Keys to a Week 6 fantasy football win

Fantasy football analyst Sal Vetri highlights his keys to a Week 6 win.

Best spot of the week: DeAndre Hopkins vs. IND

Hopkins is coming off his bye week, and that should only benefit him. He has struggled with a knee injury this season that has limited him to just 52% of the Titans' routes over the last three games. But despite his limited production, Hopkins has led the Titans in goals in the last two games and could see more playing time now that he comes out of the bye healthier.

In Week 6, Hopkins has the perfect matchup against the Colts. They have allowed three straight 100-yard games to outside receivers. Last week, Brian Thomas caught five balls for over 120 yards and a touchdown. Overall, Indy has allowed 105 yards per game to No. 1 outside WRs this season, and Hopkins fits that description heading into Week 6.

Upsurge of the week: Dontayvion Wicks

Wicks was a popular waiver player created by many fantasy managers last week. Christian Watson was sidelined and Romeo Doubs was suspended for one game by the Packers. For Wicks it was the perfect preparation for a big day. But he didn't.

Wicks had just two catches for 20 yards on seven targets. Once again he had two drops in this game and was narrowly missed by Love Deep on two more targets. The box score looks bad, but we were inches away from a big day here. Most importantly, Wicks was often open in this game.

In Week 6, Wicks will have another strong matchup against the Cardinals, who are allowing the fifth-most receiving yards per play this season. Start Wicks again in week 6.

Pick-up and Play of the Week: Jalen Tolbert vs. DET

Tolbert is a must-have in all fantasy leagues. Brandin Cooks is expected to miss at least three more games for the Cowboys. In Week 5, Dallas played its first game without Cooks this season. In that game, Tolbert led the Cowboys with 10 targets and turned that heavy volume into seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Tolbert is a pick-up-and-play option against Detroit this week, a matchup that has the highest projected score of the week at 52.5. It's the perfect place for fantasy production against a Lions defense that allows the sixth-most passing yards per game. Tolbert should benefit from defenses focusing their game plans on stopping CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. Pick up Tolbert in week 6 and start doing that.

Must start: Chase Brown vs. Giants

Brown's role has expanded over the last two weeks. In his first three games this season, Brown played in just 20% of the Bengals' snaps and totaled just 14 carries. However, over the last two games, Brown has played 40% of the snaps and handled a total of 27 carries. He translated that usage into performances of 22.2 and 12.9 fantasy points.

Entering Week 6, Brown and backfield running mate Zack Moss were dealing with injuries, but both are expected to play, according to the team. Even with Moss suiting up, Brown is a start this week. He's the favorite in a good matchup against the Giants. According to NFL Pro, New York allows the third-most rushing yards per play.

RB on the rise: Kenneth Walker III

Walker is arguably a top-three running back for the rest of the fantasy season. He's coming off a week in which he rushed for just 32 yards on 14 attempts. Not great. But it was his newfound role as a receiver and a score that saved him Week 6.

Walker has now completed 30 routes for the third straight game. This is important because prior to this season, Walker had only run 30 routes in a game once in 30 games. This receiving game usage has led to strong production. Walker has scored 16 times over the past two weeks – including Week 6, when he caught all eight of his scores for 37 yards, preserving his dream day despite an inefficient day on the ground.

Since returning from injury, Walker has completed 65.2% of backfield snaps and 31 of 40 RB carries. He has shown no signs of his injury holding him back. Trade for walkers if you can; I would be willing to part with Chris Godwin or Garrett Wilson for him.

Something to keep an eye on: Blake Corum's usage

Corum entered this season with some hype as a third-round rookie. He was one of the best running backs in college football over the last three seasons and landed in a top-notch NFL offense with a great coach in Sean McVay. But through the first four games of the season, Corum only saw a snap in a single contest. That was in Week 2, when Corum played eight snaps and earned eight carries — each of which ended up in garbage time during a blowout when the Rams retired their starters.

This means that Corum had earned entry into Week 5 zero meaningful snapshots of the year. He was behind both Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers on the Rams depth chart. But in Week 5, Corum saw an expanded role. He played a season-high 11 snaps and earned six opportunities against the Packers. He converted that effort into six touches for 33 yards, averaging a whopping 5.5 yards per touch. Corum's deployment is something to keep an eye on going forward as he now appears to be the RB2 behind Kyren Williams for the Rams.

Downtrend: Travis Etienne Jr.

Etienne's worries reached an all-time high in Week 5. He played a season-low 40% of snaps and had just six carries. Teammate Tank Bigsby led the way with 42% of snaps and 13 carries. Bigsby continued to produce at a high level, converting 14 total touchdowns into 129 yards and two touchdowns in Week 5. Bigsby was the RB1 this week and has now passed Etienne in all three of his good games this season.

Etienne reportedly suffered a serious blow in Week 5 and because of this his touches were limited. This is important context, but it doesn't fully explain his poor performance in five games. It's hard to imagine Etienne recapturing this backfield at a high level, as Bigbsy was literally the most efficient RB in the NFL.

According to Player Profiler, Bigsby leads the league in true yards per carry and explosive run rate. He averages 8.6 yards per touch, which is 83% more than Etienne. This now looks like a split backfield, with Bigsby at the helm. It's a bad time to be an Etienne fantasy manager, he's in a major decline.

Buy low of the week: De'Von Achane

Achane is currently at an all-time low for his fantasy value. He left in Week 5 with a concussion and did not return. Achane has now failed to finish in the top 10 fantasy points in three consecutive games and has seen his performance decline in each of the last four weeks. To make matters worse, both Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Wright had success in Week 5 with Achane sidelined.

It's a frustrating time to be a De'Von Achane fantasy manager, which makes it a good time to make a low purchase price offer. Achane begins his bye week, allowing him to return well from his concussion after the bye week in Week 7. During his farewell week, you may be able to get him at a discount since he is not usable by his current managers.

But the real reason you want to shop Achane on the cheap is that Tua Tagovailoa is trending to return in Week 8. In the two games Tagovailoa has started this season, Achane averaged 22.8 fantasy points per game. He ranks fourth in yards created and sixth in yards per route run this year. Buy Achane at a great price as his farewell week begins. Try trading Mike Evans or DJ Moore for Achane if you can.

Sales High of the Week: Nick Chubb

Chubb began practicing for the Browns last week. He was able to practice on a limited basis on all three days, which is an encouraging sign. Chubb is recovering from a serious knee injury that could take him up to two years to fully recover from. But he is already back on the training field, just 13 months after suffering the injury in Week 2 of 2023.

That's great to see and Chubb was reportedly scheduled to return in Week 7. But according to Deepak Chona, Chubb returning wouldn't mean he's immediately back to his former self. It could be weeks before the Browns get him back to a fantasy-relevant workload. But even if he gets to that point, the big question remains how the injury has affected his abilities. We also have concerns about this Browns offense and their broken offensive line, which currently ranks 31st in run-blocking rating according to PFF. Try trading Chubb for someone like Rashid Shaheed or George Pickens if you can.