Week 6 Fantasy Busts: Adrian Peterson, Greg Olsen among injury, matchup worries

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Busts are the worst part of fantasy football. Thinking that you have a solid play in any given week and watching them put up just a few points is the most maddening experience for fantasy football owners. For that reason, all matchups and all rankings are heavily scrutinized by savvy owners as they desperately look to avoid playing a low-upside guy in a poor situation. And every week, we try to do our best to predict the busts for you whether they're injury risks like Adrian Peterson and Greg Olsen, matchup risks like Kenyan Drake and David Njoku, or usage risks like Josh Gordon and Will Fuller.

Per usual, our busts were pretty accurate last week. Dalvin Cook didn't play, so we got a freebie there, but Devonta Freeman struggled to generate much on few touches. Deshaun Watson and Andy Dalton didn't do quite as much as fantasy owners were hoping from a TD perspective. At receiver, Nelson Agholor, Doug Baldwin, and Amari Cooper all put up duds. And to top it off, our TEs and defensive units didn't come through much either.

Week 6 Rankings:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker

You may want to start some of these guys, but if you can avoid it, consider benching them. They just have tough matchups or bad situations. If you have to start one, that's fine. But if you rely on too many, you may find yourself on our "How You'll Lose" list for Week 6. For more sleeper/bust picks, listen to our Week 6 preview podcast.

WEEK 6 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiverTight end

Week 6 fantasy football busts: Running backs

Adrian Peterson, Redskins vs. Panthers (Jacob Camenker). Peterson suffered a shoulder injury on Monday night that he's planning on playing through. That seems like a recipe for disaster for the 33-year-old future Hall-of-Famer, and he'll be battling a tough Carolina run defense (eighth-best in yards allowed at 95 per game) that will see Thomas Davis return to the lineup. It's best to avoid Peterson this week, as there are too many factors working against him.

Kenyan Drake, RB, Dolphins vs. Bears (Vinnie Iyer). So, he got used again in Cincy and delivered through his pass-catching, but he goes back to being a non-factor against Chicago's D.

Isaiah Crowell, Jets vs. Colts (Matt Lutovsky). Don't fall for it. Here are Crowell’s fantasy points by week: 22.2, 3.9, 17.1, 0.3, and 29.1. The Colts struggle against pass-catching backs (66 receiving yards allowed/game to RBs), so this feels like a “Bilal Powell week”.

Full Week 6 RB rankings

​WEEK 6 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings

Week 6 fantasy football busts: Quarterbacks

Derek Carr, Raiders vs. Seahawks (Camenker). This game is taking place at 1:00 p.m. ET in London. The London games are always tricky to figure out, and Derek Carr only has one multi-TD outing this year. The Seahawks don't have the strongest defense -- especially with Earl Thomas out -- but they may be able to rattle Carr in an unfamiliar setting and cause him to put up a dud. I guess I'm just wary of trusting a QB playing in London, as the games are too unpredictable.

Joe Flacco, QB, Ravens @ Titans (Iyer). You know what happened to him when he went on the road against an underrated pass defense last week.

Mitchell Trubisky, Bears @ Dolphins (Lutovsky). The last time we saw Trubisky he was putting up six TDs against the Bucs. He once again gets a team from Florida, but this time he’s on the road -- and the Dolphins can actually play a little defense. Don’t take the bait if you're without Matthew Stafford or Drew Brees this week.

Full Week 6 QB rankings

WEEK 6 DFS GPP LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings

Week 6 fantasy football busts: Wide receivers

Josh Gordon, Patriots vs. Chiefs (Camenker). Gordon played in 18 snaps in each of his first two games as a Patriot. He has still been productive in those contests, but if he continues on at such a low snap share, he's bound to put up a bad outing at some point.

Robby Anderson, WR, Jets vs. Colts (Iyer). Indy's corners are playing better than you think, and their zone coverage concepts will keep Anderson from getting free for more deep scoring plays, a la against Denver.

Will Fuller, Texans @ Bills (Lutovsky). Fuller only needs one big play to pay off, but with Keke Coutee demanding more of a target share, Fuller’s opportunities seem to be decreasing. Wide receivers actually haven’t done much against the Bills this year (fourth-fewest FPPG allowed), so there aren’t many reasons to be excited.

Full Week 6 WR rankings

Week 6 fantasy football busts: Tight ends

Greg Olsen, Panthers @ Redskins (Camenker). Olsen may return to action this week, but I still wouldn't trust him, even though the TE position is very thin. In the past season and a half, Olsen has played in eight games and has logged just 19 catches. That lack of production coupled with the fact that he isn't fully healthy makes him way too risky of a play. Unless you have no better options, try to wait on Olsen for another week.

Jared Cook, TE, Raiders vs. Seahawks (Iyer). The cool-down continues for Cook, as Seattle has good concepts even without Earl Thomas to contain Derek Carr's safest target.

David Njoku, Browns vs. Chargers (Lutovsky). We’ll keep picking him until he really produces. On the plus side, Njoku has had at least seven targets in four of five games, and his yardage total has gone up every week. But the Chargers are only allowing 5.8 FPPG to TEs, so the matchup doesn’t do Njoku any favors.

Full Week 6 TE rankings

MORE WEEK 6 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder

Week 6 fantasy football busts: Defenses

Tennessee Titans vs. Ravens (Camenker). The Ravens only scored nine points against the Browns, but they have a better matchup with the Titans. Alex Collins and Buck Allen may be able to help expose Tennessee's run defense (seventh-worst in yards allowed per game) so the Titans could end up being a bust if they can't contain the Ravens run game and play action.

Browns D/ST vs. Chargers (Iyer). Philip Rivers and Melvin Gordon come in too hot to the point of not being able to trust Cleveland, even at home.

Full Week 6 D/ST rankings

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Steelers (Lutovsky). It's been all or nothing for the Bengals D/ST so far this year, and last week (three sacks, three takeaways, two TDs) was an “all” week. This week will be nothing (despite a few brutal hits on Pittsburgh receivers over the middle).

Author(s)
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Jacob Camenker is a senior content producer at The Sporting News.