Fantasy Football Week 6 Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em: Geno Smith leads unlikely group of interesting options

The 2022 Fantasy season has been strange to say the least. And heading into Week 6, we have some strong recommendations as start and sit options that we never expected when the season began.

Geno Smith, Jeff Wilson, Eno Benjamin, Alec Pierce, Jakobi Meyers and Taysom Hill are starting options this week — and good ones at that. And you should plan to sit guys like Russell Wilson, Najee Harris, Ezekiel Elliot, Diontae Johnson and Jaylen Waddle due to bad matchups or just overall disappointing play.

This could also be a good week for guys like Cam Akers, D.J. Moore and George Kittle since they have struggled so far this season. But they might break out in Week 6 based on some positive matchups.

It’s a fun week with a lot of moving parts due to four teams on a bye (Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas and Tennessee), and your Fantasy lineups could look a little wacky. With that in mind, let’s get to the starts you need and the players you should be avoiding in Week 6.

It’s hard to find a better story in the NFL this season than Geno Smith. And he’s become a quality Fantasy quarterback heading into Week 6 against Arizona. But first let’s see how he got here.

In 2013, he was drafted in the second round out of West Virginia by the Jets to be their franchise quarterback, but that didn’t work out. He bounced around the league as a backup with the Giants and Chargers before going to the Seahawks to sit behind Russell Wilson in 2019.

For three seasons, Smith barely saw the field and only had significant playing time in 2021 when he started three games after Wilson broke his finger. But Smith’s patience paid off. When Wilson was traded to Denver this offseason, the Seahawks allowed Smith to compete with Drew Lock for the starting job, and Smith proved to be the better quarterback.

He has rewarded Seattle and coach Pete Carroll with a solid start to the season, and the Seahawks are a surprising 2-3 through five games. Smith has helped Fantasy managers as well for anyone who trusted him with four games of at least 20 Fantasy points, including three in a row with at least 23 points.

He’s doing the right thing by leaning on DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett (they are two of only 19 receivers with at least 40 targets), and he’s not making mistakes with just two interceptions on the season. He’s also starting to run more with 62 rushing yards and a touchdown in his past two outings against Detroit and New Orleans.

This week, Smith should have another big game against the Cardinals, who have allowed three quarterbacks to score at least 22 Fantasy points this year. Smith should be considered a must-start Fantasy quarterback in this matchup, and his feel-good story will continue with another standout performance in Week 6.

• More Week 6: Starts, Sits, Sleepers and Busts | Waiver Wire | QB Preview | RB Preview | WR Preview | TE Preview | Trade Values

Colts (vs. JAC)

The Colts defense had a rough start to the season, allowing 17 or more points in their first four games. In that same time span, the Colts defense only forced three turnovers and had seven sacks combined. With that being said, they had a nice bounce back game vs. the Broncos in Week 5 with two interceptions and four sacks, while only allowing nine points. The Jaguars offense has only scored more than 24 points once this season, and Jacksonville scored 27 points in the past two games combined. Trevor Lawrence also has seven turnovers and only two touchdowns in that stretch. This should be another solid performance from the Colts DST, especially after getting embarrassed in Week 2 at Jacksonville.

• Patriots (at CLE)
• Vikings (at MIA)
• Chargers (vs. DEN)

Bills (at KC)

The Bills DST has been elite this season, and it’s tough to sit this unit. But this is a good week to avoid the Bills DST at the Chiefs. While Buffalo’s defense hasn’t given up more than 21 points in a game, the Bills haven’t faced Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs are scoring 32 points per game, first in the NFL. Mahomes has 15 touchdowns and only two turnovers so far this year. This game will be all about the offenses, and you should fade the Bills DST if you can this week.