With your running backs and wide receivers likely dotting the majority of your lineup, it’s time to start finding quality value. That may mean picking up a flex option, building some depth in those previously mentioned positions or finally filling in that tight end or quarterback position. In this round, though, you’ll see plenty of fantasy potential.
Reaching at this level also isn’t terrible, either, especially if you have a player you like more than others with an average draft position later in the draft.
The average draft positions are changing some, so we’ll avoid looking at players twice, and move them around accordingly.
According to average draft positions in a standard 12-team league, here’s the 12 players in order that will likely be taken in the sixth round:
61. Mike Gillislee, RB, New England
62. Ameer Abdullah, RB, Detroit
63. Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta
64. Tyler Eifert, TE, Cincinnati
65. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver
66. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota
67. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona
68. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota
69. Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee
70. Derek Carr, QB, Oakland
71. Eddie Lacy, RB, Seattle
72. Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Carolina
Best Bet
Stefon Diggs — There’s a lot of potential in this round. This is a round where I may reach on a couple of options for the fifth round. The main man I’m targeting, though, is Diggs. I’ve talked about this before, but Diggs offers plenty of potential. He’s going off as the 29th ranked receiver, which is absurd. Diggs easily put up WR2 targets last year on a team with a quarterback who showed up days before the first game. The Vikings will have a better offense this year and Diggs will continue to see a healthy dose of targets. He’s easily a WR2, so he offers you some flexibility in earlier rounds by drafting running backs and possibly a tight end in other rounds, or he can be a beast as a WR3 on your roster.
Who’s next?
Ameer Abdullah — Like I said, I really like this tier of players. And Abdullah is another one of those sleepers who has the ability to be a solid player. We all heard about how great he was going to be in his rookie season, and then he got hurt in week 2. Despite dominating in his only performance in 2016, we’re all of sudden supposed to forget about the hype. Well, I’m not. At this level, Abdullah will likely go off as a flex option or a low-end RB2. He has the ability to be an RB2, and I believe he can be that type of player. The only drawback with Abdullah is that he’s in a crowded backfield for a Detroit team that loves to use a committee approach. If he can show off that talent we were drooling about last year, he can emerge as the lone wolf, and be a highly productive fantasy player. That may take some patience and some rough weeks sprinkled in through the season, but overall, he should have RB2 fantasy points.
Running Back depth aplenty
You could go with Eifert, and that wouldn’t be a bad pick. He’s a touchdown magnet, and as long as he can stay healthy, he should put up decent points. He’s listed as the sixth-best tight end, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he finished in the top-five. With that being said, though, I see some serious value with building running back depth. Gillislee, Abdullah, Peterson, Coleman and Lacy all have question marks, but serious potential. They all are in crowded backfields, but there’s reason to believe all of these players will get enough touches to be considered a serious fantasy contender. And we can’t ignore the production for the most part that they’ve provided in the past when offered the opportunity to play. Of those remaining running backs, I actually like Coleman the best. The Falcons have shown a desire to use Coleman more often, and that shouldn’t stop again. He may not be a flex right away, but he does provide some nice depth for fantasy rosters.
Is it QB time?
Maybe. I love Mariota to be a consistent fantasy option this season. He has more weapons at his disposal and should have more leeway in the offense. I’m not as high on Carr, especially with the fact that the Raiders will play less close games and will need to milk the clock at the end of the game. I like Mariota much better than Carr, and I don’t hate the Mariota pick as much as I do some of those other quarterbacks in earlier rounds. By the sixth round, you do have the majority of your main starters locked in, so Mariota is the best quarterback bet in this round. The only issue, though, with a Mariota pick is missing out on some major depth in this round. If you believe Mariota will be a regular top-five quarterback, then filling the QB slot isn’t a bad decision.
Skip Fitzgerald; believe in Benjamin
Maybe it will be 10 years down the road, but eventually I’m going to be right about Fitzgerald. He still was a target monster last year, but his production didn’t keep up. I’m banking on that happening again this season, with his targets waning. If he falls past the sixth round, he does offer some value as a WR3, but I’m not as high on him as I am with Benjamin. Last year was a forgettable year for Benjamin, but this year should be different. The Panthers are poised to be better, giving way to utilizing Benjamin in the red zone. He’s not going to be a target machine, but his ability to tally touches in the red zone gives him an edge on Fitzgerald and Sanders.
