Fantasy Football Week 6: Flex and PPR Rankings

Before jumping into the upcoming week's fantasy football rankings, managers everywhere will torment themselves for not prophesying unpredictable results.

Last week's rankings totally touted Shane Vereen and Andre Johnson as top flex plays, and this author definitely didn't bench them both for Ameer Abdullah and Leonard Hankerson in his league. Don't bother looking it up for confirmation. And, of course, everyone knew to sit Eddie Lacy and Randall Cobb for Marcel Reese and Josh Huff. That just seemed like common sense.

This time next week, we'll meet in the same spot to again scoff at unforeseeable outcomes. But fantasy fanatics are a stubborn bunch, so let's keep striving for perfection with Week 6's early flex rankings, divided into separate lists for standard and point-per-reception (PPR) leagues. Note that some ranked players enter the week with injury uncertainty, so keep an eye on their status.

Rank	Standard	PPR
1	Le'Veon Bell, RB, PIT	Le'Veon Bell, RB, PIT
2	Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN	Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL
3	Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL	Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN
4	Matt Forte, RB, CHI	Julio Jones, WR, ATL
5	Arian Foster, RB, HOU	DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU
6	Julio Jones, WR, ATL	Matt Forte, RB, CHI
7	DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG
8	Mark Ingram, RB, NO	Julian Edelman, WR, NE
9	Eddie Lacy, RB, GB	Arian Foster, RB, HOU
10	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG	A.J. Green, WR, CIN
11	A.J. Green, WR, CIN	Dion Lewis, RB, NE
12	Rob Gronkowki, TE, NE	Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN
13	Dion Lewis, RB, NE	Mark Ingram, RB, NO
14	Julian Edelman, WR, NE	Rob Gronkowki, TE, NE
15	DeMarco Murray, RB, PHI	DeMarco Murray, RB, PHI
16	Justin Forsett, RB, BAL	Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI
17	Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN	Brandon Marshall, WR, NYJ
18	Frank Gore, RB, IND	Justin Forsett, RB, BAL
19	Chris Ivory, RB, NYJ	Randall Cobb, WR, GB
20	Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI	Emmanuel Sanders, WR, DEN
21	Brandon Marshall, WR, NYJ	Eddie Lacy, RB, GB
22	Marshawn Lynch, RB, SEA	Antonio Brown, WR, PIT
23	Chris Johnson, RB, ARI	Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC
24	Allen Robinson, WR, JAC	Allen Robinson, WR, JAC
25	Emmanuel Sanders, WR, DEN	Keenan Allen, WR, SD
26	Carlos Hyde, RB, SF	Frank Gore, RB, IND
27	Giovani Bernard, RB, CIN	Calvin Johnson, WR, DET
28	Keenan Allen, WR, SD	T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND
29	Calvin Johnson, WR, DET	Danny Woodhead, RB, SD
30	Antonio Brown, WR, PIT	James Jones, WR, GB
31	T.J. Yeldon, RB, JAC	Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA
32	Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC	Chris Ivory, RB, NYJ
33	Ronnie Hillman, RB, DEN	Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI
34	Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN	Giovani Bernard, RB, CIN
35	T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND	Brandin Cooks, WR, NO
36	James Jones, WR, GB	Duke Johnson Jr., RB, CLE
37	Danny Woodhead, RB, SD	Eric Decker, WR, NYJ
38	Charcandrick West, RB, KC	Marshawn Lynch, RB, SEA
39	LeGarrette Blount, RB, NE	Chris Johnson, RB, ARI
40	Melvin Gordon, RB, SD	Greg Olsen, TE, CAR
41	Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI	Tyler Eifert, TE, CIN
42	Eric Decker, WR, NYJ	T.J. Yeldon, RB, JAC
43	Duke Johnson Jr., RB, CLE	Donte Moncrief, WR, IND
44	Tyler Eifert, TE, CIN	Ronnie Hillman, RB, DEN
45	Isaiah Crowell, RB, CLE	John Brown, WR, ARI
46	Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA	Allen Hurns, WR, JAC
47	Donte Moncrief, WR, IND	C.J. Spiller, RB, NO
48	Greg Olsen, TE, CAR	Travis Kelce, TE, KC
49	Lamar Miller, RB, MIA	Shane Vereen, RB, NYG
50	Antonio Andrews, RB, TEN	Jeremy Hill, RB, CIN

Any Eddy Lacy owners feeling deja vu? For the second straight year, the Green Bay Packers running back has fantasy investors fretting about their first-round pick.

Against the St. Louis Rams, Lacy delivered his second stinker of the young season, compiling 35 total yards on 14 touches. The perennial top-five choice hasn't located the end zone since Week 1.

He started 2014 just as poorly, as noted by The Fake Football's Rich Hribar: 

"

Under different circumstances, Eddie Lacy actually has fewer rushing yards (257) at this point than he did last year (266).

— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) October 12, 2015"

The slow start didn't deter him from finishing with 1,139 yards and nine scores on the ground. Before panicking about a seemingly limited workload, he averaged 15.4 rushes per game last year. It doesn't look like a lot on a weekly basis, but his consistent usage adds up, especially in a landscape where few backs get afforded steady opportunities.

Lacy doesn't have Adrian Peterson's strength, Le'Veon Bell's agility or Matt Forte's high volume of touches as a runner and pass-catcher. But last year's events should calm terrified owners. If that doesn't work, the San Diego Chargers' No. 28 rushing defense should do the trick.

The 0-5 Detroit Lions hit rock-bottom on Sunday, surrendering six turnovers in a 42-17 loss in which Dan Orlovsky replaced Matthew Stafford. Detroit, the only remaining winless team, rates No. 26 in total offense despite harnessing a future Hall of Fame wide receiver.

Calvin Johnson has hardly vanished into the abyss. The 30-year-old wideout has caught 32 passes for 322 yards, and his 54 targets place fourth among all receivers. But his 10.1 yards per catch and 6.0 yards per target both represent the lowest marks of his career by a wide margin.

Before panicking about Orlovsky torpedoing Johnson's remaining fantasy worth, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell stood by Stafford despite the benching, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:

"

Really, it's like a pitcher not having a very good day. The pitcher comes out and the pitcher obviously, he's still the starter. He's still our starter, so there'll be no issues there. So there is no quarterback controversy or anything of that nature. But I know one thing, we got to get better. This was poor. Just not the kind of outing that we like to see around here.

"

Let's not get too dramatic. You're still starting Johnson, who gets a friendlier Week 6 matchup against the Chicago Bears. Only the Kansas City Chiefs have allowed more touchdowns to opposing wideouts, per ESPN.com.

But as long as Detroit's offense remains a miserable mess, it's hard to keep treating Megatron as a premier option. Until the big plays returns, he's more of a No. 2 receiver than the guy who nearly broke 2,000 yards in 2012.

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

C.J. Spiller sprinted into Week 5 on the euphoria of a walk-off 80-yard touchdown catch to beat the Dallas Cowboys in overtime. For an encore, he etched out minus-eight receiving yards against the Philadelphia Eagles.

A fantasy tease throughout his career, Spiller possesses huge big-play talent and elusiveness that makes him a perfect fit in the New Orleans Saints offense. Still, the 29-year-old running back has received 20 touches through four games. If not for that one big play, he'd have a full ledger of duds.

New Orleans looks uninterested in factoring him into a rushing attack already featuring Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson. Spiller upped his season's carry tally to nine, and he has yet to amass more than 10 yards on the ground in a single contest.

This is all bad. By the second paragraph most readers probably declared "Bench Spiller, got it. Anything else?" Actually, the Atlanta Falcons present the perfect matchup for Spiller to guide gamers to an early lead on Thursday night.

According to ESPN.com, the Falcons have relented the most fantasy points to opposing running backs. Before assuming this number only matters for Ingram, they have also allowed an NFL-high 42 receptions on 50 targets to the position. PPR players who can stomach steep risk should roll the dice on the high-upside endeavor.