Week 6 Takeaways – Razzball Fantasy Football

Jefferson is taking a few weeks and asked me to handle this column for him. I’ll try not to let him and you down.

Week 6 is mostly in the books, except for tonight’s game, which I’ll be enjoying at a local watering hole not terribly far from the game site with some of my longest-tenured friends. Although at this point they qualify as part of the family I chose. Enjoy the game with family. I recommend it.

There is LOTS to sort through, so let’s look at the fantasy performers. But first:

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Quarterbacks

• Player: Trevor Lawrence
• Game: vs. Texans
• Stats: 306 passing yards, 11 rushing yards, 4 total TDs

I was delighted by things I did not consider going into the game. “With the quality of the two defenses, this would not be an entertaining, high-scoring game” was wrong; and “A game in London would not be an entertaining, high-scoring game” was also wrong. This was Lawrence’s 4th QB1 finish in six games. The floor can be low (see the results at Denver in Week 2 and at Cincinnati in Week 4), but he’s currently QB 3 (likely 4 after Monday night). If he starts approaching his high-level rushing years (2021-23, 2025), he will not be cheap again. People will need a Week 7 replacement as the Jags have their bye week before playing in the U.S. again. But the remaining schedule is VERY positive. This one’s partly for Jefferson, who can’t figure out that, being from Texas, someone asking “Are you a Cowboys fan?” is not a strange question to ask him.

Notables:

Tyler Shough Yes, Week 5 WAS a disaster. And this is a fantasy column; I’m not interested in the team’s results except in relation to the player. This was Shough’s third game of 30+ points (in 6-pt. passing TD leagues) despite only 144 passing yards. He now has 14 total TDs on the season. I think the Week 7 game in Paris against the Steelers should be a good barometer of if the Vikings game was a blip or if we should be concerned about the Saints versus better defenses. Their bye is in Week 8.

Michael Penix is proof that garbage time can be the best time for QBs. After going down 31-7 in the fourth quarter, then turning the ball over on downs on their own 39, the defense picked up the offense on the next Bears possession by sacking Caleb Williams on the first play and forcing a punt. On the ensuing Atlanta possession, Penix went 7 of 8 in leading a 91-yard TD drive, then converting a 2 to close the gap to 31-15. The next Chicago drive ended in a fumble, and Penix covered 57 yards by going 3 of 4, throwing in a one-yard scramble and converting another 2 that closed the gap to 31-23. Sadly, Penix fumbled on a sack to end Atlanta’s final possession, closing the storybook. This was only Penix’s second three-TD game, and will be his highest finish for a week to date. He hasn’t put up large enough numbers to roster in 1-QB leagues unless he turns in more efforts like this one.

Drake Maye Wait, didn’t I talk about this guy last week? Why, yes, yes I did. Glowingly in fact. Well, this week he’s back, and his performance against a solid defense rekindles hope that he may rejoin the higher echelon of fantasy QBs. This will likely be his third straight top-5 week of the season, and the schedule is friendly before the Week 11 bye. If he passes the Week 9 test against the visiting Packers, he’ll likely make us feel like he’s “set it and forget it,” which was the price demanded in most drafts.

C.J. Stroud will likely finish as a top-5 option for the second time in three weeks. He’s still a QB2/bye week fill-in in 1-QB leagues, but if he displays this quality much longer, he’ll need to be rostered in all leagues. This was his third 300-yard game of 2026. He has yet to crack 24 passing TDs in a season, but at the pace he’s on, he should do that this season, and he’s also on a pace to eclipse his career high in passing yards (4,108). While he threw an interception yesterday, it was his first of the season. He will be tested in the five weeks following the bye, but he can put the Cincinnati game in Week 2 firmly in the rearview if he performs at the level he’s displayed in the last three weeks.

Bo Nix is my fantasy QB dud of the week. I hate to pick on the same guy repeatedly, but for a guy who finished seventh among fantasy QBs each of his first two seasons, he seems determined to prove the pre-season naysayers right. He has four sub-200-yard passing games this season, and 107 on Thursday night was his second-lowest of his career. He’s unrosterable in 1-QB leagues at this point; let a leaguemate fall on this grenade if they like.

Running Backs

• Player: Kenneth Walker III
• Game: vs. Chargers
• Stats: 19 carries, 128 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 11 receiving yards, 2 TDs

Walker may not be the fantasy MVP – that would be Jahmyr Gibbs at this point – but Walker is certainly the best value at RB. He’s finished no lower than RB 7 in weekly scoring this season and has had 20+ points in base PPR every week. Patrick Mahomes is on pace for his fewest pass attempts in a full season, in part due to Walker’s arrival. The schedule is wheels up for the season and likely only gets bumpy in Weeks 11, 13, and 14. And I cannot wait until the reunion in Seattle on Sunday night.

Notables:

Bhayshul Tuten had his best NFL game on Sunday. It was his first two-TD game, and the good news is that both came on passes. Tuten set single-game career highs in receptions and receiving yards. The bad news is that most weeks he gets fewer than 20 touches, and that will likely put him in the mid-RB2 range or lower. Chris Rodriguez has been with HC Liam Coen on-and-off since both were at University of Kentucky, and he caps Tuten’s upside as both RBs are currently used, but Tuten is a valuable flex at least.

James Cook did not fumble yesterday, which may help ease the nervous fantasy shareholder’s mind after a. four fumbles in the first 5 games, and b. Coach Brady threatened reduced workload if the fumbling continues. Not only did Cook have his season highs in scrimmage yards, receiving yards, and receptions, but Josh Allen had his lowest rushing output of the season and it was Allen’s first game without a rushing TD. Crisis averted for now.

D’Andre Swift will surely always be in a split backfield, but he’s been in good offenses, contributing his share to those as more than a beneficiary. He’s on a good pace to have career-high stats, which would make him a draft-day bargain. He’s good at the goal line, which I take as a sign neither Kyle Monangai nor Roschon Johnson will get exclusive looks there in lieu of Swift. To me, he’s always been a perfect low-end RB 2. Fumbling could be an issue as in his only game with less than a 57% snap share, in Week 3 vs. the Eagles. The schedule is good until the Jags in Week 13 and two games with the Lions in Weeks 12 and 17. I have a feeling neither Swift nor HC Ben Johnson will have motivation issues facing Detroit.

Jonathan Taylor had a mixed bag of a day. On the plus side, he had 151 scrimmage yards, including a season-high 57 receiving yards, and his four-yard TD run with 5:32 left in the game tied the score at 20. On the minus side, his lost fumble on the first play of the second half, recovered at the Colts’ 33, helped spark the Titans’ comeback from 13-0 down. I’m never considering benching a healthy Taylor, not even against the Vikings in Week 7 and the Jags in Week 8. He has a tough schedule the rest of the way, but Weeks 1-6 have not been a walk in the park.

Derrick Henry and Bijan Robinson are my co-duds of the week. At least Robinson can lean on game script as an excuse for having only 11 touches and 63 yards – and I’d love to question Kevin Stefanski on the thinking behind that – for his below-average day. Henry had 18 touches to accumulate 60 yards while losing a fumble that was recovered at the Ravens’ 35 and led to a tie in the fourth quarter. A forgettable day for two studs that still must be in weekly lineups.

Wide Receivers

• Player: Malik Nabers
• Game: vs. Saints
• Stats: 12 receptions, 165 yards on 15 targets

After a slow start to the season, Nabers is fully back to elite status in fantasy, with 23 receptions on 35 targets in his last two games. He’s still WR 11 in PPR PPG among WRs, but considering the first three weeks, that’s impressive. The Week 8 bye looms, but other than a tough stretch from Weeks 12-14, the schedule looks great. Not that we’re considering sitting him.

Notables:

Tre Tucker was a player who was a passing game element that I considered critical to the Raiders’ success against the Bills, and he did not disappoint by contributing the Raiders two final TDs on Sunday. The second was a diving grab of a perfect pass by Kirk Cousins. The Raiders didn’t win, but he contributed as the Raiders’ leading receiver in Week 6. On a team with Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers, that’s impressive. He picked the team up as the other two had sub-par days.

Germie Bernard was given an interesting comp on the broadcast on Sunday: Randall Cobb. Given Aaron Rodgers is the element that could tie the receivers together, I see it, but Bernard is a larger player than Cobb was. Bernard has been used quite a bit in the slot the last two games, but Cobb lived in the slot. That said, he has had 21 targets, 17 receptions, 167 yards, and his overtime touchdown yesterday that gave the Steelers the win. Once Michael Pittman returns, Bernard may fall to WR3 on the team, but his ascendance makes this a passing offense to contend with, and Aaron Rodgers could have his best season since 2021.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a great season in 2025 with 119 receptions, 1,793 yards, and 10 TDs. Yet I’m sure that will not be his best season. He is pacing ahead of all of those numbers so far this season. He had 16 targets, 12 receptions, and 134 yards in Week 6 on a plain-to-see bum ankle. This may not be the best receiver in football. The line in front of him is very short. He should be on zero benches if playing.

Matthew Golden woulda-coulda-shoulda been on top this week. This was his career-best game in PPR, and his third 20+ point game in four weeks. But I watched him drop two TD passes that were among his easiest targets of the night. He was making the tough catches. Christian Watson is still the Packers top WR, but Golden is gaining fast. Hanging onto to the football is a good way to make up ground.

Davante Adams is my dud of the week. This is as much a tip of the hat to the Cardinals defense as a pan of Adams’ Week 6 performance. Arizona held Puka Nacua to seven targets and Adams to four, forcing the Rams to funnel the ball to the backs and tight ends, who commanded 18 of Matthew Stafford’s 32 targets. But 3 receptions for 39 yards will hurt teams and end others in single-elimination formats. Injury to insult, Adams hurt his left knee near the end of the game, and there has been no update on his status yet. A.J. Brown was in consideration here, but my expectations for his first game back from injury were low.

Tight Ends

• Player: Isaiah Likely
• Game: vs. Saints
• Stats: 6 receptions, 99 yards, 1 TD on 11 targets

Not as auspicious as his Week 1 or Week 5 performances, but good enough to be the current TE 1 for both Week 6 and the 2026 season in PPR. J.J. McCarthy became the third Giants QB to hit Likely with a TD pass on the season, and McCarthy also connected with Likely on a 2-point conversion to cut the Saints’ lead to 34-18. A small concern, but McCarthy only targeted Likely three times, plus the 2. If McCarthy maintains the job, let’s hope Likely remains a big focus of the attack.

Notables:

Kyle Pitts is rallying. After having only 9 targets in the first four games, Pitts has had 13 in the last two, along with 3 TDs. He was TE 8 in Week 5 and TE 2 so far in Week 6. I’ll start him if I have him, and the schedule is TE-friendly going forward after the 49ers in Week 7.

Tommy Tremble is one of the reasons I declared Sunday “Random TE Day”. Tremble parlayed four targets into two TDs this week. If you ask me if I’d start him this coming week, the answer is “no.” Copy and paste that every time you want to ask me the question. If he helped your team this week, do not play the lottery; you’ve already won it.

Michael Mayer in place of Brock Bowers feels strange, but bless Klint Kubiak’s head for recognizing Mayer can be used as a pass catcher. He’s nothing more than a bye-week fill-in at this point, and I’d avoid him Weeks 7-10, but he should be on deep league benches with room. He’s come up in the world.

Hunter Henry had his second TD in two games on Sunday. The volume is not worth rostering him except as a backup. This could change with more TDs, but I don’t count on those. I’ll field questions about him, but it’ll have to be a deep league before I say “start him.”

Pat Freiermuth is my dud of the week. Beating repeatedly on the Browns offense is obnoxious, and I had started to have expectations of Freiermuth. Not 3 targets, 2 receptions for 11 yards expectations either, although I’m flexible. Back in the doghouse, buddy.

Enjoy the game tonight, and we’ll see you in a week.

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