Lions fantasy football matchup of Week 6

MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: WR Golden Tate vs. Vikings

Ugh. This is just not a good week to have a Lions player on your fantasy roster. Calvin Johnson is unlikely to play. Reggie Bush is also questionable. The Vikings have been good against the pass, and Matthew Stafford is going to be without two of his top weapons. But I think Golden Tate has reached automatic-play status this week due to Johnson's injury.

Tate has had back-to-back 100-yard games, and he's the clear No. 1 with Johnson out. At worst he's a top 30 WR, but most pundits have him ranked in the top 10-15 at the position for Week 6.

Especially in PPR leagues, Tate is going to collect points based off sheer usage. He has the 21st-most targets in the NFL and, believe it or not, he's sixth in total yards. Throw in the fact that the Vikings are 23rd in yards per attempt and an even worse 28th in opponent completion percentage and you have to figure Tate will get his fair share of catches and yards. (Tate's also catching 76 percent of the balls thrown his way.)

As for how opposing wide receivers have done against the Vikings in fantasy, the best comparison might be the Atlanta Falcons game in which the Falcons threw for three touchdowns and Julio Jones had 82 yards on six catches. I think you can expect Tate to at least match Jones' numbers with a touchdown.

Play Tate with the utmost confidence!

PREVIOUS MATCHUPS OF THE WEEK:

Week 1: Calvin Johnson vs. Giants - 7 catches (11 targets), 164 yards, 2 touchdowns
Week 2: Golden Tate vs. Panthers - 5 catches (8 targets), 57 yards
Week 3: Reggie Bush vs. Packers - 12 carries, 61 yards, 1 touchdown, 6 catches (8 targets), 38 yards
Week 4: Eric Ebron vs. Jets - 3 catches (4 targets), 34 yards, 1 touchdown
Week 5: Lions D/ST vs. Bills - 2 sacks, 1 interception, 1 touchdown (They were also the defense of choice for the winning FanDuel contestant.)

SLEEPER: K Matt Prater

Yes, the kicker. The Lions kicker.

Matt Prater has been out of the league for a minute and the Lions may or may not be cursed at the position, but I think the new Lions kicker is going to get at least three field goal tries. If he's still available in your fantasy league, or you need a cheap kicker on FanDuel (he wasn't even on there as of Thursday evening!), Prater is the guy. He used to be a top-five kicker, and you should really get to know him -- he's really quite good.

PREVIOUS SLEEPER PICKS:

Week 1: Eric Ebron - No
Week 2: Rain - No
Week 3: Eric Ebron - No
Week 4: Matthew Stafford - YES! (I should've had Ebron and Stafford flipped that week. I dropped the ball there.) 
Week 5: Reggie Bush - No (injured)

POD FFL GAME OF THE WEEK:

By Levyathan's Beard (Nate D., 3-2) over Motown Madmen (Jettero2112, 4-1), 154.48-114.04

He did it again. Nate D. knocked off an undefeated team for the second week in a row behind the big play of Arian Foster, Matt Forte, Andre Ellington, Andrew Luck and the Philadelphia defense/special teams. Golden Tate also added 19, and Nate D. overcame a 0.7-point performance from Michael Floyd, the lowest-scoring player between the two teams.

POD FFL MATCHUP OF THE WEEK:

Moves Like Xanders (Sean Yuille, 4-1) vs. Tate's Golden Shower (JCruize, 4-1)

Trying to stay in first place in their respective divisions, these two powerhouses have a live projection of 108.89-108.3 in favor of JCruize. Epic. Sean is going to be an even bigger Falcons fan this weekend, as he has Matt Ryan and Julio Jones going up against Da Bears. JCruize's big running back, DeMarco Murray, is going up against Seattle's defense, so keep an eye on that one.

FANDUEL:

I won $150 last week, bringing my five-week total to $184.80!

QB Matt Ryan vs. Bears $8,700
RB Matt Forte vs. Falcons $9,000
RB Storm Johnson vs. Titans $4,800
WR Dez Bryant vs. Seahawks $8,900
WR Golden Tate vs. Vikings $6,400
WR Cordarrelle Patterson vs. Lions $6,400
TE Zach Ertz vs. Giants $5,200
K Mason Crosby vs. Dolphins $5,000
D Seattle Seahawks vs. Cowboys $5,400

Salary remaining: $200

Editor's Note: FanDuel is hosting a private fantasy football league for SB Nation readers this week. It's $10 to join, the top 200 teams win money, and first place wins $1,000. League starts Sunday 1 PM ET and ends on Monday. Here's the link.