Fantasy Football Week 6 Cheat Sheet: Identifying Sleepers for Deep Leagues

For injury reasons and whatever else 2020 wants to throw at us, every week of the NFL season seems to pull top talents out of the player pool.

It's objectively a bummer—get well soon, Dak Prescott!—but someone has to fill those voids. The same next-man-up mentality that NFL teams use to work around an injury can also serve to awaken the next fantasy football sleeper.

With a tricky Week 6 schedule ahead—the Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks are all on byes—let's help flesh out your roster with the top three sleepers rostered in fewer than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues (per FantasyPros).

Quarterback: Andy Dalton, Dallas Cowboys (3 Percent Rostered)

There's no such thing as a silver lining when it comes to an injury as debilitating as Prescott's, but at least the Cowboys safeguarded themselves (as much as a club can in this situation) by giving Andy Dalton a one-year deal worth up to $7 million.

Sure, he had some rough moments near the end of his tenure with the Cincinnati Bengals, but he is still an accurate passer (career 62.0 completion percentage) who has previously put up big numbers with fewer weapons than he'll have in Dallas.

He's had four different seasons with at least 25 touchdown passes. He has twice topped 4,200 passing yards. He has occasionally had trouble with turnovers, but he's also nearly doubled his 118 career interceptions with 204 touchdown throws.

He has real NFL talent, and he already put it to good use in relief of Prescott on Sunday. Dalton completed nine of his 12 passing attempts for 111 yards. Even if the Cowboys lean more heavily on Ezekiel Elliott, Dalton should offer decent volume, and when he's throwing to the likes of Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, virtually every attempt should carry big-play potential.

Running Back: Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings (41 Percent Rostered)

Dalvin Cook was injured on the first play of Minnesota's opening drive of the second half Sunday and suffered an adductor strain, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. With a winnable matchup upcoming against the Atlanta Falcons and a bye week after that, Cook "isn't expected to play" in Week 6, per The Athletic's Chad Graff.

That makes Alexander Mattison the priority add this week, as he should step into the featured back role for an offense that has totaled the fifth-most rushing attempts this season.

While you're likely aware of the generosity of Atlanta's pass defense, the Falcons aren't great against the run, either. They've allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to opposing running backs so far, per Yahoo, with a lot of the damage coming through the air. Fantasy backs only have two rushing touchdowns against the Falcons, but they've scored another four times through the air.

Mattison has the talent to take advantage of that soft spot in Atlanta's defense. He has 18 receptions on 21 targets for 139 yards through his first season-plus in the NFL.

Wide Receiver: Chase Claypool, Pittsburgh Steelers (17 Percent Rostered)

You all know the saying, right? If you're going to throw a dart in fantasy, aim it at the rookie receiver who just delivered a monstrous four-score performance.

OK, so maybe that isn't an actual thing, but it's only because players don't usually do what Claypool just did. Pressed into a larger role by the back injury that forced Diontae Johnson off the field, Claypool immediately poured on the production. By the final whistle, he had amassed seven receptions (on 11 targets) for 110 yards, three rushes for six yards and four touchdowns.

Tempering expectations is always a must when adding a player after his breakout, but Claypool's talent and the possibility for another heavy workload if Johnson misses time or is limited makes it worth the risk.

"The touchdowns won't repeat like that again, but Claypool is a dynamic talent in a capable offense and might need to be a starter if Johnson misses any time," ESPN's Field Yates wrote. "He's a high-upside add in all leagues."