Fantasy Football Week 6 Rankings: Last-Minute Outlook for Flex Players

With injuries piling up at the running back and wide receiver positions, fantasy owners have been sent scrambling to find viable flex options for Week 6.

The waiver wire was likely a popular destination this week, but not everyone was lucky enough to land a desirable player. Hope isn't lost, however, as most owners likely have middling players on their roster who can man the flex spot in the event of a good matchup.

There are plenty of intriguing matchups to exploit on the Week 6 slate, and there is a good chance that some unexpected stars will emerge.

Here is a look at the top 75 running back and wide receiver flex plays this week, as well as further analysis regarding some of the most interesting options.

Rank	Player	Position	Team	Opponent
1	Le'Veon Bell	RB	PIT	CLE
2	Matt Forte	RB	CHI	ATL
3	Eddie Lacy	RB	GB	MIA
4	Marshawn Lynch	RB	SEA	DAL
5	Demaryius Thomas	WR	DEN	NYJ
6	Julio Jones	WR	ATL	CHI
7	Antonio Brown	WR	PIT	CLE
8	DeMarco Murray	RB	DAL	SEA
9	Brandon Marshall	WR	CHI	ATL
10	Jordy Nelson	WR	GB	MIA
11	Giovani Bernard	RB	CIN	CAR
12	Andre Ellington	RB	ARI	WAS
13	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	DEN	NYJ
14	Frank Gore	RB	SF	STL
15	Alshon Jeffery	WR	CHI	ATL
16	Dez Bryant	WR	DAL	SEA
17	Golden Tate	WR	DET	MIN
18	Roddy White	WR	ATL	CHI
19	Andre Williams	RB	NYG	PHI
20	Randall Cobb	WR	GB	MIA
21	LeSean McCoy	RB	PHI	NYG
22	Steve Smith	WR	BAL	TB
23	Branden Oliver	RB	SD	OAK
24	Jeremy Maclin	WR	PHI	NYG
25	Fred Jackson	RB	BUF	NE
26	Alfred Morris	RB	WAS	ARI
27	Mike Wallace	WR	MIA	GB
28	Percy Harvin	WR	SEA	DAL
29	Lamar Miller	RB	MIA	GB
30	Victor Cruz	WR	NYG	PHI
31	Ben Tate	RB	CLE	PIT
32	DeSean Jackson	WR	WAS	ARI
33	Vincent Jackson	WR	TB	BAL
34	Shane Vereen	RB	NE	BUF
35	Kendall Wright	WR	TEN	JAC
36	Pierre Garcon	WR	WAS	ARI
37	Joique Bell	RB	DET	MIN
38	Ronnie Hillman	RB	DEN	NYJ
39	Julian Edelman	WR	NE	BUF
40	Doug Martin	RB	TB	BAL
41	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	CAR	CIN
42	Steven Jackson	RB	ATL	CHI
43	Mohamed Sanu	WR	CIN	CAR
44	Michael Floyd	WR	ARI	WAS
45	Matt Asiata	RB	MIN	DET
46	Bishop Sankey	RB	TEN	JAC
47	Michael Crabtree	WR	SF	STL
48	C.J. Spiller	RB	BUF	NE
49	Justin Forsett	RB	BAL	TB
50	Darren Sproles	RB	PHI	NYG
51	Sammy Watkins	WR	BUF	NE
52	Keenan Allen	WR	SD	OAK
53	Brian Quick	WR	STL	SF
54	Wes Welker	WR	DEN	NYJ
55	Stevan Ridley	RB	NE	BUF
56	Zac Stacy	RB	STL	SF
57	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	ARI	WAS
58	Rueben Randle	WR	NYG	PHI
59	Chris Ivory	RB	NYJ	DEN
60	Justin Hunter	WR	TEN	JAC
61	Cordarrelle Patterson	WR	MIN	DET
62	Darrin Reaves	RB	CAR	CIN
63	Knowshon Moreno	RB	MIA	GB
64	Terrance Williams	WR	DAL	SEA
65	Andrew Hawkins	WR	CLE	PIT
66	Jeremy Hill	RB	CIN	CAR
67	James Jones	WR	OAK	SD
68	Lorenzo Taliaferro	RB	BAL	TB
69	Chris Johnson	RB	NYJ	DEN
70	Darren McFadden	RB	OAK	SD
71	Eric Decker	WR	NYJ	DEN
72	Carlos Hyde	RB	SF	STL
73	Anquan Boldin	WR	SF	STL
74	Odell Beckham Jr.	WR	NYG	PHI
75	Jerick McKinnon	RB	MIN	DET

Kendall Wright

After registering one of the quietest 1,000-yard receiving seasons in recent memory last year, Tennessee Titans wideout Kendall Wright entered the 2014 campaign with little fanfare surrounding him. After a nondescript first month of the season, Wright finally broke out in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns.

Although Wright gained just 47 yards on six catches, he added another 43 rushing yards on two carries and found the end zone twice. According to ESPN's Adam Caplan, that marked the first multi-touchdown game of Wright's NFL career:

Wright's explosiveness suggests that he should be averaging far more than 8.9 yards per catch, but he has struggled to make game-breaking plays. That could very well change Sunday when the Titans take on the Jacksonville Jaguars and their miserable defense.

As seen in this graphic courtesy of StatMilk, no team in the NFL allows more passing yards per game this season than the Jags:

They have also given up the most passing touchdowns with 12, which certainly bodes well for Wright's fantasy prospects. The one thing that could potentially hold the Baylor product back, though, is uncertainty at the quarterback position.

It is unclear if Jake Locker will start under center after suffering a thumb injury last week, but it may not matter. Wright linked up with backup Charlie Whitehurst on a scoring play in Week 5 as well, and Jacksonville hasn't shown the ability to stop anyone.

Wright is due for a big performance from a yardage perspective, and he will have no better opportunity to make that happen than this week.

Branden Oliver

Most teams might think about abandoning the running game after losing their top three rushers due to injury, but the San Diego Chargers have taken a different approach. In fact, the Bolts are suddenly running the ball with purpose and great success due to the play of undrafted rookie Branden Oliver.

With Ryan Mathews still on the shelf, Danny Woodhead out for the season and Donald Brown nursing a concussion, the San Diego backfield belongs to the unheralded player out of the University at Buffalo. Oliver made the most of his opportunity in Week 5, racking up 182 total yards and two touchdowns against the New York Jets' supposedly sound defense.

All signs point toward Oliver getting the start in Week 6, which could lead to some big-time production. Not only does Oliver have a great matchup against the Oakland Raiders, but he also seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder, as evidenced by this quote courtesy of the Chargers' official Twitter account:

Oliver looked so good last week that teammates like pass-rusher Dwight Freeney are gushing over his level of play, per Ricky Henne of Chargers.com.

"Coming out party for Branden," Freeney said. "He was great. The funny part is, we all expected that because we see it in practice. I'm glad I'm on his team because he is small, but it's hard to find him and he's not tall. He does a great job and I'm just happy he's on my team."

As much as Freeney enjoys being Oliver's teammate, the Raiders may hate facing him even more. Oakland is among the NFL's worst teams against the run, allowing over 158 yards per game on the ground. The Raiders are also giving up 4.3 yards per carry and have surrendered four rushing touchdowns, so Oliver may not be met with much resistance.

Also, Oliver proved to be a capable pass-catcher last week, and quarterback Philip Rivers isn't shy about checking the ball down if nothing is open down the field. Because of his all-around skill set and great Week 6 matchup, Oliver is a must-start player in fantasy.

Torrey Smith

Nick Wass/Associated Press

The Baltimore Ravens aren't necessarily known as a top-notch passing team, but expectations were fairly high for wide receiver Torrey Smith this season. After registering his first 1,000-yard receiving campaign last year, Smith figured to be quarterback Joe Flacco's No. 1 target once again.

Unfortunately for Smith's fantasy owners, he has been supplanted in that regard by veteran Steve Smith. The 25-year-old Maryland alum has looked listless for much of the season. He has scored just once and has yet to top 53 receiving yards in a single game.

That string of poor performances could come to an end in Week 6, though, against a shaky Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. The Bucs are 30th in the league against the pass, allowing over 292 yards per game through the air and surrendering 10 passing touchdowns as well.

According to Nick Mensio of Rotoworld, the Buccaneers also happen to be very generous when it comes to allowing fantasy points to wideouts:

Although Baltimore's offense has been good with Steve Smith doing most of the heavy lifting, a confident and productive Torrey Smith could make a huge difference as well. Torrey is a big-time deep threat capable of taking the top off the defense, and Flacco is well known for his affinity for throwing the ball downfield.

It may be tough to trust Smith right now due to his total lack of statistical output through five weeks, but this has all the makings of a breakthrough performance for the talented pass-catcher.

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