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Monday, October 19, 2020
We've got another doubleheader tonight, and countless Fantasy games are on the line with the star-loaded Chiefs, Bills, Cowboys, and Cardinals on the schedule. In some leagues, you might still have most of your starting lineup left to go - I've got at least one with six players left to play - which means there's still a lot of story left to tell for Week 6. 
But there's a lot you still need to know about from Sunday's 12 games, too. We've got big injuries to cover — most notably to Miles Sanders, who will miss at least Week 7 with a knee injury — plus the biggest winners and losers and key storylines from each game on the schedule. 
As you get ready to watch some early evening football with the Chiefs and Bills set to kick off at 5 p.m. EST, catch up on everything you need to know from Week 6 with my recap of each game, Heath Cummings' take on the biggest storylines, and my early look at the Week 7 waiver wire
We'll have Jamey Eisenberg's full waiver-wire priorities list for you Tuesday, but here's an early look at my top options for the week:
  1. Boston Scott (19% rostered) 
  2. Giovani Bernard (20%)
  3. Tim Patrick (39%)
  4. Jamycal Hasty (0%)
  5. J.D. McKissic (29%)
  6. James Washington (10%)
  7. Lamical Perine (26%)
  8. Gus Edwards (18%) 
  9. Trey Burton (21%)
Sanders' injury is the key one, and it will keep him out at least one week, but we'll also be watching for news on Joe Mixon (foot), Raheem Mostert (ankle), and Mark Ingram (ankle) to see if they might have to miss time as well. Their replacements are all listed here, and Bernard would be the clear priority after Scott if Mixon is out. 
I break down every game on the schedule every week, focusing on the biggest winners and losers and something you might have missed if you weren't watching the game. Here are my biggest winners and losers from Sunday's games:
  • D'Andre Swift — The Lions are still using three running backs every week, but in Week 6 at least, Swift forced them to use him as the top option. He led the team in snaps (41%) en route to a career game, rushing for 116 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns, while adding three catches on as many targets for 7 yards. Adrian Peterson technically led the Lions with 15 carries, and Kerryon Johnson still got five touches, but Swift is making it awfully tough to justify spreading the ball out like this moving forward. He's been the team's most dynamic playmaker as a receiver out of the backfield, and dominated on the ground Sunday, including for two close-in touchdowns. I'm not going to predict this is the start of Swift taking over the backfield, but it should be. 
  • Matt Ryan — I hoped things would get better for Ryan with Julio Jones' return, and that's exactly what happened. He carved up the Vikings defense early and often, throwing for 371 yards and four touchdowns — Ryan entered Week 6 with just one score in his previous three games. Jones looked healthier than I expected in this one, and he was a tide who lifted all boats. As long as Jones is healthy, Ryan will remain worth starting, including in an upcoming stretch against the Lions, Panthers and Broncos. 
  • Travis Fulgham — He didn't quite go for a repeat of his Week 5 breakout, but Fulgham backed it up about as well as you could have hoped. He matched for the team lead with 10 targets and posted a team-best six catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. He has 18 catches for 287 yards and three touchdowns over his past three games, and while it remains to be seen what Fulgham's role will look like when Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson return from injury, he'll be in the WR3 discussion for Thursday's game against the Giants. 
  • Baker Mayfield — Maybe, like Jimmy Garoppolo last week, Mayfield just wasn't healthy and shouldn't have been out there, but he was atrocious Sunday, completing 10 of 18 for 119 yards, one touchdown and a pair of interceptions before being replaced by Case Keenum. Mayfield probably didn't do enough to actually put his job at risk, and this Steelers defense has probably made several quarterbacks wish they had sat out already this season, but this was another troubling game for Mayfield. He has two interceptions in each of his past two games, and continues to struggle to make a connection with Odell Beckham, especially. It's just hard to get excited about this offense right now. 
  • David Johnson — He's still getting nearly all of the rushing work, and it's not like Duke Johnson is taking a significant amount of passing down's work. There just aren't many targets going to running backs in this offense. In Week 6, it was just four targets between the two of them, and Johnson doesn't have more than two catches in a game since Week 1. You're probably starting him most weeks, but unless the Texans decide to use him as a receiver more, he's just a low-upside No. 2 back. 
  • T.Y. Hilton — I've been looking for reasons to remain optimistic about Hilton, and we get some more Sunday as he had a touchdown called back by a penalty. However, he had just one catch for 11 yards officially, and has fewer than 60 yards in five of six games — and five or fewer targets in four of six. At some point, you have to actually produce, and Hilton just isn't doing it. You can let him go.  
Every week, Heath holds some of the biggest narratives in the NFL up to the microscope to see if you should buy into them. Here are the biggest storylines for Week 6 and whether you should believe in them:
"Derrick Henry is the most valuable player in non-PPR leagues."
  • Heath's verdict: "Believe it. Henry was off to a 'slow start' in his first four games. That slow start had him averaging 102.5 total yards per game with four scores in four games. He broke out in Week 5 with his third 200-yard game since the start of the 2018 season. That matches the rest of the NFL combined. Henry's unique size/speed combo fits perfectly in the unique offensive situation in Tennessee."
  • My verdict: Don't believe it. Or, at the very least, I don't think we learned anything new to change my opinion on Henry one way or the other. He's a special player, and if you're talking about trade value, he might be the best back in non-PPR for the rest of the season if only because he already had his bye. However, we had concerns about his usage coming into the season, and now he's on pace for 393 carries, 90 more than he had last season. Can anyone stand up to that kind of usage? 
"Justin Jefferson is a must-start wide receiver."
  • Heath's verdict: "Believe it. I do believe Jefferson is still behind Adam Thielen in the pecking order and there will certainly be weeks Minnesota doesn't throw enough for both of them to be good. But much like Will Fuller pre-2020, it's just very difficult to leave this type of upside on your bench. Ever. "
  • My verdict: Believe it. Jefferson won't be great every week, but trying to figure out when he will hit and when he won't will be too much of a headache to bother trying. That means you should either try to trade him now or just ride the ups and downs, and I'd prefer to do the latter. Jefferson is an explosive player who is thriving in the Stefon Diggs role for the Vikings, which means there is the potential for a big play every week given his downfield role. The highs could carry you to a victory in any given week, a lot like how A.J. Brown played last season. 
 
 
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