Tue Oct 15th 2024

Week Six Review

It was another great week in the NFL. Although the week six games were not nearly as competitive and exciting as last week, a lot of points were scored, leading to strong fantasy performances. I enjoyed following all of the games this week and have compiled the following takeaways from a dynasty perspective.

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Dynasty Impact

Surprise!

• It was exciting to see two more rookie quarterbacks get their first career starts this week. Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler got their first starts and held their own, albeit in losing efforts. Rattler started off hot, leading his team to a big comeback in the first half. He targeted Bub Means the most after Chris Olave left the game with a concussion, and he hit Means for his lone touchdown pass. He spread the ball around well and looked like he grasped the offense. However, the Saints fell too far behind in the end, and Rattler's play digressed in the second half. He completed just over 50% of his passes, threw two interceptions, and was sacked five times. He's not ready to take the job from Derek Carr, but he will get a few more starts while Carr is injured, and he has a chance to prove that he could be the Saints's future starter. Maye did just the opposite. He started slow, taking sacks and throwing two interceptions, but as the game progressed, he settled down, and his play drastically improved. He threw three touchdown passes in the Patriots's attempted comeback against the Texans. That's more touchdowns than Jacoby Brissett has thrown in the entire season. He looked great, and he'll start the rest of the season. While his offensive weapons are lacking and his offensive line is terrible, he can make the offense move far better than Brissett. The Patriots will be fun to watch again.

Oh, No!

• One of the biggest disappointments of the season has been the Arizona offense. I expected much more from Kyler Murray a full year after his knee surgery. I thought Arizona's offense would be one of the most successful, with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride receiving most of Murray's targets. Harrison left the game with a concussion, and McBride was targeted a lot after he left, but the Cardinals only scored one touchdown while the Packers's defense smothered them all day. The Cardinals have scored 14 or fewer points in three of their six games, and Murray has scored 16 or fewer fantasy points in four of his six games. He's only had one multi-touchdown game throwing the ball. In the other five games, he's just thrown one touchdown in each. I expected far more fantasy goodness from the Cardinals this year, but it's not happening.

Ouch!

• This week was a pretty painful one on the injury front, especially since so many of the injuries happened early in the games, leaving dynasty managers with gooseeggs in their lineups. Thankfully, few of the injuries were serious or season-ending, but it still stinks to get zero points from reliable players who get injured early in the game. This week, Chirs Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr, and Dallas Goedert scored zero points in my lineups. Olave actually scored negative points, given that he fumbled during the play when he was concussed. Jerome Ford was injured early after his two runs and seven yards gained, and Jayden Reed was pulled early after starting the game on fire with six catches and a touchdown. He was set to have an incredible game, but instead, Doubs scored twice and Christian Watson once. It hurt to see him get pulled early in a game where Green Bay was having its way with Arizona. Somehow, most of my teams with these players still found a way to win, but I am sure that's not the case for most dynasty managers.

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Stock Up

Zay Flowers

• Flowers is Lamar Jackson's top target. He's firmly replaced Mark Andrews as the apple of Jackson's eye. The Ravens are running their passing game through Flowers, and he's been dominant for the last two weeks. There were two games this season when the Ravens focused almost entirely on the running game, and in those games, Flowers had four and two targets. However, he's received ten, eleven, twelve, and nine targets in the other four games. This week, he had nine catches for 132 yards in the first half. Sadly, he did not add to that in the second half, as the Ravens slowed the game down after building a lead on the Commanders. He's still game-script dependent, but he's dominating target share in a passing game that is very efficient and effective. His dynasty stock is rising.

Josh Downs

• Is Downs the WR-1 in Indianapolis? He's played like it the last three weeks with nine, twelve, and nine targets. He's scored touchdowns in two out of three weeks, too. Michael Pittman has also scored in two of the last three weeks and, while out-targeted by Downs, has scored almost the same number of fantasy points. I hope this is not just a Joe Flacco thing. I'm eager to see if Anthony Richardson will keep Downs as his top target when he returns to the starting role. If he does, Downs's stock will rise even higher. It's great to see him healthy again and a massive part of the offense.

Jordan Love

• As a Cowboy fan, it's annoying that the Packers go from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and now to Jordan Love. He's their next great quarterback. Their patient plan paid off, and dynasty managers who have Love are thrilled to see it. He's averaging three touchdown passes a game. He's calm in the pocket and throws the ball from so many different angles and platforms. He's entertaining to watch. He spreads the ball around to all of his young and improving weapons. Having so many young weapons makes his future even brighter and his dynasty stock higher.

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Stock Down

Jahmyr Gibbs

• I'm moving Gibbs down my dynasty ranking this week. I am not doing it because he had his least productive week of the year this week. I am moving him down because the Lions gave David Montgomery a new two-year contract. Gibbs was near the top of my rankings because he is an incredible player on a high-powered offense, but part of what was baked into his dynasty value was the prospect of having the lead role after Montgomery's contract expired. That's not happening now, and the frustrating 50/50 split and lack of goal-line work dynasty managers experienced last season, but this season is here to stay now. That's very disappointing to his dynasty managers, of which I am one. He won't take a huge fall in my rankings, but he has to move down a few spots.

Rachaad White

• It's too early to tell, but White may have lost his starting role after how well Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker played on Sunday (more on them later). Each scored more fantasy points in the same game than White scored in any game this season. I believe the tide has turned and White can no longer be viewed as the RB-1 in Tampa Bay, and his dynasty stock is falling as a result.

Calvin Ridley

• Ridley started the season hot, but he's since cooled off completely. He's scored 1.4, 2.0, and .90 points over the last three weeks. He's a problem, and his quarterback, Will Levis, is a problem. He's been so inefficient in the passing game that they've designed run plays for him each of the last two weeks, and he had more yards on each of them, nine and ten yards than he had receiving in each of those games. He expressed his frustration in the locker room after this week's game. The situation is getting ugly, and my hope that the new coaching staff could help Levis improve is declining along with Ridley's dynasty stock.

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Young Guns

Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker

• I finally get to praise Sean Tucker! If you've followed me for long, you know he was my favorite sleeper two years ago. I loved his college tape and believed he'd quickly surpass Rachaad White on the depth chart. I was wrong. Then, the Buccaneers added Bucky Irving in this year's draft, making it more difficult for him to see the field. Stubbornly, I kept him on all but one of my rosters where I drafted him. Now, I can be proud of what I did. I had to start with Tucker since he was the highest-scoring running back in fantasy this week, but Irving played just as well and will likely take over as the RB-1 in Tampa Bay. He looked great, too. I really hope they become the next duo for the Buccaneers. They can't unsee what they looked like together.

Romeo Doubs

• Doubs just scores touchdowns. He has Jordan Love's eye in the red zone. He only caught three passes on Sunday, but two were touchdowns, including an incredible catch when he leaped over the defender at the front corner of the end zone and snatched the ball away from him. He continues to be the least sexy of the wide receivers in Green Bay, but he plays the most snaps and produces on the field. I still have Jayden Reed ranked significantly higher than Doubs, but the gap is not as far as my dynasty managers tend to think. I'm happy to have several shares of Doubs in my leagues.

Tyrone Tracy

• Tracy has had an excellent fantasy day for the second week in a row. Last week, he primarily did it on the ground when he averaged 7.2 yards per carry. His production came in the passing game this week, averaging 9.5 yards per catch. Devin Singletary had some productive games to start the season, but he better watch his back or return from his injury quickly because Tracy has made a case for more playing time after these last two games. He's holding up well too. He touched the ball 23 times last night and 19 the week before. He has a great chance to be the team's future starter. I am sad that I do not have a single share of him.

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Old-Man Strength

Chris Godwin

• What a bounce-back season for Godwin! He scored 30 fantasy points on Sunday when he scored twice, including one incredible catch and run where he bounced off would-be tacklers. In the worst game of the season, he scored nine fantasy points. He has a very safe floor each week and an incredible ceiling. In the first six weeks of this season, he's already scored almost 66% of the points he scored last season. He's all the way back, and the coaching staff is using him brilliantly.

Terry McLaurin

• It's safe to say that Jayden Daniels and the Commander's coaching staff have realized that they need to feed McLaurin, and good things happen when they do. He scored two touchdowns on Sunday in the Commander's comeback effort against the Ravens, including a very difficult catch in the front corner of the end zone on a fourth down play when he was an isolated man on man. Daniel is the best quarterback the McLaurin has had in his career. Even at his age, I think he will have the most productive year of his career because he now has a great quarterback on his side.

Joe Mixon

• The Texans were modest in their use of Mixon on his first game back from injury, but Mixon made the most of it with a two-touchdown day, with one on the ground and one in the air. He had a 59-yard run, too. He showed no effect from his injury and should get more touches as the season progresses. He showed his old-man strength on his 13 carries, turning them into 103 yards. It's great to see him on a new team that is using him in different ways. He brings the spark to the running game that Houston lacked last year, and he's thriving in his new environment.

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Waiver Watch

Kayshon Boutte

• In his first game with Drake Maye, Boutte led the team in snaps with 83%. The next highest was Ja'Lynn Polk, 65%, and Demario Douglas, 62%. Boutte is the new WR-1 for the Patriots, and he caught a touchdown. He's been a failure to start his career, but everything is starting over in New England this year, even more so with Maye at the helm.

Sean Tucker

• I already praised Tucker above and said that he's already on many of my rosters. I'd love to add him to more if I can. He made a statement on Sunday. Now, let's see if it's enough to earn him more playing time.

Bub Means

• Means played a lot on Sunday and was Spencer Rattler's favorite target. Much of this was due to Chris Olave getting injured, but he looked good in his debut. The Saints waived A.T. Perry a few weeks ago, which was a good indication that they like what they seeing in their rookie, Means. I expect to see him on the field more often for the rest of the season.

Tim Patrick

• As expected, Patrick quickly moved from the Lions' practice squad to the starting lineup after the Broncos let him go. He's made a great catch or two in each of the last two games. He has a lot of competition for targets, so I would only want to add him in the deepest of leagues, but he's a player to keep an eye on, especially if Amon-Ra St. Brown or Jameson Williams were to get injured.

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Dynasty Trades

Trevor Lawrence, Marvin Harrison, Brian Thomas, and Chase Brown <=======> Jalen Hurts, Derrick Henry, Najee Harris, and Deebo Samuel

• In this league, the manager who beat me by one point in the Super Bowl last year (not that I'm bitter about it) had a terrible start to this season, so he decided to trade away four older players for four younger players to start rebuilding his team. The team that traded away the younger players has a mid-level roster and would not make the playoffs if that started today, but now he has a chance to make a run to the playoffs with the addition of two star players and two good players. It worked for this week because he crushed his opponent and had the week's highest score. We'll see how it plays out this season. For the rebuilding team, it sure would be fun to have MHJ and BTJ as core wide receivers for the next decade. This trade is one of the biggest trades I have ever seen. This single trade changes their teams completely.

Anthony Richardson, Trey Benson, and 2025 2nd round pick <=======> Jared Goff, Javonte Williams, and Terry McLaurin

• To get even younger, the same rebuilding team traded away three more vets in favor of younger players and a pick. I get why he made a trade like this, but I'm less enthusiastic about this trade compared to the first one he made. That's because I am not as high on Richardson and Benson as other dynasty managers are. If Benson eventually earns a starting role, this trade could work out, but I would rather have Williams instead of Benson, even with the uncertainty of his future in Denver. Richardson is too injury-prone and too inaccurate of a passer for my taste. He has time to develop, but he hasn't shown improvement so far in the few chances he has had last season and this year. I like the veteran side of this trade.

Jalen Tolbert and Noah Fant <=======> Kirk Cousins and 2025 4th round pick

• A competitive team in a one-quarterback league needed a quarterback to start this week, given that injuries and byes left him with no one to play, so he went quarterback shopping on rosters that had plenty of starters. He found a buyer with the Cousins manager and put together this modest deal. Tolbert has improved this year and has enough future upside to be the best part of that side of the trade. I doubt Fant will provide anything but depth on the other manager's roster, but Tolbert might be a startable player if he continues to improve. As for the new Cousins manager, it did not work out this week. He lost this week's game anyway. Maybe he can help his team later down the road.

Pat Freiermuth <=======> Jared Wiley

• When this trade went through, the group chat immediately lit up. Wiley could have years to wait before getting a chance to take over for Kelce, and there is a very high chance that he never will. This trade seems very one-sided. I don't know of a single manager who would make this trade, I guess, except the one manager in this league.

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