Week #6 of the NFL season was another exciting one, and as the strong and weak teams within the league start to get weeded out, it is becoming more and more apparent who the strong daily fantasy football athletes are, and who the ones that you should avoid are. Let’s take a quick look at who the fantasy busts and diamonds were for the week, and whether or not these players are likely to stay in that category into the future.
Week 6 Had it’s Share of Busts
Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers were left stunned by the Miami Dolphins, and Roethlisberger’s stats suffered a lot as a result of this. He threw for just 189 yards and had only one passing touchdown. He was sacked twice and had 2 interceptions. Roethlisberger was pretty banged up after this game, but his injuries do not appear to be serious. This game seems like a fluke for Big Ben, but looking at his status later in the week will be a better determinant of this. Roethlisberger went just 19 for 34 with his passing.
Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Thanks to Roethlisberger’s bad game, Brown also had a poor showing. Brown had just 4 catches for 39 yards and 0 TDs. Brown has been the top performer in the NFL from a fantasy point of view over the last several weeks, but this week, he had one of the most lackluster performances by a starter in the whole league. Brown is better than this, and the good news is that this week can only drive his price down for the future, making him more accessible to you in the coming weeks.
Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Hyde is a hot and cold running back, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have potential. Unfortunately for those of us that drafted him this week, this was a cold week. He had 52 yards in rushing against Buffalo. It’s become very difficult to know when he will be on and when he will be off, but the Buffalo Bills’ defense is fairly strong this season. When the 49ers are going against a semi-decent defense, it is safe to say that Hyde should be avoided. Having Kaepernick at QB was also a downfall for Hyde this week.
See Who Steped up in Week 6 of 2016
Case Keenum, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Keenum has shown some decent signs of progress over the last few weeks, but he stood out as stellar this week. He had 3 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing TD. He threw 321 yards in passing and had 7 yards in rushing. The yard numbers themselves are not all that impressive, but the number of touchdowns is, making this not just Keenum’s best week yet, but one that gave him exceptional value this week. Keenum was sacked once, had an interception, and had one fumble, which hurt his fantasy value a bit, but he was still one of the top performers from a fantasy perspective. He went 27 for 32 with receptions, giving him a very strong showing here, too. However, as Keenum has not ever performed at this level before, it’s hard to know yet whether or not this is the kind of performance that will likely be duplicated or not. Until we have more data on the rookie QB, or unless he is extremely cheap, we would hold off on drafting him in th0e future. At least for now.
Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins
Ajayi had the game of his career on Sunday, helping the Dolphins beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had 204 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns. He also had 1 reception and 3 yards in passing, which boosted his fantasy value by a tiny bit. The Dolphins have really struggled this season, but this was not a game where that would have been visible. We really think that this game was a fluke, but because it was against one of the better teams in the NFL, there’s a strong argument for the other side of this, two. If you can get a good price on Ajayi next week, he might be worth picking up for your team.
Odell Beckham, Jr., WR, New York Giants
Beckham finally had his breakout game of the season on Sunday. He caught 8 passed for 222 yards. There were 2 touchdowns, as well. Beckham has underperformed quite a bit this season, but this was not one of those games. Beckham is a talented wide out, but he has been overpriced this season because of his poor performances. He’s another player we would hold off on until we start seeing better results from him.
