Week 6 and another week of fantasy football is in the books. We’re now at the halfway point through our fantasy regular season, and you’re likely starting to see some clear separations in your leagues to determine who’s making the run for the money, and who’s in the loser’s bracket.

Now, I admit I haven’t been perfect with the fantasy advice but I don’t think anyone has. This year is simply NOT turning out the way it was supposed to. Everything on paper looks great, stars align, and projections are high, but then it comes to game time and all hell breaks loose.

It’s absolutely the strangest fantasy football season I’ve ever seen. Michael Thomas was my No. 1 pick in all 3 of my leagues, and he’s been a dud. Saquon Barkley is out for the season. Dak Prescott is out for the season. Julio Jones doesn’t show up until last week. There’s only about 5 quarterbacks you can actually depend on.

Everyone is dealing with COVID opt outs, injuries, suspensions, and so much more. When one player goes down, you naturally go to their handcuff, but then wouldn’t you guess it.....they perform poorly.

I digress. Let’s get into our starter recap from week 6.

Starter Recap

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I suggested Andy Dalton, “The Red Rifle,” as a viable quarterback starter. He was given the keys to a really talented offense after the horrific injury to Dak Prescott. He has Ezekiel Ellott, the No. 2 ranked back in fantasy points. He also has Amari Cooper with a No. 5 PRK, and CeeDee Lamb who has an 11 PRK at his position. I mean......how do you not start him with that kind of talent?

Dalton is new to the system in Dallas. He’s had limited reps with the one’s, and he’s at a disadvantage dealing with an injury-ravaged offensive line. I did disclaimer that he shouldn’t be started over other must-start quarterbacks, but he could still be a viable backup. Last week he scored 11 FPTS with 266 yards in the air, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions.

I honestly think he’ll get his legs under him again. He has too good of weapons for fantasy owners to ignore. He’s currently only on 24% of rosters, 14% less than last week. Pick him up now while you can and stash him. He could possibly carry you through your fantasy playoffs if things start lining up better.

Turning to the spotlight on our starting running back pick for week 6, I went with Carolina’s Mike Davis. This was an unexpected dud from my perspective. He may not have been as effective because of an apparently ankle injury he sustained during the week 6 bout with the Bears. He was seen limping off the field a few times last week, and he’s been in a green non-contact jersey this week at practice. He’s been an active participant each day so he still looks good to go for week 7 against the Saints.

Davis scored a pitiful 11 FPTS on 56 yards on the ground and 3 yards in the air on 2 receptions. If it weren’t for the 1 touchdown, it would’ve been much worst. He’s still a viable starter heading into week 7 though, so don’t discount him. Don’t turn your back on him though. As long as McCaffrey remains on IR, Davis is a sure starter. He’s currently projected to score 17.4 FPTS in week 7.

My wide receiver starter pick was Philadelphia Eagles Travis Fulgham. Fulgham has been stellar on an otherwise very poor offense. Wentz hasn’t been on point, but lately has been coming around. Maybe that’s due to the injuries to his key guys Jackson, Jeffery and Reagor. I think his turnaround is attributed to his new favorite connection.

The Old Dominion product scored a solid 19 FPTS with 75 yards on 6/10 receptions and 1 touchdown. He’s been bumped up to 34th PRK and scoring in line with the likes of Emmanuel Sanders, Tee Higgins, Jarvis Landry and even Julio Jones. All of which have WR2 fantasy value.

I don’t think many fantasy owners are realizing this guy’s potential and scoring ability. Go pick him up now. He’s only on 47% of the rosters. He is likely the No. 1 sleeper pick right now. If I don’t see him tick up over 70% of rosters by next week, I’ll be surprised. I picked him up two weeks ago, and he’s been the difference maker for me in winning my matches.

For my tight end starter pick, I went with Chicago Bears red zone threat Jimmy Graham. Unfortunately Graham didn’t have a huge break out game for fantasy owners last week. That’s ok though. He was only one touchdown away from doing so. He had the second most targets thrown his way, but Foles just couldn’t get much going in terms of passing yards at all that game.

Graham caught 5/8 receptions for 34 yards resulting in 8 FPTS. He currently holds a TE6 PRK believe it or not. He’s only on 64% of rosters and he could be looked at as a sleeper tight end as you make your push through the second half of your fantasy season into your league’s playoff. Just saying his points pattern is up and down each week consistently. So, if that trend continues he’s in line for a better game in week 7 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Now let’s take a look at who you should start or sit in week 7.

Quarterback

Start: Matthew Stafford (QB22), Detroit Lions (@ Atlanta Falcons)

I’m going with fantasy football analyst from NFL.com, Adam Rank, on this one. I like this start pick as it’s more of a matchup opportunity than anything else. I don’t think many fantasy owners have given Stafford much respect since returning after his injury. He hasn’t really seen true QB1 numbers since he lost Calvin Johnson to retirement if we’re being honest with ourselves.

Let’s take a look at the matchup though. Rank reported that the Falcons defense has allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. 5 out of 6 of those quarterbacks scored over 20 FPTS against them. Rank continued with adding to his analysis of Stafford that they allowed 28 FPTS to Kirk Cousins even after picking him off 3 times! I think that’s grounds for playing Stafford.

He’s thrown over 200 yards in each of his games. If it weren’t for the constant INTs each game, he’d be scoring a lot higher. Undeniably, he can move the chains and get down the field as long as he’s taking care of the ball. He scored 25 FPTS against a decent New Orleans defense in week 4. Atlanta has the worst defense in the NFC right now, so I think he can take it to em. Start Stafford if you got him!

Sit: Ryan Tannehill (QB6), Tennessee Titans (vs. Pittsburgh Steelers)

I’m actually going against Adam Rank on this one. I actually do think the Steelers are as imposing as it would seem. They are keeping offenses honest, and allowing Big Ben to stay on the field to do their thing to win games. Steelers have at least one interception and 4.8 average sacks per game.

This is another matchup pick here. If you own Tannehill, I encourage you to sit him if you can afford it. I totally understand he’s on fire right now, and he’s been racking up some major fantasy points for owners. I actually own him and Burrow in a deep league and I’m still rolling the dice on Tannehill as the better option between the two. So, he does have some trump value depending on who you have available on your lineups or waiver wire. I just don’t like the matchup is all.

Running Back

Start: Ronald Jones (RB13), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@ Las Vegas Raiders)

Of course I have to post a Buccaneer in here. This is my bonafied locked in starter pick for week 7. I have Rojo in 2 of my leagues, and he’s been stellar, even aggainst some of the best rushing defenses in the league.

Jones has his third 100+ yard game in 6 weeks. he’s proven he can carry the load in the Tampa Bay backfield, even when Leonard Fournette returns. McCoy and Vaughn would still be used on passing down situations, and Fournette would play relief and 4th quarter closer barring he’s healthy.

Rojo scored 25 FPTS last week against the Packers. He scored 2 touchdowns and carried for 23 times for 113 yards. He’s the number one ranked running back in yards after contact with an average of 3.3 yards. Derrick Henry has average of 3.1 yards after contact.

Jones can certainly have another amazing performance against a favorable matchup against the Raiders who have allowed the second most fantasy points per game to running backs this season.

Sit: Devin Singletary (RB28), Buffalo Bills (@ New York Jets)

The Bills played the Chiefs on Monday Night Football last week. The Chiefs were a perfect matchup to start Singletary allowing an average of 4.7 yards per carry. However, if you did, you were left hanging your head. He ended the game with a miserable 5 fantasy points. He carried 10 times for 32 yards and no touchdowns.

None of the analysts were really high on Singletary at the beginning of the season favoring Zach Moss instead, but he even ended up being a complete dud with his injuries and inexperience.

The Buffalo offense is one of the best in the league right now. When they have Singletary carrying the rock and catching, he’s able to rack up some decent points. He’s been in the double digits in 50% of his matchups. I just think this week there are better options, but if you only need 8-10 points, leave him in as your Flex.

Wide Receiver

Start: Tee Higgins (WR30), Cincinnati Bengals (vs. Cleveland Browns)

Tee Higgins, really? Look, I’m not coming out to Bucs Nation fantasy owners and telling you all that Higgins is the next OBJ in his prime, nor will I say he should be considered a top 10 receiving option.......yet. But, what I am saying is that he is likely the true successor to A.J. Green as the top receiving option in Cincinnati.

Kay Adams of NFL Network had Higgins listed as one of her top sleepers on GMFB (Good Morning Football) for this week. That’s why I had to echo her pick here and come out and say that he’s absolutely a viable receiving option and fantasy owners should not sleep on this guy.

He’s only on 60% of rosters right now, so he’s sitting on a lot of waiver wires right now. He’s scored double digit fantasy points in his last 4 consecutive games. He’s coming off of his first 100+ yard receiving game with 125 yards. It’s apparent that Burrow has found his go-to guy and you should pick him up and start him, at least as a Flex if not your WR2 option. He’s projected to score 13 points against a vulnerable Browns secondary.

Sit: Jerry Jeudy (WR52), Denver Broncos (vs. Kansas City Chiefs)

There are 66% of fantasy owners out there waiting for Jerry Jeudy to start lighting up the score board. Well, I think you’ll be waiting a whole lot longer. I’m not sure if the rookie will be able to anything this year. He’s skilled, but he’s learning.

It’s a tough spot to put a rookie in. With Courtland Sutton out on IR, it’s all on him and Tim Patrick to carry the load. Speaking of, based on the trends I see, I think Patrick will likely get more of the looks. So, I’m going to agree with Adam Rank on this one too. Bench Jeudy as those of you that do own him were likely going to do anyway. If you can swap him out and claim Patrick, you may want to consider that as an option. There are about 51 other better options to go with this week.

Tight End

Start: T.J. Hockenson (TE12), Detroit Lions (@ Atlanta Falcons)

For the exact same reasons why you’re starting Matthew Stafford, you will want to start T.J. Hockenson. The Falcons defense is ranked 30th in the league against tight ends. They’ve allowed an average of 24 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, so this can’t get any better for Hockenson owners.

Hockenson is another sleeper pick. He’s only on 78% of rosters out there, so he can still be claimed. Similarly to Jimmy Graham, he is touchdown dependent, but he has been one of Stafford’s favorite red zone targets. He’s projected to score 9 fantasy points, but I think if you add a touchdown in there, he can get you closer to 15 with this ideal matchup.

Sit: George Kittle (TE2), San Francisco 49’ers (@ New England Patriots)

I know, I know. “Jason, you have no clue what you’re talking about now. That’s insane to bench the best tight end in the league.” Well, sometimes you just have to realize when it is and when it is not their week to get points. The hardest thing to do for any fantasy owner is to bench a no. 1, even with a crappy matchup.

The Niners are going up against the 5th best team against opposing tight ends. The Patriots held opposing tight ends to an average of 7.4 fantasy points per game. Many of you are probably ok with Kittle getting that few of points, but that’s certainly not why I spent a high 2nd or 3rd round pick to get him, especially after he just came off of a 23 fantasy point game.

The projections may be misleading here (projected for 15 pts), so I’m throwing out the caution flags. Play him if you don’t have a solid backup, or keep him in as a flex option even. He was up with his score last week, so if his trend continues then this is the week he’ll be down and sit closer to the 7 point mark. Hopefully you have Andrews or Waller as your backup.