Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan only threw for 285 yards and a single, measly, touchdown in Week 4. I had counted on Ryan to keep pace with Ben Roeghlisberger and the Steelers' defense. Matty Ice didn't do that. The Steelers scored 41 points while Ryan and Atlanta scored 17.
Although Ryan played disappointingly in Week 5, he shows up on my NFL Week 6 DraftKings Team. I can't drop Matty Ice because he gets a shot to shred the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense. I go deeper into why that'll happen along with providing insight into this week's DraftKings Classic squad.
NFL Week 6 DraftKings Classic Team
QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons, $6,800
I hope the Matt Ryan from Week 3 and Week 4 shows up instead of the Matt Ryan that showed up in Week 5. Matty Ice played out of his mind in Week 3 against the rival New Orleans Saints. He completed over 74% of his passes for 374 yards. He threw 5 touchdowns. In Week 4, Ryan threw for 419 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ryan should get back to his over 350 passing yards and 3 to 5 touchdown self in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers' defense has been a mess this season. It's been horrendous against the pass. Before their Week 5 bye, the Bucs gave up 6 TD passes to Chicago quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
Tampa allows 358 passing yards per game. As you might expect, that ranks dead last in the NFL. Ryan should torch Tampa on Sunday.
RB Isaiah Crowell, New York Jets, $5,000
Crowell had a fantastic game in Week 5. Facing a good Denver Broncos' defense, Crowell carried the ball 15 times for 219 yards. He also rushed for a TD. There's a chance Crowell returns to his Week 4 performance, 4 attempts for 0 yards, but in Week 4 the Jets played the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 6, the Jets play the Indianapolis Colts.
Indy's defense is better this season than anyone thought it would be. It's still not great, though. The Colts allow 106.8 rushing yards per game on average. New England running back Sony Michel rushed for 98 yards from 18 attempts versus the Colts.
If Michel could rush for that many yards, how many yards (and how many TDs!) can Crowell rush for? Fingers crossed, Crowell has another monster game.
RB Phillip Lindsey, Denver Broncos, $4,500
Lindsey averages 5.8 yards per carry, which is why it's so difficult to understand why the Broncos don't lean more on the former Colorado Buffalo. Maybe, this is the game, against the L.A. Rams, where Denver commits to handing the ball off to Lindsey as much as they can.
The Rams give up 106.8 rushing yards per. Seattle rushed for 190 yards against the Rams. If the Broncos don't rush the football, they'll lose by 30. If the Broncos rush the football with success, they could upset L.A. Denver should involve Lindsey as much as they can if they hope to have any shot of beating the undefeated Rams on Sunday.
WR Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers, $8,700
AB's stepped it up big time in the Steelers last couple of games. Against Baltimore, Brown caught 5 passes for 62 yards and a TD. In Week 5, he caught 6 passes for 101 yards and 2 TDs.
Brown has caught a TD pass in Pittsburgh's last 4 games. This Sunday, the Steelers battle the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals allow 296 passing yards per game. Roethlisberger knows that if Pittsburgh wants to win, they must beat Cincy's pass defense. Don't be surprised if Big Ben targets AB 15 to 16 times in their battle with Cincinnati on Oct. 14.
WR Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks, $5,100
Seattle got its rushing attack going in Week 5. It's hard to see Seattle rushing the ball that well in two straight games. More importantly, Oakland's secondary is terrible while the Raiders can't pressure opposing quarterbacks.
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson should throw a couple of strikes to Tyler Lockett. With his speed, Lockett can take any pass he catches to the house.
WR Mohamed Sanu, Atlanta Falcons, $4,800
I know what you're thinking. Why not pair Julio Jones with Matt Ryan? If you don't pair Jones with Ryan, why not pair Calvin Ridley with Ryan? First, Julio Jones has a ridiculous $7,900 salary in Week 6. Second, Calvin Ridley's salary isn't much better at $6,300.
Although Ryan will throw to Julio and Calvin, he'll also throw to Mohamed. Sanu's caught 20 passes for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns. He caught 6 passes for 111 yards versus Cincinnati in Week 4. In Week 5, he caught 4 passes for 75 yards and a TD. He's trending up while Tampa's only hope is to contain both Ridley and Julio. Maybe, Sanu gets 3 TD catches on Sunday.
TE Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons, $3,500
Ryan targeted Austin Hooper 12 times in the loss to the Steelers. Hooper caught 9 of those targets for 77 yards. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 2, but Tampa Bay ranks 31st versus opposing tight-ends.
Atlanta offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and Matt Ryan are both great at game planning around an opponent's weakness. Sarkisian should put together a game plan that involves Austin Hooper. The salary, less than $4,000, also makes Hooper an attractive addition.
Flex – RB Melvin Gordon III, L.A. Chargers, $8,200
Gordon's averaging 26.7 fantasy football points per game. More importantly? Outside of Todd Gurley and his $10,000 salary, Gordon's got the best shot of the top-tier running backs to rack up fantasy points. The Cleveland Browns have a decent defense. Raider running back Marshawn Lynch rushed for 130 yards on 20 carries in Week 4, though.
Lynch also caught 3 of 5 targets for 27 yards. The Bolts have made an effort to throw the football to Gordon as well as hand it off to him. When Gordon has success, the Chargers win football games. They'll get Melvin as much involved as they can on Sunday.
DST – Chicago Bears, $3,300
At a $3,800 salary, the Minnesota Vikings are too rich to add to my team even though they battle the Arizona Cardinals. Also, Arizona quarterback Josh Rosen doesn't make a lot of mistakes. At $3,600, the Jaguars are also too rich to add to my team. Jacksonville should have more success against Dallas' offense than they did versus the Chiefs' offense in Week 5, though.
I'm also not in love with the Houston Texans at $3,500 versus the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen has played well while the Texans battled the Cowboys into overtime in Week 5.
That leaves the Chicago Bears against the Miami Dolphins. Miami's offense has hit a cement roadblock. The Fins were good for 7 points against the Patriots in Week 4. In Week 5, Miami only scored 17 against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.
Chicago should force Dolphins' quarterback Ryan Tannehill into at least 2 interceptions while the Bears could hold the Fins to 10 to 14 points. I like Da Bears as my Week 6 defense.
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