Are you having fun yet? We’ve made it through week 5 with the NFL stumbling ahead trying their best to avoid Covid catastrophes. We’ve had rescheduled games and now we even have RB1s getting DUIs and others getting outright released! It is making it harder and harder for us to navigate the waters and put out winning lineups in our fantasy leagues, but we are doing it and hopefully you’re doing it well. With all the injuries, planned and unplanned bye weeks and Covid uncertainty it is even more important to find productive players to put in your flex spots. But don’t worry, we are here for you my friends.
As you know, every Thursday here on Razzball, I will be posting the weeks “Sexy Flexies” to give you a couple of players to consider starting in your flex spot. The objective isn’t to point out the obvious guys you’re starting in your RB or WR slots, but to take a look at a couple of players who are a bit more under the radar. These will likely be guys that you won’t start every week but will be good rotational pieces in the flex spot of your lineup based on matchup and opportunity.
What I do here is look at the match-ups and opportunities and highlight for you a couple of guys who I believe will perform in the situation they are in for the given week. For this column, we will be looking at players who are ranked 60th or later at the flex position for the week, according to Fantasy Pros Consensus Ratings, but will still get you double digit fantasy points in your flex spots. Let’s take a look at the players who will be the “Sexy Flexies” for week 6!
Myles Gaskin – RB – Miami Dolphins – vs New York Jets
If you would have asked me during draft season, never in a million years would I have said that in week 6 I would be telling you to start Myles Gaskin in your fantasy leagues. During draft season, the debate was whether to draft Jordan Howard or Matt Breida in the Miami Dolphins backfield and Gaskin wasn’t even in the conversation. We were all surprised to see that the Dolphins were using Gaskin, and by week 2 he was getting utilized in both the running and the passing game, getting double digit touches. Adding to his value, last week the Dolphins made Jordan Howard a healthy scratch from the lineup, basically assuring us that the job is Gaskin’s. Over the past 3 weeks Gaskin has received double digit carries, including a 22 carry, 5 reception performance in week 3. He is not just a receiving back and is being trusted to shoulder the load in the Miami backfield.
This week, the Dolphins are favored to win by 9.5 over the lowly Jets, meaning they should be playing with a lead. We love the game script for primary RBs when their team is largely favored, and Gaskin should be heavily involved in this game. The Jets are allowing nearly 130 rushing yards per game and have allowed NINE running backs to score double digit fantasy points against them so far in 5 weeks. Coming off a strong 20 fantasy point performance against San Francisco last week, and with the anticipated game script in his favor, I’m going to confidently lock Gaskin in for another double-digit performance this week.
Curtis Samuel – WR – Carolina Panthers – vs Chicago Bears
With 4 teams on bye this week and some leagues requiring you to start 3 WR in addition to your flex spot, you may be diving a bit deeper this week. I know in one of my leagues I am doing exactly that, and I will be starting Curtis Samuel. I wont sugar coat it, Samuel has been an average fantasy player who is firmly behind the top 2 options in the Carolina Panthers passing game, so on most weeks I wouldn’t even be looking at him. Curtis Samuel has shown us that when the ball is thrown his way, he does catch it. Samuel owns a 86.4% reception percentage on his targets and has only 1 drop on the season. Recently, Samuel has also received a few bonus touches by being used as a changeup to Mike Davis in the backfield and being given some carries.
Winners of 3 games in a row after an 0-2 start, the Panthers look to keep the momentum going against the Chicago Bears this week. The Bears have shown a defensive strength in their outside cornerbacks with Kyle Fuller and rookie Jaylon Johnson playing at a high level. The weak link in their secondary is Buster Skrine who Curtis Samuel will be matching up with from the slot. If Fuller and Johnson can give Robbie Anderson and DJ Moore some trouble on the outside, Teddy Bridgewater may have to start looking for Samuel to play a larger role in this game. Last week, Panthers OC Joe Brady said Samuel is playing at an “extremely high level” and the coaching staff may also look to continue to find ways to get him involved in the offense. Even if Samuel gives us a modest 5 catches for 53 and adds 18 yards on 4 carries that would eclipse 12 ppr points to help us win the week and validate him as a week 6 Sexy Flexie!
Lets crush week 6 and hopefully these Sexy Flexies will help you get some wins this week. Both players have great double-digit point upside and should have significant roles in their team’s game plan this week. Don’t forget, for some more help with setting your lineups, and even for full season projections, check out Rudy Gamble’s Pigskinator! You are always welcome to follow me on twitter @fantasycoachjb and ask me all your questions there as well. Lastly, don’t be like Melvin Gordon, take an Uber home! Good luck in all your matchups this week!
