Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 6: Stefon Diggs, Sterling Shepard out

Stefon Diggs and Sterling Shepard, a couple of key wide receivers for the Vikings and Giants respectively, aren’t available in Week 6 and that spells fantasy opportunity for others.

Who to start in Minnesota?

Even with a couple of impressive performances to begin the seasons, the Vikings offense hasn’t been able to establish any sense of consistency. Sam Bradford will miss Week 6, still dealing with that sore knee, so the team will once again turn to Case Keenum in his absence.

Along with Bradford, the Vikings will also be without Stefon Diggs, who is having a breakout season so far in 2017. He’s still dealing with a groin injury that kept him limited in last Monday’s matchup against the Bears, where he recorded just one reception for four yards.

However, this news shouldn’t shy you away from giving any Vikings players a start this week. Matched up against a porous Green Bay Packers’ defense that has especially been susceptible to giving up points to opposing wide receivers—21.3 fantasy points per game (twelfth in the NFL)—Adam Thielen is definitely a start today as he should receive a bigger workload with Diggs out. Also, Jarius Wright is a bonafide sleeper today if you’re scrambling to find a flex option.

Anyone worth a play from the G-Men?

The loss of Odell Beckham Jr. for the season was the final nail in the coffin for the New York Football Giants. His injury, along with the atrocious offensive line play in New York so completely limits the fantasy value of Eli Manning, but his receivers are still worth some thought, specifically rookie tight end Evan Engram.

After failing to make a mark in the box score last week, some soured on Engram, but with both Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard out this week against the Denver Broncos, Engram could be a prime candidate to return to form. Consider his Week 5 goose egg to be more of an anomaly than the norm. In his first four weeks, Engram was mighty impressive, catching 19 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown.

As always, fantasy is a game that’s all about opportunities, and Engram has been one of Manning’s favorite targets. This season, Engram has been targeted a whopping 34 times, and that’s the fourth most targets in the NFL among tight ends. And while the Broncos defense is one of the best in the league, they haven’t been all that tough against opposing tight ends in fantasy terms, giving up the seventh-most fantasy points per game (9.1).