Start Russell Wilson vs. Trevor Lawrence vs. Matthew Stafford vs. Geno Smith | Fantasy Football Week 6 QB Start Decision
Week 6 of the NFL season is closing in quickly, with a Thursday night matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos kicking off the week shortly.
Russell Wilson will be leading the Broncos’ offense, and he’s part of a couple of the trending quarterback start/sit decisions in our “Who Should I Start? tool. Fantasy owners are wondering whether or not to start Wilson against Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence and Seattle Seahawks’ Geno Smith. Lawrence is also in a trending decision against Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford, so we’ll throw him in the mix too.
Tough start decision? We have you covered. Find out in depth stats, red zone opportunities, projections, breaking news, and crowdsourcing real fantasy owners faced with the same start/sit decision. Check out our Who Should I Start tool.
Why You Should Start Russell Wilson
While the Broncos as a whole have not been good so far this season, Wilson and the team’s offense have actually been solid.
Wilson has 20+ completions in four of the first five games, and in the one game he didn’t reach 20 completions, he threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson has tossed at least one touchdown in each contest.
Wilson is the eighth-ranked fantasy quarterback so far, according to FantasyPros and ESPN, averaging just under 20 fantasy points.
The veteran quarterback should have pretty much every member of the offense at his disposal when the team takes on the Chiefs. The Chiefs are a top-10 defense in slowing opposing quarterbacks coming into week 6, allowing an average of just 15 fantasy points a contest.
Many people expect Thursday’s game to be a blowout win by the Chiefs. If Kansas City gets up by a couple scores early on, Wilson will have to throw plenty just to keep Denver in it. It could lead to a good fantasy score if he can avoid multiple turnovers.
Why You Should Start Trevor Lawrence
Lawrence hasn’t taken the leap many people expected this season, but he’s still been pretty solid and consistent. He’s passed for at least 200 yards in every game and is averaging a touchdown a game. He’s thrown two picks.
Lawrence’s best game of the season came against the league’s top defense against the pass, the Buffalo Bills. Lawrence was 25-of-37 for 315 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions in week 5. He added 31 rushing yards.
Many are hoping that Lawrence’s performance last week will be a sign of things to come. He’s averaging the most passing yards per game in his three-year career, but his touchdowns are a bit down.
Jacksonville will be taking on the Indianapolis Colts in week 6. Indy is a below-average defense in stopping opposing quarterbacks, allowing an average of 19 fantasy points a contest. The 282 passing yards a game is the fourth most allowed by a defense, but only allowing one touchdown pass is tied for the sixth-best mark in the league.
Why You Should Start Matthew Stafford
Stafford looks to have moved past the injury that plagued him a season ago and is looking like his old self. With Cooper Kupp back and with Puka Nacua’s emergence, the sky's the limit for the Rams’ passing game.
Stafford has passed for at least 220 yards in each contest, with three 300+-yard games already. He’s thrown five touchdowns, but also five interceptions. Sacks have also been a problem of late, with 12 over the past three games.
Los Angeles will look to get back to its winning ways when taking on the Arizona Cardinals this weekend. It sets up as a great matchup for Stafford, as Arizona’s defense has allowed an average of 21 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. The Cardinals have allowed nearly 275 passing yards and over 1.5 touchdowns a game, with both of those being bottom-six marks.
The Rams are about as healthy as can be at the skill positions, but have a pair of linemen dinged up. Being without a couple linemen could hurt Stafford is this overall favorable matchup.
Why You Should Start Geno Smith
Speaking of the injury report, Smith is on Seattle’s version. He has a knee injury, but doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy of missing the upcoming game as he was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. While Smith should play, DK Metcalf is also on the injury report and didn’t practice Wednesday, so his status will be one to watch as the week progresses. At this point, all signs point to Metcalf playing and not being limited in any capacity.
So far this season, Smith has kind of been all over the place. He started the season by only passing for 112 yards and a touchdown against the Rams. Smith then had a 328-yard, two-touchdown performance in week 2 against the Detroit Lions before a 296-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Carolina Panthers in week 3. Smith only threw for 110 yards and a touchdown in week 4 against the New York Giants, also getting injured in the contest.
While his numbers have varied throughout the team’s four games, Smith has done a nice job of taking care of the ball, throwing just one interception and not even fumbling once. You’d like to see passing numbers closer to weeks 2 and 3, but at least he’s been avoiding negative points.
Seattle takes on the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend. Cincy has been an above-average defense against opposing quarterbacks, allowing just 15 fantasy points a contest. Quarterbacks are throwing for only roughly 213 yards a game, but almost are averaging 1.5 touchdowns.
Final Numbers and the Recommended Start
Fantasy owners don’t seem to be a fan of the projections, as the latest numbers show that Wilson, Lawrence and Stafford are all the preferred starters over Smith, with none really being all that close either.
The preferred starter for fantasy owners is Lawrence, and I’d agree with their choice. He’s got a pretty favorable matchup and has been the best of this group in taking care of the ball. I think he picks up where he left off against the Bills in week 5 when another great showing in week 6 against the Colts.
I would take Stafford next, mostly because of his favorable matchup. With Kupp back, he’s got a safety valve on offense, and in time, I could see the Rams’ passing offense as the best and most consistent in the entire league. I’d take Stafford over Lawrence if it wasn’t for the five picks Stafford has already thrown.
I would lean Wilson over Smith, despite what the projections are saying. Wilson has been solid so far this season and will likely be tasked with keeping his team in the contest. That means a lot of passes, yards and potential scores for Wilson, and it’s simply too appealing to pass on him for Smith.
Smith has had his good games this season, but even when he has, he’s lacked the touchdowns to separate himself from the middle pack of quarterbacks. Against a solid Bengals’ defense, I could see another average showing from the Seattle quarterback. Smith is definitely a quarterback I’d start over many others this week, it’s just that I’m not a fan of Smith over any of the guys in this conversation.
