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Week 6 of the NFL regular season is upon us, and with it comes the first bye week of the season. The Lions, Titans, Raiders, and Texans will all be absent on the game slate this week, potentially forcing fantasy managers to seek out replacements in their lineups. A number of unfavorable matchups are also on this week’s schedule, justifying the search for waiver-wire candidates. If you’re looking to alter your lineups this week, we have two quarterback options to start and two to sit in Week 6.
Quarterback Starts
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings vs. Miami Dolphins
As long as it’s not primetime Cousins remains a viable starter in fantasy, right? This week he has the Dolphins to look forward to, and they enter Week 6 allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to pocket passers (22.5). Miami also enters this matchup with a big question mark regarding their starting quarterback, potentially setting up Minnesota to take advantage with a game plan that leans heavily into throwing through the air.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals
Smith is looking as comfortable as ever in leading the Seahawks' offense, and it’s resulted in two back-to-back monster fantasy performances the past two weeks. In Week 4 Smith totaled 31.7 PPR fantasy points and last week he finished with 24.02 PPR fantasy points against the Saints. His opponent in the Cardinals are surrendering the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks (19.5), and playing in a potential shootout with Kyler Murray sets Smith up as a value play this week.
Quarterback Sits
Carson Wentz, Washington Commanders vs. Chicago Bears
The Bears rank near the middle of the league in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks (16.3), but the matchup on Thursday Night Football doesn’t bode well for Wentz. Chicago is allowing the ninth-fewest passing yards per game (197.2) and is tied for the fourth-fewest passing touchdowns given up per game (0.8). Thursday night contests typically stray away from the high-scoring script, which means Wentz could have the odds stacked against him from a fantasy POV.
Zach Wilson, New York Jets vs. Green Bay Packers
Wilson continues to work his way back in his return from the knee injury he suffered in the preseason. Through his first two starts, he’s totaled a combined 32.8 PPR fantasy points, but he could be in for his toughest matchup yet against the Packers in Week 6. Green Bay is surrendering 12.5 fantasy points to quarterbacks, which is the seventh-fewest in the NFL. Playing on the road at Lambeau should be a deciding factor in working against Wilson as well.