Week Six of the NFL and fantasy football season is here. This is where the fast starts give way to disappointment. This is where the logjams of .500 teams start to separate and playoff contenders are born. As injuries continue to test depth, and bye weeks complicate lineups, those with stacked benches will start to emerge from the smoke of uncertainty in the coming weeks. While grabbing the correct players off of waivers is key to continuing success in fantasy, a well-monitored watch list is another component that the masters use to win their leagues. Check out this week’s players to watch below.
Week Six Fantasy Football Watch List Featuring Mike Davis
Mike Davis
One big surprise from the last two weeks has been Seattle Seahawks running back Mike Davis. Suddenly, the Seahawks have a deadly run game, and Davis is a big part of it. The Seahawks started the season with a murky running back committee and suspect offensive line. The team drafted Rashaad Penny in the first round, but many wondered how effective he would be behind that line. Well, the unit seems to be starting to gel, but unfortunately for Penny, he doesn’t look like he’ll be the beneficiary of it.
Davis was a surprise start in Week Four after Chris Carson couldn’t go with a hip injury. Most expected Penny would be given his first chance, but instead, it was veteran Davis. He rewarded the coaching staff’s trust, putting up 101 rushing yards on 21 carries and cashing in on two touchdowns. Although he didn’t get the start week five with Carson returning, he was still very involved in the Seahawks’ new run-first offense. Davis turned 12 carries into 68 yards and a touchdown.
The Seahawks backfield is far from established at this point. Still, Davis has a lot of potential to contribute on a weekly basis. It looks like he will still get a ton of goal-line carries no matter how healthy Carson is. Then, if Carson goes down, he will slide right in as a potential RB1, as he did in week four. Davis and Seattle go up against the woeful Oakland Raiders in London this week and then head into their bye week.
If he shows some consistency in his role, he likely won’t even be claimed off waivers next week because of the bye. This could give some running back needy teams the opportunity to pick him up without even wasting a waiver claim.
C.J. Beathard
With bye weeks coming up, many fantasy team owners might be looking for a streaming quarterback option, or even a chance to dump an underperformer. C.J. Beathard, signal caller for the San Francisco 49ers could just be that guy. Beathard was awarded the starting job in place of new franchise guy Jimmy Garoppolo, who went down with an ACL injury. He has only played a few games but has played more than admirably in each from a fantasy perspective.
Against the Los Angeles Chargers, he completed 23 of 37 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns. Then, last week he aired it out 54 times against the Arizona Cardinals, racking up 34 completions and 349 yards. His downside is that he threw for two interceptions in both games. Still, both games are a healthy amount of attempts that make playing him easy to translate to fantasy numbers.
Next week is a good test for Beathard to get a good gauge on his fantasy value at Lambeau Field. The Green Bay Packers have played surprisingly good against quarterbacks, only allowing an average of 209 yards per game, which ranks second in the league behind only the Jacksonville Jaguars. If Beathard can continue his hot streak, he would definitely be worth roster consideration.
Robby Anderson
Wide receiver Robby Anderson seemed to have a breakout season last year for the New York Jets. He totaled 941 yards on 63 receptions and scored seven touchdowns. Though there was some uncertainty of a suspension due to an off-the-field issue during the off-season, he was expected to come into the season as the Jets number one wideout. Though he avoided a suspension and started for the Jets week one, his production just wasn’t there. He and rookie quarterback Sam Darnold just didn’t seem to be on the same page for a while.
Perhaps things will change after week five. This past week, Anderson and Darnold finally connected, resulting in Anderson hauling in three catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. While the three catches might seem like a fluke, breaking it down further reveals some hidden consistency. Since week two, Anderson has only been targeted less than five times once. Darnold is trying to get him the ball, he just hasn’t yet been able to.
Anderson is a legitimate deep threat, but it can sometimes take quarterbacks a while to get the timing down on those throws. Darnold missed a part of training camp and wasn’t immediately announced as the starter. Because of this, he and Anderson weren’t as far along working together as they should be. Of course, this could just be a fluke big game from Anderson. Still, it now puts him squarely in watch list territory, with a potential roster spot from many teams in the near future.
Redux: Christian Kirk
Christian Kirk, rookie pass catcher for the Arizona Cardinals, was featured on Week Four’s fantasy football watch list and makes his return for Week Six. Kirk had a quiet Week Four, managing only 28 yards on four catches. Still, it was promising to see him targeted five times yet again. Kirk rebounded last week, gaining 85 yards and scoring a touchdown on three catches.
Though it remains to be seen if Kirk will have any consistent fantasy value, he seems to have firmly claimed the number one receiver role for the Cardinals, even above stalwart Larry Fitzgerald. Kirk leads the team in targets (26), receptions (19), and receiving yards (234). This entire team is in transition, so much of his value will hinge on the unit steadily improving this year under rookie Josh Rosen.
If he and Rosen continue to get acclimated to the game, he could see some value late in the season. His fantasy playoff schedule is rather juicy as well. He gets the Atlanta Falcons and their decimated defense. Then in Week 16, the Los Angeles Rams come to town. They have a great pass rush but have been getting burned through the air. Overall, this should keep Kirk on team owners’ fantasy radar for most of the season.
