The opening five weeks of the season are behind us and the pack is beginning to separate across the NFL and in fantasy football leagues.
The Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, and Minnesota Vikings will be off this week due to their bye weeks. This marks the second week of bye weeks this season. In addition, injury concerns continue to spread across the league.
This can lead to some difficult fantasy football decisions. Heading into Week 6, here are five players you must have in your lineups to give your team the best chance to win.
D.J. Moore, WR, Chicago Bears (96.5% rostered)
The Chicago Bears’ offense has found its stride after a frustrating start to the year. They are coming off their best performance in the Caleb Williams era in which Chicago scored 36 points and produced 424 yards of offense last week against the Carolina Panthers. They now will face off against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that provides them a great chance to keep this momentum going. Through the opening five weeks of the season, the Jaguars rank 30th in points allowed and 31st in yards given up. They also rank 31st in turnovers and are dead last in yards given up through the air.
While Chicago has a talented wide receiver group, D.J. Moore will continue to be at the heart of the production. Currently, he leads the Bears in targets (42), receptions (27), receiving yards (294), and receiving touchdowns (3). The Maryland product also ranks 11th in the NFL in targets and 13th in receptions this year. Moore also is coming off his best game as he tallied five receptions for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Chicago has taken some steps forward in their offensive line production to allow the offense time and Moore has been among the biggest beneficiaries. With another porous defense in front of them, expect a strong showing from the Bears and for Moore to continue his impressive stretch of play.
Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons (83.6% rostered)
The Atlanta Falcons also crack the list of teams to have improved significantly from the start of the season. Kirk Cousins has settled in at the quarterback position and the offense is inching towards its full potential. Darnell Mooney has been among the more surprising contributors to start the season. Through the opening five weeks, Mooney has been targeted 40 times which he has converted into 24 receptions, 330 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. He ranks 14th among all wide receivers in fantasy football production based on DraftKings scoring.
Atlanta will be facing off against the Carolina Panthers this week. Through the opening five weeks, they rank dead last across the NFL in points allowed and 28th in yards given up. Mooney is a big play threat who has been targeted the 16th-most times of all players in the NFL. His combination of volume, big play impact, and the poor defense in front of him provides him with an opportunity for another great week of fantasy football production.
Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears (49.7% rostered)
There were lofty expectations for Caleb Williams after he was selected with the 1st overall pick in this year’s draft and labeled as one of the best quarterback prospects in recent memory. He got off to a slow start, being held to just 93 passing yards in his debut and not throwing his first touchdown as a professional until Week 3. Now that he has settled in, the impact Williams can make is clear. He had his best game last week throwing 304 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. Williams ranked as the fifth-best scoring quarterback based on fantasy football production last week.
Heading into this Week 6, Williams has an excellent chance to build off the performance. This will mark his first overseas game as they will face the Jaguars in London, England. Just last week, Joe Flacco threw for 359 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Jaguars. Overall they rank 30th and 31st in points and yards allowed. Something has clicked within Williams and the Bears’ offense. This is a perfect spot for him to continue building off this and put forth another strong performance. Williams should be back in the conversation as an every-week fantasy football starter and is in a great spot to light it up again this week.
Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals (74.4% rostered)
Zack Moss was considered questionable for most of the week but is expected to play in Week 5. Regardless, Chase Brown has shown why he has earned a regular opportunity and will see touches as well. There also is no guarantee Moss will be capable of carrying the full workload as he was substituted out several times throughout last week’s game. The Bengals are set to face off with the Giants on Sunday Night football this week.
Brown is coming off a week in which he had 12 carries for 46 yards as well as a receiving touchdown. He also had 80 rushing yards and two touchdowns the week prior. Overall he ranked as the 13th-highest scoring running back in Week 5 and 8th in Week 4. While Moss has the inside track on the primary touches, for now, the gap is narrowing. Brown possesses breakaway speed and big play potential. Expect him to receive double-digit touches in this matchup and find his way into the end zone for the third consecutive week.
Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (43.9% rostered)
The Jaguars have been off to a fairly disastrous start to the season. While there are plenty of larger concerns, Tank Bigsby has emerged as a bit of a bright spot. He has been pushing Travis Etienne and making his case for the best running back on the roster. Bigsby had his best game last week in which he had 101 rushing yards, two touchdowns, and 28 receiving yards.
While Etienne will continue to be in the mix, Bigsby has been the most dynamic running back on the Jaguars roster this week and the touches will begin to indicate this. Etienne was limited to just six carries for 17 yards last week amid the Bigsby breakout. Both running backs will be active and receive some level of opportunity this week, but Bigsby has the better outlook moving forward. Expect this trend to continue this week and for the former 3rd-round pick to continue his upward trajectory.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is seanbarnard) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
