Matt Okada Yahoo Fantasy Contributor Fri, October 16, 2026 at 2:29 PM UTC · 9 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Welcome to the sixth of seventeen weekly articles spotlighting the fantasy fades of the week! I am your host, Matt Okada, and I'll be bringing you half a dozen potential busts each and every Friday, from now until fantasy football championships.
As a note, just because a player earns a "fade" or "bust" designation doesn't automatically mean they should be benched — it depends on the rest of your roster or the options on your waiver wire. But you can expect them to fall short of expectations (when I get them right). I include a "What to Do" section for every player to help with that.
Without further ado, here is my list for Week 6 of the 2026 season.
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Because Herbert was drafted to be a QB1, more than half of Yahoo leagues are still rostering him. With four teams on bye this week, I fear Herbert might sneak his way back into starting lineups this Sunday. Stop it.
Herbert has been beyond unusable in the disaster that is the Mike McDaniel offense in Los Angeles. His season high in fantasy points is just 14.26, from all the way back in Week 1 against the soft Cardinals defense. He hasn't thrown for more than 226 yards in a game and has just one TD pass and at least one interception in every outing. His 10.74 fantasy points per game are beyond abysmal, ranking 36th among every quarterback to make an appearance this season, behind such legends as Carson Wentz, Malik Willis and Athan Kaliakmanis (who played part of one game for Washington).
Herbert is frankly droppable at this point, but even if you hold on out of stubborn hope, he cannot be started this week against the Chiefs. Kansas City is at home and coming off a bye. The Chargers' 17-point implied total is unsurprisingly the lowest on the entire slate, and considering they've scored more than 17 points just once all season, that might be generous. For anyone who plans to give Herbert a last hurrah in your starting lineup ... please don't. He might legitimately be QB28 out 28 starters this weekend.
What to do ❓ Sit Herbert everywhere , even in 2QB leagues. And honestly, look to drop him for a streamer who's actually performing, like Kirk Cousins.
As much as I want to believe in Jeremiyah Love for fantasy, given his talent and NFL draft capital, now is not the time. Love has scored six or fewer fantasy points in three of his last four games, with just 2.2 against the Lions last Sunday. He's had just two targets the last two weeks (combined), despite Jacoby Brissett's 82 pass attempts over that span, which have been spread across a wealth of WR3s and unknown tight ends instead.
The rookie hasn't scored a rushing touchdown since Week 1 and he's not finding any upside on big plays either, as his 3% explosive run rate is second-lowest among all qualified running backs, just ahead of David Montgomery. Even with his one excellent 19.4-point performance against the 49ers, Love has been outscored over the past four weeks by Tony Pollard, MarShawn Lloyd and Brian Robinson Jr. (along with 25 others). And that one performance currently looks more like an aberration than an announcement of incoming success.
To top it all off, Love is reportedly still dealing with lingering effects from his preseason ankle injury, missing practice this week as a result. In a matchup with the Rams, who had not allowed a single running back to score a touchdown or top-12 fantasy points until James Cook III on Monday night, Love is outside RB2 territory and might be outside FLEX territory ... if he's even active. He has almost no upside and playing him feels like blind hope based on an August draft price.
What to do ❓ Bench Love for any decent RB2, including guys like Emanuel Wilson, Braelon Allen, Tony Pollard, Woody Marks and MarShawn Lloyd.
Omarion Hampton shares a lot in common with Jeremiyah Love. They're both theoretically talented young running backs trapped in offenses that refuse to feature them or are simply horrendous (or both). Hampton, too, has had his decent days (e.g. 16.5 points against the Raiders back in Week 2), but he's scored in the low single digits more often and is coming off a 4.4-point stinker against the beatable Broncos run defense. His involvement in the passing game is basically non-existent — as he has just 14 receiving yards over the last three weeks and just 35 over the entire season — and that's particularly problematic on a team that's almost constantly trailing.
It's gotten so bad that both Kimani Vidal (26 snaps) and Keaton Mitchell (21) saw more playing time than Hampton (20) in Week 5. And when he does get the ball, Hampton is averaging just 3.9 yards per touch. In a theoretical future where the Chargers are favored to win a game — and the McDaniel offense has been fixed or replaced — Hampton might be playable again. But against the tough Chiefs defense in a contest Los Angeles is an 8.5-point underdog on the road ... absolutely not. For the same reasons we're sitting Herbert, we're sitting Hampton, if at all possible (heck, while we're on the subject, sit the entire Chargers offense).
What to do ❓ Similar to Love, you should bench Hampton for any reasonable RB2 ... and even a few less reasonable options like Dameon Pierce, Blake Corum or one of the Saints backs.
Terry McLaurin scored 9.5 fantasy points on one touchdown catch back in Week 3. Outside of that, his best total in a single game is just 10.2 points with Stefon Diggs inactive in Week 5 (thanks to a two-point conversion and an overtime catch). Among wide receivers with 100+ routes this season, he's 32nd in target rate and 33rd in yards per route run. And if it wasn't tough enough to trust McLaurin off his 2026 performance, he draws the 49ers defense in Week 6. They've allowed the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game and the third-lowest explosive catch rate to wideouts.
The only wide receivers to score more than 12 fantasy points against San Fran are Jaxon Smith-Njigba (on eight targets), Michael Wilson (on 17 targets) and Ryan Miller (on an absurd 77-yard touchdown catch). Stefon Diggs could return to siphon targets away, but even if he doesn't, McLaurin hasn't claimed dominant volume over the likes of Treylon Burks, Antonio Williams and Chig Okonkwo. He's the type of player who can make a fantasy day on one play, but relying on that one play in your starting lineup is a risky venture, especially against a tough defense.
What to do ❓ McLaurin isn't must-sit material, especially if Diggs is inactive, but he's not a reliable WR2 and should be considered more of a volatile FLEX play.
A lot like McLaurin, Metcalf can make his fantasy week on one catch, but he's mostly failed to do so this season. He has just one touchdown all year (in Week 3) and just one game with more than 40 receiving yards (in Week 4). And after back-to-back double-digit fantasy outings those two weeks, Metcalf just posted 3.8 points on three catches for 12 yards (and an 11-yard rush) against the Colts. On that same list of wideouts with 100+ routes, Metcalf is 34th in target rate, despite competing with Roman Wilson and Germie Bernard, and 51st in yards per route run.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers defense has been relatively stingy against the pass and particularly heavy on the blitz. Their -0.18 EPA per target allowed against wideouts is second-lowest behind only the Chiefs, and they've mostly been beaten by downfield receivers like George Pickens and Denzel Boston, whereas Metcalf is seeing the majority of his targets underneath and has been out of sync with Aaron Rodgers downfield. Rodgers has also struggled against the blitz this season, and may look to quicker outlets like Jaylen Warren and Pat Freiermuth when Tampa Bay brings the pressure.
What to do ❓ Once again, Metcalf isn't must-sit material either but belongs in the same tier as McLaurin: volatile wide receiver outside the top 25 who is as likely to completely dud as he is to come through in your lineup. Play him as a FLEX if you can't pivot, but adjust expectations.
After Week 3, I didn't even need to include Kyle Pitts Sr. in this column for all his managers to bench him. He had scored 3.0 fantasy points through three games and was a non-factor in Atlanta. But then, with the return of Michael Penix Jr., Pitts has now averaged 9.5 fantasy points per game the last two weeks, with 40+ yards in each contest and a touchdown against the Ravens on SNF. Excitement might be growing and Pitts might look startable again in Week 6.
Sunday night was Pitts' first game with more than three targets and his first trip to the end zone all season. And we're not in the habit of chasing points. Especially against the Bears defense, which has allowed just 5.9 fantasy points per game to the position, third-fewest in the league. No tight end has hit double-digit fantasy points in this matchup, with Tucker Kraft reaching 9.1 and everyone else scoring fewer than five. Pitts is still working with just an 11.6% target share on the season (fourth on his own team) and is unlikely to be efficient with any volume against Chicago. I know it's tough with four teams on bye and an already shallow position ... but we need to see far more from Pitts before trusting him in our lineups again.
What to do ❓ Pitts is well outside TE1 range in Week 6 and you can stream guys like Brenton Strange, Pat Freiermuth, Hunter Henry or even Tyler Higbee instead.
Source: Sports
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