Koerner’s Week 6 Fantasy Football WR Tiers: Expect a Josh Gordon’s Breakout Game?

Koerner’s Week 6 Fantasy Football WR Tiers: Expect a Josh Gordon’s Breakout Game? article feature image
Credit:

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Josh Gordon

  • Sean Koerner -- the No. 1 in-season fantasy football ranker in 2015, 2016 and 2017 -- takes a detailed look at his Week 6 wide receiver tiers.
  • Use the strategies outlined below to build the most optimal starting lineup for your fantasy football team.

Below you’ll find my wide receiver tiers for Week 6 fantasy football. These are based on standard scoring.

As a reminder, these tiers are not updated after publication. If you want my most up-to-date rankings for PPR, Standard and Half-Point PPR leagues, check out this post.

And, yes, my tiers will be part of our Action Network subscription this season. Be sure to check out everything that comes with a sub here.


Koerner's Wide Receiver Tiers

Tier 1
Antonio Brown (@ CIN)

I didn’t flinch at the "JuJu Smith-Schuster has replaced Brown as the Steelers No. 1 wide receiver" hype last week. I maintain my position that JuJu is an elite receiver and is a WR1 from here on in, but he has not passed the GOAT yet in my model. Neither should be part of any sit/start decisions anyway.

Tier 2
DeAndre Hopkins (vs. BUF)
Julio Jones (vs. TB)

Another scoreless week for Jones has everyone wondering when he will put a touchdown on the board this year. It’s worth noting that one of his three touchdowns in 2017 came from Mohamed Sanu.

The receptions and yardage are always going to be there for Julio, so any touchdowns would be icing on the cake. He’s in a smash spot this week at home against the Buccaneers, and if you own him, you are playing him.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Jalen Mills (31) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.
Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Jalen Mills (31).

Tier 3
A.J. Green (vs. PIT)
Odell Beckham (vs. PHI)
Mike Evans (@ ATL)
Adam Thielen (vs. ARI)
Tyreek Hill (@ NE)

Evans returns from his Week 5 BYE and should get a boost with Winston under center, who typically forces the ball to Evans. Hill has been held in check for three straight games now but should erupt for a big game this week versus the Patriots.

Tier 4
JuJu Smith-Schuster (@ CIN)
Davante Adams (vs. SF)
Stefon Diggs (vs. ARI)
Keenan Allen (@ CLE)

The Packers' receiver health is a concern right now. If Cobb and Allison are both ruled out again this Week, expect Adams’ rank to push him up a Tier. Be sure to check my updated rankings to see how injury news impacts everything before making sit/start decisions.

Tier 5
Robert Woods (@ DEN)
Cooper Kupp (@ DEN)
Brandin Cooks (@ DEN)

By sheer fate, the entire Tier 5 is held by three wide receivers from the same team. This is the most critical Tier to watch this week, as Kupp and Cooks are in concussion protocol and are game-time decisions.

There is way too much uncertainty here to be ranking any of them with confidence midweek, so be sure to check how my rankings change as we find out their statuses later in the week.



Tier 6
Jarvis Landry (vs. LAC)
Emmanuel Sanders (vs. LAR)
Tyler Boyd (vs. PIT)

Boyd finally came crashing down to Earth last week (four catches for 44 yards against the Dolphins). Expect him to bounce back this week against the Steelers. His rank could go up slightly if John Ross is ruled out again this week.

Tier 7
John Brown (@ TEN)
Corey Davis (vs. BAL)
Calvin Ridley (vs. TB)
Allen Robinson (@ MIA)
Demaryius Thomas (vs. LAR)
Tyler Lockett (@ OAK)
DeSean Jackson (@ ATL)
Julian Edelman (vs. KC)
Alshon Jeffery (@ NYG)
Sterling Shepard (vs. PHI)
Will Fuller (vs. BUF)
T.Y. Hilton (@ NYJ)

Everyone in this Tier makes for a great Week 6 start. The two we need to monitor are Hilton and Fuller. Hilton is pretty simple: If he’s active, you start him; if he’s inactive, you bench him.

Fuller is a bit more complicated. He is clearly playing at less than 100% right now as evidenced by his 2/15/0 line in Week 5. We will want to get a better sense of his health based on practice reports and how he looks later in the week.

Factor in Deshaun Watson being banged up and the Texans likely not needing to pass much to beat Buffalo, and Fuller could be a guy we choose to bench this week due to his lower floor.

Tier 8
Devin Funchess (@ WAS)
Doug Baldwin (@ OAK)
Amari Cooper (vs. SEA)
Quincy Enunwa (vs. IND)
Keelan Cole (@ DAL)

This Tier was a disaster in Week 5. Baldwin/Enunwa combined for one yard and Cooper continued his boom/bust production with a putrid 1/10/0 line.

Unless you have enough players above this to fill out your starting lineup, I’m afraid you have to go back to the well with this Tier this week. You will quickly find yourself playing whack-a-mole if you bench players after a bad week and have them on your bench when they produce.

Do not become one of those owners.

Tier 9
Dede Westbrook (@ DAL)
Taylor Gabriel (@ MIA)
Sammy Watkins (@ NE)
Michael Crabtree (@ TEN)
Jordy Nelson (vs. SEA)
Donte Moncrief (@ DAL)
Mohamed Sanu (vs. TB)
Robby Anderson (vs. IND)
Nelson Agholor (@ NYG)
Kenny Stills (vs. CHI)
Chris Godwin (@ ATL)
Keke Coutee (vs. BUF)
Jamison Crowder (vs. CAR)
Antonio Callaway (vs. LAC)

Robby Anderson returned to fantasy relevance with a 3/123/2 game in Week 5. I’m afraid he will leave overly ambitious owners with a dud in Week 6 if they start him over someone such as an Amari Cooper.

Again, we do not want to start playing whack-a-mole this time of year. When I see owners doing this and complaining about it being the players’ fault, I can’t help but think it’s simply bad roster management.

New York Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson (11) celebrates a touchdown against the Denver Broncos during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium.
Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: New York Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson (11) celebrates a touchdown at MetLife Stadium.

Tier 10
Randall Cobb (vs. SF)
Mike Williams (@ CLE)
Josh Gordon (vs. KC)
Larry Fitzgerald (@ MIN)
Christian Kirk (@ MIN)
Geronimo Allison (vs. SF)

Josh Gordon managed to put up a solid 2/50/1 line in just 18 snaps in Week 5. There is no doubt that as he learns the offense and returns to health, his playing time will increase, and my projections for him will rise. Right now he is too high of a risk/reward to trust him in head-to-head season-long fantasy.

I know everyone loves Gordon, and when he scores a TD on your team in the FLEX, it almost feels like it’s worth triple. But it’s not, and until he gets more snaps, I’m afraid he’s going to increase the likelihood that you lose any week he doesn’t score.

Tier 11
Taywan Taylor (vs. BAL)
Paul Richardson (vs. CAR)
David Moore (@ OAK)
Courtland Sutton (vs. LAR)
Willie Snead (@ TEN)



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