The sixth week of the 2021 NFL season is upon us, and there are plenty of exciting games for us to watch. We are well underway in the Fantasy Football season as we now have a better grasp of what certain players’ usages are, what their roles are, and what we should expect from them each week. At the same time, there are going to be surprising performances that happen every week.
In Week 6, there are predictions that can be made, beginning with Thursday night’s matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles. By looking at this week’s upcoming games, here are 10 bold Fantasy Football predictions that I believe could happen in Week 6 of the 2021 NFL season.
Taylor Heinicke Finishes As A Top Five Quarterback
It is no secret how bad the defense of the Kansas City Chiefs has been this season. The Chiefs haven’t been able to slow down any offense this season, and that shouldn’t end in Week 6 versus the Washington Football Team. Taylor Heinicke continues to fill in for Ryan Fitzpatrick this season and regardless of how people feel about him as a real-life quarterback, Heinicke provides a relatively safe floor with his rushing. And the good news for Heinicke is that the Chiefs have surrendered the most points per game to quarterbacks in 2021.
With that in mind, Heinicke finishes as a top five quarterback in Week 6.
Ricky Seals-Jones Finishes As A Top Five Tight End
With Heinicke being a viable option in Week 6, his pass-catchers could be everyone’s radar. Terry McLaurin is a stud and shouldn’t have much trouble putting together a stellar performance on Sunday. But with Logan Thomas still sidelined, Ricky Seals-Jones is poised to have a productive game against his former team.
Seals-Jones recorded five receptions for 41 yards in Week 5, but the bigger development was him being on the field for 99% of Washington’s offensive snaps. As long as Seals-Jones continues to have a decent-sized role for the Football Team, he has an opportunity to be a top five tight end, especially if he can find the end zone.
Derrick Henry Fails To Score A Touchdown
When it comes to finding the end zone, Derrick Henry is no stranger to crossing the goal line with the ball. Henry has scored a touchdown in 13 out of his past 19 games, including eight games with multiple touchdowns.
Despite the Tennessee Titans wanting to lean on Henry on the ground, they face the Buffalo Bills in Week 6, who want to air it out often. Also, Buffalo’s defense has limited running backs to the third-fewest points per week this season. Seeing that the Titans could be playing catch up in Week 6, the game script could be out of favor for Henry as they’ll need to air it out with Ryan Tannehill more. That will lead Henry to have a rare game where he doesn’t score a touchdown.
Najee Harris Hauls In 12 Passes
The struggles of Ben Roethlisberger have been well-documented this season as his arm isn’t what it once was. That has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to conduct most of their passing game in the short-to-intermediate range of the field. With JuJu Smith-Schuster sidelined for the rest of the season, Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson could be in for expanded roles.
However, with Roethlisberger limited with his arm, Najee Harris could see even more targets in the aerial attack. After already having a game where he had 14 catches this season, Harris will proceed to catch 12 passes in Week 6 versus the Seattle Seahawks.
Jonathan Taylor Sees >60% Of The Offensive Snaps For The Colts
The Indianapolis Colts continue to not use Jonathan Taylor nearly enough in their offense. Taylor caught a screen pass in Week 5 and took it 76 yards for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens. Despite his success, Taylor had his fifth straight game of not being on the field for more than 55% of the Colts’ offensive snaps in a game.
Indianapolis is attempting to keep Marlon Mack involved until they trade him. With Mack drumming up interest from teams, Taylor could finally be unleashed in Week 6 against the Houston Texans. For the first time this season, Taylor logs more than 60% of Indianapolis’ snaps on offense and has a fantastic week in fantasy football.
Leonard Fournette Concludes The Week As A Top 10 Running Back
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t a team that leans on their ground game often with Tom Brady airing it out efficiently. But when the Buccaneers do hand the ball off, Leonard Fournette handles the majority of the backfield duties. Fournette gets a favorable matchup in Week 6 as Tampa Bay will square off with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Even though he isn’t a talented wide receiver, Fournette is involved in the passing game, recording 24+ receiving yards in each game in the first five weeks. Philadelphia’s defense has given up the ninth-most fantasy points per game to running backs in 2021.
Stefon Diggs Is WR1 In Week 6
Stefon Diggs has disappointed everyone that drafted him early in fantasy football drafts in the offseason. While his numbers aren’t awful, he isn’t producing like he did a season ago with the Bills. In the first five weeks, Diggs has 28 receptions, 374 yards, and one touchdown. The good news for Diggs is that he gets to go up against a weak defense in the Titans in Week 6.
Tennessee has surrendered the most points per week to wide receivers this season, allowing 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns to wide receivers thus far. After a slow start to the season, Diggs finishes as WR1 in fantasy football in Week 6.
Mecole Hardman Scores Two Touchdowns
There is going to be a lot of scoring in the game between Washington and Kansas City in Week 6. I’ve already spoken about how Heinicke and Seals-Jones are poised for big weeks for the Football Team. On the other hand, Washington’s defense has been largely disappointing this season, setting up Patrick Mahomes for a big game.
Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are dealing with injuries and Clyde Edwards-Helaire is going to miss time with a knee injury. With injuries to the offense, Mecole Hardman could see a larger role in Week 6. Seeing that Washington’s defense continues to give up big plays through the air, Hardman has an opportunity to score multiple touchdowns with his speed.
Jakobi Meyers Scores His First Touchdown
The New England Patriots refuse to find a way for Jakobi Meyers to score a touchdown in the NFL. Meyers has suited up in 34 games, recording 116 receptions, 1,390 yards, and zero touchdowns in that span of time. While he has yet to post his first score in the NFL, Meyers could finally discover what it feels like to catch a touchdown in the league in Week 6 versus the Dallas Cowboys.
While the defense of the Cowboys looks much improved this season, they’ve still given up the seventh-most fantasy points per week to wide receivers. Being that I see the Patriots needing to play catch up with the Cowboys, Meyers could be in for a busy day on Sunday.
Zach Ertz Is A Top 10 Tight End In Week 6
Teams haven’t had much trouble throwing the ball against the Buccaneers this season due to injuries taking place in Tampa Bay’s secondary. Besides wide receivers doing whatever they want against the Buccaneers, they’ve also allowed the sixth-most points per game to tight ends this season. Dallas Goedert is on the reserve/COVID-19 list for the Eagles on Thursday night, so Zach Ertz is slated to have a bigger role in Week 6.
Ertz isn’t a Pro Bowl tight end anymore, but he should be a favorite weapon for Jalen Hurts this week. Goedert’s absence could lead Ertz to have a top 10 performance at the tight end position in Week 6.
