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

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles each have plenty of talented offensive players, which made for plenty of fantasy points to be had Thursday night. It was a great matchup to kick off Week 6 of the NFL season.

There will surely be more standout performances this weekend, with 12 games on Sunday followed by a Monday night matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans. And with byes now in the picture (four teams aren't playing this week), it will likely be more important for fantasy managers to play the matchups in a given week, especially while looking for fill-in options.

Here are Week 6 positional rankings, along with some of the top matchups to keep an eye on.

Quarterbacks

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1. Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen at TEN

2. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes at WAS

3. Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford at NYG

4. Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray at CLE

5. Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson vs. LAC

6. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers at CHI

7. Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert at BAL

8. Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott at NE

9. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow at DET

10. Washington Football Team QB Taylor Heinicke vs. KC

Matchup to Watch: Washington Football Team QB Taylor Heinicke vs. KC

The Chiefs are the perfect matchup to stream a quarterback against, and that will again be the case this week with Heinicke. Kansas City is not only allowing 296.4 passing yards per game (third most in the NFL), but it has a high-powered offense that forces its opponents to continue throwing to keep up with it.

Heinicke has benefited from favorable matchups numerous times already this season, such as his Week 4 performance against the Falcons when he passed for 290 yards and three touchdowns. He also aired it out for 336 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants in Week 2.

Washington may not win this game, and it may even fall behind big early. But that doesn't matter for fantasy purposes. And Heinicke should rack up plenty of fantasy points while trying to keep his team in the game.

Projection: 302 yards and two touchdowns

Running Backs

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1. Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry vs. BUF

2. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey vs. MIN

3. Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor vs. HOU

4. Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook at CAR

5. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris vs. SEA

6. Jacksonville Jaguars RB James Robinson vs. MIA

7. Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon at DET

8. Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb vs. ARI

9. Green Bay Packers RB Aaron Jones at CHI

10. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott at NE

Matchup to Watch: Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon at DET

Mixon hasn't had a 100-yard game since the Bengals' season opener against the Vikings. It was expected that he may not make a huge impact last week, though, as he was nursing an ankle injury and had only 10 carries, which he turned into 33 yards and a touchdown.

As long as Mixon is healthy enough to have a sizable workload this week, he should have a big performance. Samaje Perine is on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and if he misses the game, Cincinnati will need to rely on Mixon even more.

The Lions have some trouble stopping the run, as they're allowing 130.2 rushing yards per game. So everything should line up for Mixon to have one of his best showings yet in 2021.

Projection: 107 yards and a touchdown

Wide Receivers

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1. Buffalo Bills WR Stefon Diggs at TEN

2. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams at CHI

3. Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill at WAS

4. Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp at NYG

5. Carolina Panthers WR DJ Moore vs. MIN

6. Arizona Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins at CLE

7. Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase at DET

8. Washington Football Team WR Terry McLaurin vs. KC

9. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Diontae Johnson vs. SEA

10. Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson at CAR

Matchup to Watch: Buffalo Bills WR Stefon Diggs at TEN

Diggs was expected to again be one of the top fantasy wide receivers in the NFL this year, but so far, that hasn't been the case. He has only one touchdown through five weeks, and he's had more than 69 yards only once (114 yards vs. the Texans in Week 4).

The Bills offense isn't to blame, considering they're putting up huge yardage and points totals every week. It's just been other playmakers who have mostly been leading the charge.

It's time for Diggs to break through for a big game, and this is a matchup that he should be able to do so. The Titans defense ranks in the bottom half of the league, while their offense is strong enough to keep the Bills passing throughout. That should bode well for Diggs' performance.

Projection: 122 yards and two touchdowns

Tight Ends

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1. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce at WAS

2. Detroit Lions TE T.J. Hockenson vs. CIN

3. Las Vegas Raiders TE Darren Waller at DEN

4. Buffalo Bills TE Dawson Knox at TEN

5. Miami Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki at JAX

6. Los Angeles Rams TE Tyler Higbee at NYG

7. Denver Broncos TE Noah Fant vs. LV

8. Dallas Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz at NE

9. Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews vs. LAC

10. Washington Football Team TE Ricky Seals-Jones vs. KC

Matchup to Watch: Los Angeles Rams TE Tyler Higbee at NYG

Over the first five weeks of the season, Higbee's fantasy numbers have been touchdown dependent. If he gets into the end zone, it's a good week. But if he doesn't, then it's a subpar week.

Higbee may have no trouble scoring a touchdown or two against the Giants, who are allowing the eighth most fantasy points to tight ends in the NFL this year (16.26). The Rams should have no trouble moving the ball, and Higbee should be more involved than he was last week, when he had two catches for 14 yards and a touchdown in a win over the Seahawks.

After recording two touchdowns through five games, Higbee will double that total with his best showing of the season thus far.

Projection: 33 yards and two touchdowns