The first game of the NFL week on Thursday night is always tricky for fantasy football mangers who want to make sure they get off to a good start — either by starting the right players or avoiding certain players.
Week 6 brings us another heated division rivalry between two NFC West teams with Seattle Seahawks (3-2) hosting the San Francisco 49ers (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video). Here's a start 'em and sit 'em breakdown of the potential high-scoring affair, including some DFS recommendations.
Start 'Em: San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks regular plays
Jordan Mason, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Mason has been great filling in for Christian McCaffrey as the RB9 in average scoring over the first five weeks, with strong rushing success and limited receiving work. The 49ers aren't putting away opponents in second halves, which has kept him from utter domination, but he's a weekly solid RB1 until (if?) CMC can return.
WEEK 6 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kickers
Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Walker is RB4 on average thanks to that massive scoring game on the Lions in Week 4 and has missed two games. He is always a threat to score, and he is setting workhorse touches in a high-volume play offense.
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle has been TE2 on the season behind surprising rookie Brock Bowers with one missed game and three top-production efforts. He should produce well after rookie Theo Johnson was a hard cover for Seattle in Week 5.
DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Metcalf has bookended three great games with two clunkers. But the 49ers' secondary is struggling, and Metcalf has looked good working in Ryan Grubb's offense with big volume. He should be busy in the second half.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Aiyuk has been disappointing as WR46, but he finally had a top fantasy performance in Week 5 in a smash spot vs. the Cardinals. This is a so-so matchup at best for him with Devon Witherspoon looming, so don't be surprised if he's a WR3.
Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers
This feels like more of a Kittle and Samuel game for Purdy. Samuel was quiet in the Cardinals game with Kittle scoring and Aiyuk going off. Samuel tends to burn the Seahawks, and this happens again in an overcorrection game.
WEEK 6 FANTASY ROSTER MANAGEMENT ADVICE
Stock Watch | Trade Advice | Start 'Em, Sit 'Em | Sleepers | Busts | Usage Report | Weather
Start 'Em: San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks strong plays
Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers
After a tough Week 1 vs. the Jets, Purdy has gotten back on track as the expected QB12 this season, given he's not a running QB. The Seahawks gave up a pair of scores to Daniel Jones last week, and this feels like a classic 250 and 2.
Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks
Smith is a borderline regular play as QB7 in average scoring. He leads the league with 1,466 passing yards with a league-high 199 attempts, or almost 40 per game. He also has 146 rushing yards and 8 total TDs. He will be need throw often more again to compile worthy stats in the end.
WEEK 6 DFS ADVICE
TNF DFS Picks | Sleepers & Values | DFS Stacks
Thursday Night Football sleepers
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
He's only been the average WR43 in half-point PPR, just out of WR3 range. He's had two double-digit games out of five. This isn't the greatest matchup for the elevated youngster, but he can score to help his line and should also get target volume along with Metcalf.
Matthew Wright, K, San Francisco 49ers
Jake Moody was having a big season as the average K4, so Wright can be positioned for some good field-goal opportunities as his fill-in. The Seahawks can get gashed on the ground in the red zone, so to pay off, he'll need to hit two treys from greater than 35 yards.
Sit 'Em: Thursday Night Football bust
San Francisco 49ers D/ST
The 49ers are back up to the average D/ST5, helped a ton by making big plays in the Patriots and Cardinals home games the past two weeks. But be wary the Seahawks' offense can limit their scoring on the road. Lower your expectations, and you can sit them in shallow leagues.
DraftKings mock Showdown lineup for Thursday night
- Captain (1.5x): DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks ($13,500)
- FLEX: Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers ($9,400)
- FLEX: Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks ($9,200)
- FLEX: George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers ($7,400)
- FLEX: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks ($7,000)
- FLEX: Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks ($3,400)
FanDuel mock single-game lineup for Thursday night
- MVP: (1.5x): DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks ($12,000)
- AnyFLEX: Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks ($14,500)
- AnyFLEX: Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers ($13,000)
- AnyFLEX: George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers ($10,500)
- AnyFLEX: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks ($10,000)
A Purdy and Smith combo is affordable in both lineups, with the latter being stacked twice with the Seahawks' high passing volume. Kittle kills division foes, so it makes sense to put him in with Purdy. Charbonnet is the twist of the potential negative game script and the right price to round out on the DK lineup.
