It's Week 6.

We officially have a middle-aged NFL regular season.

If it were a man, it would have stubble on its face, bags under its eyes, whiskey on its breath and a solo Mark Lanegan record playing on repeat in its head.

Or maybe that's just me.

Either way, let's get into the Week 6 TE edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of:

• Favorable betting factors and situational spots
• Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
• Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)

For process notes regarding this series, my Week 6 fantasy football rankings and my weekly projections, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my favorite Week 6 fantasy football plays.

• Week 6 Quarterback Rankings
• Week 6 Running Back Rankings
• Week 6 Wide Receiver Rankings

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Week 6 Tight End Rankings

The Top 12 Tight Ends:

And here's a link to all of my weekly rankings. 

Jake Ferguson Is THE No. 1 TE in Week 6?

I gave Jake Ferguson a little shine in last week's piece, but his full-blown glow up deserves more coverage.

For the season, Ferguson is No. 4 among all players (not just TEs) with 48 targets in five games … and he's No. 2 (behind only WR Puka Nacua) with 41 receptions.

His 272 yards and three TDs receiving aren't earth-shattering marks, but they're both good enough to rank No. 3 at the position.

All in, Ferguson is the No. 1 TE for the year in Utilization Score (89, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report), and over the past month he has four straight top-five fantasy finishes.

Ferguson is firmly in the TE circle of trust, especially with No. 1 WR CeeDee Lamb (ankle) looking likely to miss at least one more game.

I don't yet have Ferguson ranked as the No. 1 TE overall for the week, but I'm strongly considering it given his elite usage and matchup against the Panthers, who are … checks notes … No. 1 in largest fantasy boost allowed to TEs (+4.3).

Honestly, I think it might be hard to make a case against Ferguson as the No. 1 TE this week. What's really stopping this guy from reaching out and touching the flame where the streets have no name?

Hunter Long Is the Desperado Week 6 Streamer

No. 1 TE Brenton Strange (quadriceps, IR) is out for the Jags after suffering an injury in Week 4, and in his absence, Hunter Long stepped up in the offense and took his place.

While he did almost nothing with his opportunity as an in-game injury replacement (1-3-0 receiving), Long's utilization was encouraging (63% route rate), especially in light of his respectable 21% target rate this year (No. 11 TE, among those with at least a 20% route rate).

The Jags are on short rest off Monday Night Football, but at least they're playing at home for the second straight week, and the Seahawks—traveling east for an early 1 pm ET game—have three injured starters in their secondary: CBs Devon Witherspoon (knee) and Tariq Woolen (concussion) and FS Julian Love (hamstring).

I don't think I can stomach the idea of starting Long in Guillotine Leagues. He's way too uncertain and speculative. But if you're in a desperate situation, I think you could probably do worse.

The Hot Route

Darren Waller (Dolphins) vs. Chargers: Waller has flashed with 8-105-3 receiving on nine targets in his two starts, and last week his snap rate increased from 25% to 60%. The sample is small, but Waller is the No. 1 TE in air yard share (30%) and No. 4 TE in WOPR (45%). Based on what he's done so far, Waller is fantasy TE1. While this game has a total of 43.5, the over is a five-star bet in our Fantasy Life NFL Game Model.

"WOPR" stands for "weighted opportunity rating," and it measures the overall quality of a player's aerial role in his offense by considering his share of targets and air yards.

Cole Kmet (Bears) at Commanders: Without No. 2 TE Colston Loveland (hip), Kmet had nine targets in Week 4, and there's no guarantee that Loveland will be fully ready out of the Week 5 bye. The Commanders are No. 32 in defensive pass DVOA against TEs (46.4%, per FTN), and SS Will Harris (leg, IR) is out.

Taysom Hill (Saints) vs. Patriots: In his first game back from last year's season-ending knee injury, Hill had only a lowly 3% route rate … but he also had a smoking 21% rush share, which is in line with his peak 2024 usage. Hill won't always have -1 rushing yards—and it probably doesn't hurt that new HC Kellen Moore seems willing to let Hill throw the ball (one attempt, 19 yards passing last week). The Pats are No. 28 in defensive pass DVOA against TEs (12.7%).

Notes

Byes: This week, the Vikings and Texans are on bye.

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings and projections. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings and projections schedule.

• Tue AM: Publish rankings and projections
• Thu AM: Refresh rankings and projections
• Thu PM: Make necessary TNF rankings changes
• Sat PM: Update rankings and projections
• Sun AM: Revise rankings
• Sun PM: Finalize rankings based on news prior to 1 pm ET kickoff

Accuracy: I'm a six-time top-20 ranker in accuracy and a long-time profitable player prop better.

Scoring: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated.

Cohesion: My positional breakdowns are published separately, but I think of them as comprising one whole, so check out the rest of my favorite Week 5 fantasy football plays (via my Fantasy Life author page).

Abbreviations: Here are some abbreviations I might have used in the piece.

• Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
• Against the Spread (ATS)
• Over/Under (O/U)
• Team Total (TT)
• Moneyline (ML)
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
• Expected Points Added (EPA)
• Success Rate (SR)
• Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
• Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
• AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)
• Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR)
• Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
• Short Down and Distance (SDD)
• Long Down and Distance (LDD)