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Week 5 was full of letdowns and explosions from unlikely sources. Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley sleepwalked through a prime matchup, while teammate Mohamed Sanu made the most of his opportunities. Golden Tate and Marvin Jones fell victim to game script and to Kenny Golladay’s dominance. Robby Anderson and Tre’Quan Smith showed what speed and explosiveness can give you if the deep targets are accurate.
This week should feature a couple of bounce back performances from players who didn’t take advantage of good matchups last week. We’re on to Week 6.
WR Rankings - Week 6
Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Notes |
1 | Julio Jones | ATL | TB | He disappointed immensely last week, but we're going back to the well at home against the second-worst pass defense in the league. |
2 | Odell Beckham Jr. | NYG | PHI | Odell against Jalen Mills, arguably the most-burnable CB in the league right now, could be an absolute bloodbath. |
3 | Antonio Brown | PIT | @CIN | "Frustrated" fantasy owners finally got a breakout game from AB and now he gets a CIN defense that is middling at best. |
4 | Adam Thielen | MIN | ARI | Matchups don't matter for the top fantasy football WR. He is beating CBs all over the field. |
5 | Davante Adams | GB | SF | Double digit targets in the RZ and finally broke out yardage-wise. With GB's WR corps banged up/inconsistent, he's a weekly elite option. |
6 | Mike Evans | TB | @ATL | Had two nearly identical games against ATL/Trufant last year, catching a TD in one. ATL is a sieve right now on defense due to injuries. |
7 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | BUF | BUF's boundary CBs are very underrated, but Nuk is on fire and hasn't had a healthy Fuller on the other side taking away looks. |
8 | A.J. Green | CIN | PIT | Haden has had success against Green in the past, but Green has gotten him for a few times on long TDs. Green and Dalton are in sync. |
9 | Emmanuel Sanders | DEN | LAR | Talib is out and Peters is struggling mightily. LAR has gifted 6 TDs to WRs over the last two weeks and an absurd amount of big plays. |
10 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | PIT | @CIN | Leads all WRs in RZ targets by 3. Has gone over 100 yards or scored a TD in all but one game this season. |
11 | Keenan Allen | LAC | @CLE | CLE's pass defense has been hit or miss, but slot WRs have had a lot of success against them so far. Allen needs more EZ looks. |
12 | Stefon Diggs | MIN | ARI | A date against Patrick Peterson is scary, but Diggs is legitimately uncoverable right now and Cousins has targeted him 49 times since W1. |
13 | Jarvis Landry | CLE | LAC | LAC's pass defense has been surprisingly poor and Bosa being out will allow Mayfield to let routes develop. Good news for Landry. |
14 | Robert Woods | LAR | @DEN | DEN's defense is crumbling and Kupp/Cooks might not be ready to play in this game. Either way, Woods is a confident WR2 play. |
15 | Tyreek Hill | KC | NE | Hasn't shown a very high ceiling since a W1 explosion and NE usually schemes to take away an opponent's top weapon. Will that be Hill or Kelce? |
16 | Doug Baldwin | SEA | @OAK | This is probably an aggressive ranking considering his production since returning, but OAK has given up a lot of production to slot WRs. |
17 | Sammy Watkins | KC | @NE | Take out a hamstrung W4 and Watkins has easily cleared double digits over the last four weeks. Has been very efficient with 7-8 targets. |
18 | John Brown | BAL | @TEN | Brown had his worst game of the season last week and still drew 14 targets. TEN has given up some long receptions and Brown is running free. |
19 | Brandin Cooks | LAR | @DEN | DEN's just got exploited for two long TDs against speedster Robby Anderson. Cooks fits the mold. |
20 | Tyler Boyd | CIN | PIT | Boyd ranks in the top 10 among WRs in RZ targets and has commanded 43 targets through 5 weeks. He's the clear #2 optoin with Eifert gone. |
21 | Julian Edelman | NE | KC | Perhaps a safer option rather than upside. NE is likely to have to throw to keep pace on SNF and Edelman has returned as Brady's safety blanket. |
22 | Sterling Shepard | NYG | PHI | Everyone eats when playing the Eagles' pass defense. Shepard has quietly become a reliable FLEX starter over the past three weeks. |
23 | Geronimo Allison | GB | SF | Should be back from a concussion and reclaim his spot as the #2 option in an ascending passing game. Outside of Sherman, SF's CBs are bad. |
24 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | LAR | The efficiency is gross, but LAR has allowed 8 TDs to WRs over the past three games. DT has a chance to find the end zone. |
25 | Cooper Kupp | LAR | @DEN | 2nd in fantasy points among WRs, but this is his toughest test yet. Chris Harris is an All-Pro who makes a living off of shutting down slot WRs. |
26 | Allen Robinson | CHI | @MIA | His target share has been bankable outside of W4, but he scored a TD in that week. A matchup against Howard lowers his ceiling. |
27 | Corey Davis | TEN | BAL | Matchup is far from ideal, but Davis is getting WR1 usage and BAL just allowed a passable amount of production to three CLE WRs. |
28 | Tyler Lockett | SEA | @OAK | OAK has been extremely generous to WRs and given up a ton of big plays through the air. Lockett will get open deep once or twice. |
29 | Chris Godwin | TB | @ATL | ATL's defense has truly fallen apart and Godwin showed some nice chemistry with Jameis at the end of last season. |
30 | Josh Gordon | NE | KC | Though he caught a TD, he played just 20 snaps in W5 and is just a dart throw until his playing time becomes solidified. |
31 | Calvin Ridley | ATL | TB | Was a letdown last week, but is in a prime bounceback spot against the second-worst pass defense in the NFL. |
32 | Alshon Jeffery | PHI | @NYG | Jenkins and Apple have done a really good job of limiting WR production. If you have WRs with better matchups on your bench, take the chance. |
33 | Courtland Sutton | DEN | LAR | In what may turn into a shootout, Sutton is worth a dart throw against a crumbling pass defense. Sutton played more snaps than DT in W5. |
34 | DeSean Jackson | TB | @ATL | He's been more boom than bust this season, but his volume just isn't bankable as anything more than a high-risk WR3. |
35 | Keke Coutee | HOU | BUF | Has jumped Fuller in opportunities as Fuller deals with a hamstring injury. Could be more of the same this week. |
36 | Mohamed Sanu | ATL | TB | Anyone can eat against TB's secondary and Sanu has scored in 2 of the last 3 games and gone for 111 yards in the other. |
37 | Michael Crabtree | BAL | @TEN | Has been overshadowed by Brown (and even Snead to an extent), but has received 40 targets over the past four games. |
38 | Amari Cooper | OAK | SEA | lol @ this guy's inconsistency. |
39 | Robby Anderson | NYJ | IND | Finally got some downfield targets and he made the most of them. We've seen him go on tears before, but the volume just isn't there yet. |
40 | Devin Funchess | CAR | @WAS | Still the Panthers' top WR, but with Olsen coming back and Moore/Samuel developing, his time could be up soon. |
41 | Jordy Nelson | OAK | SEA | It's time to start taking 'ol Jordy seriously, as he has scored a TD in 3 straight weeks. |
42 | Chester Rogers | IND | @NYJ | Plays in the slot often and should avoid Claiborne/Johnson, making him the best bet for fantasy production with T.Y. likely out again. |
43 | Will Fuller | HOU | BUF | It's pretty clear he isn't at 100% yet and it will be tough to know when he is. If you can wait another week, do so with him on your bench. |
44 | Taylor Gabriel | CHI | @MIA | Has seen 7.25 targets per game and was unleashed as a matchup nightmare in W4. MIA is good defensively, though. |
45 | Christian Kirk | ARI | MIN | Preseason chemistry with Rosen has carried over and he's had an 85+ yard game in 2 out of his last 3. |
46 | D.J. Moore | CAR | @WAS | WAS just gave up multiple long plays through the air due to breakdowns and Moore is an explosive WR who can take advantage. |
47 | Quincy Enunwa | NYJ | IND | Appears to be dealing with a hand injury that held him to a goose egg last week. Very risky play if you're in need. |
48 | Antonio Callaway | CLE | LAC | With Higgins out, Callaway should see a few more targets against a defense that has struggled to defend the pass. |
49 | Martavis Bryant | OAK | SEA | Has quietly strung together two straight decent games, but he's still the #3. |
50 | Chris Hogan | NE | KC | Played the most snaps of any NE WR last week, so that's a silver lining. |