Broncos fantasy football outlook for Week 6 against the Raiders
Oct 15, 2021, 6:19 AM
The Denver Broncos have lost two games in a row. They come back home this week and face a Las Vegas Raiders team that is reeling from controversy surrounding their former head coach Jon Gruden. It’s a perfect time to kick them while they’re down.
Fantasy general managers were able to mine some points from Broncos players last week. Some players scored more than projected, and this trend could continue this week against a Raiders defense that can be picked on.
Here is advice for Fantasy GMs considering starting Broncos players in Week 6.
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Teddy Bridgewater – Streaming Option
When things were lost against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 5, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater turned things on and had a good game. We’ll see if offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has a better plan to get Bridgewater going earlier.
The Raiders defense is interesting to say the least. They don’t blitz opposing quarterbacks, currently ranking No. 30 in the NFL with a blitz percentage of just 15.2 percent. The Raiders do not allow many yards after the catch, ranking No. 30 in the NFL with just 480 yards after the catch allowed this season. This means they just sit back, playing a cloud coverage and then rally to the ball.
Bridgewater has shown the ability to attack a defense vertically, but this is not the defense to do that against given their scheme. Instead, Bridgewater should be able to dink-and-dunk his way down the field, taking what the Raiders defense gives him. That makes him a streaming option for fantasy GMs who change quarterbacks often.
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Melvin Gordon – RB2/flex / Javonte Williams – RB2/flex
The running back story seems the same every week. Melvin Gordon is playing good football, although he’s a little bit banged up. He was battling a lower leg injury last week, and this week he’s listed on the injury report with a hip injury. Gordon will be good to go against the Raiders, but he probably won’t touch the ball as much as he should.
Speaking of not touching the ball enough, Javonte Williams has been as advertised. The rookie is a dominant runner who wins with power. It seems like every week Williams is hitting the highlight shows because of a run where he refuses to go down. Just like Gordon, Williams is playing good football but doesn’t get enough touches to really have a big game.
Perhaps that changes for one of the backs this week against the Raiders. Their defense is weak against the run, currently ranking No. 24 against the run by allowing 672 yards on the ground in 2021. For three games in a row, the Raiders have allowed over 100 yards rushing including their last game against the Bears where backups Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert gashed them. If Shurmur has the commitment to the run he should, the Broncos backfield should be able to thrive on Sunday.
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Courtland Sutton – WR2 with upside / Tim Patrick – WR3/Flex
Courtland Sutton has had an up-and-down season. Last week, Sutton had a monster game with seven catches, 120 yards and one touchdown. It was his second 100-yard game of the season, but in between those games we saw two games where Sutton only caught 84 yards combined with no touchdowns. He’s over a year removed from the knee injury that shortened his 2020 season, and Sutton is looking more and more like his old self each week. Fantasy GMs can start him as a WR2 and he’s got the upside to be a WR1 if used like he was last week.
Tim Patrick is perhaps the most consistent player on the Broncos offense. He hasn’t scored a receiving touchdown in three weeks, but Patrick is almost always near the top of targets each game as he will get open and Bridgewater will find him. Four players from the Raiders secondary have been limited in practice this week, so that means Patrick should be able to feast on a banged-up cornerback or a reserve cornerback filling in. He’s always a WR3/flex play for Fantasy GMs.
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Noah Fant – Low-end TE1
Things seem to be off with tight end Noah Fant. Against the Ravens two weeks ago, Fant was targeted 10 times and had a great game. Last week against the Steelers, he didn’t even get half those looks and finished the game with just four targets.
Most of the time, I consider Fant a near top-five fantasy tight end. He’s a great athlete who creates mismatches often, but his usage varies wildly from week-to-week. This week, Fant is a low-end TE1 and there are waiver wire tight ends like Ricky Seals-Jones (WFT) I might take a chance on instead of getting disappointed by Fant again.
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Broncos Defense – Last Chance as D1?
The Raiders have some assets to be mindful of, but I think the Broncos defense will be up to the challenge. If they’re not, this could be the last week you start them in your fantasy league. The Broncos defense allows too many points and too many yards each week, and they’re not as stingy as we would think they’d be.
The two players to worry about are running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Darren Waller. The Broncos have been gashed by Jacobs during his pro career, and they struggle to cover tight ends. Jacobs is a fine young runner, and Waller might be the best tight end in the NFL. If they can scheme a way to hold both down, the Broncos should be a good fantasy start.
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