Fantasy Football Week 6: Big Board and Advice for 'MNF'
The NFC East in 2015 has been amusing, to say the least.
The New York Giants lead the division with a 3-2 record, and the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles all have a 2-3 record.
The Eagles have been the definition of interesting this season.
One game they look horrible, and the next they look unstoppable.
Heading into this game, the Eagles could be without one of their running backs—Ryan Mathews.
Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor will not play in this game.
The Giants will be without cornerback Prince Amukamara and might be without some wide receiver named Odell Beckham Jr.
If the Giants are without OBJ, you would have to think the Eagles need to take advantage and win this game to attempt to get back in to what has become a competitive NFC East (not necessarily in a good way).
Big Board
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| Rank | Player | Pos. | Team |
| 1 | Jordan Matthews | WR | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 2 | Odell Beckham Jr. | WR | New York Giants |
| 3 | Rueben Randle | WR | New York Giants |
| 4 | Darren Sproles | RB | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 5 | Eli Manning | QB | New York Giants |
| 6 | Sam Bradford | QB | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 7 | DeMarco Murray | RB | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 8 | Shane Vereen | RB | New York Giants |
| 9 | Josh Huff | WR | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 10 | Andre Williams | RB | New York Giants |
Injury Report
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New York Giants
Player | Status | |
Jon Beason | LB | Questionable |
WR | Out | |
Rueben Randle | WR | Probable |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | WR | Questionable |
Prince Amukamara | CB | Out |
The big question heading in to the game is whether star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will play.
Philadelphia Eagles
Player | Status | |
Mychal Kendricks | LB | Out |
Kiko Alonso | LB | Out |
Ryan Mathews | RB | Questionable |
| Nelson Agholor | WR | Out |
How will a potential absence of running back Mathews change the complexity of this game?
Injury reports courtesy of ESPN.com.
Quarterbacks
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New York Giants: Eli Manning
Heading into Week 6, the Philadelphia Eagles rank 20th in terms of fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks.
While they rank 20th, they do allow a fair amount of yards per game—roughly 295.
We saw perhaps one of Manning's best games of his career in Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers.
However, one thing that will drastically change Manning's potential for this game is the possibility of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. missing this game.
If that is the case, Manning will only have wide receivers Rueben Randle and Dwayne Harris to work with.
As long as Beckham Jr. plays, Manning should put up respectable numbers.
Projections: 275 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT.
Philadelphia Eagles: Sam Bradford
Bradford has definitely driven owners crazy this season (me being one of them).
One game he's just on, and the next it looks like he’s gazing at UFOs passing by.
With the Giants without cornerback Prince Amukamara, their secondary will be suspect in Week 6.
Also, Bradford will be without rookie wide receiver Nelson Agholor and possibly running back Ryan Mathews.
The Giants are the 10th-most generous team in terms of fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, and they give up more than 300 passing yards per game.
Let's just hope the UFOs don't make it to Philadelphia Monday night.
Projections: 290 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT.
Running Backs
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New York Giants: Andre Williams
This column is meant for fantasy-relevant players, and that's why fellow running back Rashad Jennings is not listed—he's not relevant.
However, Williams probably isn't, either—this is more of a bold prediction.
What fun is fantasy football without a bold prediction?
Well, OK, it's not that bold, but based on the matchup, it kind of is.
Heading in to Week 6, the Eagles haven't allowed a single rushing touchdown. Well, guess what? That ends on Monday night, as plodding running back Williams will score on a goal-line touchdown.
Williams is a desperation play.
Projections: 6 carries, 20 rushing yards, 1 TD.
New York Giants: Shane Vereen
Not only have the Eagles not allowed a rushing touchdown, they have yet to allow a receiving touchdown to opposing running backs and rank 28th in the league in terms of fantasy points allowed to the position.
Vereen is about as good as it gets when it comes to receiving backs.
He'll see a few carries and is especially valuable in points-per-reception leagues.
Projections: 5 carries, 20 rushing yards; 5 receptions, 50 receiving yards.
Philadelphia Eagles Starter: DeMarco Murray
This running back slide is just filled with boldness. Don't lie—you love it.
Murray is averaging a mere 2.7 yards per carry this season.
The Giants are fairly generous when it comes to surrendering fantasy points to opposing running backs, ranking 13th in that department.
The Eagles are a good bet to score a rushing touchdown this week, but it won't be from Murray.
Projections: 18 carries, 80 rushing yards; 3 receptions, 20 receiving yards.
Philadelphia Eagles: Darren Sproles
Just to be safe, we're going to avoid fellow running back Ryan Mathews in this game.
If he is out, Sproles' value will be its highest of the season.
While Sproles doesn't carry the ball all that often, he'll get his first rushing touchdown since Week 3.
Sproles, like Vereen, is a valuable points-per-reception asset, as he can just go off at any point in the passing game.
Projections: 7 carries, 30 rushing yards, 1 TD; 5 receptions, 40 receiving yards.
Wide Receivers
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New York Giants: Odell Beckham Jr.
The only real question mark with Beckham is whether or not he will play.
If he does, you're obviously playing him.
The Eagles surrender more than 215 receiving yards per game, and a little more than a touchdown per contest to the wide receiver position.
Projections: 7 receptions, 120 receiving yards, 1 TD.
New York Giants: Rueben Randle
As long as fellow wide receiver Victor Cruz remains out, Randle is the No. 2 wide receiver option for the Giants.
Since Week 3, Randle has two touchdowns.
As mentioned before, the Eagles cannot stop wide receivers.
In a game that has the potential to really turn in to a shootout; Randle is a WR3 this week.
Projections: 5 receptions, 70 receiving yards, 1 TD.
New York Giants: Dwayne Harris
Harris will only be relevant this week if Beckham is somehow unable to suit up.
Projections: 6 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD*
* if Beckham sits
Philadelphia Eagles: Jordan Matthews
This is it, Matthews owners.
This is his week to truly shine.
With Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara out, that could help Matthews.
But what really sets this week up to be "his week" is he is expected to face off against cornerback Trumaine McBride, who is ranked as the 84th-best cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus.
With Matthews residing mostly in the slot, you could see the reception totals quickly climb up.
Buckle up, here comes Matthews.
Projections: 7 receptions, 90 receiving yards, 2 TDs.
Philadelphia Eagles: Josh Huff
With fellow wide receiver Nelson Agholor out, former Oregon Duck Huff will step in as the team's No. 2 wide receiver.
Looking at Week 5, Huff had an insane 19.5 yards per reception.
While he may not have a ton of catches, Huff has the ability to take it to the house at any time.
Projections: 3 receptions, 65 receiving yards.
Tight Ends
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New York Giants Starter: Larry Donnell
The Eagles hate your tight end.
They've allowed just three fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends through the first five games.
Sorry, Donnell—there won't be another helmet catch to win the game this week.
Donnell is a back-end TE2.
Projections: 2 receptions, 10 receiving yards.
Philadelphia Eagles: Zach Ertz
However, he ran 13 more pass routes than Celek.
While it's quite clear Ertz is a savvier receiver, Celek was a touchdown vulture last week.
The Giants have been very generous to opposing tight ends this season, and Ertz should have a respectable day.
Projections: 3 receptions, 40 receiving yards.
Philadelphia Eagles: Brent Celek
Because of how generous the Giants are to opposing tight ends, Celek and Ertz could both have respectable days.
Of course, Ertz is the guy you want, though.
The Giants give up just over seven receptions per game to the tight end position.
Projections: 2 receptions, 30 receiving yards.
Defense/Special Teams
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New York Giants Defense/Special Teams
The Giants secondary will be without cornerback Prince Amukamara.
As a result, they won't be the same unit that is relatively solid.
However, the Giants will be facing Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, who has a tendency to make head-scratching decisions.
This game could be a shootout, so neither unit is a high-end defensive option this week.
Projections: 27 points allowed, 1 INT, 2 sacks.
Philadelphia Eagles Defense/Special Teams
Heading in to the season, we expected the Eagles new look defense to be much, much better.
However, they head in to this game without linebackers Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso. Cornerback Byron Maxwell hasn't been that good either, as he ranked 80th among cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
If you are forced to pick between these two defensive units, the Eagles are the one to own.
Projections: 24 points allowed, 1 INT, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble.
Best Sleeper Adds
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Dwayne Harris, WR, New York Giants (Owned in 6 percent of ESPN Leagues)
Harris' value will skyrocket if fellow wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is forced to sit. While we expect him to play, if you're a Beckham owner and he is ruled out, make sure you swoop up Harris before someone else does. He could pay dividends if this game turns into a shootout.
Start or Sit?
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Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
While Bradford has been up and down this season, this is a plus matchup for him. The projection we have on him is a tad conservative, but he has a pretty high ceiling against a dismantled New York Giants secondary.
Depending on other options, Bradford may be the guy you have to go with.
Verdict: Start
Ryan Mathews, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Yes, he is questionable and not featured in this column.
If Mathews does somehow suit up, it's probably best to avoid him.
Verdict: Sit
All advanced stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Fantasy scoring numbers courtesy of ESPN.com.
Follow me on Twitter @RichardJanvrin.
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