Fantasy Football Week 6 Low-Ranked Starters: Matthew Stafford, Hassan Haskins, and More

Last week's attempt at finding guys ranked outside of the fantasy starters at their position who would break into that group was a rough outing, with just one true win and one on the fringe:

• Jaxson Dart threw for 202 yards on just 5.1 per attempt with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 55 yards. Dart finished as QB16, outside the fantasy starters but still reasonable if he was in your lineup.
• Woody Marks seemed like he could be taking over the Houston backfield, but Nick Chubb was back in charge. Marks gained just 24 rushing yards on seven attempts.
• Tetairoa McMillan continued standing out among Carolina's pass catchers, hauling in six of eight targets for 73 yards. He still hasn't scored a touchdown, but McMillan is averaging around five catches and 70 yards per game.
• Darren Waller followed up his big fantasy Week 4 with 78 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Waller finished in the top six TEs in both standard and PPR.

Let's do it again and look at one player projected to finish below the starters at his position who will break through that ceiling in Week 6. Weekly rankings are based on our FantasySP projections. We are using the top 10 as “starters” for quarterbacks and tight ends and the top 20 for running backs and wide receivers.

Check out FantasySP's weekly projections to identify players ready to break out and help make all your lineup decisions.

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams @ Baltimore Ravens

Stafford has had a fantastic start to the season, averaging over 300 passing yards per game at 8.2 per attempt with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions. He is ranked as QB6 after five weeks.

That's extra impressive because Stafford never runs the ball. His 11 attempts this season have combined for negative-four yards (that includes kneel downs, a major part of Stafford's rushing attack). The other nine QBs in the top 10 in fantasy scoring have an average of 141.8 rushing yards, and they have all reached at least 50 total yards.

That makes Stafford's placement even more impressive, as this is all coming through his acumen with his arm, something we don't see a lot across the league in 2025. There's also a friendly ecosystem: Stafford has a top-level receiver in Puka Nacua and maybe the best WR2 in football in Davante Adams, and Stafford also benefits from the presence of head coach Sean McVay.

The matchup points toward another big game, as the Ravens are worse than average against the pass and have given up the second-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Last week, C.J. Stroud threw for 244 yards on 9.0 per attempt with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Most damage is coming through the air: Baltimore has allowed over 270 passing yards per game with 13 touchdowns and just one pick. QBs are averaging just 15.8 rushing yards per game (and Josh Allen scored twice in Week 1) against the Ravens, though.

Stafford has been very good this year, the matchup is great, and Lamar Jackson might be out again. The Baltimore offense will likely leave the defense in tough positions again if Jackson is out, giving the Rams more opportunities at easy points.

Running Back

Hassan Haskins, Los Angeles Chargers @ Miami Dolphins

Najee Harris tore his Achilles in Week 3, then Omarion Hampton was put on IR this week with an ailing ankle. That leaves the Chargers down to their third- and fourth-string backs, Haskins and Kimani Vidal, to handle the load.

It's unclear who will get the most work; neither guy has any track record of success. While he barely was on the field, Haskins did play slightly more than Vidal in the first five games. Either guy could take the lead, and the most likely outcome is a split backfield, leaving both backs with middling fantasy outlooks. I'll give Haskins the slight advantage over Vidal.

Their place here is more about the matchup than anything else. Miami has given up the third-most yards per rush attempt and the sixth-most fantasy points per game to running backs. They are also susceptible to the passing game, allowing around five catches and 50 yards per game to backs.

There's a lot of risk here, and because of that, neither Haskins nor Vidal is more than a flex player until we see how things shake out. If you need an RB, either guy could find success against the faltering Dolphins, though I expect Haskins to lead the way.

Wide Receiver

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots

I don't like counting on bad quarterbacks or questionable passing games in fantasy football. We look for the right matchups each week, but the players in question must also have reasonable chances to excel.

That stops me from getting overly excited about someone like Carolina rookie Tetairoa McMillan (who catches passes from Bryce Young) and makes me hesitant to count on Olave for big things, even in the best matchups.

And this is one of the best matchups, as the Patriots have allowed the third-most yards per pass attempt and ninth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. New England is giving up close to 150 receiving yards to WRs each week and has allowed at least one receiver touchdown in every game except Week 4 against the Panthers.

Olave has 33 receptions, making him a better PPR player, but he's averaging just 7.4 yards per catch, a very low number for an outside receiver. A big part of that is QB Spencer Rattler, a fifth-round pick last year; Rattler is a below-average quarterback and likely to keep struggling to push the ball downfield, lowering Olave's floor and ceiling each week.

With the matchup in his favor, Olave has a chance to sneak into the top 20 this week, particularly in PPR. I'm not high on any Saints players in fantasy, but this is the game to target if the pass catchers are going to have a big performance.

Tight End

David Njoku, Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers

I've found it hard to separate Njoku from Harold Fannin; they are even ranked back-to-back in our Week 6 projections (15th and 16th among tight ends). Their stats are very close to the same, and the two tight ends are within two spots of each other in both standard and PPR scoring.

In this week's tight end start/sit column, I listed both Njoku and Fannin as starters because of their dual ability to put up numbers while on the field together. I'm making a call here and saying that I favor Njoku ever so slightly above his rookie teammate, a sentiment shared by most ranking systems.

Njoku has caught 20 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown; Fannin's numbers are close to the same across the board. He has never become the high-level player some thought he might when he was younger, but Njoku is a solid player and decent fantasy streamer.

The Steelers have given up fourth-most yards per pass attempt and the fifth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. In Week 3, they let Hunter Henry catch eight passes for 90 yards and two TDs.

Njoku has a ceiling, but he can be a productive fantasy player in Week 6. If he's not available, you can do just fine with the rookie Fannin. I'll give Njoku the slight nod, though, and the spot here.