Fantasy Football 2024: One player I’m fading/starting in Week 6 for each position

Week 6 of the NFL season has arrived. Hard to believe we’re already about a third of the way through the fantasy football season, isn’t it?

The big storyline entering this week is that the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh. Is firing your defensive-minded head coach when your defense is playing really, really well a good idea? I don’t know, but I’m not sure Saleh was the issue. More likely, the issue is that Aaron Rodgers is a 40-year-old quarterback coming off a torn Achilles, right?

Anyway, let’s look at one player to fade and one player to start in fantasy football for Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season.

Week 6 quarterbacks to fade and start

Fade: C.J. Stroud - Houston Texans

On Wednesday, the Texans put Nico Collins, the NFL’s leading receiver, on the Injured Reserve, keeping him out for the next four games.

While the Texans still have Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell to catch passes, the offense just looked disjointed after Collins exited in Week 5. Stroud threw for 331 yards against Buffalo, but in the second half, he had 144 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception.

This week, Stroud faces a Patriots defense that has allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in 2024, giving up four passing touchdowns in five games. New England is also set to start a rookie QB in this one, potentially setting up a situation where the Texans control the game on the ground if Drake Maye struggles, minimizing what Stroud is asked to do without his top wideout.

Start: Justin Fields - Pittsburgh Steelers

Justin Fields and the Steelers have lost two in a row and questions have started to arise about his starting job. Will he keep it all year or will Russell Wilson eventually take over as the team’s No. 1 quarterback?

But for this week at least, Mike Tomlin’s team is preparing to put Fields out there against the Raiders. This is a matchup that Fields can take advantage of. Last week, the Broncos dominated Vegas, with rookie quarterback Bo Nix throwing two touchdowns and running for a third. Maxx Crosby remains a scary defender who can get to the passer, but Fields is one of the best runners at the position and should be able to shake loose of the pass rush.

Week 6 running backs to fade and start

Fade: James Cook - Buffalo Bills

Assuming James Cook plays — he didn’t practice Wednesday because of a foot injury — I really don’t love this matchup against the New York Jets.

Sure, the Jets could be in disarray after the Saleh firing, but the team promoted defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to the interim head coach job, so I’m mostly confident the defense continues to look mostly the same.

That defense allows the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to the running back position and has held two of the last three teams it faced to under 100 rushing yards total. In fact, the only team with over 130 rushing yards against the Jets was the 49ers back in Week 1. I’m not holding that against them, since they faced an offense built around the run with a complete mystery at running back in that game, as teams just didn’t know how to prepare for Jordan Mason.

Start: Najee Harris - Pittsburgh Steelers

I was high on Najee Harris last week and the results were…ehh. It’s become clear over the past two weeks that the Cowboys run defense has figured some things out, so I won’t hold that against Harris too much.

He has another good spot this week as he faces the Raiders, a team that’s allowed the 10th-most rushing yards in the league and has allowed over 90 rushing yards in each game. 

Harris has double-digit carries in each game this season and while his production has dipped the last two weeks, he still has 70 or more scrimmage yards in each game this season.

Week 6 wide recievers to fade and start

Fade: Dontayvion Wicks - Green Bay Packers

In Week 4, Dontayvion Wicks caught five passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns, looking like a breakout star after Christian Watson went down with injury.

But in Week 5, Wicks turned his seven targets into just two catches for 20 yards. That came in a contest where Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw for 224 yards. Wicks was fourth on the team in receiving yards.

It’s not clear if Watson will return this week, but what is clear is that Wicks is behind Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft in the pecking order and could be pushed farther down if Watson is back. I just think Week 4 was a bit of a mirage, a good game from a good player but not indicative he was about to become a great fantasy option.

Start: D.J. Moore - Chicago Bears

The Bears offense is really starting to find its stride, with the team putting up 36 points against the Panthers last weekend. Wide receiver D.J. Moore was a huge part of that, catching five of his eight targets for 105 yards and two touchdowns. He has not scored three times in the past two games and has 50-plus receiving yards in three of Chicago’s last four contests.

Up next for Chicago is a meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags have allowed more passing yards than any team in the NFL and have given up 10 passing scores, behind only Carolina and Washington’s 11.

And considering what Moore did against Carolina, I’m pretty confident he can have another strong showing when the Bears face the Jaguars this week.

Week 6 tight ends to fade and start

Fade: Dallas Goedert - Philadelphia Eagles

This is where the weird state of the tight end position this season really stands out. Dallas Goedert is the overall TE5 in half PPR, but he has just one game with double-digit fantasy points. That game just happened to see Goedert finish with 22 fantasy points, which propelled him way up the overall leaderboard.

Goedert faces a tough test this week against the Cleveland Browns, a team that has yet to allow a touchdown to a tight end through five games. It’s a tough matchup, and Goedert’s path is made tougher by the fact that the Eagles look likely to have both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in the lineup for the first time since Week 1.

And what happened with Goedert in the only game he’s played with both of Philly’s top receivers? Four catches for a season-low 31 yards.

Start: Kyle Pitts - Atlanta Falcons

In Week 5, the Falcons offense had its best showing of the season, which also happened to lead to tight end Kyle Pitts having his best game of 2024, catching seven of his eight targets for 88 yards in the overtime victory.

It was a great bounce back from his complete no-show the week before, as Pitts failed to bring in any of his three targets against the Saints.

Now, he prepares to face a weak Panthers pass defense that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season. Kirk Cousins won’t throw for 500 yards again, but a 300-plus yard day is easily within reach, which should be enough for Pitts to wind up with a strong stat line when all is said and done.