Fantasy Football Stars Who Will Struggle in Week 6: Josh Allen, Jonathan Taylor, Garrett Wilson and Dallas Goedert

In trying to find fantasy stars who will struggle, I’m looking for weekly starters who you would usually never bench. I’m not necessarily saying you should sit any or all of these guys, but it’s worth looking to see if you have another plausible option because the players that I list all have bad matchups and/or other circumstances pointing toward a quiet week.

Last week’s attempt was a major success, though one instance was unfortunately a player missing Week 5:

• Sam Darnold set season lows in completions, yards, completion percentage, and yards per attempt against the Jets and threw zero touchdowns for the first time this season (he’s thrown at least two TDs in all other games).
• Breece Hall had nine carries for 23 yards and three receptions for 14 yards against the Vikings. It was his second straight weak game against a good defense (Denver in Week 4).
• Malik Nabers missed the game and is still in concussion protocol, making him questionable for Week 6. I offered that Wan'Dale Robinson should also be skipped if Nabers was indeed out, and Robinson had a decent day with six receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown.
• Dalton Kincaid has lost his status as a “star” (I sometimes have to stretch that term, especially at QB and TE). He caught two passes for 34 yards against the Texans.

Let’s roll it back and find fantasy stars who will struggle in Week 6. Again, I’m not telling you to automatically bench these guys, but factor it into your decisions and see what other options you have.

I used NFL’s defensive stats and our FantasySP defensive fantasy rankings to help determine which teams have been toughest against each position. I will reference those numbers often.

Quarterback

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets

Allen might have been the MVP favorite after three games, but he has struggled mightily as his team lost to Baltimore and Houston the past two weeks. Allen was 9/30 passing for 131 yards last week; his team lost by three on a field goal as time expired. Play-calling hampered them at the end of Week 5, but Allen’s performance was brutal as his team lost a coin-flip game.

While Houston has a good pass defense, the Jets are even better. New York has allowed the second-fewest passing yards and yards per attempt, bested only by the Tennessee Titans. They’ve also allowed the second-least fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.

Allen will always get rushing production to boost his fantasy score, but the Jets have been successful at limiting quarterback rushing in 2024. While they haven’t faced a runner on Allen’s level, Brock Purdy, Will Levis, and Bo Nix can do a little damage with their legs, and the Jets are giving up less than 15 yards per game to QBs.

Allen is a guy you’re probably putting in your lineup in every situation. The upside is too good to actually sit him, but he’s been outside the top 15 quarterbacks each of the past two weeks and now has one of the toughest matchups possible. It’s worth a thought, if nothing else.

Running Back

Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans

There just aren’t many good options for the RB spot this week. Two of the best run defenses, Minnesota and Kansas City, are on bye, and other top Ds aren’t facing high-level running backs (like Detroit against the Cowboys underwhelming group led by Rico Dowdle).

A big part of the equation is that Taylor missed last week with an ankle sprain and is questionable for Week 6. I don’t like picking on injured players, but again, there isn’t a wealth of choices for this spot. I considered Joe Mixon from Houston, but he is facing the same situation of possibly returning from injury while facing a little tougher defense (Patriots).

Tennessee has been the best pass defense in the league for the first month-plus, and they’ve been successful against the run also, just not to the same degree. The Titans are 10th in yards per carry allowed; their bye last week skews the volume numbers in their favor, but the efficiency has been good as well.

Anthony Richardson is also questionable to play. The offense will look different depending on whether Richardson or Joe Flacco is under center, putting a little more uncertainty into the situation.

A lot is happening around Taylor’s Week 6, most notably dealing with the ankle injury. Even if he’s in the lineup, there’s risk of Taylor re-aggravating the injury or handling a smaller workload. That’s enough to consider sitting Taylor if you have other options to plug into your RB spots.

Wide Receiver

Garrett Wilson, New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills

We talked about Allen above, but the Jets aren’t the only ones who can defend the pass. Buffalo is toward the middle in total passing yards allowed but have given up the fifth-least yards per attempt, showing better efficiency. A team as good as the Bills on offense will usually face a lot of pass attempts, letting yards add up.

Wilson has looked more like a good receiver than a great one most of this season. Over the first month, he averaged five receptions for about 48 yards, scoring one touchdown in those four games. Then Week 5 blew everything out of the water: 13 receptions on 23 targets(!!!) for 101 yards and a touchdown.

That’s terribly inefficient, but you can’t argue with the outcome from a fantasy perspective. Wilson won’t get 23 targets again; he’s hit 13-15 several times and even 17 once, but 23 is an insane number. It took 54 attempts from Aaron Rodgers to get there after Rodgers hadn’t had 50 attempts in a game since 2019.

Regardless of anything else, that volume can’t be counted on. The efficiency also hasn’t been great for Wilson, whose 8.8 yards per attempt are well short of the past two seasons (11 last year, 13.3 as a rookie). The Wilson/Rodgers partnership hasn’t been an instant success.

With a bad matchup and the duo struggling to excel regularly, Wilson is a guy to consider benching if you have a good group of receivers.

Tight End

Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cleveland Browns

Goedert enjoyed essentially WR1 status in Week 4 (before their Week 5 bye), as the Eagles were without their top two receivers, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Both star pass catchers are expected to return this week, pushing Goedert back down the pecking order.

Goedert is a fine player but maybe a little overrated as a fantasy asset. He racked up 170 yards in Week 3 before seven receptions for 62 yards in their most recent game, great production. His first two games were each under 40 yards, though, inconsistency that has shown up often the past few years.

The situation and matchup often dictate his fantasy value; the matchup in this one isn’t good. Goedert overcame the same issue in Week 4, but again, that was without Philly’s top two receivers, who will both likely return.

Cleveland is in the top 10 in passing yards, yards per attempt, and completion percentage allowed; they rank 11th in quarterback rating allowed and sacks. As many issues as Cleveland is dealing with offensively, they still have stars on the defensive side and a recent history of great play.

Specific to our purposes, the Browns have given up the sixth-least fantasy points per game to tight ends. Things are pointing toward a more disappointing week for Goedert coming out of the bye.