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Week 6 Start/Sit: It should be Miller time for fantasy owners

Brandon Funston

The four teams on bye (Dallas, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Oakland) this week, on the whole, aren't exactly overflowing with star fantasy power. That said, you might still find yourself in a tough spot with your lineup this week. To help your Week 6 cause (full season or daily), here's a few players I expect to look better/worse than usual on Sunday. While a repeat performance of that is wishful thinking, he just might return a TE1 profit once again.

STARTS

QB - Teddy Bridgewater, Min vs. KC  ($26 in DFS) - Before his Week 5 bye, Bridgewater nearly led the Vikings to an upset victory over the Broncos in Week 4. Though the Vikings fell short (23-20), Bridgewater did finish with the best fantasy QB effort against that dynamic Denver defense this season, throwing for 269 yards and a TD (0 turnovers), while also adding 23 yards on the ground. This week, the matchup should be eminently easier for Bridgewater, going against a KC defense that has allowed 285 passing yards per game and a league-high 13 TD passes. I like the Viking as a borderline QB1.

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 RB - Lamar Miller, Mia @ Ten ($21)

More Miller in Week 6? (Getty)
More Miller in Week 6? (Getty)

- Finally, it's Miller time in Miami. Miller was the No. 9 fantasy RB last season, and only three running backs that finished among the top 16 had fewer touches than Miller (C.J. Anderson, Jeremy Hill and Jamaal Charles - with only JC outperforming Miller). In '14, Miller averaged 15.9 touches per game. But the workload has diminished even more this season, as he's averaging just 11.8 touches. Mercifully for Miller owners, new Miami head coach Dan Campbell is expected to try to right this wrong by leaning more heavily on the running game, starting this week against Tennessee. Be sure to capitalize on the touches uptick for Miller.

 RB - Charcandrick West, KC @ Min ($10) - West is this week's screaming DFS deal. But he's also a viable (top 20) standard league RB option, as he heads up an expected Chiefs' backfield platoon in the absence of the injured Jamaal Charles. West has speed (4.27 wind-aided 40 time at his Pro Day), explosiveness (41-inch vertical) and receiving talent (averaged 13.8 YPC on 32 catches his senior yeat at Abilene Christian). Head coach Andy Reid likes his versatile, athletic backs (Charles, McCoy, Westbrook, Staley, et al), and I'm sure scheme fit has a lot to do with why West moved ahead of Knile Davis on the depth chart. Against a Minnesota defense allowing 4.7 YPC to opposing RBs, don't be surprised if West pushes double-digit fantasy points in his first NFL start.

 WR - Donte Moncrief, Ind vs. NE ($21) - Moncrief got lost in the Andre Johnson Revenge Experience in Week 5 at Houston. But I wouldn't hold it against him this week. After all, Matt Hasselbeck was behind center and Johnson had a combined seven catches for 61 yards without a score before going off for a 6/77/2 line against his former team. Andrew Luck is expected back from a sore shoulder this week, and that should be good news for Moncrief, who connected with Luck for a TD catch in each of the three games that they've played together this season. With opposing New England sure to have the pedal to the metal on offense, the Colts should be pressed into a fast-paced style of play on Sunday night. Expect Moncrief to benefit with something in the neighborhood of around 70 yards and a TD.

WR - Anquan Boldin, SF vs. Bal ($15) - Like Johnson (above), it's now Boldin's turn to take a shot at his former team, the Ravens. Boldin is coming off a big performance in Week 5 at the Giants (8/107/1), and he's easily QB Colin Kaepernick's top target (Boldin's 37 targets is more than twice as many as Torrey Smith's 18). The key for Boldin is getting the good Kaepernick and not the bad Kaepernick. The 49ers' signal caller was on point last week, and facing a Ravens team that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to the QB position, I like his chances of remaining at least serviceable at home this week. That should work out well for Boldin, as the Ravens secondary has allowed 7 TDs and an average of just shy of 220 passing yards per game to the WR position this season.

 TE - Crockett Gillmore, Bal @ SF ($16) - Be ready to pounce if Gillmore (calf), who has been practicing this week, makes his return to action on Sunday after sitting out the past two games. He'll face a 49ers defense that has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to the TE position, this despite having yet to face any of the current top 12 fantasy tight ends. In his last trip to the Bay Area (Week 2), Gillmore went for 88 yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders.It's wishful thinking to hope for a repeat of those numbers, but a TE1-level repeat is plausible.

[Week 6 rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | Flex | All Positions]

SITS

QB - Cam Newton, Car @ Sea ($34) - There's plenty of recent history between Newton and the Seahawks, and none of it is good for the Panthers' QB. Newton has hosted Seattle in each of the past three seasons, and he has just 1 TD pass total to show for it. He's also averaged a mere 145.7 passing yards and 34.7 rushing yards (modest by Newton's standards). Newton faired a little better at Seattle in the postseason last year, throwing for 246 yards and 2 TDs, but he was also picked off twice and fumbled twice (one lost). And, of course, Kelvin Benjamin scored on both of those TD passes, and he's out for the year. Newton has faced one of the easiest fantasy QB schedules, to this point, but he's about to hit his first speed bump of the season.

RB - DeMarco Murray, Phi vs. NYG   ($27) - Even after a season best 20-83 rushing effort in Week 5, Murray is still sitting on a 2.7 YPC average. His work (if you can call it that) in the first month of the season can't be ignored. Nor can the fact that backup Ryan Mathews has outperformed him in fantasy despite 17 fewer touches. Murray has the fourth-highest stuffed percentage (runs stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage) among RBs, and has the most accrued negative yards (-41) from those stuffs. Against a Giants defense that has been strong against the run (only one RB has surpassed 65 rushing yards), and also rates well (top 12) in the defensive stuffs department, I'd try to steer clear of Murray this week.

RB - Jeremy Hill, Cin @ Buf ($21) - I remain bullish on Hill's long-term '15 prospects, but he's unlikely to get things untracked this weekend against a Buffalo run defense that has not allowed an RB to reach 50 rushing yards this season. Running backs have hurt the Bills in the passing game, but that's Gio Bernard's department. Hill could find the end zone because Cincy likes to use him if it gets into point-blank range, and he's good at punching it in. But don't expect much more than 35 rushing yards which, sadly, is his season average. Banking on a TD to save your fantasy line is a tough way to live. I wouldn't roll those dice this week. But, like I said, be comforted, Hill owners, that there should still be plenty of good times ahead.

WR - John Brown, Ari @ Pit ($18) - Brown has made it clear what his ceiling is - 75 yards. He's managed to top that tally just once in his 22-game NFL career. Sure, he'll throw in a TD every few weeks, but good luck trying to peg when that will happen. And, of his seven career scores, none have come from inside the 10-yard line - his career average distance on touchdowns is 30 yards. Facing a Steelers defense that has allowed the fewest pass plays of 20-plus yards (9), I certainly don't feel optimistic about the big-play Brown scoring this week.

WR - Jarvis Landry, Mia @ Ten ($24) -  Landry returns from bye to face a Titans defense that is allowing a league-low 119.3 yards per game to the WR position. That's not great news for a wideout that, despite averaging an Edelman-esque 12 targets per game, has finished with 67 receiving yards or less in three of his four contests and has yet to find the end zone through the air..

TE - Charles Clay, Buf vs. Cin ($18) -There's three pretty obvious strikes against Clay, fantasy's No. 6 overall  tight end, this week. First is his health. He's expected to play, but he's dealing with a calf injury that popped up prior to his one-catch, seven-yard dud in Week 5. Strike No. 2 comes in the form of E.J. Manuel, the Bills' signal-caller this week as Tyrod Taylor is likely to sit out with a knee injury. Finally, Clay will face a Bengals defense that has yet to allow a tight end to reach even 5.0 fantasy points this season, and that includes Travis Kelce, Jimmy Graham, Ladarius Green and Crockett Gillmore (all among the top 15 in fantasy points scored at the TE position).