Fantasy Football Week 6 Rankings: Updated Overview for All Positions

In the Week 5 edition of The Weird World of Fantasy Football, we saw New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett catch three touchdowns, Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota score the most points of any offensive player and Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Sammie Coates score twice as many points as teammate Antonio Brown. 

Don't ever change, NFL.

As these facts demonstrate, fantasy projections should always be taken with a grain of salt. Even the best prognostications can fall flat when the action gets underway in the NFL.

Still, we know which players have performed consistently well this season and, with five games behind us, we can better evaluate the matchups. 

Let's take a look at the projected top players at each position in fantasy football in Week 6. 

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Team
1	Cam Newton	CAR
2	Tom Brady	NE
3	Russell Wilson	SEA
4	Drew Brees	NO
5	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT
6	Andrew Luck	IND
7	Aaron Rodgers	GB
8	Matthew Stafford	DET
9	Carson Palmer	ARI
10	Derek Carr	OAK
11	Blake Bortles	JAC
12	Alex Smith	KC

Fantasy owners who reserved Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on their benches for the first four weeks of the season finally saw a return on their investment in Week 5.

In his first week of action in 2016 following a four-game suspension, Brady amassed 29.64 points and was the second-highest-scoring quarterback behind Mariota.

Brady had 406 passing yards and threw three touchdowns (all to Bennett, so kudos if you started him in Week 5) and zero interceptions against the Cleveland Browns defense.

Now Brady looks to take on a Cincinnati Bengals secondary that is allowing opposing quarterbacks 7.5 yards per passing attempt and 225 yards per game.  

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Team
1	Le'Veon Bell	PIT
2	David Johnson	ARI
3	DeMarco Murray	TEN
4	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL
5	Mark Ingram	NO
6	Melvin Gordon	SD
7	C.J. Anderson	DEN
8	LeSean McCoy	BUF
9	Jordan Howard	CHI
10	Lamar Miller	HOU
11	Carlos Hyde	SF
12	Todd Gurley	LA
13	Devonta Freeman	ATL
14	Isaiah Crowell	CLE
15	LeGarrette Blount	NE
16	Jamaal Charles	KC
17	Eddie Lacy	GB
18	Frank Gore	IND
19	Ryan Mathews	PHI
20	Matt Forte	NYJ
21	Terrance West	BAL
22	Tevin Coleman	ATL
23	T.J. Yeldon	JAC
24	Latavius Murray	OAK
25	Theo Riddick	DET
26	Giovani Bernard	CIN
27	Matt Jones	WAS
28	Jeremy Hill	CIN
29	DeAndre Washington	OAK
30	Spencer Ware	KC
31	Jay Ajayi	MIA
32	Duke Johnson	CLE

David Johnson was, on average, the fifth player taken off draft boards this season, but he's currently the top-scoring running back in fantasy heading into Week 6. That's an excellent result for those who picked him up in Round 1.

Johnson was the top rusher in Week 5, going off for a whopping 157 yards and two touchdowns for the Arizona Cardinals. That was good for 30.50 points, bringing his overall total for the season to 97.50—tops among all running backs.

As NFL Network pointed out, Johnson's output in Week 5 was the most rushing yards gained by a running back in a single game so far this season:

So what does Johnson's Week 6 projection look like? He's set to play against a New York Jets defense allowing opponents an average of just 68.4 rushing yards per game. 

That's second-best in the league, so something's got to give between Johnson and the Jets. New York hasn't allowed a 100-yard game in terms of rushing yet, but if any player can do it, it might be Johnson. 

Arizona's No. 1 back is still an RB1 in Week 6, but temper your expectations. He probably won't have 157 yards this time around. 

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Team
1	Antonio Brown	PIT
2	A.J. Green	CIN
3	Julio Jones	ATL
4	Jordy Nelson	GB
5	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG
6	T.Y. Hilton	IND
7	Allen Robinson	JAC
8	Brandon Marshall	NYJ
9	Marvin Jones	DET
10	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU
11	Demaryius Thomas	DEN
12	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI
13	Brandin Cooks	NO
14	Kelvin Benjamin	CAR
15	Jeremy Maclin	KC
16	Amari Cooper	OAK
17	Jarvis Landry	MIA
18	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN
19	Michael Crabtree	OAK
20	Alshon Jeffery	CHI
21	Jordan Matthews	PHI
22	John Brown	ARI
23	Julian Edelman	NE
24	Will Fuller	HOU
25	Randall Cobb	GB
26	DeSean Jackson	WAS
27	Travis Benjamin	SD
28	Terrelle Pryor	CLE
29	Willie Snead	NO
30	Allen Hurns	JAC
31	Cameron Meredith	CHI
32	Sterling Shepard	NYG

The Indianapolis Colts' 2-3 record might put you off, but the Colts rank 12th in the NFL in total offense, and of this year's fantasy receivers, T.Y. Hilton is consistently performing near the top of the ranks. 

Hilton had the second-highest output of all fantasy receivers in Week 5, scoring 23.10 points thanks to 171 receiving yards and a touchdown.  

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has also established that Hilton is a frequent and reliable target so far this season, as Josh Wilson of Stampede Blue pointed out: 

If anything, the fact that the Colts aren't often playing with a large lead or even playing from behind means that their passing game remains robust, and that Hilton is a safe bet from week to week. That's definitely the case in Week 6, as the Colts prepare to take on the Houston Texans. 

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Team
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE
2	Greg Olsen	CAR
3	Jimmy Graham	SEA
4	Jordan Reed	WAS
5	Travis Kelce	KC
6	Delanie Walker	TEN
7	Martellus Bennett	NE
8	Tyler Eifert	CIN
9	Julius Thomas	JAC
10	Coby Fleener	NO
11	Zach Ertz	PHI
12	Hunter Henry	SD

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Forget about Rob Gronkowski...it's Bennett's time to shine.

OK, not really. But in Week 5, Bennett scored 24.70 fantasy points (the most among all tight ends that week) due to connecting with Brady for three touchdowns, while Gronk scored just 10.90. 

And people took notice: 

But not all is lost for Gronk owners who didn't handcuff him with the Patriots' other tight end.

Gronkowski's fantasy production on Sunday more than doubled his season total to date. He's recovering from his hamstring injury, and with Brady back in the lineup, Gronkowski is sure to only become more involved in the offense in the coming weeks. 

That's good news for Bennett owners, too. The Pats use the two-tight end formation better than perhaps any team in the league, and with a quarterback like Brady and a passing offense like New England's, there are plenty of receptions to go around. 

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit
1	Arizona
2	Buffalo
3	Seattle
4	Denver
5	New England
6	Philadelphia
7	Pittsburgh
8	Detroit
9	Tennessee
10	Indianapolis
11	Green Bay
12	Los Angeles

Kelvin Kuo/Associated Press

The Buffalo Bills defense has scored more touchdowns (three) than any other unit so far this season, and it heads into Week 6 with the second-most fantasy points on the season (69) behind Minnesota.

Having also recovered five fumbles, snatched six interceptions from opposing quarterbacks and totaled 17 sacks, Buffalo is producing all kinds of points for fantasy owners.

The Bills have a promising matchup against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6, who are only scoring an average of 22.2 points per game. The Buffalo defense has allowed opponents just 85 points all season.  

Kickers

Rank	Player	Team
1	Steven Hauschka	SEA
2	Justin Tucker	BAL
3	Adam Vinatieri	IND
4	Dan Bailey	DAL
5	Stephen Gostkowski	NE
6	Mason Crosby	GB
7	Graham Gano	CAR
8	Brandon McManus	DEN
9	Dustin Hopkins	WAS
10	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI
11	Josh Brown	NYG
12	Matt Bryant	ATL

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri has booted more field goals of 50-plus yards than anyone this season, and it's not even close. 

Of Vinatieri's 13 total field goals made this year, five have been for 50 or more yards. That's helped him amass the most fantasy points (61) of any kicker so far this season. 

Vinatieri has also made 12 extra-point attempts. 

Rankings and scoring leaders via NFL.com and current as of Tuesday, Oct. 11.