NFL Week 6 fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em

• Start Geno Smith: He has finished as a top-seven fantasy quarterback each of the last three weeks.
• Sit Antonio Gibson: The third-year back lost playing time to Brian Robinson Jr., who made his NFL debut this past week.
• Start Jakobi Meyers: His PFF receiving grade of 82.8 is the seventh-highest among wide receivers this season.

Deciding who to start or sit can be as easy as looking at the PFF rankings and starting the player ranked higher. This start’em, sit’em column digs a step deeper, looking into why someone you might typically start might not have a good week, or why someone overlooked might have a good week. In many cases, it’s the usual starters who should star, but we want to explore the borderline players too.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

QUARTERBACKS

START

Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

• Smith has finished as a top-seven fantasy quarterback each of the last three weeks.
• His offensive PFF grade of 90.2 is the highest among quarterbacks this season.
• The Seahawks have the second-best matchup for quarterbacks according to our strength of schedule tool.
• They face the Cardinals, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
• The game is expected to be the second-highest scoring of the week, which should give Smith plenty of scoring opportunities.

Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

• Cousins has scored the 12th-most fantasy points so far this season.
• The Vikings have the fourth-best matchup for quarterbacks according to our strength of schedule tool.
• They face the Dolphins, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
• Cousins has a 16-2 touchdown to interception ratio against man defenses the last two seasons compared to 12-9 against zone.
• The Dolphins have used man defense on 44.7% of pass plays, which is the fourth-highest rate in the league. 

SIT

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

• Lawrence has finished in the bottom half of the league in fantasy points among quarterbacks each of the last two weeks.
• His offensive PFF grade of 61.7 is the ninth-lowest at the position this season.
• Lawrence averaged under 200 yards and a touchdown per game against the Colts last season.

Marcus Mariota, Atlanta Falcons

• Mariota has scored the 16th-most fantasy points among quarterbacks this season.
• The Falcons face the 49ers, who have allowed the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.
• Part of Mariota’a fantasy success to this point is his rushing. His 36 attempts are the fifth-most for a quarterback this season. He has gained 156 yards on the ground with two touchdowns.
• The 49ers have allowed the sixth-fewest rushing yards to quarterbacks at 53.

RUNNING BACKS

START

Melvin Gordon III, Denver Broncos

• Gordon has finished as a top-24 running back in two of his last three games.
• His playing time increased significantly with Javonte Williams landing on injured reserve.
• He might lose a little time this week if Latavius Murray is active, but he should still see enough carries to take advantage of a good matchup.
• The Broncos face the Chargers, who have allowed the most fantasy points to running backs so far this season.
• Denver’s offensive line currently ranks eighth-best in the league and is trending up.
• The Chargers have the fifth-worst defense so far this season, and their run defense team grade of 48.7 is also the fifth-lowest.

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