At this point, your fantasy team either has you beating your chest, shriveling up or waiting to do either of those things. Winners win and losers lose; just ask the Bucs and the Jets about that. Speaking of the Bucs, how about Tez Johnson and Kameron Johnson filling in once Emeka Egbuka went down? Probably not enough to have them in the Stock Up version, but we’ll monitor it. I also wouldn’t be too quick to turn my back on Quinshon Judkins after a 36-yard rushing performance. Help is on the way for the Browns (when they eventually — I hope — turn to Shedeur Sanders). Other than that, let’s get to some risers and fallers after NFL Week 6.
STOCK UP
Drake Maye, QB, Patriots
I think that if we all give Maye the eye ball test you can clearly see that he’s improved a great deal, but the extent of it from a fantasy (and real football) perspective is better than we hoped. Maye has produced consistently like “one of those guys” and by guys I mean the elite fantasy guys like Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts. In six games this season he has four top eight finishes. In Week 5 at Buffalo, he finished as QB25 and yet somehow played the best game of his career so far. He just happened to not get the touchdown that day. In Week 6 he put on a passing clinic against a vulnerable Saints’ secondary completing 18-of-26 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns which was good for QB2 on the week (MNF pending). With what he also brings as a runner, Maye is solidifying himself as a top tier fantasy quarterback for the long haul.
Rico Dowdle, RB, Panthers
When you follow up a 206-yard rushing performance with an outing where you gain 239 yards from scrimmage (183 on the ground), how could you possibly go back to the bench? Now to be clear, Dowdle has had some incredible matchups (meaning the defense is bad) the past couple of weeks in the Cowboys and Dolphins, but it’s the NFL and he has delivered. Dowdle had extra motivation in Week 6 going against his former team (Dallas) and turned that into a second-straight week as the RB1 in fantasy (MNF Pending). The biggest thing now will be, how the Panthers’ divvy up the touches when Chuba Hubbard returns? Hubbard is good in his own right, but never has he had a game like the last two Dowdle has had. Nonetheless, Dowdle is the flaming hot hand in Carolina.
Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals
I guess all Chase and Higgins needed was a 40-year old quarterback who entered Week 6 with two touchdowns, six interceptions and a 60.3 passer rating. That was the case as Joe Flacco easily had his best game of the season albeit in a losing effort. The difference was (rather than Jake Browning) that Flacco made Higgins and Chase relevant early and we didn’t have to wait until garbage time. Higgins wasn’t great statistically, but he caught 5-of-8 targets for 62 yards and narrowly missed getting into the endzone (stopped at the 1-yard line). Chase, on the other hand, (as he should’ve been) was Flacco’s main target from the beginning to the end with the wide receiver making a beautiful touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Both Higgins and Chase will benefit from having a quarterback who doesn’t run around like chicken with his head cut off.
STOCK DOWN
Saquon Barkley, RB, Eagles
You’re not benching Barkley nor are you thinking about it. However, he's definitely not putting up the kind of numbers managers were hoping for when they invested a top 10 pick on him. In fact, Barkley has had one weekly finish inside the top 10 fantasy running backs and that came in Week 1. In Week 6, he finished as RB19 after all of the Sunday games were played and is currently at RB14 for the season. Now, that obviously is solid, but considering he’s behind Ashton Jeanty who had a challenging first few weeks of the season is damning. The biggest difference between this season and last is that there are no big runs; Barkley has yet to have a run for 20 yards in six games. Funny enough, with a player like Barkley this can change in an instant and I believe it will. See if you can trade for Barkley in your leagues now.
Xavier Worthy, WR, Chiefs
In Week 6, a game where Patrick Mahomes threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, Worthy was fortunate enough to catch 2-of-4 targets for 20 yards and a touchdown. Cool. In the games he’s played this season he’s averaged 48.3 receiving yards per game which is fine, but with Rashee Rice out for a whole six weeks this was his time to establish himself as a true force in the Chiefs offense and he did not, which is ok as Mahomes just simply spreads the ball around. Upon Rice’s return, Worthy will see even less of the pie and if I rostered him, I’d be trying my hardest to sell him after that little bitty touchdown he scored against the Lions. He’s going to have his days of course, but going forward he’s a FLEX player that you’ll scratch your head on every week due to the nature of the Chiefs’ offense.
Jakobi Meyers, WR, Raiders
After quietly going over 1,000 receiving yards in 2024, he’s quietly WR44 in fantasy points per game after the Week 6 Sunday games. In fact, he’s been outperformed by his running mate Tre Tucker (WR14, heavily skewed by a Week 3, 40-point game). Meyers last topped 40 receiving yards in Week 3 and that’s alarming considering Brock Bowers has missed the last two games (and played hurt before that). Meyers was thought to have high WR2 upside coming into the season with Geno Smith coming in at quarterback, but Smith’s numbers (seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions) aren’t something you want to bring home to mama either. It’s been a struggle as a whole for the Raiders’ offense this season and until that changes, Meyers is a shaky start in fantasy.