Bye weeks are underway across the league, which means fantasy football managers who have been relying on George Pickens or Romeo Doubs will have to go in a different direction at the WR position for their upcoming fantasy matchup.
Here are some of my start/sit options at the WR position for Week 6 of NFL action.
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Which WRs Should You Start in Fantasy This Week?
Tate’s Other Week 6 Start/Sit Options: QBÂ | RB | TE
DJ Moore, Chicago Bears
I’m not sure it is really possible to sit DJ Moore after 230 yards and three touchdowns against the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football.
Last week wasn’t his only big game of the season. He topped the 100-yard mark against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Broncos earlier this year and has found the end zone in three straight games.
Moore is flirting with must-start territory and feels like a great play against the Vikings’ secondary in Week 6.
Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers
Adam Thielen may not be the trendiest name in fantasy football. The Carolina Panthers may be one of the least entertaining offenses to watch in the league.
However, if Thielen continues to see a minimum of eight targets a week and the Panthers keep facing multiple-score-deficit game scripts on a weekly basis, then Thielen feels like a reliable WR2 for fantasy football in 2023.
MORE: PFN Consensus Rankings
Thielen has two games this season where he has caught 11 passes for 100+ yards and a score.
In Week 6, they face the Dolphins, who should put them in another favorable game script for Thielen.
My one concern would be Thielen’s ability to separate against Xavien Howard consistently, but the volume should be there again in Week 6 to make Thielen a quality starting option at the WR position.
Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This pick comes with a bit of an asterisk. If Mike Evans is available for this game against the Lions, Chris Godwin moves more into the low-end WR2 range.
If Evans misses the game due to a hamstring injury, then Godwin immediately jumps into my top 15 this week.
Once Evans sustained a hamstring injury in Week 4, Godwin capitalized on his season-high 11 targets by producing eight catches for 114 yards.
The Detroit Lions offense is coming off of a great performance against the Panthers and should find some success against this Bucs secondary, which means the Bucs should have to rely heavily on Godwin if Evans can’t go.
Which WRs Should You Sit in Fantasy This Week?
Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
The target share continues to be concerning for Terry McLaurin, who has only led his own team in targets in two of the first five games this season.
Commanders quarterback Sam Howell is spreading the ball around quite a bit, which has included bigger roles for Curtis Samuel and Logan Thomas than we originally anticipated heading into the season.
If these trends continue, McLaurin feels more like a boom or bust WR3 than the rock-solid WR2 that we’ve become accustomed to in the past.
Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons passing offense showed signs of life in Week 5. Desmond Ridder posted the first 300-yard passing game of his career, which helped Drake London register season highs in targets (9), receptions (6), and yards (78).
The real question is … do we see this trend continuing? On paper, London has a great matchup against a Commanders’ secondary that has been gouged by DJ Moore, A.J. Brown, and Stefon Diggs in the last three games.
My concerns with drawing those parallels are all three of those receivers are a bit twitchier and produce a lot of yards after the catch (YAC) — all three rank inside in the top 15 for YAC this season — which really isn’t London’s biggest strength.
Does London possess the talent to give this Commanders secondary issues in Week 6? Absolutely. Do we feel confident Ridder can build off of his performance against the Texans? That is where I am a bit skeptical.
I’m going to lean towards this potentially being an outlier performance from Ridder until I see more consistency from him under center.
Trending Searches for WR Start/Sit
Did you know we have a Start/Sit Optimizer here at Pro Football Network?! It’s completely free to use, allowing you to enter up to six players to find the best option to plug into your starting lineup!
It also allows us to see the most popular trending searches, which we’ve jotted some of them down here to help provide some clarity on!
Should You Start Terry McLaurin or Christian Kirk?
Outside of a very disappointing season opener, Christian Kirk has been the most consistent Jacksonville WR by a wide margin. If Zay Jones misses any time after picking another injury in Week 5, then Kirk feels like a solid top-25 play on a weekly basis.
Unfortunately, McLaurin doesn’t feel like he is being featured in this passing offense like in recent years, capping his fantasy ceiling significantly. I’m going with Kirk over McLaurin in Week 6.
Should You Start Chris Godwin or Chris Olave?
Chris Olave has posted back-to-back underwhelming fantasy performances, while Derek Carr has been battling his way through a shoulder injury. Fortunately, Olave is set to face a Houston Texans secondary that just gave up over 300 yards through the air against Desmond Ridder and the struggling Falcons passing offense.
MORE: Fantasy News Tracker
If you could guarantee me that Mike Evans won’t be available against Detroit, I would probably lean toward starting Godwin. However, if Evans is active, he will certainly cap Godwin’s ceiling, which has me leaning toward going with Olave in this situation.
