: Giants

Chase Brown gets his opportunity with Zack Moss suffering what appeared to be a minor high-ankle injury late in Week 5. The Giants aren’t the greatest running matchup but Brown should dominate the early downs and goal line work while ceding the passing work to Treyveon Williams. He’s a mid-low RB2.

• Player: Tank Bigsby
• Matchup: Bears

The transition is happening. Tank Bigsby has slowly but surely been taking touches away from Travis Etienne and this week he out-touched and out-snapped last year’s fantasy RB2. It will likely remain a committee for now, but this week Jacksonville faces Chicago. There’s only one way to effectively attack the Bears and that’s on the ground so expect a solid outing for Bigsby and, frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Etienne is fine too.

• Player: Tyrone Tracy Jr
• Matchup: Bengals

I’d be lying if I said I felt good about Tyrone Tracy in Week 6, but I’m committed to offering you three viable RB streamers so Tracy is who you’re getting! He was the clear lead back over Eric Gray last weekend and his solid play should earn him a lot of touches, assuming Devin Singletary remains out.

RB Stashes:

• Player: Rico Dowdle
• Matchup: Lions

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve included Rico Dowdle in my RB Stashes and pre-season articles. His breakout was inevitable in my opinion and I’m confused why he was unowned in so many leagues earlier this season. The temptation will be there to start him against the Lions but this is a terrible matchup. If I can, I’d hold off on Dowdle for another week.

Running backs get injured more than any other player in fantasy, with the average Top 36 running back missing two games per season in fantasy. For that reason, your best bet in fantasy is to roster running backs who are an injury away from an every down role. Each week, I’ll be listing my favorite RB stashes, only including players you won’t be starting most weeks.

Also note that the following backs were formerly listed as handcuffs but now have bigger roles. They’re obviously still great to roster: Bucky Irving, Tank Bigsby, Chase Brown, Ty Chandler, Antonio Gibson, Tyrone Tracy, JK Dobbins, Trey Sermon. If that list doesn’t convince you to roster backup running backs, what will?!

Top Handcuffs: Braelon Allen, Zach Charbonnet, Tyler Allgeier, Ray Davis, Emanuel Wilson, Roschon Johnson, Justice Hill, Jamaal Williams

WR Streamers (3 strong, 7 moderate, 5 bust):

• Player: Wan’Dale Robinson
• Matchup: Bengals

I’ve been preaching the good news about Wan’Dale Robinson for weeks now and he just keeps producing. Assuming Malik Nabers is still out, Robinson remains a high volume, PPR-favored streaming option for Week 6 against the Bengals. Expect another 10 or so targets with solid touchdown upside too.

• Player: Jalen Tolbert
• Matchup: Cowboys

With Brandin Cooks on injured reserve, Jalen Tolbert has taken over as the clear Cowboys WR2. In fact, Tolbert arguably already had that role before the Cooks injury. After his Week 5 breakout, Tolbert faces the generous Lions secondary in what could be a shootout.

• Player: Darnell Mooney
• Matchup: Panthers

If this one isn’t obvious, you clearly missed Thursday Night Football. Darnell Mooney exploded for 105 yards and two touchdowns on a whopping 16 targets. This offense is flowing through Mooney and Drake London and both have excellent touchdown upside against the league’s worst offense. Mooney may not quite be a weekly start yet, but he’s a worthwhile option against Carolina in Week 6.

WR Stashes:

• Player: JuJu Smith-Schuster
• Matchup: Bye

With Rashee Rice out for most of the season (at least), JuJu Smith-Schuster re-emerged as Patrick Mahomes’ new favorite wide receiver target on MNF. His Week 6 bye week is inconvenient as you’ll need to wait an extra week to work out if this is a legit breakout, but the performance was good enough to take the risk.

• Player: Ja’Lynn Polk
• Matchup: Texans

It’s unusual for wide receivers to play 100% of their team’s offensive snaps in the NFL these days, but that’s exactly what rookie Ja’Lynn Polk did last week. He’s yet to turn that into significant fantasy production but perhaps the mooted quarterback change to Drake Maye will spark this offense. The upside is enough to get me interested.

• Player: Xavier Hutchinson
• Matchup: Patriots

I expect Nico Collins will be back sooner rather than later, but his injury confirmed what we saw in the pre-season. The Texans have backups specific to each WR position. Instead of Tank Dell rising into a clear WR2 role, Xavier Hutchinson took over Collins’ X receiver job and split the 12 personnel snaps with Dell. Hutchinson is worth stashing just to see if the Collins injury proves serious and to see if he can turn this starting opportunity into targets. He’s nevertheless very much a deep league option.

TE Streamers (2 strong, 1 moderate, 6 bust):

• Player: Cole Kmet
• Matchup: Jaguars

I’ll be honest, I just can’t get the tight end position worked out this season. But I do know that Cole Kmet has emerged as the clear workhorse tight end for the Bears. In a likely shootout against the Jaguars, that should have plenty of value in Week 6.

• Player: Isaiah Likely
• Matchup: Commanders

I really don’t like this pick at all, but there really aren’t any other good tight end streaming options. In close games, the Ravens let Isaiah Likely run a lot of routes and he remains a great red zone threat. I’m not even convinced that this game will be close. Vegas suggests it won’t. But it should be high scoring and that means Likely has more upside than most options on waivers.

TE Stash:

• Player: Erick All Jr
• Matchup: Giants

It’s been gradual but Erick All Jr is slowly taking more snaps from Mike Gesicki and Drew Sample. He’s also turned these limited snaps into a lot of targets. In fact, he’s been targeted on 27.4% of his routes since Week 2. If he can get up to the vaunted 30-route threshold, he could be a fantasy monster. But that’s a big if. Gesicki is playing well and Tanner Hudson could still return to prove a pass-catching inconvenience. Don’t go All-in, but in deeper leagues, take a little punt on the Bengals rookie.

K Streamers (5 strong, 3 moderate, 2 bust):

• Player: Chase McLaughlin
• Matchup: Saints

Look who’s back! I nailed my Chase McLaughlin prediction last week so I’m going back to the well. The Buccaneers faces the Saints, who have conceded the second most points to kickers this season. McLaughlin is meanwhile a perfect 10 from 10 on field goals, with half of those outside fifty yards.

• Player: Chris Boswell
• Matchup: Raiders

I usually list the kickers facing the Falcons or Panthers but they face each other this week. Younghoe Koo is too heavily owned to list and I can’t recommend a Panthers kicker. So, I’m calling an audible and going back to old reliable, Chris Boswell. He’s the K5 on the season and gets a good matchup against the Raiders.

DST Streamers (6 strong and 4 bust):

• Player: Philadelphia Eagles DST
• Matchup: Browns

So according to FantasyPros, I’m the industry’s most accurate DST ranker this season. Who knew?! Not me. I expect half the industry will be on the Eagles DST this week though, as they take on the struggling Browns fresh off their bye week. I’d also love to pick the Steelers but they’re too heavily owned. However, if they’re available in your league, they’re an even better option.

• Player: Houston Texans DST
• Matchup: Patriots

The Texans DST has been mediocre this season, but the Patriots offense has been so much worse. If Drake Maye takes over at quarterback as has been proposed, that could create a spark, or it could create even more turnovers behind this struggling, injury-ravaged O-line. Hence, I’m backing the Texans to get it together on defense for once.

Please note I won’t be listing any kicker or DST stashes as you should never roster more than one of either of these positions.