Week 6 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Sports Illustrated

Senior fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano joins Jen Piacenti to give fantasy managers his top starts and sits for Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season.

Transcript

00:00 Week 6 of the fantasy football season is already here and it is a doozy.

00:04 We've got a couple teams on by, the Steelers and the Packers, and a lot of injuries.

00:09 So to help us with those complicated start-sit decisions, we bring in Sports Illustrated

00:14 Senior Fantasy Analyst Michael Fabiano.

00:17 Fab's brutal week for a lot of people out there, but I know you are going to help us

00:21 set winning lineups.

00:22 Let's kick it off at the quarterback position.

00:25 Who have we got going this weekend?

00:27 I'm going to start with Joe Burrow, and I want you guys to thank me on X @Michael_Fabiano

00:32 for reverse-jinxing Joe Burrow back into life last week when he was my Sit of the Week at

00:37 quarterback and I did it just for that reason.

00:40 He had a huge game against the Cardinals, the cap didn't look like a problem, he's got

00:44 a really good matchup this week at home against the Seattle Seahawks.

00:48 Their defense has allowed 22+ fantasy points to two quarterbacks since week 2, so Burrow

00:53 is back in our good graces.

00:54 And I like Matt Stafford this week.

00:57 He's got his full complement of weapons now back, the Cooper Cup is back in the offense

01:01 and he had a big game last week, so did Pukanukuwa.

01:04 This is a good matchup too against the Cardinals.

01:06 They've allowed the third most fantasy points to quarterbacks based on passes alone.

01:11 Stafford's not going to run much, so that's an important stat.

01:15 Matthew Stafford is someone that could even be available on your waiver wire if you need

01:18 a replacement for someone such as Anthony Richardson as well.

01:21 Alright, who are you sitting at the quarterback position?

01:25 You know me.

01:26 Jared Goff plays at home, I'm starting him.

01:28 Jared Goff plays on the road, I am sitting him.

01:31 Jared Goff is on the road this week in Tampa Bay.

01:35 The numbers are unbelievable.

01:36 When he plays at Ford Field, he's Joe Montana.

01:39 When he's not at Ford Field, he looks more like Elvis Gerback.

01:42 It's just not good.

01:44 The numbers do not bode well from a fantasy perspective.

01:46 8 touchdown passes, averaging 11.7 fantasy points per game in road games dating back

01:53 to last year.

01:54 I'm also not playing Geno Smith.

01:56 And Geno was really good last season.

01:58 He was the QB5.

01:59 It surprised the heck out of me.

02:01 But he's not been great so far this season.

02:03 The numbers have not been there.

02:05 He's got a tough road matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

02:08 Got to travel mostly across the country.

02:11 And Cincinnati has allowed an average of just 14 fantasy points per game to visiting quarterbacks.

02:18 So that means they're pretty tough at the jungle.

02:22 Let's talk running backs.

02:23 Some pretty brutal news this morning for those who picked up Devon Achan off the waiver wire.

02:29 And also those who had James Conner.

02:30 It looks like tough sledding out there, Fabs.

02:32 But give us some hope.

02:33 Who can we start this week?

02:35 Well, without Achan there, you got to start ringing Mostert because it is a great matchup.

02:40 You know, Mostert's the RB3 right now.

02:41 I mean, it's unbelievable.

02:44 No one saw that coming.

02:45 The Panthers are awful.

02:47 Their defense is one of the worst in the league against the run.

02:50 So Mostert should be in most, if not all lineups.

02:54 And I'm going to go back to James Cook.

02:55 Now we had a bad game last week in London.

02:57 He was game scripted out in the second half.

03:00 That is not going to happen against the Giants.

03:02 Their defense is terrible.

03:03 Their offense is terrible.

03:04 Their offensive line is terrible.

03:06 And the Bills are going to vote rate this team, which means what?

03:09 They're going to run the ball in the second half.

03:11 This is a nice spot for James Cook.

03:13 And by the way, the Giants have given up the sixth most fantasy points to running back

03:17 so far this season.

03:19 Ryan Robinson disappointed a lot of us last week in a really good matchup.

03:22 You say, maybe time to sit him again this weekend.

03:25 Yeah, fade him if you can.

03:28 Last week he got game scripted out.

03:29 The matchup was really good.

03:30 It just didn't happen because of the situation in the game.

03:33 This week he's got Atlanta.

03:35 Believe it or not, Jen, no defense in the National Football League has given up fewer

03:39 fantasy points to running backs than the Atlanta Falcons.

03:43 I mean, I would have never guessed that in a million years back in the preseason.

03:46 So Robinson is a risk reward flex starter and so is Rashad White.

03:51 He's coming off a bye.

03:52 He's got the Lions this week.

03:53 Lions defense is good against running backs.

03:55 This is a defense that has allowed one running back to score more than 11 points against

04:01 them.

04:02 Just one.

04:03 So this is not a good matchup for Rashad White.

04:06 Get him out of your lineups if possible.

04:10 Gardner Minshew will be starting for the Colts this week, who also got Jonathan Taylor back.

04:14 And I have a feeling that has something to do with the fact that you say to start Michael

04:18 Pittman this weekend.

04:20 And I liked him last week and the numbers kind of weren't there.

04:23 It was more Josh Downs.

04:24 But I'm going to go back to the well with Michael Pittman because I love the matchup

04:29 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

04:30 I mean, this is a defense that's given up the fifth most fantasy points to perimeter

04:34 receivers and Pittman has scored 20 plus points against them in their last three meetings.

04:40 So keep the faith in Michael Pittman.

04:42 And then Jordan Addison, I mean, this guy might be a must start this week, Jen, because

04:46 Justin Jefferson is out.

04:48 He will miss at least the next four games and the Bears defense.

04:51 Not good.

04:52 They've allowed the eighth most fantasy points to perimeter receivers this season.

04:55 So get the rookie into your lineup.

04:57 And if you can pick up K.J. Osborne, he's also worth a look as a flex starter.

05:02 And what's a plus matchup in Chicago?

05:04 All right, let's pivot over to this sit list.

05:08 We got a couple of studs here.

05:10 He said, oh, maybe you can't trust him.

05:13 Temper your expectations for both of these players.

05:15 We'll start with Debo Samuel.

05:16 You know, Jen, in the last two weeks, he's had three targets.

05:19 Three.

05:20 That's it.

05:21 And he's not running the ball a lot either.

05:23 You don't need to when you have Christian McCaffrey.

05:25 And the matchup's not good.

05:26 The Cleveland Browns have allowed the fewest fantasy points to receivers this year.

05:30 They've only given up one touchdown to a wide receiver.

05:33 So if you have depth, Debo should be on your bench.

05:36 And the same thing goes for Tyler Lockett.

05:38 And I know Lockett at the end of every year, his numbers are really good.

05:41 He's so inconsistent.

05:42 And look at the numbers this year.

05:44 Single digit points in all but one of his first four games.

05:48 And now he's got the Bengals, who have been very tough against perimeter receivers now.

05:53 Maybe they put him in the slot.

05:54 Maybe he can have some success there.

05:56 He is a risk reward flex.

05:58 Tyler Lockett has not gotten the job done for fantasy managers, at least to this point

06:02 in the season.

06:03 I absolutely love it when my top waiver claim of the week is also on your start list.

06:09 And that's what we've got here with Logan Thomas of the Washington Commanders.

06:13 Maybe I'm chasing the points a little bit here because he had a huge game last week.

06:16 But the matchup's right against Atlanta.

06:18 I mean, look at their defense has allowed four tight ends to score more than 12 fantasy

06:22 points, including Sam Laporta, who beat him for over 22.

06:26 The matchup's right.

06:27 The volume in terms of the targets is right.

06:29 I'm starting Logan Thomas if I pick them up off the waiver wire based on, of course, Jen's

06:34 advice.

06:35 And then I'm going to start Zach Gertz.

06:36 And I know Zach Gertz has a very low ceiling, but his floor is pretty good.

06:40 It's around eight to 10 points per week.

06:42 He's getting the targets.

06:43 He's playing a lot of snaps.

06:44 The Rams got beat up by Dallas Goddard last week, who, by the way, was his former teammate

06:48 in Philadelphia.

06:49 So Zach Gertz is a low end, tight end one for people who need help.

06:53 And a lot of people do need help at tight end.

06:57 And then you talked about chasing the points with Logan Thomas.

06:59 I don't think you are.

07:00 I think he's set up for success fairly long term.

07:02 He's actually the tight end nine on the season, having only played four games.

07:05 But Dalton Schultz is one you say, don't chase the points.

07:10 I was wrong about him last week.

07:11 He had a good game the week before he had a good game.

07:14 So I think this is going to come crashing down for Dalton Schultz this week against

07:18 the Saints.

07:19 Their defense has been very tough against the tight end position.

07:23 They haven't allowed a player to score more than 10.9 points in a game against them.

07:28 And overall, they've given up the fewest points to tight end.

07:30 So keep that in mind when you're deciding to start or sit Dalton Schultz.

07:34 And then I'm going to sit David Nijoku.

07:36 I can't think of one Cleveland Brown that I had confidence playing this week.

07:39 Not one.

07:40 Not the quarterback.

07:41 Not any of the running backs or the wide receivers.

07:43 Not one.

07:44 Not even Amari Cooper.

07:45 And certainly not David Nijoku.

07:46 The Niners defense has allowed just one touchdown and the eight fewest fantasy points at tight

07:51 ends this season.

07:52 You may want to look elsewhere for fantasy production than Cleveland.

07:56 Not a great matchup against the Niners.

07:58 Well, there you have it, folks.

08:00 News is coming out constantly.

08:02 We've got injuries.

08:03 We've got updates.

08:04 And that's why you should always check SA.com/fantasy for Michael Fabiano's updated start sit list.

08:10 It will be updated on a daily basis.

08:12 Good luck.

08:13 Go crush 'em this weekend.

08:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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