Jalen Richard could be featured much more in the Raiders run game with Marshawn Lynch Struggling.
Credit: @postbroncos
This week in the NFL features some great matchups and figures to give us some great fantasy football performances. So far this season there have been some sleeper picks that ended winning people matchups with their great performance and hopefully that can continue this week. Here are the top sleepers in fantasy football for Week Six.
Robby Anderson, WR New York Jets:
There aren’t many Jets worth starting usually, but in a matchup against a terrible Patriots defense, there are some names worth exploring. Heading into Week Six the Jets and the Patriots somehow both sit at 3-2 but it is pretty obvious that New York will most likely lose this divisional matchup. With that being said, Anderson figures to be a sneaky option at wide receiver this week seeing as the Jets may have to air it out a lot to keep this game competitive. The speedy wide receiver only has one touchdown this season but has a good chance to break a long score this week against the worst secondary in football. All Anderson needs is one big play to make him have starting value, and this could be the week Josh McCown finds him deep down the field. Consider the second year wide receiver to be a low-end flex play this week in a great matchup.
Jalen Richard, RB Oakland Raiders:
This will be a tough sell for most people, but there is reason to believe Richard can provide some value this week. This is Marshawn Lynch’s job no doubt, but last week Lynch received 12 carries and Richard got a season high nine carries, possibly due to the fact that the Raiders would like to keep the ball on the ground more even if Derek Carr returns from his injury this week. The sophomore running back is currently producing 5.3 yards per carry and has looked much better than the struggling Marshawn Lynch (3.4 YPC). Lynch’s struggles could allow the younger running back to see more opportunity behind one of the league’s best offensive lines. This week the Chargers come to town with the worst run defense in football, Richard should be given even more chances by the coaching staff in this game to show what he can do. Richard probably won’t receive any goal line carries but should be able to get some nice yardage making him an intriguing flex option in deeper leagues this week.
Trevor Siemian, QB Denver Broncos:
The third year quarterback has slowed down a bit since he started the season hot with six touchdowns in the first two games of the season. The Broncos had a Bye in Week Four, but the two games before that Siemian only had a combined one touchdown to go along with two interceptions. There is reason for optimism this week when the Giants come to the mile high city as their defense has allowed 10 passing touchdowns to go along with only one interception. The Giants are still looking for their first win and this should be a fairly easy matchup for Denver now that Odell Beckham Jr. is done for the season. If Siemian can play mistake-free football, expect a couple of passing touchdowns to go along with around 200 passing yards. With quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson on bye weeks, Siemian can be an above average fill-in with some nice upside.
Ameer Abdullah, RB Detroit Lions:
Anyone who bought into the Ameer Abdullah hype in the preseason has been somewhat disappointed thus far. He hasn’t been a bad flex play with at least eight fantasy points in three of five games this year in standard scoring, but he hasn’t been showing the breakthrough play we’ve all been waiting for. The third year running back is getting the majority of the touches in the backfield as he has been averaging around 15 carries per game, now it’s time for him to start producing consistently. The Lions have a nice matchup against a Saints defense that has thus far given up 4.5 yards per carry, so it’s a great matchup for Abdullah. He has shown he can produce like a star running back with a great performance in Week Four when he ran for 94 yards and a touchdown. It was discouraging to see Zach Zenner get a goal line touchdown last week but this is Abdullah‘s backfield and he should be able to put up RB2 numbers in this great matchup on Sunday.
Eric Decker, WR Tennessee Titans:
It’s tough to trust anyone in the Titans passing game especially if Marcus Mariota isn’t playing, but this week the team has a solid matchup against an awful pass defense. Eric Decker has been very disappointing thus far and hasn’t even been startable on his new team, but a nice matchup on Monday night might be able to change things. The veteran wide receiver is a big target in the short passing game and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him score his first touchdown of the season against the Colts. Even if Marcus Mariota doesn’t play, Decker provides a nice target for any quarterback to throw to. It hasn’t panned out for owners thus far, but a nice prime time matchup could make him a nice sleeper option to slot into your flex spot this week. Hold onto Decker for at least one more week to see if he can take advantage of a nice matchup at home.
Josh Doctson, WR Washington Redskins:
Doctson makes this list as the final player to be featured, he’s being added on here as a very deep sleeper, meaning that he should only be given a shot in leagues larger than 12 teams. The bad thing about the second year wide receiver is that he’s only received six targets over three games, so there is a very low floor associated with him. The good news is that he has scored a deep touchdown on one of his three catches and Kirk Cousins looked his way in the end zone at the end of their Week Four game. If the trend continues, Doctson will keep building his chemistry with Cousins and may have a good chance to find the end zone against the 49ers. San Francisco has been one of the worst defenses against the pass this year and the former first round pick might be able to find the end zone.
