This is the Fantasy Nerd's look at the best and worst matchups for Week 6 of the 2022 NFL season. Analysis is aggregated from multiple sources including FN. Rankings are based upon PPR (point per reception) scoring. Given the known conditions, these matchups are the ones to watch and/or avoid.
Please Note: This list does not generally include the elite players that you are going to start regardless of matchup. You don't need us to tell you to start Jonathan Taylor, Travis Kelce, or Cooper Kupp. Instead, we take a look at other players on your team that we believe either have great matchups or should be avoided for multiple reasons. Factors like opposing defense, performance trending, and peer comparisons may influence our decisions.
Start 'em Geno Smith (SEA, QB)One of the better surprises this year has been Geno Smith who has tossed multiple scores in every game this season with the exception of Week 2. He's currently the 6th-best fantasy QB after five weeks and has another great matchup with the Cardinals who rank in the Top 10 for points given up to the QB position.
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9th Most Pts to QB
Start 'em Tom Brady (TB, QB)Tom Brady has been throwing...a lot. He has back to back games of 50 throws and at least 351 yards passing. The Bucs may struggle running the ball against the Steelers, but they can be thrown on. Josh Allen put up 35 points against them last week and Jacoby Brissett put up almost 18 the week prior. Look for Brady to deliver somewhere in between.
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7th Most Pts to QB
Start 'em Kirk Cousins (MIN, QB)Kirk Cousins is ranked just inside our Top 12 this week making him a fringe QB1 largely because the matchup is so nice. Miami is one of the Top 5 most-generous defenses on QBs this year. Lamar Jackson had a monster day against them to the tune of 42 points back in Week 2. Joe Burrow put up 20 points just two weeks later. Look for lots of Justin Jefferson in this one.
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5th Most Pts to QB
Start 'em Rhamondre Stevenson (NE, RB)We're expecting Damien Harris to miss Week 6, so it's Rhamondre Stevenson time! After racking up 161 yards on 25 carries last week, fantasy owners are hopeful for another big day against a Cleveland defense allowing the fourth-most fantasy points on the year. Austin Ekeler just tore them up to the tune of 35.9 fantasy points last week.
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4th Most Pts to RB
Start 'em Kenneth Walker (SEA, RB)There was plenty of speculation about how this backfield was going to operate back in August, but now that Rashaad Penny is out for the season, we're going to see what Kenneth Walker can do as the top option. The matchup isn't great, but volume and opportunity make him worthy of a flex play this week.
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12th Fewest Pts to RB
Start 'em Breece Hall (NYJ, RB)While it may be difficult to pass on the Packers, the Green and Gold are very much middle-of-the-pack against the run, and we've watched Breece Hall's usage in this offense increase every single week. After putting up a monster 27 fantasy point day in Week 5, look for Hall to exploit the Packers front in this one.
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15th Fewest Pts to RB
Start 'em Mike Williams (LAC, WR)Mike Williams has delivered at least 113 yards in three games this season. Without Keenan Allen suiting up, Williams was the top option in the Chargers passing attack seeing 13 targets. A matchup against Denver is not pretty, but he has the volume and efficiency to keep him in your lineups. Herbert has shown that he will find a way to get Williams involved.
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3rd Fewest Pts to WR
Start 'em Chris Godwin (TB, WR)The Bucs continue to ease Godwin back into action and this should be a nice week for him to outperform his back-to-back 12 point weeks. There's no doubt that this is a great matchup for him as we watched both Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs absolutely own the Steelers last week. Seems oddly familiar when looking at Mike Evans and Chris Godwin...
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Most pts to WR
Start 'em Jakobi Meyers (NE, WR)Jakobi Meyers found the endzone for the first this season while also racking up 111 yards in the process. It's not the most favorable matchup but Meyers appears to be the top option for the Pats and remains a nice WR3/Flex option for fantasy owners.
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14th Fewest Pts to WR
Start 'em Tyler Higbee (LAR, TE)Tyler Higbee has been on a roll lately seeing 24 targets over the past two weeks. Keep him locked in as he's delivered double-digit fantasy points every week except for the season opener. He's also been very consistent delivering his average of 12.4 fantasy points each week. Keep him locked into your lineup.
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13th Fewest Pts to TE
Start 'em George Kittle (SF, TE)Normally, we wouldn't put George Kittle on the Start list as it's assumed that you'll be starting him, but after five weeks, he's the 35th-ranked fantasy TE. Fortunately, we're anticipating a nice bounce back week against the Falcons. Kittle should be able to produce double-digit points for the first time this year.
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5th Most Pts to TE
Start 'em Los Angeles Rams (LAR, DEF)With Baker out, P.J. Walker in, and a coaching change, the Panthers are in turmoil. This is an opportune time to start the Rams defense. They've been firing on all cylinders over their previous three games and should take advantage of this matchup.
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3rd Most Pts to DEF
Start 'em Justin Tucker (BAL, K)Our top ranked kicker this week is an industry veteran who has consistently put up double-digit points in three of five games this season. Fresh off a visit to the NBC Today Show, Justin Tucker is living up to fantasy expectations and should produce another fine stat line against the Giants.
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3rd Most Pts to K
Sit 'em Cooper Rush (DAL, QB)We're not counting on Dak Prescott being available (still struggling to grip the football), so it should be Cooper Rush under center again. While he's done an admirable job in Prescott's absence, he's not startable this week against a Philly defense surrendering the 6th-fewest fantasy points.
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6th Fewest Pts to QB
Sit 'em Zach Wilson (NYJ, QB)Zach Wilson has averaged 16.7 points in his two games back. While he's got plenty of surrounding talent, don't count on Wilson being able to put up fantasy relevant numbers against the Packers this week. Teams have been able to run on Green Bay, but their secondary has been effective at keeping QBs in check.
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8th Fewest Pts to QB
Sit 'em Matt Ryan (IND, QB)Did you know that Matty Ice is on pace for a record season? Seriously. At his current pace, he's likely to lock up the most fumbles in one season by a QB. Don't be surprised to see him struggle against the Jaguars as they have kept elite QBs like Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert to under 16 points. When Matt Ryan faced Jacksonville back in Week 2, he managed just 1.8 fantasy points. Ugh.
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9th Fewest Pts to QB
Sit 'em J.K. Dobbins (BAL, RB)Dobbins disappointed fantasy owners last week putting up just 4.4 fantasy points. He saw just 8 rushing attempts, and without a bump in volume, he's going to struggle to be fantasy relevant. Big Blue kept Derrick Henry to just 8 points and Aaron Jones to just 10 points (PPR).
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9th Fewest Pts to RB
Sit 'em Tyler Allgeier (ATL, RB)Tyler Allgeier led the Atlanta backfield in carries last week, but it's difficult to start any Atlanta back against the Niners this week. With the exception of Christian McCaffrey last week, San Francisco has kept every starting RB to single digits which is exactly where we anticipate Allgeier to end up.
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5th Fewest Pts to RB
Sit 'em Antonio Gibson (WAS, RB)With Brian Robinson back, the question marks surrounding Antonio Gibson are back. After seeing at least 12 carries per game with Robinson out, Gibson was handed the ball just three times last week. Even in a plus matchup, we're not confident that he'll see enough volume to be anything but a low-end flex option.
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8th Most Pts to RB
Sit 'em JuJu Smith-Schuster (KC, WR)It is frustrating to see what JuJu Smith-Schuster has produced in one of the most prolific offenses. His biggest game this season produced just 13.9 points. He's averaging just 9 points each game, so a touch matchup with the Bills doesn't seem like the time where he's going to break out. He's still startable, but he's no more than a low-end WR3/flex for this game.
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8th Fewest Pts to WR
Sit 'em Michael Gallup (DAL, WR)Michael Gallup returned in Week 4 and managed to find the endzone. Without that score, it would have been a disappointing day. He is averaging three targets each game as the Cowboys continue to get him acclimated. We're not counting on him being able to deliver for fantasy owners on Sunday night against a tough Eagles defense.
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12th Most Pts to WR
Sit 'em Allen Robinson (LAR, WR)Allen Robinson continues to play second fiddle in this offense. It's not surprising to see Cooper Kupp as the top option (fully expected), but Robinson just isn't as involved as we'd like to see. He's seeing an average 4.6 targets per game but hasn't made much of those targets producing a paltry 5.7 points per game. He seems to be competing with Ben Skowronek for some of those targets so the outlook for ARob isn't particularly bright.
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14th Most Pts to WR
Sit 'em Tyler Conklin (NYJ, TE)Fantasy owners who picked up Tyler Conklin were left dealing with the big doughnut that he produced last week. Conklin has been the 12th-best fantasy TE on the season so far, so perhaps last week's performance was just a blip. He could bounce back against Green Bay but the Packers have largely kept TEs in check.
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4th Fewest Pts to TE
Sit 'em Hunter Henry (NE, TE)With Jonnu Smith missing time last week, Hunter Henry saw a season high targets (5) and almost put up 10 fantasy points. With Smith likely back, that dents Henry's value but not as much as the matchup. Even if Henry were the only TE, he'd be a difficult start against the Browns who allow the second fewest fantasy points to the position.
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2nd Fewest Pts to TE
Sit 'em Buffalo Bills (BUF, DEF)Normally the Bills defense is a must-start each week, but a matchup with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs means that you'll need to stream another defense. Nobody surrenders fewer fantasy points to opposing defenses than the Chiefs.
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Feweset Pts to DEF
Sit 'em Chris Boswell (PIT, K)We felt sorry for Chris Boswell watching his missed FG last week. He's a good kicker and has been consistent with his points each week, but it's tough to get excited for him against the Bucs who have not allowed a kicker to get more than 5 fantasy points all season.
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4th Fewest Pts to K
