• Tank Bigsby’s stock continues to rise: Not only is he getting more involved in the offense, but a favorable matchup and elite metrics should be enough to keep him in starting lineups this week.
• Going back to the well with Dontayvion Wicks: The underlying metrics and the positive matchup suggest reasons to still believe in Wicks after his disappointing performance in Week 5.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all of our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Whether you’re looking for some important tie-breakers in fantasy start/sit decisions or an advantage in DFS, knowing which players have the most and least beneficial matchups each week can help.
Understanding which teams have the advantage in the trenches can be key to weekly fantasy football results. As fantasy managers head into Week 6, these are some of the more crucial matchups to be aware of.
Click here to see this week’s entire offensive line/defensive line matchup tool on PFF.
Offensive line matchups to target
Green Bay Packers versus Arizona Cardinals
- The Packers offensive line owns the best pass-blocking grade (84.6) in the league this season, allowing just a 21.1% pressure rate that is among the 10 best marks in the league.
- The Arizona Cardinals defensive line ranks 29th in pass-rush grade (57.2), 27th in pass-rush win rate (29.7%) and 28th in pressure rate (23.0%).
Key player to target
WR Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers
- Wicks let the fantasy community down last week when everyone was touting him as a must-start option, as he only hauled in two catches for 20 receiving yards, finishing as the PPR WR73 for the week.
- Understandably, not many will be confident enough to go back to the well with Wicks in Week 6, but there are still reasons to feel encouraged about his potential to be a fantasy starter despite the poor showing in Week 5.
- On non-pressured dropbacks, Wicks leads the team with a 29.6% target rate and is second behind Jayden Reed with 2.35 YPRR in those situations.
- Jordan Love hasn’t been the best quarterback when kept clean this year, but he has thrown six touchdown passes in those situations, which is a top-five mark in the league despite missing two games.
- The Cardinals also own the third-worst team coverage grade this season (52.6), allowing 8.14 passing yards per attempt — the third-worst mark in the league.
Indianapolis Colts versus Tennessee Titans
- The Colts own the second-best pass-blocking grade (82.7) this season, allowing just an 18.7% pressure rate that is also the second-best mark in the league.
- The Titans defensive line ranks just 27th in pass-rush grade this season while generating the worst pressure rate (19.3%) on the year.
Key player to target
WR Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
- This may feel fairly obvious considering Downs is coming off back-to-back weeks of starter-worthy fantasy production, however, there has been some hesitance in fully embracing him with the potential that Anthony Richardson returns this week.
- The encouraging markers to trust Downs are quite strong, as his role in this offense should supersede that of a quarterback change.
- Downs has presented himself as a quarterback-friendly target out of the slot who can work the middle of the field, get open and make himself the primary option in this offense.
- This is highlighted by his incredibly high 42.6% target rate on non-pressured dropbacks, which is not just the best for the Colts but is second-best among all of the league’s wide receivers, behind only Cooper Kupp.
- Downs should continue to get plenty of looks while his quarterback is kept clean, keeping his fantasy value high in Week 6.
Jacksonville Jaguars versus Chicago Bears
- The Jaguars offensive line has generated 1.5 rushing yards before contact per attempt, the eighth-best mark in the league.
- The Bears defensive line is on the opposite end of that spectrum, allowing 1.6 rushing yards before contact per attempt that ranks 25th on the season.
Key player to target
RB Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars
- It feels odd to call the overall RB1 from last week a start again this week, but there are concerns regarding Travis Etienne‘s involvement, assuming he’s healthy.
- Even if Etienne plays in this game, Bigbsy stands out as a strong flex option this week in a favorable matchup.
- When provided at least one rushing yard before contact this season, Bigbsy owns a 91.3 rushing grade – the fifth-best mark at his position (min. 15 attempts).
- Using the same qualifiers, Bigsby is averaging 11.5 yards per carry, the best mark in the league.
- He also adds 0.59 missed tackles forced per attempt in those situations, which is also the best mark among running backs.
- With Bigsby cutting into the goal-line, short-yardage and early-down work in Jacksonville’s backfield, he could be too good to sit this week.
Offensive line matchups to avoid
Los Angeles Chargers versus Denver Broncos
- It’s possible that starting offensive tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt return after missing Week 4, but even with them included, the Chargers offensive line owns a 51.2 pass-blocking grade that ranks 28th in the league.
- The Broncos defensive line has generated a 36.9% pressure rate, the best mark in the league heading into Week 6.
- Denver has been one of the most blitz-heavy defenses in the league (48.3%), and the Broncos have had significant success doing so.
Key player to avoid
QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
- When pressured this season, Herbert owns a 29.3 passing grade that ranks 29th among 33 qualifying quarterbacks.
- Herbert’s 9.8% turnover-worthy-play rate ranks third-worst among the same qualifying quarterbacks.
- Herbert’s yards per attempt also drops quite a bit when pressured going from 7.2 to 4.5, which ranks 25th among 32 qualifying quarterbacks when pressured.
- With several starting quarterbacks on a bye week, Herbert may be a tempting streaming option, but the matchup doesn’t provide a lot of optimism that he’ll be much more than what he has already this season, which is to say a backup in single-QB formats.
New Orleans Saints versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- The Saints offensive line owns the second-worst pass-blocking grade on the season (38.9), allowing a 33.8% pressure rate (tied for fourth-worst).
- Tampa Bay is the second-most blitz-heavy defense in the NFL, which has led to above-average team pass-rush metrics.
Key player to avoid
WR Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
- While there is a significant question mark at quarterback for the Saints this week, that isn’t the only thing holding back Olave’s potential in Week 6.
- Even with Derek Carr at quarterback, Olave has earned just an 11.5% target rate on pressured dropbacks, which is fifth on his own team (min. 10 routes).
- On non-pressured dropbacks, Olave leads the team’s wide receivers with a 25.9% target rate and 2.69 yards per route run.
- Expect the Saints starting quarterback to be under a lot of pressure this week considering how poor the offensive line has been while trying to deal with Tampa Bay’s frequent blitz attempts. Whoever starts at quarterback is unlikely to deal with that as well as Derek Carr has this season. Carr owns the best passing grade (79.1) on the season when pressured.
Denver Broncos versus Los Angeles Chargers
- The Broncos offensive line has generated just 0.8 rushing yards before contact per attempt which ranks 28th, while their overall run-blocking grade (61.2) ranks 26th.
- The Chargers defensive line ranks seventh in run defense grade (63.6) this season, while allowing just 1.2 rushing yards before contact per attempt (12th).
Key player to avoid
RB Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
- Williams is coming off his best fantasy performance of the season in Week 5, finishing as the overall PPR RB12 against the Las Vegas Raiders, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs.
- Williams faces a more difficult matchup this week against the Chargers, specifically due to the disadvantage in the trenches, but the Chargers are also allowing the seventh-fewest points per game to the running back position.
- When contacted two or fewer yards from the line of scrimmage, Williams owns just a 46.7 rushing grade, which ranks 61st among 68 qualifying running backs.
- Under those same qualifiers, Williams owns just a 9.8% first-down/touchdown rate, which ranks 46th, and his 2.0 yards per carry ranks 54th.
- As far as Williams’ receiving down role, the Chargers are allowing the fewest yards per target to the running back position (3.5) and the second-best first-down/touchdown rate allowed (13.3%) to running backs this season.
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