Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings WR and TE Rankings: Starts, Sits, Risers & Fallers (Ep. 2247)

This is the Week 6 WR/TE rankings show, with Tara Roberts hosting Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson. The central thread: trust is thinning out fast at wide receiver this year (reliable starts basically end around WR17), so the hosts spend most of the episode arguing for chasing volume and positive game scripts even when the surface-level story — an injured quarterback, a banged-up star, a one-week breakout — says to be cautious.

The arguments

Zay Flowers should not be downgraded for losing Lamar Jackson, and might even deserve to move up. Fitzmaurice cites Flowers' 16.8 yards per target, 6.64 yards per route run, and 28.4% target share against an Atlanta defense that funnels throws while stopping the run. Erickson goes further, noting Flowers has actually scored 0.5 more fantasy points per game with Tyler Huntley than with Jackson over his last five games, because negative game scripts with Huntley mean more dropbacks and more volume for Flowers as Baltimore's clear first read.

Michael Wilson's aggressive rise to the WR7-10 range is a pure volume bet, not an efficiency bet. Fitzmaurice flags that Wilson is fourth in the league in targets behind only Lamb, Olave, and St. Brown, with Marvin Harrison Jr.'s struggles funneling the offense through him, but worries Jacoby Brissett's inefficiency and a shakier interior line (losing Paris Johnson) could cap the ceiling. Erickson counters that Detroit's defense is bad enough that Arizona won't need to be efficient — Wilson has seen 30 targets over his last two games and has career outings of 185, 142, and 118 yards in exactly this type of shootout script.

DK Metcalf is a start-anyway despite the Sauce Gardner matchup. Fitzmaurice notes Metcalf is 10th in the league in targets and still produced against tough coverage last week (5-115 on 9 targets vs. Denzel Ward). Erickson personally dislikes Metcalf as a player but moved him up to WR22 anyway, pointing out Gardner has been getting cooked by inferior receivers the last two weeks and that the Colts' defense is specifically vulnerable to slot/moving usage.

Carnell Tate's 145-yard breakout shouldn't be chased against Houston. Both Fitzmaurice and Erickson rank him well below ECR (WR27/28). Fitzmaurice doubts Tennessee's offensive line can hold up against Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter long enough for Tate's downfield game to hit. Erickson adds context that Houston's defense has only looked bad against top-10 offenses (Buffalo, Cincinnati, Dallas) and should play like last year's good unit against a bottom-tier Titans offense — comparing the hype to Kenyon Sadiq's one-week mirage.

Mike Evans stays in lineups even playing through broken ribs on limited snaps. Fitzmaurice notes his season-high 8 targets last week (5-76) with Brock Purdy playing well. Erickson argues Kyle Shanahan's more careful snap management (59% last week) hasn't hurt Evans' role in the passages that matter — he still led the team in targets and was stopped at the one-yard line — and sees a real floor via red-zone/third-down work even if the snap count stays capped.

Josh Downs is capped by his slot-heavy role, and the matchup math works against him. Erickson explains Downs ran a 72% slot rate and Pittsburgh is stingiest in the league against slot receivers percentage-wise, the same funnel problem that sank him against Washington. He flags that a Keenan Allen return could actually push Downs outside into better matchups and raise his rankings, but with Allen out, Downs stays capped as a low-end WR3.

Denzel Boston deserves to rank above Devon Vele and even above Carnell Tate this week. Fitzmaurice calls Boston a star in the making off 89 yards last week (71 yards/game average, 21.8 YPC, 2.39 yards per route run) against a beatable Jets defense. Erickson backs this by noting Boston has been the most consistent rookie receiver through four weeks and is clearly Deshaun Watson's most trusted target, while Vele's ranking is inflated by a cosmetic garbage-time touchdown against a Vikings defense that, per Erickson, never allows soft coverage or garbage-time production.

At tight end, chase Isaiah Likely and Harold Fannin on usage; fade Juwan Johnson into Minnesota. Fitzmaurice and Erickson both rank Likely above ECR given his 88% snap share and a plus Washington matchup. Fannin gets strong marks for 89-94% route participation and three touchdowns over two weeks despite modest yardage. Johnson, despite elite target share, gets downgraded hard by both hosts because Minnesota allows the fewest catches per game to tight ends and games against the Vikings tend to funnel to wide receivers, not tight ends.

What it means for your roster

• Start Zay Flowers with confidence even with Tyler Huntley at QB — both hosts argue the game-script shift could actually help his volume against Atlanta's pass funnel.
• Play Michael Wilson as a top-10 flex/WR2 option against Detroit; accept lower efficiency in exchange for a target floor near 15-18 looks.
• Keep DK Metcalf in lineups against the Colts despite the Sauce Gardner matchup; recent tape suggests Gardner is beatable and Metcalf's target share alone clears the bar.
• Fade the Carnell Tate hype this week — treat last week's 145-yard game as an outlier and expect a tougher, lower-scoring environment against Houston's pass rush.
• Trust Mike Evans as a WR2 even on reduced snaps; his red-zone/third-down role gives him a real floor as long as he's active.
• Downgrade Josh Downs to a low-end WR3/flex unless Keenan Allen sits again opens up outside snaps, or Allen returns and shifts Downs to a better alignment.
• Prioritize Denzel Boston over Devon Vele and even Carnell Tate in flex spots; both hosts see him as the safer, more consistent rookie play, while Vele's matchup against Minnesota is one of the worst in the league for garbage-time production.
• At tight end, start Isaiah Likely and Harold Fannin on usage alone, and consider benching Juwan Johnson this week given Minnesota's tight end-stingy profile, even with Tyler Shough's high pass-attempt volume.