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.
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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]