Fantasy Football Week 6 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

Occasionally when I'm writing this weekly rankings article, I suddenly hear Jon Stewart in my head, reprising his role from Half Baked. But instead of asking me if I've ever seen the back of a $20 bill on—well, you know the quote—he's wondering if I've ever seen Peyton Manning facing the New York Jets.

It's some crazy stuff, man.

Indeed, there are fantasy players out there who are always looking for the latest and greatest matchup to exploit. Enhancement Owners, we'll call them. They're always wondering how they can make a good player even better by identifying the best fantasy matchups of the week.

If you're one of those owners, well, this article is for you. Red team go, red team go! 
 

Schedule

Sunday, Oct. 12	Time (ET)
Monday, Oct. 13	Time (ET)
Jacksonville at Tennessee	1 p.m.
Baltimore at Tampa Bay	1 p.m.
Denver at NY Jets	1 p.m.
Detroit at Minnesota	1 p.m.
New England at Buffalo	1 p.m.
Carolina at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	1 p.m.
Green Bay at Miami	1 p.m.
San Diego at Oakland	4:05 p.m.
Chicago at Atlanta	4:25 p.m.
Dallas at Seattle	4:25 p.m.
Washington at Arizona	4:25 p.m.
NY Giants at Philadelphia	8:30 p.m.
San Francisco at St. Louis	8:30 p.m

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Peyton Manning	25
2	Philip Rivers	23
3	Aaron Rodgers	21
4	Matt Ryan	21
5	Eli Manning	20
6	Jay Cutler	19
7	Russell Wilson	18
8	Matt Stafford	18
9	Colin Kaepernick	17
10	Nick Foles	16
11	Andy Dalton	16
12	Tony Romo	15
13	Ben Roethlisberger	15
14	Kirk Cousins	15
15	Joe Flacco	14

It's an all-Manning edition of Fantasy Quarterbacks We Love!

Choosing to love Peyton Manning isn't hard. Coming into Week 6, only Andrew Luck had been averaging more than Peyton Manning's 23.5 fantasy points per week, and Manning is the only quarterback in the NFL who has scored 20 or more fantasy points every single week. 

The man is truly special, and is on an offense that is essentially impossible to stop.

And now he gets a New York Jets defense allowing 20.6 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks per week, 29th in the NFL. The Jets are weak in the secondary and generally have to dial up the blitz to protect that secondary and sustain pressure, a recipe for disaster against Manning. Projecting 25 points for Manning this week almost feels like a modest prediction. 

And then there's his little bro, Eli, who is harder for fantasy owners to love. After last year's 27 interceptions, any trepidation is deserved, but Manning has looked like a different guy as he continues to adjust in Ben McAdoo's new offensive system.

The result has been a player with 15 or more fantasy points in four straight games, and this week he has the tastiest of tasty matchups against Philadelphia's atrocious pass defense. The Eagles are giving up 21.2 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks per week, 31st in the NFL, and 274.2 passing yards per contest, 29th in the league.

Nothing is guaranteed in fantasy football, so there's no promise that Manning will blow up. On the other hand, here's what the other quarterbacks who have faced the Eagles have done this season:

1. Chad Henne: 16 fantasy points
2. Andrew Luck: 18 fantasy points
3. Kirk Cousins: 27 fantasy points
4. Colin Kaepernick: 19 fantasy points
5. Austin Davis: 26 fantasy points

Anything Henne, Cousins or Davis can do, Eli Manning can surely do better. Expect big things this week.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Matt Forte	25
2	Le'Veon Bell	20
3	Marshawn Lynch	19
4	Giovani Bernard	18
5	LeSean McCoy	15
6	DeMarco Murray	14
7	Frank Gore	14
8	Chris Ivory	13
9	Eddie Lacy	13
10	Alfred Morris	13
11	Andre Ellington	12
12	Andre Williams	12
13	Branden Oliver	12
14	Darren Sproles	11
15	Knowshon Moreno	10
16	C.J. Spiller	10
17	Reggie Bush*/Joique Bell*	10
18	Fred Jackson	9
19	Ben Tate	9
20	Justin Forsett	9
21	Matt Asiata	8
22	Chris Johnson	7
23	Ronnie Hillman	7
24	Jeremy Hill	6
25	Zac Stacy*	6
26	Doug Martin	6
27	Bishop Sankey	5
28	Shonn Greene	5
29	Stevan Ridley	5
30	Lamar Miller	5

Matt Forte is about as close of a lock as you can get to elite fantasy production this week.

The Atlanta Falcons have been skewered—and I mean really, truly skewered—by opposing running backs this season. They're giving up 27.4 fantasy points per week to the position, worst in the NFL and 5.4 more fantasy points than any other team is giving up to opposing backs per season.

Here's another way of looking at this defense. Nine times this season, a defense has allowed 34 or more fantasy points. The Falcons have given up that total three times, the only team in the league to allow opposing running backs to cross the 34-point threshold more than once. 

Forte's gonna feast, folks. 

Look for Chris Ivory to have a big week as well. Despite that pesky—and over-the-hill—Chris Johnson poaching touches, it's Ivory who has been the New York Jets best running back and top fantasy producer, with 9.6 fantasy points per week. 

Ignore that the Denver Broncos are giving up just 88.3 rushing yards per game, seventh in the NFL, because they are also giving up 21.3 fantasy points to opposing running backs per week, 28th in the NFL. The only chance the Jets have in this game is to control the time of possession by pounding the rock in the running game. 

Ivory should get at least 15 carries in this game and, if the Jets are smart, they'll give him closer to 25. He slides in nicely as a low-end RB1 this week.

Donald Miralle/Getty Images

And then there is Branden Oliver, this week's waiver darling. After blowing up in Week 5, Oliver separated himself from Donald Brown (who seems unlikely to play anyway after suffering a concussion last week) and should be the primary back for the San Diego Chargers this week.

That's great news against an Oakland Raiders defense giving up 21.3 fantasy points per week to opposing backs, 28th in the NFL. The uncertainty in Oliver's exact role keeps him as an RB2 for the time being—as does the possibility that San Diego chooses to base their attack on the pass this week—but he also has the potential to blow up, so get him in those starting lineups.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Demaryius Thomas	22
2	Julio Jones	20
3	Antonio Brown	18
4	Victor Cruz	17
5	Steve Smith	16
6	Brandon Marshall	16
7	Jordy Nelson	15
8	Emmanuel Sanders	14
9	Dez Bryant	13
10	Randall Cobb	13
11	Alshon Jeffery	12
12	Jeremy Maclin	12
13	DeSean Jackson	12
14	Vincent Jackson	11
15	Mike Wallace	11
16	Pierre Garcon	10
17	Golden Tate	10
18	Michael Crabtree	10
19	Wes Welker	9
20	Percy Harvin	9
21	Terrance Williams	8
22	Roddy White	7
23	Rueben Randle	7
24	Kendall Wright	7
25	Kelvin Benjamin	7
26	Julian Edelman	6
27	Keenan Allen	6
28	Michael Floyd	6
29	Larry Fitzgerald	6
30	Brian Quick	6
31	Allen Hurns	5
32	Sammy Watkins	5
33	Eddie Royal	5
34	James Jones	5
35	Cordarrelle Patterson	5

Remember when we talked about Peyton Manning slicing and dicing the Jets secondary? Well, expect Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Wes Welker all being the beneficiaries of Manning's big afternoon.

The Jets are nearly as accommodating to opposing wide receivers, giving up 23.6 fantasy points per week to the position, 27th in the league. But keep in mind that when they faced Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb in Week 2, they gave up a whopping 48 fantasy points to Green Bay's receivers.

That's the type of upside Denver's three receivers have this week (though we can't forget about that Julius Thomas fellow getting in on the fun, too). It should be a fun week for Denver's passing attack. 

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Then there's Victor Cruz, with the other Manning throwing to him. The Eagles are giving up 27.8 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers per week, worst in the NFL, and just gave up 20 fantasy points to Brian Quick and 12 to Kenny Britt. Yes, I just said Kenny Britt. Both Cruz and Rueben Randle have nice upside this week, and in really deep leagues Odell Beckham Jr. is even worth a look.

We'll end with Steve Smith Sr. After a blistering four weeks to start the season, Smith was held to just one fantasy point against the Indianapolis Colts last week. In hindsight, that isn't terribly shocking—the Colts have gotten excellent play from their corners this season more often than not. 

Against a Tampa Bay defense allowing 27.2 fantasy points to opposing receivers per week (30th in the NFL), however, Smith should rebound in a big way. The old man isn't done doing big things for fantasy owners just yet.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Julius Thomas	18
2	Rob Gronkowski	15
3	Delanie Walker	12
4	Greg Olsen	12
5	Jordan Cameron	11
6	Antonio Gates	11
7	Jordan Reed	10
8	Martellus Bennett	10
9	Jason Witten	9
10	Owen Daniels	8
11	Larry Donnell	7
12	Zach Ertz	7

At this point, I don't think you need much convincing for why Thomas might blow up this week. So we'll just move on.

Delanie Walker has been very good for fantasy owners this year, and he has another great matchup against a Jacksonville Jaguars team giving up 12.6 fantasy points per week to tight ends, 31st in the NFL. We haven't picked on the Jacksonville defense once in this article, but now seems like the right moment. 

Walker has been a bit all or nothing for owners this year, but this feels like an "all" matchup. Consider him a high-upside TE1.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Team	Projected Points
1	Detroit Lions	15
2	San Francisco 49ers	13
3	San Diego Chargers	12
4	New England Patriots	11
5	Cincinnati Bengals	10
6	Seattle Seahawks	9
7	Green Bay Packers	8
8	Baltimore Ravens	8
9	Denver Broncos	7
10	Tennessee Titans	7

The San Francisco 49ers are averaging a solid if unspectacular 7.8 fantasy points per week, but the St. Louis Rams are giving up 12.3 fantasy points to opposing defenses per week and just gave up 18 to the Eagles. The Niners may not be the sexiest of defenses to start in fantasy, but this week they're one of the smartest.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Nick Novak	15
2	Cody Parkey	14
3	Justin Tucker	13
4	Matt Bryant	12
5	Brandon McManus	11
6	Stephen Gostkowski	11
7	Phil Dawson	10
8	Shaun Suisham	10
9	Josh Brown	9
10	Matt Prater	9

The Chargers have a really good offense. They're playing the Oakland Raiders. Nick Novak should be plenty busy. Start him. 

All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard scoring leagues. Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than Russell Wilson imitating a chicken with its head cut off.