Week 6 Fantasy Football Projections: Stat Predictions for Top 100 Players

Have you reached for that panic button already after a poor start for your fantasy team? The good news is it's only Week 6, so you still have some time to turn things around.

Considering how unpredictable this season has been—Matt Hasselbeck is the best quarterback on the Indianapolis Colts right now—don't give up hope on making the playoffs, even if your No. 1 pick is out with a catastrophic injury.

Let's take a look at how some of the top stars rank position by position ahead of this week's games.

Fantasy Projections

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Tom Brady, NE	Indianapolis Colts	28
2	Aaron Rodgers, GB	San Diego Chargers	27
3	Matt Ryan, ATL	New Orleans Saints	23
4	Eli Manning, NYG	Philadelphia Eagles	22
5	Andy Dalton, CIN	Buffalo Bills	21
6	Cam Newton, CAR	Seattle Seahawks	20
7	Tyrod Taylor, BUF	Cincinnati Bengals	19
8	Peyton Manning, DEN	Cleveland Browns	19
9	Joe Flacco, BAL	San Francisco 49ers	18
10	Matthew Stafford, DET	Chicago Bears	17

This tweet from Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tells you about all you need to know regarding Matthew Stafford's season:

The 27-year-old is coming off his worst game of the season in a 42-17 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals. Not only did he finish with 188 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, but he also lost his starting job in the middle of the game to Dan Orlovsky.

Still, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell is adamant Stafford will remain Detroit's starter going forward.

"It's like a pitcher not having a very good day," he said Monday, per NFL.com's Marc Sessler. "That pitcher comes out, and the pitcher, obviously, he's still the starter. He's still our starter, so there will be no issues there. There is no quarterback controversy or anything of that nature."

Caldwell's faith isn't misplaced. This could be the week Stafford finds his footing under center. Although the Chicago Bears are allowing just 186 yards a game through the air, they have also surrendered 11 passing touchdowns (30th) and intercepted two passes (tied for 23rd).

A secondary that is allowing a lot of TDs and not forcing many turnovers could be the perfect combination for Stafford to have a respectable fantasy performance in Week 6.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Devonta Freeman, ATL	New Orleans Saints	29
2	Adrian Peterson, MIN	Kansas City Chiefs	27
3	Matt Forte, CHI	Detroit Lions	24
4	Carlos Hyde, SF	Baltimore Ravens	22
5	Mark Ingram, NO	Atlanta Falcons	21
6	Thomas Rawls, SEA	Carolina Panthers	19
7	Justin Forsett, BAL	San Francisco 49ers	18
8	Giovani Bernard, CIN	Buffalo Bills	17
9	T.J. Yeldon, JAX	Houston Texans	16
10	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	Arizona Cardinals	15
11	Dion Lewis, NE	Indianapolis Colts	15
12	Frank Gore, IND	New England Patriots	14
13	Ameer Abdullah, DET	Chicago Bears	14
14	Chris Johnson, ARI	Pittsburgh Steelers	13
15	DeMarco Murray, PHI	New York Giants	13
16	Eddie Lacy, GB	San Diego Chargers	13
17	Charcandrick West, KC	Minnesota Vikings	12
18	Karlos Williams, BUF	Cincinnati Bengals	12
19	Melvin Gordon, SD	Green Bay Packers	11
20	Chris Ivory, NYJ	Washington Redskins	11
21	Rashad Jennings, NYG	Philadelphia Eagles	10
22	Ronnie Hillman, DEN	Cleveland Browns	10
23	Ryan Mathews, PHI	New York Giants	10
24	Danny Woodhead, SD	Green Bay Packers	9
25	Isaiah Crowell, CLE	Denver Broncos	9
26	Matt Jones, WAS	New York Jets	8
27	Jeremy Hill, CIN	Buffalo Bills	8
28	Lamar Miller, MIA	Tennessee Titans	8
29	Fred Jackson, SEA	Carolina Panthers	7
30	Anthony Dixon, BUF	Cincinnati Bengals	7

Many eyes will be on Charcandrick West this week, as he could possibly replace Jamaal Charles, who suffered a torn ACL Sunday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid remained coy about whether West or Knile Davis would be the primary running back going forward.

"I'm not saying who is or is not the feature guy, but we need both of them," Reid said, per Kathleen Gier of the Kansas City Star. "Both their games are different. We'll just see how that goes. You saw both of them played today, so we'll got back to the drawing board on that and get it right."

You can read those comments one of two ways: Either Reid is being truthful about his plans for the backfield, or he is being purposefully deceptive, since he has little incentive to tip his hand one way or the other prior to Sunday's game.

Gambling that West is the feature back is smart for two reasons.

One, Davis hasn't demonstrated himself to be an NFL-caliber running back on a consistent basis, as highlighted by Football Perspective's Chase Stuart:

Second, West saw 18 snaps Sunday, compared to four for Davis, per Pro Football Focus.

The Minnesota Vikings are allowing 4.7 yards per carry (27th) so far this year, so West has the potential for strong fantasy numbers in Week 6. Don't set the bar too high, but something around RB2-level production isn't out of the question.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Julio Jones, ATL	New Orleans Saints	24
2	Randall Cobb, GB	San Diego Chargers	21
3	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG	Philadelphia Eagles	20
4	Calvin Johnson, WR	Chicago Bears	18
5	Antonio Brown, PIT	Arizona Cardinals	17
6	A.J. Green, CIN	Buffalo Bills	17
7	Julian Edelman, NE	Indianapolis Colts	16
8	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI	Pittsburgh Steelers	16
9	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	Cleveland Browns	15
10	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	Jacksonville Jaguars	15
11	Steve Smith, BAL	San Francisco 49ers	15
12	Jeremy Maclin, KC	Minnesota Vikings	14
13	Allen Robinson, JAX	Houston Texans	13
14	James Jones, GB	San Diego Chargers	13
15	Keenan Allen, SD	Green Bay Packers	12
16	Travis Benjamin, CLE	Denver Broncos	12
17	Brandin Cooks, NO	Atlanta Falcons	11
18	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	Cleveland Browns	10
19	Allen Hurns, JAX	Houston Texans	10
20	Brandon Marshall, NYJ	Washington Redskins	10
21	T.Y. Hilton, IND	New England Patriots	10
22	Jordan Matthews, PHI	New York Giants	9
23	Doug Baldwin, SEA	Carolina Panthers	9
24	Rishard Matthews, MIA	Tennessee Titans	9
25	Pierre Garcon, WAS	New York Jets	8
26	John Brown, ARI	Pittsburgh Steelers	8
27	Ted Ginn, CAR	Seattle Seahawks	7
28	Donte Moncrief, IND	New England Patriots	7
29	Marvin Jones, CIN	Buffalo Bills	7
30	Rueben Randle, NYG	Philadelphia Eagles	6

Despite all of the drama surrounding the Houston Texans quarterbacks, this could be a big week for DeAndre Hopkins, and projecting him as the 10th-best wideout in Week 6 might be extremely conservative.

Like the Bears, the Jacksonville Jaguars have been terrible when it comes to forcing turnovers. They have only one interception through five games, which is tied for worst in the league. Opposing quarterbacks also have an average rating of 100.5 against Jacksonville.

That's good news for the Texans, since Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer have combined to throw six picks this year.

The big question for Hopkins is whether he can find the end zone because everything else is there.

These numbers from Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith and NFL.com's Chris Trapasso are mighty impressive:

Houston seems to have found a good thing in Hoyer. As long as his Week 5 showing against the Indianapolis Colts wasn't a fluke, Hopkins could have a monster game against the Jags.

Should Hoyer fall into old habits, though, it could merely be a good day for Hopkins.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Rob Gronkowski, NE	Indianapolis Colts	20
2	Gary Barnidge, CLE	Denver Broncos	16
3	Greg Olsen, CAR	Seattle Seahawks	15
4	Jordan Cameron, MIA	Tennessee Titans	10
5	Travis Kelce, KC	Minnesota Vikings	9
6	Tyler Eifert, CIN	Buffalo Bills	9
7	Richard Rodgers, GB	San Diego Chargers	8
8	Jimmy Graham, SEA	Carolina Panthers	7
9	Jordan Reed, WAS	New York Jets	6
10	Larry Donnell, NYG	Philadelphia Eagles	6

Speaking of stars on the brink of big games, Rob Gronkowski might come close to repeating his Week 1 numbers this Sunday.

Although the game is in Indianapolis, the New England Patriots will likely try to make an example of the Colts. After all of the Deflategate stuff, you know Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the rest of the Pats have been itching to set the record straight once and for all.

According to TeamRankings.com, the Colts are 19th in red-zone touchdowns allowed per game (1.8) and 16th in opponents' red-zone scoring (56.2 percent). Neither total is terrible, but Indianapolis isn't a lockdown defensive unit inside the 20-yard line, which will open the door for Gronk to take over.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	New York Jets	Washington Redskins	19
2	Detroit Lions	Chicago Bears	15
3	Denver Broncos	Cleveland Browns	14
4	Green Bay Packers	San Diego Chargers	13
5	Carolina Panthers	Seattle Seahawks	11
6	Arizona Cardinals	Pittsburgh Steelers	10
7	New England Patriots	Indianapolis Colts	10
8	Atlanta Falcons	New Orleans Saints	9
9	Kansas City Chiefs	Minnesota Vikings	9
10	Pittsburgh Steelers	Arizona Cardinals	8

Listening to Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden make excuses for a Kirk Cousins interception is becoming its own form of entertainment, per Bleacher Report's Cian Fahey:

"

Cousins so fragile that Gruden can't point out when he made an awful throw? https://t.co/uLaY50c2Lo

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) October 12, 2015"

Now Cousins is facing off against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Although the New York Jets have intercepted only six passes—a solid if unspectacular number—they're limiting opposing quarterbacks to 5.7 yards an attempt and rank first in the league in that category.

New York is also giving up 3.8 yards a carry on the ground, so it's not as if the Jets run defense is a significant problem, either.

Washington will struggle to move the ball Sunday, and the chances are good he throws another interception or two.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Opponent	Proj. Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski, NE	Indianapolis Colts	15
2	Justin Tucker, BAL	San Francisco 49ers	15
3	Steven Hauschka, SEA	Carolina Panthers	14
4	Chandler Catanzaro, ARI	Pittsburgh Steelers	13
5	Caleb Sturgis, PHI	New York Giants	13
6	Robbie Gould, CHI	Detroit Lions	12
7	Mike Nugent, CIN	Buffalo Bills	11
8	Josh Brown, NYG	Philadelphia Eagles	9
9	Cairo Santos, KC	Minnesota Vikings	7
10	Mason Crosby, GB	San Diego Chargers	7

Between the strength of the Carolina Panthers defense and the issues hampering the Seattle Seahawks, Steven Hauschka will likely be asked to kick a field goal or three Sunday. The score should stay relatively low, which could mean plenty of opportunities for Hauschka to boost his fantasy numbers.

Note: All stats are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.