Start or Sit These Players on Thursday Night to Win Week 6 Fantasy

There are those in the fantasy community that follow the “When in doubt, Thursday is out” philosophy. Thankfully I am not a member of that line of thinking, especially considering I write this article weekly.

There are certainly variables to consider when setting your weekly lineup that includes players scheduled to be in action on a Thursday. First and foremost, not unlike any other matchup you need to watch the injury reports. If you have to choose between a questionable player and a player that is good to go of similar value, well you don’t need me to tell you which player to insert into your lineup.

One overlooked piece when setting a lineup that includes Thursday night action is your flex spots. Fill your positional spots on Thursday and leave your flex spots for Sunday. Lots can happen leading up to any given Sunday, and having the ability to be flexible with roster construction is an advantage you don’t want to give away.

Don’t let a Thursday matchup scare you. I get it, your fantasy assets are coming off a short week, but remember so are the defenses they matched up against. Good players typically are good players and good matchups are typically good matchups. The same can be said for the opposite. Long story short, my advice is don’t over think it. If player “X” was going to be in your lineup on Sunday, they should be in your lineup on Thursday as well.

With out further ado, let’s get into Thursday’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

1. Quarterback

Start or Sit These Players on Thursday Night to Win Week 6 Fantasy
Start or Sit These Players on Thursday Night to Win Week 6 Fantasy


Tom Brady

Tom Brady has a thumb injury that may limit him this week, but he is going to start as planned this Thursday night. When Tom Brady starts, you start Tom Brady. It’s a rather simple rule to follow. TB12 is the QB2 through 5 weeks sitting less than a half a point behind Patrick Mahomes. There’s nothing to see here, so start Brady with the utmost confidence.

Jalen Hurts

I have had Jalen Hurts as a fixture in my weekly Sunday start/sit this season in the “start” category. This Thursday is not different. Hurts is QB7 on the season averaging a nice 25.04 points per game. Tampa Bay is 7th worst against opposing QBs this season, giving up on average 321 passing yards and 22.2 points per game. Hurts needs to start for your fantasy squad this week.

2. Running Back

Leonard Fournette/ Ronald Jones / Giovani Bernard

I have made it a habit this season to avoid all that is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ backfield. This theory for the most part has served me well. Let’s get the easy parts out of the way first. Sit Ronald Jones. The Eagles are the 9th worst team in the league vs. the opposing team’s RBs. They are allowing over 100 yards on the ground and .6 TDs a game.

Through the air they have given up 30 receptions and 341 yards season to date. If you are in need of a flex play this week, Leonard Fournette is worthy, and if bye weeks and injures have you extremely desperate, Giovani Bernard works too. In a perfect world, I prefer to sit them all.

Miles Sanders / Kenneth Gainwell

The Eagles backfield for the most part is a mess, and one to avoid wherever possible. Miles Sanders this season is averaging 10.1 PPR points, and 12.8 touches per game. Kenneth Gainwell is averaging 10 PPR points, and 7 touches per game. The Eagles are a committee–no doubt about it. Running on Tampa Bay is typically not effective.

The Bucs have given up 198 yards and a touchdown on the ground all season. They have also allowed opposing RBs to catch 42 passes for 301 yards and 3 touchdowns. I prefer to sit both Eagles backs this week. If you are stuck, Kenneth Gainwell is desperation flex play. Miles Sanders is tough to sit based on where you drafted him, but he is a sit nonetheless.

3. Wide Receiver

Start or Sit These Players on Thursday Night to Win Week 6 Fantasy
Start or Sit These Players on Thursday Night to Win Week 6 Fantasy

Mike Evans / Chris Godwin / Antonio Brown

Simply put, start them all. The reality is in this offense, any of the three are capable of what Evans, (6/113/2), and Brown, (7/124/2), did a week ago against Miami. Chris Godwin, by the way, “settled” for 7 catches and 70 yards. Philadelphia has been good against the opposing WRs this season.

They enter Week 6 as the 4th best unit in the league, limiting teams’ WRs to only 28.3 points per game. I want to start all three Bucs pass catchers ,and I know not all three will go off like a week ago. The challenge is which one will. I have them ranked Godwin, Evans, Brown this week–all inside my top-30.

DeVonta Smith / Jalen Reagor

If you want to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, you need to throw on them, and throw a lot. The Bucs are 7th worst fantasy defense against the opponent’s QB, and they are the 3rd worst against the opponents wide receivers. Through five gamers this season, the beat-up Bucs secondary has allowed 17 catches, 204 yards, and 1.4 score per game. In total they have allowed 46.7 PPR points to the WR position a game this season.

DeVonta Smith sits at WR32, averaging 12.5 points a game season to date. Jalen Reagor sits at WR64 averaging 7.6 points a game season to date. I like both of them to exceed their season long averages and both are starts this week for me. I am avoiding the remainder of the Eagles’ WRs including Quez Watkins.

4. Tight End

Start or Sit These Players on Thursday Night to Win Week 6 Fantasy
Start or Sit These Players on Thursday Night to Win Week 6 Fantasy

Rob Gronkowski / Cameron Brate / O.J. Howard

After the first three weeks of the 2021 season, Rob Gronkowski sat as the TE2 overall. After five weeks he is the TE8, and he has missed the past two contests. Gronk is battling a serious rib injury, and it is one that I believe keeps him out of at least one more week. If he starts this week, he should be in your lineup, however.

As for Brate and Howard, they are both easy sits for me regardless of Gronk’s status this week. In the two weeks without Gronk, Brate has 7.1 PPR points and Howard has 3.9. Sit them both if you haven’t dropped them yet.

Dallas Goedert / Zach Ertz

Like I have said on multiple occasions throughout this article, the way to beat Tampa is to throw, and throw a lot. Enter Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz. Goedert is averaging 9.7 PPR points a game this season and Ertz is averaging 7.2. Goedert is TE12, and Ertz is TE20. If we could morph these gentleman into one, then we would have the TE3 on our hands.

Tampa is not as accommodating the TE as they are to the WR, but they are friendly enough. Tampa allows 17.2 points to the position, 7th worst among the 32 NFL defenses. I am starting both this week. Dallas Goedert has been placed on the Covid-19 list making his availability very unlikely this week. Without Goedert in the lineup, Ertz becomes a must-start TE. If somehow they both are available, I am looking to start them both, unless I have both on my roster.

Thank you for reading Start or Sit These Players on Thursday Night to Win Week 6 Fantasy.

For all your start/sit questions be sure to reach out to me on Twitter @RotoHeatSully.

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