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Fantasy Football Week 6 WR Rankings: Risky Starts, Hidden Gems, & Players to Avoid (Ep. 2264)

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Fantasy Football Week 6 WR Rankings: Risky Starts, Hidden Gems, & Players to Avoid (Ep. 2264)

The Fantasy Pros podcast features a detailed ranking and analysis of the top 36 wide receivers for Week 6, focusing on matchups, injury impacts, and production trends. Mike Evans is highlighted as a top-tier option against the Commanders due to high target volume, favorable defensive matchup, and recent strong performances despite a rib injury. Devonta Adams is seen as a red-zone threat but lacks consistent volume, placing him in question for the top 12. Matthew Golden is ranked highly due to his target share and red-zone usage, especially against the Cowboys. Jalen Coker is favored over Tevin McMillan due to better matchup against the Eagles’ slot defense, though both are viewed as strong options. Carnell Tate is ranked low due to poor passing game and inconsistent results. Jalen Waddle is considered a risky option with limited downfield production, while Jeremy Bernard gains value from injuries and slot opportunities. AJ Brown is viewed as a potential top-20 pick if active, with uncertainty about snap counts and workload. The analysis emphasizes caution with high-upside players and highlights the importance of injury updates and matchup dynamics. Fans are encouraged to follow FantasyPros.com/rankings for real-time adjustments and to use tools like "Who Should I Start?" for personalized advice. The episode also features light segments on other podcasts, including Scam Goddess and Black Lit, promoting content unrelated to fantasy football.

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This is an "I Heart" podcast, guaranteed human. There are thousands of podcasts that can tell you how to better yourself. Get worse with Kyle Proo is not one of those podcasts. So if you're interested in getting thinner, going to therapy, starting peptide, setting boundaries, taking supplements, making your better getting closer, then I would humbly recommend other podcasts. If you're interested in blackmail, love, bomb, and cloning yourself are getting revenge, then we've got a little something-something for a dastardly individual like you. Losing to get worse with Kyle Proo on the "I Heart" radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, friends? Welcome in to Fantasy Pros. The Fantasy Football Podcast. This is the week six wide receiver ranks episode. I'm Chris Welsh. We've got Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmores here for you, as we're going to be looking through the top 36 running backs. At least some fantasy pros, ECR, we'll go a little bit beyond. We'll do some debate, and hopefully we'll answer some questions that you got in your brain, and we'll get you prepped for week six. That's what it's all about. And gentlemen, wide receivers need us not wait any longer. Let's just jump right into this bad boy. You guys want to follow along. Go to FantasyPros.com/rankings. You can see how the rankings adjust throughout the week, right up until kick off. Obviously, we're doing this a little bit earlier, so those might change, but you want to follow along. Go to FantasyPros.com/rankings to follow what we're doing and check out all the different formats of gentlemen. The top 12 is as such, Poca de Coa, coming in at number one after his Gajillion target game, going up against Arizona. Can he have a Gajillion in two? Maybe. Jax is Smith and Jigba. At two, Christian Watson, Mr. First Touchdown coming in at three. We've got CDLAM Drake London, Crystal Lave, that's your top six. The bottom half, Nico Collins, Malink neighbors, Zay Flowers, Mike Evans, De Monte Adams, and Parker Washington. Hello, Mike Evans. Let's talk about Evans here, coming in as wide receiver 10. I have felt a little daisy on him, just with all the injuries and he just, every time he gets hit, he's just grabbing at everything and I'm just worried that the snaps are going to go down, but like every week it doesn't matter. He continues to roll. You guys are kind of split on it. I actually want to go to you, Fitz, I want you to kick us off because you, again, I loosely say negative. You are lower than ECR. You do not have him as a wide receiver one. Clearly, you're going out there with him, but you were shaking your head a little bit with that injury concern. It's tough when he doesn't start drives or, you know, they're keeping lower snap counts or one hit. He's grabbing at everything, but he's like a total gamer right now. And there's nobody else, like literally all the wide receivers are injured right now. So that's a positive. But what you take, pushing him outside the wide receiver ones this week, Fitz, yeah, total warrior. He's obviously feeling it that rib injury every time he gets hit. Like you can see him just grimace in pain and a lot of times he checks out for a play, but then checks right back in. I do feel like there's a little bit of recency bias here with him ranked as a wide receiver one. Last week, great game against the Seahawks. Tough matchup really does more than his fair share to help the 49ers win that game, upset the Seahawks in Seattle and, you know, throws on the great Jeff with checking the back of Trayvon Diggs, Jersey for his name. I mean, I showed that to my wife and she just died laughing. That was spectacular. Hall of Fame, like Hall of Fame, absolutely moment too, just incredible. But that was Mike Evans first game with more than eight targets this season. That was his first game with more than 76 receiving yards. So I know we expect the role to be expanded this week. Now that Debos Samuel is injured and is going to miss multiple weeks, but I just, I do think he's coasting a little bit on the strength of what he did against Seattle last week. Micah Parsons, by the way, all Micah Parsons can do is talk right now because he's not doing anything on the field, but he had a really great comment on the Mike Evans thing where he was just like, you just have to throw hands. He's like, a guy does that to you. You've got to immediately start fighting. And of course, you know, again, he's not doing anything, but I love that comment. Mike Evans for you, Mr. Andrew Erickson, you've got him at six this week all in on the 49ers matchup against the Washington commanders. Commanders been a little bit better defensively, but snaps, targets like how are you spacing this out? How did you get him to top six? Well, if you look at Mike Evans this year, he's averaging a career high 3.3 yards per outrun, career high 34% target rate. So although he is taking some snaps off as he battles through this rib injury, which I also talked about on the sell high show where this may not last for Mike Evans. I think that he is a prime sell high candidate ahead of this matchup with the commanders. But if he plays this full game, he's going to be top 10 wide receiver. No doubt in my mind because the commander's defense is Mike Sanders still might be the worst cornback in the NFL because whenever he is being covered by a wide receiver, that guy is wide open. It has a monster game. Every single time you turn on the commanders play defense, you find Mike Sanders still and you target that wide receiver that's on it. So every time Mike Evans goes into the game, he's going to probably match up with Sanders still a lot as Kyle Shane and moves his guys around. Mike Evans has a career high catch rate, 71% this year, 64.7% of his targets travel 10 plus area yards that is above his career average on downfield throws the season. The commander's defense has allowed the most touchdowns, 10 second highest completion percentage over expectation plus 12%. Like this is slated as the best matchup you could ask for a wide receiver. And the fact that he did last week, seven cats for 113 yards in a bad matchup against the Seahawks, I'm salivating to play Mike Evans this week. So again, I still think he is a sell high, but I want to King's ransom because I think that he's going to have a monster performance here against the commanders. Oh, those Niners right now. I was at live in Arizona, Arizona, fall league football people aren't going to care about that, but it's a collection of like all the baseball's top prospects. And I had a Niner hat on last night and one of the royals pitchers is Steven so back his name. He just looked over as he walked by and he just went bang, bang. And I was like, five and oh, baby. So hopefully not setting myself up, but it has been a good run for the Niners. And this is a solid matchup. Let me ask you guys a side question to this wide receiver ones real quick, Erickson, I'll start with you. Then we'll go to FITZE. Who? And you take it. You don't have to go into crazy big analysis or whatever, but who of these top 12 do you feel the most squirrely about whether it is their specific rank, like a Christian Watson coming in at number three, someone that jumps in that G just feels shouldn't. I mean, this is like a core group here, but there's a few names that might feel a little bit dicey. Erickson, who is the most squirrely of the top 12 wide receivers for you this week? Can you read the list again one more time? Absolutely. I can poke in a coup at one, JS and it two, Christian Watson, CD LAM at four, Drake landed it by the Lava. It's six. Then you've got Collins at seven, neighbors at eight, Zayflowers at nine, Evans, Adams and Parker Washington. It's tough list. Maybe Adams, just because to the Rams, I mean, he didn't have that many targets last week. He scored the touchdowns. Obviously. So will he be another top 12 wide receiver, maybe Adams, but to your point, it's a really strong list. Nico Collins, maybe if does Marv play a bigger role in this game, but the Jaguars are a defense that is more of a past funnel. So you think that Nico is going to be involved a lot. So I mean, it's a really strong list, a top 12 reason. Well, because I was also thinking like, you know, Malik neighbors would have been one of the fun ones, but just not after last week or anything, Fitsy, again, it's a loose thing. We don't have to go deep into it, but is there anybody that fits the criteria, maybe a little bit squirrely of their rank or wide receiver ones of this group? I mean, Adams is playing with the guy who got 21 targets last week. Okay. Yeah. So it's got to be Adams. Like he needs the touchdowns to get over and he does score the touchdowns. Like he had a freakish rate of touchdowns per target, touchdowns per reception last year. And that's carrying over to this year. That's just who he is. I mean, he's an amazing one of the best red zone, green zone receivers of our generation. He's just amazing when you get close to the end zone. And I think that was the name, by the way, I think that's good because the names we're going to talk about in a second with the YG for two is like, I see a handful where, you know, easily you can justify volume and everything and just maybe, you know, rankers are looking at them going in some cardinals, but in the same token, like I think the, I think they're going to be able to run all over the cardinals. It's just kind of, it's strictly and solely going to have to be about great red zone touchdown catching. And I think he could easily be bumped down a little bit. We'll talk about those guys in a second. But if you want a chance to give your fantasy league the ultimate championship upgrade courtesy of our friends over at trophy smack the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware, then this is your shot. We're giving away a 26 to 36 inch custom football trophy. It's a massive centerpiece bill to make your league championship feel like a big deal. And the best part, you can make it your own. Choose your topper, personalize the center and front plaques, customize the columns and create a trophy that represents your league to enter. All you got to do is subscribe to the fantasy pro's football YouTube channel. Do that right now and then drop a comment below on any of our videos and that's it. We'll be announcing a winner right here on the channel. So be sure to turn on notifications. Don't miss your chance to claim this prize. Why do you see for two? The big board. We've got George Pickens at 13, followed by Garrett Wilson, Matthew golden, Teteromaic Michael Wilson, Jalen Coker, the bottom half at 19 Luther Burton, Denzel Boston, DK Metcalf, Terry McClure and Josh Downs and Carnell Tate. Quick aside, just following up on that Devonta Adams thing, just for one second, Erickson, how far do you think legitimately you could justify bumping Adams down versus this other group? Like what would be the line where you're like, oh, I'm totally cool with Adams being under Michael Wilson or Coker. Is that the general space you think the line of where he could drop down is? - I think he should be behind Matthew Golden. I feel pretty confident. - Yeah, we're gonna talk about Golden, but this is just like how far, what would be the line number 16, 17, 18? Do you think you could be? - Yeah, I think I have him at 15. I think he's in that range, 'cause again, you gotta count that he does score touchdowns and that's a really easy way to surge up the ranking. So although he doesn't get as many targets, it's, I mean, the Cardinal's defense is not necessarily a imposing matchup where you're thinking, oh no, like, he's not gonna score. He doesn't, he won't score touchdowns just 'cause he doesn't get the ball thrown his way, not because he's not capable of doing it. So I think you have to give him that type of grace when you're ranking him, but when he doesn't have locked in volume, I have trouble getting him in my top 12 for sure. - Fitsy, when you look at this list, where's the line, and again, 'cause we're gonna move to the next player, but where would you slot him? Or like what grouping does he belong in? Is he clearly in the same grouping as Wilson and Teteromic Millen? Should he be higher? Can he be lower? What's your thought? - For me, it's higher. Like I said, I feel squirrely about him because the volume you can't trust, but man, he's a touchdown machine going against a bad Cardinals past defense. I can't not have him in the top 12. - Okay, well, let's see where maybe Matthew Golden lines up here. You can use just said it. So he's out of that grouping. Speaking of 12, Ericsson, you have Matthew Golden at 12. He's ECR 15 of the group. Fitsy, you've got him at 17. Fits, why don't you give us maybe slightly negative-ish take? It's not really, you're only two spots lower, but you guys have a big gap of five wide receivers between Fitsy. You got him at wide receivers 17 this week. - Yeah, I don't want to be too negative on Matthew Golden because Lord knows I have to issue a Mayacolpa here. I did not like the Matthew Golden draft pick for the Packers when they made it. I thought the production profile in college was a little light for him to be a first-rounder. Looks like I'm totally wrong about that. He has been really good for Green Bay. And it's great that the Packers have such a concentrated target distribution with basically just Watson, Golden, and Kraft, and that's it. So, good outlook for him. And whilst you were kind of talking about comparing buckets of receivers here, well, I've got Golden Wide Receiver 17. I've got him right behind Teteromic Mill and George Pickens, Michael Wilson. And, I mean, I'm probably going to move him ahead of Michael Wilson. I think just because the Cardinals passing game, like it puts up numbers, but it just looks so ugly doing it sometimes and so much of that comes in garbage time. But like you could kind of argue Macmillan pickens in Golden any which way. And I just happen to have Golden at the bottom of that pile right now. - Now, Erickson, you are higher. You've got Matthew Golden as a Wide Receiver 1 this week, number 12. So talk to us about Golden. - The matchup is obviously divine. I get to Dallas Cowboys. I don't need to sell anybody on that. The fact that Jordan Love, I think, is ECR quarterback four this week. Kind of tells you the whole story. The last time these two teams faced off, 80 points total and a 40 to 40 tie on Sunday night football. So clearly the ceiling play for all these receivers in this game is extremely high. And I just want to point out again, we're worried about Demont Adams getting targets. Matthew Golden has seven plus targets in every game this season. He has more targets than Christian Watson does. Like if you're just looking at the target share of these Packers receivers, technically speaking, Matthew Golden is the number one Wide Receiver on the Packers. Now I'm not ranking it that way. I'm not because production, obviously matters in terms of how much yards you get. Watson is obviously targeting down field. The obviously sees more red zone opportunities than Matthew Golden. But Matthew Golden still sees a lot of these high value ops. Like he still does see a lot of down field usage. Despite the fact he also has a 24% target share of the season compared to Watson, who's at 21.6%. And last week, six for seven targets, 123 yards. He caught a two point conversion. 108 yards came in the second half. He also had three red zone targets that didn't score, right? So if we go back and listen to what we talked about last week, Martian Lloyd in week four had a bunch of red zone opportunities, didn't score week five finds the end zone twice. So I think Matthew Golden is going to find the end zone against the Dallas Cowboys because of the red zone usage he saw last week. The fact that he does see more targets than Christian Watson. And that's going to make him a top 12 wide receiver. And why I feel way more confident playing him over like Demont Adams, where does he see five targets against the Arizona Cardinals and any scores? I think Golden can score, go over 100 yards, and see double the targets against the Cowboys. I like it. There's an interesting situation in these midteens here with Panthers wide receivers. We've kind of talked about Ted O'Meck Millen, but Jalen Coker comes in at ECR 18. Once again, you guys are kind of split on this. But Erickson, we'll start with you. You're the high guy. You're one spot higher at 17. I also want you to talk about Coker. But also like, are you comfortable with both McMillan and Coker co-existing two spots next to each other and ECR going up against the Eagles? - It does feel like a hedge a little bit because it feels like only one of them is going to deliver in this range, but we're not sure who it will be. So you kind of just rank them back to back and be like, play both guys. One of them will be really good. One of them will be okay. And you just kind of live with it. However, when you just look at schematically speaking, Jalen Coker has the better matchup here. Against the Philadelphia Eagles and how bad they've been against slot receivers. 108 yards per game to slot targets. That is the third worst in the NFL. The second most slot targets face. So there is always the argument too, Coker is coming off an injury that will he be 100%. Now, Panthers are also coming off a by-week. So you do feel a little bit better. I mean, when Coker has been on the field, three healthy games, he's by receiver 11 and points per game, by receiver 14 and expected points per game. So again, we love these concentrated passing attacks. It is the Panthers two top wide outs and then a tight end occasionally gets involved in the red zone. So I think Jalen Coker, if he is practicing full this week, I think that he is full ago and a really strong start. And honestly, if I have him rank so closely to Teamac, it might just make sense for this particular matchup just to flip them and be like, look, I get long-term rest of season, I think Teamac's the better player, but given this specific matchup and how great it's been to just target this Eagles defense with slot receivers, that Jalen Coker just makes more sense. I also like the Panthers passing attack overall against the Philadelphia Eagles. You have the Panthers getting back some of their starting offensive linemen. And then from like a larger view of this matchup, it's really advantageous to take advantage of these teams that are coming off the international games without a buy week against a team that's coming off a buy week, right? Like the rest advantage is so in favor of the Panthers here, even though they are playing on the road, that this could be really tough sliding for this Eagles defense that I think has been very underwhelming this year. - Pizzi, you have a little bit less of a hedge, I think going on based on your ranks. You've got Coker a little bit lower, but do you think both of them can coexist positively against this kind of underwhelming Eagles defense? - I do, and I was frankly pretty surprised to see that I was behind ECR on Coker, 'cause I felt like I was ranking him aggressively, knowing that as Erickson just pointed out the Eagles have this slot funnel defense. But, you know, I think we were reminded about how good Teteroma McMillan is when he completely eviscerated the Lions in week four, right before the buy. 14 catches, 192 yards, two touchdowns in that game, but no jailing Coker. And there have been a lot of games, well, some games. This year where Coker is just flat out, out-produced, McMillan draft capital B-Dant. So, yeah, both guys I think can beat this team. I'm glad Erickson pointed out the rest advantage, which I know we haven't seen mentioned probably since Warren Sharpe did his big rest advantage thing. He always does great job with the schedule analysis right after that comes out. So, yeah, this is kind of a bad spot for the Eagles. I wouldn't be surprised at both Panthers receivers at good games. - Carnell Tate comes in as wide receiver 24 on this list with solid matchup, four to five star graded matchup against Indianapolis Colts. Wide receiver 24 and you guys are both negative, but like you guys getting real negative. And rightfully so, two weeks ago, it's a bigger explosive game than he disappears again. He's more often than not good on that team. But that doesn't really, it's not really reflective of the ranks this week. Erickson's at 29, but Fitsy, you dropped him all the way down to 36. So, he is just clinging to a wide receiver three spot barely. Fitsy talked to us about Carnell Tate and really doesn't look like you're buying into the couple of week ago solid performance. - He has had one game this season where he has made the people who started him happy. He had that big game against the Ravens in week four and that was pretty much it. I guess against the giant six catches for 58 and a PPR that's not a bad output. But man, this Titans passing game, like I have no confidence whatsoever in this passing game. And it's great that Tate is kind of asserting himself is the alpha and this and he showed us in week four how good he can be. I just hate the ecosystem for him and just do not want to really, I'm flexing him in a league this week. I don't feel great about it. Like I would rather be starting someone else and I think I would be if I didn't have other people on buy in that league. So yeah, I'm definitely out on him this week if I can afford to be. - I'm Lacey Mosley, author, actor, standup, comedian, creator and host of SCAM Goddess Podcasts. - The Chukam. comedy podcasts all about robbery, fraud, and those who practice it. Each week I bring on incredible guests like Conan O'Brien, Iowa Deppery, Lamor and Morris and Nicole Buyer. - Ooh, I scammed them. - What? - I could talk to you for an hour. - You're a generational yapper, like me. That's why I had to make yapping a job. - And the scams run the gamut. I'm talking about scams from the 1800s, all the way up to today. I also warn you and keep you safe against scammers. - Call your grandparents, tell your parents to stop clicking on links, please. And now you can catch full episodes of my show on YouTube. - If there's a scam, I'm here to protect you. And I'm also here to laugh with you. So if you like fun, if you like comedy, and you like learning and protecting yourself from criminals, start listening to scam goddess on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. ♪ Scam goddess ♪ - There are thousands of podcasts that can tell you how to better yourself. Get worse with Kyle Pru is not one of those podcasts. But if you're interested in blackmail, love bombing, cloning yourself, or getting revenge, then we've got a little something, something for a dastardly individual like you. Take a listen to some of the incredible advice we've given so far. Fake a back injury. Get the spray tan up your alcohol consumption. Only women should be allowed to have guns. - Kill 'em. - Kill 'em. - Kill 'em with a gun. - Listen, it's already over. I'm all about lying if it's something that really happened. - The next time a bear is running at you, you just calmly stop what you're doing, you look the bear in the eye, and you say this isn't you. - Do not preserve relationships. You don't need them. You only need one thing, and that's the Get Worse podcast. - Listen to Get Worse with Kyle Pru on the IHR Radio app Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. - Is there an epidemic against literature? More specifically, Black literature. Our books are being banned, scanned by AI, and destroyed. 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Listen to Black Lit from the Black Effect Podcast Network on our iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. - Erickson, you got them at 29, so you're kind of in that general same space by weeks probably end up pushing him up, but what's your vibe on tape? Do you think this can start to turn around more or are we kind of one in done on those big performances? - I think that in this particular game, I would rather play Wanda Robinson. - All right, going back to how do offenses attack the specific defenses, Colts, or another one of these teams that through the first five weeks slot funnel, right? They are slot corner back Justin Wally, I think, is his name. That's the guy that gets picked on with Sauce Gardener locking up with the number one wide receiver. I know we talked about Sauce last week, and he helped keep DK McCaff in check, and who popped off and had a Mount Monster game? Jeremy Bernard, the guy that was operating out of the slot. So this is how you attack this defense. Cardinal Tate isn't a strict perimeter player. He does sometimes move into the slot, but if it's a numbers game and you're already kind of just feeling not great about this passing attack overall, then you've got to take the guy who's going to run 75% was brought in a positive matchup, which is Wandael in this case. So I have Wandael actually ahead of Cardinal Tate here, because I think his matchup is better, and we never really talk about Cam Ward on the quarterbacks show, because I mean, you're never going to be playing. - Exactly, but why will we? But his performance against this type of defense matters for those that are wondering, should I play Cardinal Tate, to play man coverage on 34% of their drop packs this season. Cover one, they've called on 25% of their plays, sixth highest in the NFL. Cam Ward has averaged a whopping 3.7 yards per attempt against man coverage this season. That is the second worst among all quarterbacks. 3.8 yards per attempt against cover one, that is the fewest in the league. So against this particular scheme, Cam Ward does not rise above, and that would suggest that Cardinal Tate is also going to continue to struggle here. So I think we're going to see more of what we saw last week and not two weeks ago, even though I feel like a dome setting against a bad coach defense, you think, okay, maybe take kind of pop off here, but I mean, like, Saskar played much better than he had done in previous weeks, and most of the time drawing his type of coverage is not good for a wide receiver, especially a rookie like Cardinal Tate. So I think I agree with this, right? I think people are going to ask you questions about Tate. It's like, you don't really want to start him, but again, with by weeks, sometimes you're going to be forced to, you know he's going to run all the routes. He's going to be out there, and he is used downfield, so he can always come away with a big play. - Just to piggyback on what Erickson was saying, like I do think Justin Wally has become like, he is in the Alante Taylor zone. Like Alante Taylor was early in his career with the Sands, or it's like, who is going up against Alante Taylor this week? I want to start that guy in DFS. Justin Wally is in that spot right now. Like he is just getting destroyed on a weekly basis, and why would you challenge Saskarner when you can like pick on this guy? And I know the Colts were like high on Wally in the going into the season. Like they thought they had a fine with this guy, but he has taken his lumps. - When we are looking at some of the wide receivers that you were going to be starting over, there's a nice big heavy group in the wide receiver. Three range that are going to feel better. But before we jump into them, if you're not sure who to start, if you have a carnal tape issue, and we don't happen to be there for you, well guess what, you can get fast and free starter said advice with fantasy pros, who should I start tool? Compare your players and get instant recommendations powered by more than 150 fantasy experts. Set your best line up today at fantasypros.com/start. That's fantasypros.com/start. So a bunch of wide receivers that are probably going to be better than carnal tape coming in on the big board for wide receiver threes at 25 is Roma Dunesay. Followed by Jalen Waddle, Devon Vele, 28 Romeo Dobbs, Ameca Egbuca, Jeremy Bernard at 30, and then we've got Trey Tucker, Juan Del Robinson at 32, Devonte, Dantavian Wix, Jacobi Myers, Kenan Allen, and Khalil Shakir. Gentleman, can you just defyably start Jalen? Jalen Waddle. Now you got to start on if you don't have a choice, but like if you've got a choice here, are you better throwing caution to the wind with guys like Jeremy Bernard or a Juan Del Robinson at this point because as Erickson would say, Bun City with Jalen Waddle so far this season and the change to Peyton really didn't help. He's ECR 26, you guys are slightly lower, nothing crazy Erickson, I gotta get you take on it. Obviously there's gonna be situations where you're just not gonna have a choice, but should you be attempting at all best costs to move away from Jalen Waddle or will this turn around? - Well, let's turn around with Bonix, facing the Ceeox defense. I remain very skeptical that that will be a reality that we are coming away with after we watch this Thursday night matchup. I think it's a spot where you're trying to get away from Waddle. I think that the optimistic case would be, well, he did have seven targets last week, again, only five in the box score, but he had two that were raised by pass interference calls. So there was some intent to get him the football in some capacity, again, he did lead the team in targets with those seven true targets on 40 snaps played, but the efficiency is just not there with how bad Bonix is playing and the fact that Bonix is just so trigger shy, right? Like he is not attacking down field, and when you face a Ceeox defense, if you think that you're gonna be able to meticulously drive down the field on 15 play drives, it's not gonna happen. Like you have to generate some explosive play, so can Sean Payton like drill it into Bonix's head? Like, dude, you actually need to throw the ball down field because Jamel Waddle is running go routes. Like he is out there down field, sometimes open and Bonix is just not firing. So that's what has to change. So I think that's possible, where they could take an explosive shot with Jamel Waddle. I mean, they went and got him for a reason. Maybe last week was the JK Dobbins game, one of Sean Payton's guys, and this could be the Jamel Waddle game where another one of Sean Payton's guys as he is calling the plays. So that's why I'm hesitant, just like bury him outside like the top 36, even though I could see a argument for that because of how bad the matchup is. So that's why I got him tentatively that mid wide receiver three range, just because he does play full complement of snaps. We did see Mike Evans have a pretty good productive game against the Ceeox defense last week, but it's one of those where you kind of plug your nose and be like, she's gonna do her die, which Jamel Waddle will see. I mean, he's our guy, right? Welsh, Jamel Waddle, we just do her die with him all the time. So yeah, I don't know, Fitz, do you have any better feelings about Waddle? - I want to throw in for Fitzee. As the great Michael Clark Duncan said, if some butts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas. That's about where we're at with Jalen Waddle at this point. Yeah, please Fitzee, can you spread some optimism because it don't look good in the Jalen Waddle streets? - No, well, I should leave it to you to find the one guy I probably feel worst about how I have him ranked this week and pick on that scan. Yeah, like I'm looking at the wide receiver 27 ranking in a match up against Seattle. And I'm thinking, how can I possibly have him this high await their four teams on by, which is why he's inside the top 30. And even then it's a Pomex is averaging 5.8 yards per attempt this season, like he's been so bad. But we have proof of concept that Jalen Waddle has been good in his career. Like we weren't imagining that he started his career with three straight thousand yard seasons and that he averages better than nine yards per target for his career and that, you know, he's capable of like making his quota for a given week in fantasy with one play. And we just saw Mike Evans have a really good game against Seattle, but Bonix is not, uh, Brock Purdy. That's, that's the problem here. So yeah, I mean, uh, wide receiver 27 does feel too high. I can't argue with that. And I know people are going to be asking me this week like Jeremy Bernard or, or Jalen Waddle. I'm going to be like, oh, man, I have, I have Jalen Waddle ranked higher, but trust your gut, buddy, because I don't know what else to tell you. Yeah. Hold on to your butts. Same you all Jackson. Uh, I, you're going to hate it too. You said wide receiver 27. He's wide receiver 26 right now. So even worse, the new wide receiver 27. Let me ask you this. Betsy is Devon Valey ranked too high. Uh, he's got a great matchup on paper five star against the New York Giants, but both you and Ericson are lower in rank. Talk to us about Devon Valey. Is he ranked too high this week? Where is, is he an appropriate like wide receiver three? Where, where did you say that you see our hasms 27 because Waddle moved up to 26 from yesterday and Valey moved up to 27? I think he's a little too high. Um, and maybe the Saints passing game gets a back on track this week, but it's kind of been off the rails the last two weeks. And we knew it was going to be bad against Minnesota last week. They are a really tough matchup. Um, but it was not great the previous week against the Falcons who are past funnel defense who didn't have AJ Tarell for that game. And the Saints did have 286 yards or Tyler Shuck did, but he needed 48 passes to get there. I feel like the Saints offense is just not working that well without Kelvin Banks. They're stud left tackle. So I'm just, I don't want to be above consensus on any Saints on offense right now. Ericson is Devon Valey ranked too high this week and an untrustworthy start. I think that he is ranked pretty aggressively as a top 30 locked in and loaded wide receiver. When his production has kind of tailed off since the start of the season, I think that he's the clear number three in this offense that has struggled the last couple of weeks, the passing game with Tyler Shuck. Shucks also dealing with this like hand injury thing that I think is also potentially playing a factor in how bad that he has been the last two games. So I do think this is a spot where they maybe run the football a little bit or try to against a bad giant's run defense. And I'll talk about this on the quarterback show, but the giants have been dialing up more blitzes and you better believe they're going to look at what Flores did against the blitz last week and be like, yeah, let's do that again because Tyler Shuck could do nothing moving them all through the air against a blitz happy defense, which I think he's going to see again in New York. So I think when you look at him versus Waddle, I mean, who's the better player? Right? It's a wall. I don't think that's even close. So given that this giants match up again, not when you're afraid of, but I don't look at it and think this is the Dallas Cowboys is the Washington commanders like the giants have some guys that can rush the passer and given the injury to banks, like Fitz talked about, the Saints passing game has not been nearly as good since I lost their stud tackles. So I think they like's fine, but I think that he's more like low and wide receiver three than in this middle when you're 27. One of the top waiver picks from this week, maybe the top if Woody Marx wasn't available, Jeremy Bernard comes in at 30 going up against Tampa Bay, Aaron Rogers popular streamer this week because of this Tampa Bay matchup. No Roman Wilson. There was an extensive amount of targets for Jeremy Bernard. He comes in at 30. This is another one of the situation, though, that you guys are both just kind of lower Ericsson. You've got him at 36 fits. You've actually kicked him out of the wide receiver threes Ericsson. Talk to us about Jeremy Bernard. You don't seem super optimistic about him versus Tampa Bay this week. Well, I still got ranked as a wide receiver three. So it's definitely someone that you can still start. Now, maybe I am lagging a little bit behind the ECR here, given that he's coming off a game where he saw close to a 30% target share 29.4%, which is a big leap from week four when it was only at 5% because of the injuries to Michael Pittman and Roman Wilson, right, really opening things up for Jeremy Bernard. So it's never a given where a rookie wide receiver actually steps into a bigger role in action delivers. Like we've done this for a couple of weeks with McIleman now where he's given more opportunities to step up without De Montesmith. And although the Eagles offense has their own issues, McIleman hasn't produced for fantasy like we would have liked. Whereas Jeremy Bernard, last week he stepped up and even against my Patriots a couple of weeks ago in week two, Michael Pittman Jr. did not play in that game. And Jeremy Bernard was making plays against Christian Gonzalez. Like I remember watching that very closely and thinking like, man, the sky's showing me something. So the fact that he can deliver from out of the slot. We've seen slot receivers be very, very good for fantasy and Mike McCarthy lead offenses. And the biggest thing that matters is he's got Aaron Rodgers trust, right? Like that is like the number one hurdle for these younger players and Steelers receiving weapons is do they have the trust of Aaron Rodgers because if they don't, then you're not getting the rock or the ball whatsoever. So against Tampa Bay, you have a past funnel defense because they sell out to stop the run. I do think that maybe I am a little bit too low on Bernard and man, I'm going to have to just I'm going to have to do some practices about these Jamel Oliver versus Jeremy Bernard questions because to get ready they are they are coming hot and heavy. Well, because you said an important thing is like Rodgers has to have your trust and all he's been doing is talking about Bernard and now Bernard's getting that opportunity. So get ready for those questions. Fitsy, now you bumped him out of a top 36. So he's in like a three wide receiver with a flex potential option. So your thoughts on Bernard for week six. He has Aaron Rodgers trust until he's five blades of grass away from where he should be on an out route and Aaron Rodgers decides he's going to freeze him out for the next two and a half quarters. No, I'm probably too low on Jeremy Bernard considering that. I mean, the Steelers are down to DK Matt calf and Jeremy Bernard and I think Kaden Weijen, their rookie kick returner from Iowa's like the third because everyone else Roman Wilson out Michael Pittman out Ben Scurronic out. I don't know who they could promote to the practice squad this week, but it's pretty bleak. The only thing is you know that they're going to involve Pat Fryermuth and Darnell Washington. Jalen Warren has been getting a ton of targets. So I don't know that all these wide receiver injuries necessarily equate to an eight or ten target game for Bernard. But I probably should work him back inside wide receiver three. I would say I just make a comment because I know we were just talking about Justin Wallet. Like he's not facing Justin Wallet this week, right? So I don't know exactly where the Buccaneers slide up in terms of them being a slot funnel defense. That doesn't really pop it out to me in the matchups that I've looked at. I know that there are more of a past funnel defense because how good they are against the run. But I think that this might I think that expecting this performance back to back weeks is probably too aggressive for Jeremy Bernard unless he finds the end zone in terms of his production just because last week was a really, really good spot for Jeremy Barr, especially with Roman Wilson getting hurt in the middle of the game. So I just wanted to add that point in. Yeah. I think I would add to that though is if the expectation of last week carrying over with him being ranked as a wide receiver two. So I think I think some of the like bring down like that easy trustworthy to receive targets enough. And that's what wide receiver three represents. And I think that's kind of where he is and why he should be ranked here. Now there are quite a few wide receiver injuries. And there's quite a few names that could end up playing that were not on this rank list. I did want to ask you guys about one before we get your deep play. Because the news happened like 20 minutes before we started recording in that AJ Brown has officially been designated to return by the Patriots and it looks like he is practicing on Wednesday that gives no necessary guarantee that he's going to play this week on the designation. But it sure does sound and kind of seem like it. So the question is Erickson. If he is active for the game, you're going to have to take all your speculative. I'm not sure. But you know where would you rank him knowing that there could be a snap count issue. Maybe they unleashed him. What would be your process here? And where are you going to rank AJ Brown if he is active for week six? Probably is a wide receiver to I think. And I would just pull down all the other some. Yeah, I'd say probably top 20. Again, especially with all the teams on by weeks again, I'm doing this off the cuff. So I don't know exactly. Yeah, yeah. I'm 100% ranked. But I guess anyone that I have any hesitation about whether it's due to match up or anything along those lines, I would probably rank AJ Brown ahead of. But anyone that I feel really good about still, I would probably rank. And and for a rank AJ Brown behind those types of players, because again, guy coming off an injury, like you never know, you don't know what his workload would be like and we'll get reports that we'll probably end up not being right about. He's on a pitch count. And then he plays all the snaps or he's full goal. And then he's on a pitch count because that's literally what always happens with with a tons of these wide receivers in terms of the reporting. So I mean, it's the jets. It's Drake May on it's AJ Brown. So again, if he's out there, man, like my team's can't afford to keep him on the bench. Michael Wilson are you from Japan for you? Who are you peck? Michael Wilson was a big disappointment last week. He really heard a lot of people. He didn't seem happy with him. No, not happy. You seem pretty happy talking about AJ Brown. I'm going to start AJ Brown over Michael Wilson. There we go. I was trying to get that. Fitsy, where would you put AJ Brown, if active. Knowing that, you know, there's all the contingencies of snaps and blah, blah, blah, blah. All right. I'm looking at my rankings right now. I've got Matthew Golden, 17, Devonte Smith, who I'm tentatively expecting to return 18 and DKMACKav19. It's just a matter of whether I would have AJ Brown ahead of or behind Devonte Smith, because I would have AJ Brown behind Matthew Golden, but ahead of DKMACKav. Okay. Obviously, AJ Brown's a super big talent. I think most people listening would be like, "Will it will start?" But, you know, to know and to have that balance of some of those players in, like, where would you put him? And some of the players that end up jumping up and is there an uncomfortable level? Because there are teams out there that might have gotten Michael Wilson and Jalen Koker and you're placing those together. Top 20 wide receiver, I think, puts you guys in a good spot. All right. Final thing there. Just wanted to cover that is your deep play for this week. Fitsy, why don't you kick us with a deeper play wide receiver that you want to potentially try to get out there? Kendrick Bourne. I've got inside my top 40 as much as the Cardinals sling it around. And it's not always pretty. It's Jacobi Berset. At least for now, until they give Carson back his audition, which is coming, folks. It's coming soon. I would be willing to play Kendrick Bourne. They got to move. I've just been waiting to trade Jacobi Berset to any quarterback concrete team and let Menshu and Beck be the guy that people are screaming out here in Arizona for Carson back. I mean, there might be screaming once he's in games too, but everybody loves the backup quarterback. Erickson, your deeper play wide receiver for the week. I mentioned him earlier when we're breaking down Carnal Tate, but Wanda Robinson all pass lead to attacking the cold slot funnel defense. Second, most yards allowed to slot players this season. Boom. There you go. Wide receivers top 36. Couple deeper plays, some injuries out there. We know there's going to be more questions. That's why we got you covered here in Fantasy Pros with tons and tons of more shows. We've got live streams. We've even got the live stream right before Sunday kickoff with your start and sit. Or, you know, you can download the app. Make sure the who should I be playing tool. You can check out the injuries. We have so many tools to help you kind of get locked in, but these were the ranks. FantasyPros.com/rankings. If you want to check out how they adjust throughout the week, when guys become active, follow that along. But thank you so much for hanging out with us for Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmorese. I'm Chris Welsh. We'll talk to you next time right here on FantasyPros. Thanks for listening to the FantasyPros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts at fantasyPros.com/review or on Spotify. Follow us on X, Instagram and TikTok @FantasyPros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/FantasyPros. 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Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Mike Evans is ranked among the top wide receivers due to a strong matchup against the Commanders, high target volume, and a career-best catch rate, despite rib injury concerns.
  2. Devonta Adams is considered a potential top-12 player due to his red-zone efficiency and touchdowns, though volume concerns and a weak Cardinals pass game limit his upside.
  3. Matthew Golden is ranked higher by Erickson (12th) due to elite target share, consistent red-zone usage, and a favorable matchup against the Cowboys, while Fitzmore places him lower at 17.
  4. Jalen Coker and Tevin McMillan are both seen as strong against the Eagles’ slot-funnel defense, but Coker is favored due to better matchup and recent production, despite injury concerns.
  5. Carnell Tate is ranked low (24–36) due to inconsistent production, a weak passing game, and lack of recent big games, with both analysts skeptical of his performance against the Colts.
  6. Jalen Waddle is viewed with caution due to poor efficiency, lack of downfield production, and struggles against the Chiefs, though his role remains significant in a weak offensive environment.
  7. Jeremy Bernard is considered a mid-tier option with a strong slot role and increased targets due to injuries, and both analysts agree he has upside against Tampa Bay despite risk of being benched.
  8. AJ Brown’s return is seen as a potential top-20 play, with rankings adjusted based on injury recovery and snap count uncertainty, emphasizing caution in starting him due to workload unknowns.

Summary:

The Fantasy Pros podcast features a detailed ranking and analysis of the top 36 wide receivers for Week 6, focusing on matchups, injury impacts, and production trends. Mike Evans is highlighted as a top-tier option against the Commanders due to high target volume, favorable defensive matchup, and recent strong performances despite a rib injury. Devonta Adams is seen as a red-zone threat but lacks consistent volume, placing him in question for the top 12.

Matthew Golden is ranked highly due to his target share and red-zone usage, especially against the Cowboys. Jalen Coker is favored over Tevin McMillan due to better matchup against the Eagles’ slot defense, though both are viewed as strong options. Carnell Tate is ranked low due to poor passing game and inconsistent results.

Jalen Waddle is considered a risky option with limited downfield production, while Jeremy Bernard gains value from injuries and slot opportunities. AJ Brown is viewed as a potential top-20 pick if active, with uncertainty about snap counts and workload. The analysis emphasizes caution with high-upside players and highlights the importance of injury updates and matchup dynamics.

" for personalized advice. The episode also features light segments on other podcasts, including Scam Goddess and Black Lit, promoting content unrelated to fantasy football.

FAQs

Poca de Coa is ranked No. 1, followed by Jax Smith and Jigba at No. 2, Christian Watson at No. 3, and CDLAM Drake London and Crystal Lave in the top six.

Evans has shown resilience, consistently playing through injuries and delivering strong performances, especially against tough defenses. His high catch rate and downfield targets, combined with a weak defense in the Washington Commanders’ secondary, make him a top-tier option.

Devonte Smith is considered a potential breakout player, but his reliability is uncertain due to injury concerns and inconsistent volume. Rankings place him near the bottom of the top 36, with caution advised.

Yes, Jeremy Bernard is a strong option due to increased targets after injuries to Roman Wilson and Michael Pittman Jr. He has proven ability in the slot and has Aaron Rodgers' trust, making him a viable fantasy pick despite limited volume.

Injuries to key players like AJ Brown, Michael Wilson, or Roman Wilson can shift rankings significantly. Rankings are adjusted based on target volume, matchup strength, and recovery status, with some players rising or falling due to snap count uncertainty.

While some analysts feel he's over-ranked due to recency bias and injury concerns, his strong performance against Seattle and favorable matchup against the Commanders justify his top 12 status for this week.

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