Week 6 must-have fantasy additions, Chase Brown to Dylan Laube

Scoop City is The Athletic's daily NFL newsletter. Sign up here to get it straight to your inbox.

Tuesday newsletters are for fantasy. If you read past Tuesday, you were rewarded with Kareem Hunt (18.2 points), Trey Sarmon (15.3), Tank Bigsby (25.4) or Tucker Craft (22.8).

Elsewhere, on the podcast, Diana and Chase answer questions about Cleveland.

Week 6 Waivers, Buys and Sells

Ja'Mar Chase led all players in scoring this week, posting 36.2 half-ppr points on 10 catches, 193 yards and two touchdowns. No wonder.

It was more shocking to see (though it made our recommendation look good). jaguar RB Tank Bigsby Led his position in fantasy points, scored two touchdowns and posted 101 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Bigsby out-snapped (and continued to out-produce) starter Travis Etienne, ending Jacksonville's Week 5 victory. If that trend continues, you could have an RB1 in Bigsby. He is my no. Add 1B disclaimer this weekThat's probably because Etienne, who was injured on Sunday, is sticking around.

For week 6 I must add other playersAssuming Rico Dowdle and Josh Downes — who we asked you to add — will be unavailable:

No. 1A: Bengals RB Chase BrownWho is averaging 5.6 yards per carry (ninth-best), must add immediately after the ineffective Zach Moss (3.7 YPC) injured his ankle on Sunday. If Moss misses time, the explosive Brown must too—start Allowed 115.4 rush yards per game against a Giants defense.

No. 2: Giants WR Darius Slayton. I'm targeting him after his eight-catch, 122-yard and one-touchdown performance against Seattle, a sentiment that could be shared by WR-desperate teams like the Chiefs and Bills. If the underrated Slayton deals with both, he skyrockets in the rankings.

No. 3: Cowboys WR Jalen Tolbert. With Brandin Cooks on IR (knee), Tolbert bested CD Lamb's production to finish with 10 targets, seven catches and 87 receiving yards. He gets a prime matchup against the Lions' beatable secondary in Week 6 and could be the WR2 if Cooks returns.

No. 4: Patriots WR Ja'lin Pollock. Despite the return of Kendrick Bourne, Polk played 100 percent of New England's offensive snaps for the first time in his career. The production hasn't been there (one catch for 13 yards), but he's breaking out, seeing 13 targets the last two weeks and a potential game-winning touchdown return (questionable call, see below). They're also considering QB Drake Maye, who will bring life to the offense and a second-round pick. Now it's time to add.

Deep League: Panthers WR Jalen Coker impressed all preseason, then had four catches for 68 yards after Xavier Leggett (shoulder) went down. Dolphins RB Jaylen Wright showed explosiveness after throwing De'Von Aachen, though Miami has a bye this week. Vikings RB Ty Chandler will start if Aaron Jones misses time, though Minnesota is also bye. Raiders rookie RB Dylan Laube could finally see a touch in an offense desperate for an RB1.

I'm buying: WR Brian Thomas Jr. Michael Salfino wrote in his Week 5 fantasy takeaways, Thomas looks like a league winner: Since Week 3, the first-round pick has averaged 8.7 targets and 85.3 yards, plus two touchdowns. If you're buying too, wait until after this week's game against a defense Chicago is allowing the sixth-lowest passing yards per game (174.0).

I'm selling: WR Garrett Wilson. This week's 22-target, 13-catch and 22.6-point half-PPR performance was inflated by the Jets' early 17-0 deficit and 51 pass attempts. Fortunately, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Amon-Ra St. Makes it easy for you to package Wilson for Brown or AJ Brown. And do it now, before any Davante Adams trade materializes.

Thoughts vs. Reality: Teal Robinson, RB2?

Thoughts: Drafting Bijon Robinson early in fantasy was a terrible mistake. Reality: Yes, it was. He has just 12 more rushing yards than Tank Bigsby (despite seeing twice as many carries) and only sees 17 attempts per game. His best weekly finish this season has been RB15, and while his upside is limited, Tyler Algiers has played about 40 percent of Atlanta's offensive snaps over the past two weeks. Still, Robinson should bounce back against the Panthers defense (144.6 rushing yards allowed per game) this week. If not, abandon ship.

Thoughts: Drafting Brees Hall wasn't very good. Reality: After what I've seen from Braylon Allen, I'm more worried about Hall than Robinson. Hall's season started with three 18-plus points from Weeks 1-3, but he's averaged four points per game since then. He's still seeing double the touches of Allen (six to 12 in Week 5), but is averaging 2.3 yards per carry over the past three weeks (Allen's at 4.2). After he lost a combined 37 touches to Allen since Week 2, it could be worse if the Jets reassess after their bye. It is noteworthy that there are calls for benching.

Thoughts: I'm thinking of starting Daniel Jones. Reality: Why not? As Casey Joyner writes, Jones is one of five QBs with three games of 18-plus points, and his production could be sustainable. Jones isn't too reliant on rushing touchdowns (zero this year) and had his best game (22 points) without Malik Nabers. His upcoming schedule includes four games against teams ranked 19th or lower in QB points allowed. It sounds crazy, but you could do worse than Jones.

Thoughts: I need to trade for an RB. Reality: The cheapest players worth buying are Naji Harris and Javonte Williams. They're both probably letting their managers down, but offering an eight-point floor. In Pittsburgh, Harris crushed competition (Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson), while he finished sixth in the NFL with 82 rushing attempts. In Denver, Williams looked like his former self after posting 100-plus yards for the first time this season. They're both due to hit paydirt soon, and while I prefer Harris' matchup this week in Las Vegas (allowing 131.8 rushing yards per game), Williams is a much better back and preferred target:

Most touches without a touchdown this season:

1. Nazi Harris (94)
…
2. Javonte Williams (70)
3. Richard White (68)

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 7, 2024

For more:

Key Diana hearing: Davante Adams update after Chiefs win

After last night's win over New Orleans, the Chiefs are a strong 5-0 despite missing key players on offense. WR Rashee Rice is scheduled for exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his knee this morning in Dallas. The team is hoping for good news but plans for Rice to miss the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Isiah Pacheco is on injured reserve with a fractured fibula, and there's a possibility that Marquis “Hollywood” Brown could miss the season with a sternoclavicular injury.

The Chiefs consider themselves a longshot to land the Raiders WR Adams in a trade, but they believe the longer the Raiders hold onto him, the better their chances will be. In the Adams sweepstakes, all eyes are on the Jets and Saints for the next few days.

You go back, Jacob.

ask athletic: League average scoring

Q: Should every fantasy football league make a rule change?

💬 athleticFrom fantasy expert Jack Seeley:

“Obviously, #BanKickers tops my list, but regardless of fixing half-PPR, D/ST scoring, superflexes, etc., there's one simple rule that any league should have, regardless of size, format or setup. : Doubleheader against mid-league.

“It happens almost weekly: the second-best score faces the top score and gets a loss, while a team scores 30 points less and gets a win. It's fantasy, the matchups are random. The second W/L should be determined by the league's average score for the week. 1-1 at worst for second-best score. 1-1 at best for second-lowest score.

“At the end of the season, you're presented with a much more realistic view of the best teams in the standings. All sites now offer this and honestly, it should be the default setting for every league.”

Do you have a fantasy football question? One about your favorite team? Each week, we compile and answer reader questions for a future newsletter. Submit yours here.

Most clicked yesterday: Inside the heated sideline exchange between Sean Payton and Bo Nix.

📫 Enjoyed reading this? Sign up here to get The Athletics' free daily NFL newsletter delivered to your inbox and Check out athleticIts other newsletters.

(Photo:
(Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)