Best Week 6 fantasy football QB/TE/DEF streamers

With Week 5 of the 2021 NFL season in the books, it’s time to address the best Week 6 fantasy football streamers at the quarterback, tight end and defense/special teams positions.

This week’s slate offers some intriguing options at each position, like Washington Football Team tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, who has legitimate TE1 upside and is widely available in all fantasy league formats.

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Let’s dive into the best fantasy football streaming options at each position ahead of Week 6.

Quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers | 23% rostered

I probably don’t have to walk you to the finish line, but the quarterback position is clearly not in a great streaming position in Week 6. Roethlisberger is currently the QB25 in PPR scoring. That is obviously not ideal, but he does get a strong matchup this week against the Seattle Seahawks, who’ve allowed a heap of fantasy points to the position:

Seahawks DST fantasy points allowed to QBs | 2021

Roethlisberger looks cooked beyond belief through five games but is coming off a decent performance that totaled 18 fantasy points. Play the matchup and hope for the best.

Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team | 16% rostered

Heinicke is an easy addition to streaming lists every week at his current roster rate, as he continues to produce in fantasy land — he is the 15th-highest scoring quarterback on the season. His 8.3 average depth of target and underrated rushing ability are two of the major factors that allow him to be productive regardless of opponent. Heinicke has scored fewer than 20 fantasy points in only one start (Week 5). He's matched up against the porous Kansas City Chiefs defense this week — they've allowed the fourth-most passing yards and 10 passing touchdowns this season.

Jacoby Brissett, Miami Dolphins | 3% rostered

Brissett is nobody’s idea of a fun play in fantasy football, but times are desperate and options are limited with bye weeks starting. We’re opting to play for the best matchup here, and Brissett gets the Jacksonville Jaguars, who come in as the second-easiest matchup of the week according to PFF's strength of schedule metric. Only one defense is allowing a higher passing yards per attempt figure than the 9.55 the Jags are conceding.

Related content for you: NFL Week 6 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: All league sizes & scoring types via Andrew Erickson

Tight End

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots | 46% rostered

The Patriots are an offense in flux, but Henry is the clear No. 2 option in the passing game with a 15.8% target share since Week 2. His target share climbed to an absurd 28.6% this past week with a team-leading eight targets on the day. Henry also ran a route on 19 of Mac Jones’ 31 dropbacks — 61.3% routes run per dropback — and while that may not seem like much, it’s significantly more than Jonnu Smith’s five routes run. Henry is clearly the lead option in the passing attack and should be rostered at a higher clip.

The Mac Jones/Hunter Henry connection against the Texans:

6 catches, 75 yards, and this beauty of a touchdown. ????
pic.twitter.com/g1itZ3rv9R

— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) October 11, 2021

Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles | 37% rostered

Since Week 3, Ertz has nearly caught Dallas Goedert in snaps, with the duo playing 101 and 122 snaps, respectively. Nobody wants to stream a backup tight end, but Ertz has run 76 routes — just as many as Goedert — and even has a higher target share at 17.3% over that time frame. Not to mention, he’s used more frequently in the most important areas of the field:

• 4 red-zone targets to 2
• 3 end-zone targets to 1

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have conceded 318 receiving yards and three touchdowns to the position on the season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense vs. tight ends | 2021

Ricky Seals-Jones, Washington Football Team | 2% rostered

Seals-Jones looks like he’s going to be a viable starting option as long as Logan Thomas is sidelined. In his first game as a starter, the fifth-year TE ranked second on the roster with a vicious 21.6% target share, running a route on 46 of 48 dropbacks. Those are elite usage stats at the tight end position and should not be ignored, regardless of opponent. Seals-Jones is the start of the week, as he maintains legitimate top-six upside at the position and a rock-solid TE1 floor.

Defense/Special Teams

Indianapolis Colts D/ST | 45% rostered

The Colts defense is a rather underrated unit at only 45% rostership across all leagues — they're averaging 8.0 fantasy points per game, the seventh-most in the league. We’re strictly looking to play matchups at this position, and they have a great one against the Houston Texans in Week 6. The Texans are coming off a great Week 5 performance, but they have thrown five interceptions this season and have been sacked 12 times — more than the league average. There is a lot of potential in this matchup.

Related content for you: NFL Week 6 fantasy football rankings, waiver targets & drop candidates via Sosa Kremenjas

Miami Dolphins D/ST | 15% rostered

The Dolphins are too talented on defense to rank 21st in the league as a fantasy D/ST unit for long. The disappointing start has a real chance to turn around with the Jaguars up next. Only one team has thrown more interceptions than Jacksonville’s eight this season. While Trevor Lawrence has done a good job at avoiding sacks, he’s being pressured at a league-average rate. Not to mention, the Jaguars just lost their starting center to a serious injury.

Cincinnati Bengals D/ST | 9% rostered

The talented Bengals defense is only rostered in nine percent of leagues but has performed well, currently ranking 13th. PFF's SoS metric gives them the eighth-easiest matchup of the week. This defense just held Aaron Rodgers to his third-lowest total of the season (19.8 fantasy points), and that was in nearly five full quarters. The Bengals defense ranks top-six in the NFL with 15 sacks on the season.