Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire
Happy Tuesday Fantasy Footballers. I usually recap the notable players that you may be looking to replace, but as I sit here and watch history be written, I wanted to say how truly special watching Drew Brees break the NFL Passing Yards record in the first half of the game against the Washington Redskins has been. With 2:46 left in the second quarter, Brees pump faked to Alvin Kamara in the flat which allowed promising rookie WR Tre’Quan Smith (more on him later) to dust the coverage for a walk in 62 yard touchdown, allowing Brees to pass Peyton Manning for the all time record. The best part of it wasn’t the record breaking pass, but it was hearing a mic’ed up Brees telling his sons, “You can accomplish anything in life you want to work for, all right? I love you boys.” With all that has been going on the past couple of years in the NFL with protests, division, holdouts, and complaints over penalties, Brees reminded us of everything great about the game of football and it is a joy to get to sit back and watch.
Now, I know that the bye weeks are starting to come hot and heavy with the Lions and Saints up this week and if you are like me you are looking for some fill ins. We also saw Jay Ajayi go down with an ACL tear, Leonard Fournette still banged up and several other minor fantasy contributors active, but not seeing the field, like Lamar Miller. Wherever you find yourself this week and without further delay, here are your week 6 priority adds.
Priority Adds
QB – Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears (24% Owned)
Time to nut up or shut up. Coming off a HUGE game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which he threw for 354 yards and 6 touchdowns, it is clear that Bears HC Matt Nagy is starting to round Mitchell Trubisky into form as a passer. Will he keep it up next week? That is yet to be seen, but you could do worse in your replacement of Matthew Stafford or Drew Brees who will be on bye in Week 6. A plus is that Trubisky has the added floor with rushing yards, adding 53 on his breakout game. Whether you are replacing a QB this week or looking ahead and stashing him for the upcoming bye weeks, Trubisky is a worthwhile add as we see what he does to follow up his breakout performance in Week 4.
FAAB: 8%
RB – Wendell Smallwood, Philadelphia Eagles (8% Owned)
Last week I told you it was your last chance to get TJ Yeldon and I hope you listened because he is now 88% owned and coming off a 26 PPR Point performance in Week 5. With Jay Ajayi going down out of nowhere with a torn ACL, it will be up to someone else in the Philly backfield to take over the lead duties and my vote is Wendell Smallwood. Corey Clement was active in Week 5, but didn’t play. Meanwhile, Smallwood put up over 70 total yards and should get the first look to make his mark and set up a featured role as the year rolls on. Don’t be late on this one if you were last week with Yeldon.
FAAB: 30%
WR – Tre’Quan Smith, New Orleans Saints (2% owned)
The recipient of the record breaking pass from Drew Brees, Tre’Quan Smith was consistently getting open on the night. His most impressive catch came on a perfectly placed out route that he somehow controlled his body to tap both feet in bounds while flying out of bounds. With Tedd Ginn on the mend and Cameron Meredith not getting a ton of action, Smith is slowly getting more involved. You won’t get to employ his services this week as the Saints are on bye, but you should also be excited as there is extra time to get him into the game plan. I wouldn’t break the budget on this one as Brees likes to spread it around and only giving Smith 3 targets, but he is worth the add because anyone tied to Drew Brees can put up a solid week.
FAAB: 15%
TE – Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32% owned)
Listen, the tight end position is paper thin. Even Gronk is struggling to put up stats and now you have a golden opportunity to get a tight end that will be an instant TE1 while OJ Howard is sidelined for up to four weeks. Tampa Bay is coming off of a bye week and Jameis Winston taking over at quarterback, Cameron Brate is set to control the middle of the field for the foreseeable future. Everyone in your league is probably in need of a TE, but I would guess more people will be looking at Niles Paul for the Jags after he put up a solid number with ASJ landing on injured reserve. I encourage you to spend a little more than I usually would at the TE position this week due to the shallow pool of quality here.
FAAB: 8%
Wildcard of the Week
RB – D’Onta Foreman, Houston Texans (20% owned)
Texans RB D’Onta Foreman is not set to come back until Week 7 at Jacksonville, but I want you to get ahead of the game. There is little in the fantasy world that feels better than picking up a player before anyone else is looking at them and then watching your league kick themselves for not being as smart as you. The Texans backfield has been abysmal, churning out minimal gains on the ground and Foreman was drafted as a successor to Lamar Miller. I wouldn’t be surprised if HC Bill O’Brien gets Foreman involved right away to try and inject some life and excitement into the running game and the fan base.
FAAB: 4%