Fantasy Football Week 6 Rankings: Latest Position-by-Position Rundown

When it comes to fantasy football Week 6 rankings, owners need to pay special attention to the flex position.

More often than not, the flex spot is the decisive factor in a fantasy matchup. Last week in standard leagues, Doug Martin (33 points), Thomas Rawls (22), Jaelen Strong (17) and Gary Barnidge (19) all probably lifted owners to victory after winning out the start-or-sit battle with other flex options.

With this in mind, let's take a look at a position-by-position review of the flex spots with an emphasis on points-per-reception (PPR) scoring. Standard owners can use these as well to a similar effect.

Running Backs 

Rank	Player
1	Le'Veon Bell
2	Matt Forte
3	Adrian Peterson
4	Arian Foster
5	Dion Lewis
6	Eddie Lacy
7	Marshawn Lynch*
8	Giovani Bernard
9	Justin Forsett*
10	DeMarco Murray
11	Danny Woodhead
12	Charcandrick West
13	Karlos Williams*
14	Carlos Hyde
15	Duke Johnson Jr.
16	Lamar Miller
17	Chris Johnson
18	Frank Gore
19	T.J. Yeldon*
20	Chris Ivory
21	LeGarrette Blount
22	Chris Thompson
23	Ronnie Hillman
24	Ryan Mathews
25	Melvin Gordon
26	Ameer Abdullah
27	Jonathan Stewart
28	Jeremy Hill
29	Shane Vereen
30	Joique Bell

The usual suspects line the top of the rankings at running back, although it's time to welcome New England Patriots' lead back Dion Lewis to the stage. 

Lewis unexpectedly destroyed the notion of Bill Belichick wanting to use a different back each week, surely just to frustrate owners. Instead, the secretive coach hasn't made it a secret at all—Lewis is here to stay as an RB1.

Through four games, Lewis has at least six carries in each. Even better, he's sitting on a minimum of four catches in each contest and the return of LeGarrette Blount didn't stifle his production.

This week should be especially impressive for Lewis, as the Patriots look to vent frustrations on the Indianapolis Colts, a defense that has had a hard time with backs thus far.

In PPR formats, it's foolish to ignore Baltimore Ravens lead back Justin Forsett. With a lack of serious targets in the passing game, quarterback Joe Flacco defers to Forsett often. It's resulted in at least four grabs per game in four of five appearances this year. Pair it with his 4.5 yards-per-carry average and it's not hard to see why Forsett gets such a high rank.

The matchup? A San Francisco 49ers defense leaking points to backs, having already allowed six rushing scores and a healthy amount of grabs. Forsett shouldn't have an issue placing as a top scorer.

Wide Receivers 

Rank	Player
1	DeAndre Hopkins
2	A.J. Green
3	Larry Fitzgerald
4	Julian Edelman
5	Jeremy Maclin
6	Odell Beckham Jr.*
7	Randall Cobb
8	Demaryius Thomas
9	Brandon Marshall
10	Calvin Johnson
11	Keenan Allen
12	Antonio Brown
13	Jarvis Landry
14	T.Y. Hilton
15	Emmanuel Sanders
16	Allen Robinson
17	Anquan Boldin
18	Alshon Jeffery*
19	Jordan Matthews
20	Sammy Watkins*
21	Steve Smith Sr.*
22	James Jones
23	Mike Wallace*
24	Donte Moncrief
25	Rueben Randle*
26	Pierre Garcon
27	John Brown
28	Kendall Wright
29	Allen Hurns
30	Golden Tate
31	Travis Benjamin
32	Eric Decker
33	Ty Montgomery
34	Michael Floyd
35	Malcom Floyd

The target machines rule the day in PPR formats. 

Quarterbacks don't matter as much in such a format. In fact, iffy situations might help. It's why DeAndre Hopkins tops the board out of Houston and Brandon Marshall continues to reassert himself as a top option in New York. 

It's also why Larry Fitzgerald's supposed demise hasn't occurred. At all. 

The Arizona Cardinals star has a minimum of five catches per game. He's only gone over 100 yards twice, but he's also already scored six times.

While a matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers doesn't sound great, keep in mind the team is without Ben Roethlisberger and won't have the ball as often. Arizona will pass all day long and take more snaps.

Also in the middle of a mini resurgence is Jeremy Maclin out in Kansas City. He's the No. 1 in an Andy Reid-led offense and as such has at least four catches in each game, three of which went for eight yards or more.

Against a Minnesota Vikings defense that has already allowed three scores to wideouts in four games, Maclin's heavy usage should translate to another strong outing.

Tight Ends 

Rank	Player
1	Rob Gronkowski
2	Greg Olsen
	Antonio Gates
3	Tyler Eifert
4	Martellus Bennett
5	Julius Thomas
6	Travis Kelce
8	Jimmy Graham
9	Kyle Rudolph
10	Charles Clay
11	Delanie Walker
12	Ladarius Green

In just one game, San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates already sits inside the top 20 scorers at his position. 

Gates returned from suspension last week and caught nine passes for 92 yards and two scores. He won't score at such a frequent clip all the time, but the usage seems about right for a short passing attack.

In other words, Gates will post a huge performance as the Chargers sling it often to keep up with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

At such a chaotic position, unexpected outbursts happen often. Keep a close eye on Julius Thomas of the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend. He made his debut last week and saw limited action, but the majority of his snaps were passing routes.

In a divisional matchup with Houston at home, Thomas should see plenty of chances now that he's back to game speed and can run for a full contest.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of October 16. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com. Dallas, Oakland, St. Louis and Tampa Bay on bye.