NFL Week 6 Fantasy Football drop list

With Week 5 of the NFL and Fantasy Football season behind us, players, fanbases, and fantasy managers are already looking ahead to Week 6. We saw major upsets as the Broncos came back to beat the Eagles, the Patriots handed the Bills their first loss, and the Jacksonville Jaguars advance to 4-1 after beating Kansas City on MNF. We also saw an interesting week in terms of Fantasy Football with new names emerging, depth charts changing, and a constant climb to the top of the fantasy rankings.

Before getting into our “drop list” ahead of Week 6, we'll get obvious injury news out of the way. New England Patriots' running back Antonio Gibson will be out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, limiting their current RB room to Rhamondre Stevenson and rookie TreVeyon Henderson. Indianapolis Colts' kicker Spencer Shrader, who came into the week as the No. 1 overall kicker in fantasy football, sustained an ACL and MCL tears in his knee and will also be done for the season.

Other notable injuries include Los Angeles Chargers' RB Omarion Hampton, who's heading to IR with an ankle injury. Cardinals' QB Kyler Murray, Chiefs' Xavier Worthy, and Jaguars' Travis Hunter all dealt with injuries during their games, but were able to continue playing. Their ‘questionable' statuses will be worth monitoring over the next week.

Fantasy Football Week 6 Drop List

Travis Hunter, WR/CB (JAX) – Rostered in 76.8% of ESPN leagues

We'll start this list with an extremely polarizing pick in Jacksonville's Travis Hunter. While the preseason hype and potential for star power was apparent during fantasy drafts, Hunter has most been a disappointment through his first five games of the season, failing to score more than 10.0 fantasy points on any occasion.

He continues to see playing time at corner, only digging into his usage as a receiver. We also saw Hunter exit the game at points against the Chiefs with minor injuries, so you have to wonder how much the snap count on both sides of the ball could make room for injuries or fatigue during the game. Until Hunter can break through in this offense, he'll remain the third option behind WR Brian Thomas Jr. and TE Brenton Strange.

Jerome Ford, RB (CLE) – Rostered in 27.9% of ESPN leagues

Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins has burst onto the scene and is already looking like one of the best pure runners in the NFL. Each week he's looked like a better version of himself, instantly making him the most explosive player on the Cleveland Browns offense. This, of course, lessens the value of RB's Jerome Ford and Dylan Sampson as the Browns are doing everything int their power to get Judkins the ball.

Judkins saw 23 carries to Jerome Ford's five totes for 18 yards, a clear discrepancy in the direction the Browns are planning to take with their backfield. Barring any setbacks or injuries to Judkins, both Cleveland running backs will be worth dropping unless you're handcuffing with Judkins.

Rashod Bateman, WR (BAL) – Rostered in 22.7% of ESPN leagues

The Baltimore Ravens have looked horrendous without QB Lamar Jackson under center, scoring just 10 points against the Houston Texans in Week 5. During the loss, Bateman saw just three targets without recording a catch. Furthermore, the Ravens defense is currently allowing an NFL-high 35.4 pts/game to opponents, so their offense is being kept off the field due to long, sustained drives from opponents.

So long as Lamar Jackson is dealing with injuries and the Ravens continue to struggle on the defensive side of the ball, Rashod Bateman will continue falling by the wayside behind options like WR Zay Flowers and TE Mark Andrews. I expect RB Derrick Henry to get much more involved in running the ball, further limiting the receiving ceiling of someone like Bateman.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB (NYG) – Rostered in 58% of ESPN Leagues

As running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. slowly works his way back to practice following a shoulder injury, it's hard to imagine him coming back in a full, workhorse starting roll given the emergence of rookie Cam Skattebo as their No. 1 options. Fantasy managers of Tracy have likely moved onto greener pastures with Skattebo, seeing a much higher increase in overall usage now that rookie Jaxson Dart joins him in the backfield.

While managers may be hanging onto Tracy Jr. for his big play ability, he'll likely see a 50/50 split with Skattebo at best, severely limiting his ceiling for the rest of the year. Unless he can bounce back in a massive way, there's no reason keeping him if you can grab a better FLEX option in deeper leagues.