Fantasy Football Week 6: Weekly Fantasy Trends Report

Fantasy football is perhaps one of the few realms in which the landscape can change drastically in just a few days.

We've seen a total 180 on some players in the NFL, most notably San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was benched, restructured his contract and is now starting for the 49ers and has some legitimate fantasy upside.

Weird, man.

As we do every week, we examine the most popular fantasy trends and let you know what to make of them.

There are eight of them this week, so naturally I'm hoping to be right on at least two of them. 

That's right, 25 percent.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates had a nice Week 5.

What's up with him these days?

Steelers WR Sammie Coates Most-Added Player

Jared Wickerham/Associated Press

After an explosion of six catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns, Pittsburgh Steelers second-year wide receiver Sammie Coates is this week's lead add in Yahoo leagues.

Now, there are flaws in Coates' game. For instance, he had probably the most egregious drop of the season within five yards of the end zone that would have resulted in a touchdown.

With that said, though, Coates has seemingly taken over the role of suspended wide receiver Martavis Bryant and is third in the league in targets of 20 or more yards downfield, but he has dropped two of them.

In the end, what will help Coates' production is Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who leads the league in passes of 20 or more yards.

Though there are flaws in Coates' game, we cannot ignore Big Ben's downfield passing prowess and the type of game Coates plays.

He's worth an add. You don't always need to be the greatest football player to be productive in fantasy football.

Titans Most-Added Defense

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

No surprise here.

Seeing a 36 percent increase, the Tennessee Titans defense is the most-added unit heading into Week 6.

Sure, the Titans have a good defense, but this increase is based off of who their opponent is: the Cleveland Browns.

We don't even know who the Browns quarterback will be in Week 6, though it's looking like rookie Cody Kessler.

Nonetheless, Kessler is definitely not 100 percent, and the Titans are a double-digit fantasy performance waiting to happen in Week 6.

I'm starting them this week—they are a superb streaming option.

Bears' Cameron Meredith Second-Most-Added Wide Receiver

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

With the absence of Chicago Bears wide receiver Kevin White, fellow wide receiver Cameron Meredith has seen quite the uptick in playing time.

In Week 5, Meredith saw 12 targets, catching nine of them for 130 yards and a score.

Though he had some drops, Meredith lead the team in snaps at the wide receiver position, totaling two more than No. 1 option Alshon Jeffery.

White is expected to be out for the year. Meredith is the bona fide No. 2 wide receiver for the Bears, not Eddie Royal.

The Bears have their inherent limits in the passing game, but quarterback Brian Hoyer has been on a tear. Ride this hot streak, pick up Meredith and reap the benefits.

This was not a one-week wonder.

Raiders RB DeAndre Washington Fails to Impress; 11 Percent Ownership Decrease

Ben Margot/Associated Press

With Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray out with turf toe in Week 5, fellow running back DeAndre Washington had a shot to impress the coaching staff and potentially see more work in what is a genuine timeshare among Murray and every other Raiders running back.

Well, that didn't happen.

On 14 touches, Washington totaled just 52 yards, whereas fellow running back Jalen Richard also had 14 touches but totaled 97 yards.

With Murray coming back, it's hard to find a reason to keep Washington around considering he can only see a lesser workload moving forward.

On the other hand, Richard, who leads the team in targets at the running back position (though by a narrow margin), is a decent high-upside add in points-per-reception leagues.

To conclude, Washington is fairly lackluster and Richard is a PPR-only add.

Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins Cheap at the Moment

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is off to a rough start. To be fair, this is largely due to arguably the most mediocre quarterback in the NFL—Brock Osweiler.

Yes, Osweiler has been bad, but at some point this has to turn around somewhat, however minor, right?

Here are a few examples of trades including Hopkins, per Yahoo's Trade Market Research option:

• Hopkins for Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman
• Hopkins for Oakland Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree
• Hopkins for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan

It just illustrates how far Hopkins—who was likely a first-round draft pick—has fallen. The Crabtree trade makes sense—he's been balling out—but Coleman and Ryan? Yikes.

Ryan has been playing well, but I would never, ever trade Hopkins straight up for a quarterback.

Coleman is coming off by far the best game of his career in the passing game, and that is another deal I definitely would not make.

The moral of the slide: Go out and get Hopkins. He's overwhelmingly cheap at this time.

Titans QB Marcus Mariota Most-Added Quarterback, Faces Browns in Week 6

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

"Eh."

That's basically how to sum this one up.

As the title reads, Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is by far the most-added quarterback heading into Week 6.

Two things here...

One, Mariota is playing against the Cleveland Browns, who give up the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Two, Mariota had four total touchdowns and 60 rushing yards in Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins.

Prior to Week 5, Mariota averaged 12.5 fantasy points per game—far from great.

If you're an owner of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston or Minnesota Vikings signal-caller Sam Bradford, Mariota is a nice fill-in in a plus matchup.

Mariota has top-12 quarterback upside this week, but don't get overly crazy here.

49ers' Colin Kaepernick Second-Most-Added Quarterback

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Finding competent quarterback play is always one of the hardest things to come across in the NFL.

It appears that the San Francisco 49ers and head coach Chip Kelly have come to that realization and are making a change. However, this isn't a new guy or anything, it's Colin Kaepernick. He'll be replacing Blaine Gabbert.

For fantasy purposes, Kaepernick hasn't been a top-10 fantasy quarterback since 2013, but was the QB14 in 2014. 

What makes him appealing this time around is his rushing ability, Kelly's offensive system and the speed at which that system goes.

Week 6 is going to be tough, though—the 49ers will be on the road against the Buffalo Bills.

Down the road, Kaepernick could offer decent value (especially in deeper leagues) because of his rushing ability, but don't expect a hugely successful outing in Week 6 against the Bills, who give up the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

Panthers' Cameron Artis-Payne Most-Added Running Back

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

If not for a matchup with the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, Carolina Panthers running back Cameron Artis-Payne probably wouldn't be added as often as he is.

On Monday Night Football in Week 5, CAP ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries—a 20-point showing in PPR leagues.

With incumbent starting running back Jonathan Stewart out the past few weeks, CAP has been the primary ball-carrier.

Well, Stewart is set to return against the Saints, according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.

CAP is definitely a useful handcuff add but is not starter-worthy as long as Stewart is healthy.

Statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and ESPN.com. Ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo.

Follow me on Twitter @RichardJanvrin.