Bye weeks will play a much more significant role this week in fantasy football as opposed to last week with the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins off this week.
Injuries also continue to cause problems. The Philadelphia Eagles have a worse running back situation than last week with Saquon Barkley’s availability in question and the second- and third-string backs out. If Barkley cannot play, the only running back left will be Dameon Pierce.
They are not the team struggling with injuries as Lamar Jackson’s availability is still in doubt for Baltimore, Breece Hall does not appear to be ready to come back for the Jets and Quinshon Judkins with the Browns did not practice on Wednesday.
With all of the injuries and
important players on bye, who should be in your starting lineup this week?
Start: QB Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
Kirk Cousins’ fantasy performance has been flying under the radar through the first five weeks of the season. While he did not have a good game against the New England Patriots, Cousins is the No. 6 quarterback in points according to ESPN right now with games over 20 points in three games this year. This is his best matchup of the season as the Buffalo Bills are giving up the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Especially if your quarterback is on bye or injured, you should pick up Cousins and stick him in your lineup this week.
Sit: QB Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Prescott is coming off his worst game of the season with two interceptions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, what is more concerning is that he has exactly one passing touchdown in each of the past three games. His only game of the season with a lot of points was against the Washington Commanders who are giving up the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Otherwise, Prescott has not been able to do much. He also lacks the rushing upside many other quarterbacks have. Given the matchup and his recent fantasy production, Prescott is someone to keep on the bench this week.
Start: WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are horribly inconsistent and while that can be incredibly frustrating to fantasy owners, there are still some trends that can be identified. One of those is with wide receiver Luther Burden III. His best game of the season came against a team that gives up a lot of points to wide receivers. Another team that has given up a lot of points to receivers is the Atlanta Falcons who Burden gets to play against on Sunday. With Caleb Williams coming back to the lineup for the Bears, this should also help Burden put up better numbers.
Sit: WR Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Even with quarterback Baker Mayfield out, Egbuka has managed to put up decent numbers in PPR leagues. However, when it comes to certain players, the matchup makes all the difference and he does not have a good matchup this week with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are a worse matchup for receivers than the Green Bay Packers and he only had two catches for 13 yards against them. This could be another game where Egbuka busts. So, if you have an option that has a better floor, they should be in your lineup instead of Egbuka this week.
Start: RB Cam Skattebo, New York Giants
According to ESPN, 78 percent of Skattebo fantasy owners have him starting this week. If you are among the 22 percent who do not have him in your starting lineup, here is why you should change that. New Orleans has been terrible against the run this season. They give up the most fantasy points to running backs of any team in the NFL. Part of why the Saints give up so many points is because they have allowed the most touchdowns to running backs of any team in the league. Skattebo has been in a fantasy slump the past two games, but has an amazing opportunity to get back on track against New Orleans.
Sit: RB Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
Hampton is one player where the matchup does not matter. The problem is with the Chargers. Their running back room is too crowded for any of them to be reliable starters right now, including Hampton. He only had 33 rushing yards last week and his snap percentage is going down. After playing over 60 percent of the Week 2 snaps, he was only on the field for about 30 percent of the Week 5 snaps. This alone shows that Hampton is not the player fantasy owners thought he would be this season. Keep him on the bench.
Start: TE Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Freiermuth has quietly been a top-10 tight end in the NFL this season. He is consistently getting targets and has at least one touchdown in three games so far this year. This week, he gets to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is a pretty decent matchup. Not only does he have a chance to find the end zone once again, but Freiermuth also has the chance to put up solid fantasy points with his targets in PPR leagues.
Sit: TE Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Every year, there are people who believe Kyle Pitts will emerge into a valuable tight end in fantasy football and year after year, it does not happen. According to ESPN, his position rank is No. 31, meaning there are 30 other tight ends who have performed better than Pitts and odds pretty high at least one of them is available on the waiver wire in your league. In addition, Pitts has his worst matchup of the season against the Chicago Bears who have allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends so far this season. Even though he is coming off a strong performance against the Baltimore Ravens, Pitts needs to stay on the bench this week.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Starts and sits for fantasy football ahead of Week 6
