NFL Week 6 fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em

• Sit Jared Goff: The potential MVP candidate is in a rough matchup in the passing game, but the Lions' running backs are poised to thrive. Goff might not see much volume this week.

• Start James Cook: The Buffalo Bills’ running back recorded -4 rushing yards last week but should be able to run all over the New York Giants’ defense.

• Sit Drake London: London is facing the Washington Commanders, who have allowed plenty of receiving yards to wide receivers. But that doesn’t mean London will produce.

Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes

Deciding who to start or sit in fantasy football can be as easy as looking at the PFF rankings and going with the higher-ranked player. This start ’em, sit ’em column digs a step deeper, looking into why someone you might typically start might not have a good week, or why someone overlooked might have a good week. In many cases, it’s the usual starters who should star, but we want to explore the borderline players, too.

QUARTERBACKS

START

Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

• Lawrence has been a top-five quarterback this season by PFF passing grade (84.5).
• He’s had the volume to be a consistent fantasy starter. His 224 dropbacks are the fourth most among quarterbacks this season.
• Eleven of his passes have been dropped, which is the third most, but that high drop rate is unlikely to continue.
• He also has one of the lowest touchdown rates, which should regress to the mean in a positive way for his fantasy production. The Jaguars are right at league average in their red-zone passing rate.
• The Jaguars have the best matchup for quarterbacks against the Indianapolis Colts this week, according to PFF's strength of schedule tool.
• They have allowed 263 passing yards per game which are the fifth-most for a team.
• Even if Lawrence is limited to one touchdown like he’s been in recent games, he should have enough passing volume to be a fantasy starter.

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

• Stafford ranks sixth in PFF passing grade this season.
• He also ranks in the top five in dropbacks this season but has the third-lowest touchdown rate.
• Stafford didn’t have Cooper Kupp for the first four weeks. Kupp has scored a touchdown in more than half of his games with Stafford at quarterback. He is back in a full-time role now.
• The Rams' schedule has also been the NFL's most difficult this season.
• The Rams in Week 6 play the Arizona Cardinals, who have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season.
• Arizona has let up 7.8 yards per passing attempt this season — the fifth-worst mark in the NFL.
• Stafford should have more success in this game than in previous weeks, which makes him a fantasy starter.