Sit Joe Mixon in favor of these deeper-league pivots in Week 6

Joe Mixon grinded his way to just 59 yards on 24 carries versus the Baltimore Ravens. He saved his fantasy day with six receptions for the second straight week, but that safety net may not be available this week versus the Indianapolis Colts

The Sit: Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Mixon is still a stud player, even if his production hasn’t been consistently great. He boomed against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4, finishing with 151 yards and two scores on the ground. He added six catches, 30 yards and another TD as a receiver. Otherwise, Mixon and his fantasy owners have had to settle with middling results. He hasn’t scored nor reached 70 rushing yards in any of the Bengals’ four other games, even though he has carried the ball at least 16 times in each. It’s good to see Cincy getting him involved more as a receiver, but the Colts are allowing only among four receptions per game to opposing RBs, and only one back (Kalen Ballage, believe it or not) has caught more than three passes against Indy in any game. Moreover, only Kareem Hunt has run for more than 70 yards against this defense, and the Colts have permitted just one rushing score all year.

The Starts: Alexander Mattison, Myles Gaskin, Antonio Gibson

Dalvin Cook appears unlikely to suit up for the Minnesota Vikings, which means Mattison is in line to get a healthy workload in Week 6. He racked up more than 130 yards from scrimmage on 23 touches last week in relief of Cook, who is nursing a groin strain. Mattison’s first-ever test as a starter is set to come against the Atlanta Falcons, a defense which is giving up on average about 140 yards from scrimmage and better than a touchdown per week to opposing RBs.

Gaskin is owned in most leagues — I’m not sure why he’s still available in even 10% of them — but this is the kind of week when you take someone you probably picked up off the wire a few weeks ago and start him over an early-round choice such as Mixon. Gaskin has gotten about 20 touches per week over Miami’s past three games and while his stat lines haven’t been a boffo, he has kept his floor high with at least three receptions each week. Better yet, he is beginning to get some goal-line work and recorded a one-yard score as the Dolphins held Jordan Howard out as a healthy scratch in Week 5. Gaskin should provide solid RB2 numbers this week against a Jets defense that ceded stellar fantasy totals to Melvin Gordon, Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmonds in their past two outings.

Washington is finally getting Gibson more involved as a receiver, something you think it would do more often with someone who did most of his collegiate work as a pass-catcher. But better late than never. That has helped Gibson deliver double-digit fantasy points in each of the past two weeks. He is locked into 15-18 touches per week now and shouldn’t have many problems against the Giants’ so-so run defense. New York ranks 24th in Opponent Rank against running backs.