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Week 6 Fantasy Football Start 'em, Sit 'em: Top Lineup Picks (and Benches) From Justin Boone

Justin Boone provides a weekly look at undervalued fantasy players to consider starting this week and potential busts you might want to leave on your bench.

For the rest of your lineup decisions, consult his Week 6 rankings.

Starts

Caleb Williams, QB, Bears

at Commanders

Despite some ups and downs in the opening month, Williams is the sixth-highest scoring quarterback in fantasy points per game so far.

Now, the Bears are coming off a bye week where they had a chance to make adjustments, which could include getting some of their exciting rookie skill position players more involved.

This all bodes well for Williams, who is about to hit his easiest stretch of the schedule with the Commanders, Saints, Bengals, Ravens and Giants coming up.

His Week 6 opponent, Washington, is giving up the eighth-most passing yards and 10th-most fantasy points on the season. Those numbers could be even bigger, considering the Commanders took advantage of matchups with Russell Wilson in Week 1 and a decimated Chargers’ offensive line in Week 5. In their other three contests, the Commanders allowed at least 285 passing yards and multiple touchdowns to Jordan Love, Geno Smith and Michael Penix Jr.

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In a game with one of the higher projected point totals of the week at 49.5, you can expect Williams to come through as a strong fantasy QB1.

Other QBs to start:

Jordan Love vs. Bengals — Love had his best game of the season with a three-touchdown effort prior to Green Bay’s bye. He returns to another excellent spot against a Bengals’ defense that’s the ninth-best matchup for fantasy QBs.
Matthew Stafford at Ravens — Stafford has been on fire, averaging 382 passing yards and three touchdowns per game over his last two contests. Don’t expect the Ravens’ banged-up defense to slow him down either. Baltimore has allowed eight passing touchdowns in the past two weeks.

Rico Dowdle, RB, Panthers

vs. Cowboys

Many players have found themselves in revenge games against their former teams this season. None of them were coming off performances like Dowdle’s last week, when he amassed 234 scrimmage yards and a touchdown versus the Dolphins.

Miami may have been the fifth-easiest matchup for running backs, but now Dowdle gets to face the defense giving up the sixth-most points to fantasy RBs.

In the last two weeks alone, the Cowboys let Breece Hall hit them for 158 yards and Josh Jacobs rack up 157 yards and two scores.

Chuba Hubbard doesn’t appear ready to return, so consider this the Dowdle show for one more week. You can expect some fireworks from him again as he flirts with top-12 RB numbers for a second straight game.

Other RBs to start:

Quinshon Judkins at Steelers — The rookie has at least 70 scrimmage yards in all four of his appearances on an NFL field and will now get a chance to perform against a Steelers defense that isn’t as fierce as years past.
Rachaad White vs. 49ers — White did an admirable job filling in for Bucky Irving last week with 71 yards and two touchdowns. Next up is a San Francisco defense that’s given up over 120 yards to each of the past two starting RBs they’ve faced.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt vs. Bears — JCM is fresh off his best day as a pro with 150 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll hope to continue that production this week as he takes on the fourth-friendliest opponent for fantasy running backs.

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers

vs. Cowboys

Am I seriously highlighting another Panther in the start section? It might seem crazy, but the matchup against the Cowboys is that enticing.

Dallas is allowing the most fantasy points to receivers, especially No. 1 wideouts:

Player	Yards	TDs
Malik Nabers	167	2
Rome Odunze	62	1
Romeo Doubs	58	3
Garrett Wilson	71	1

Meanwhile, McMillan is averaging nearly five catches for 70 yards and almost nine targets per outing through his first five NFL contests.

I’m projecting over 100 yards and a touchdown for McMillan in Week 6.

Other WRs to start:

Stefon Diggs at Saints — Diggs has emerged as the Patriots' top target with back-to-back 100-yard games. The slow ramp-up coming off the knee injury was the right approach by New England, which appears to have a much-needed difference-maker in the passing game for Drake Maye.
Chris Olave vs. Patriots — I’m not giving up on Olave, who has yet to top 60 yards in a game but who currently sits second in the league in targets. Patriots top corner Christian Gonzalez was added to the injury report with a hamstring issue on Thursday, so keep an eye on his health.
Jakobi Meyers vs. Titans — Meyers has struggled in recent weeks, being held under 35 yards the past two outings. However, the generous Titans’ defense will provide a comfortable spot to get back on track.

Tucker Kraft, TE, Packers

vs. Bengals

Kraft was off to a hot start before suffering a knee injury in practice that he’s played through the last two games prior to the bye.

With a week off to get healthy, Kraft should be closer to the player we saw leading the Packers' pass-catchers with 124 yards in Week 2.

It also helps that he’s going up against the Bengals, who are allowing the most fantasy points to his position this year.

Kraft remains on a short list of players with the potential to finish as the TE1 overall in 2025.

Other TEs to start:

Jake Ferguson at Panthers — The eventual return of CeeDee Lamb will siphon some passes away from Ferguson, but at the moment, the Cowboys’ tight end is tied for fourth in the league with 9.6 targets per game. Get ready for another big stat line versus Carolina, which is the second softest fantasy matchup for tight ends.
Hunter Henry at Saints — While Henry’s targets have declined with Stefon Diggs’ rise in recent weeks, Henry continues to produce with at least 45 yards and/or a touchdown in four of his five outings this season. The Saints are another easy opponent for him, allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to TEs.

More Week 6 Start/Sit Advice

Sits

Justin Fields, QB, Jets

vs. Broncos

The Fields experience can be a rollercoaster, but the results have generally been positive for fantasy — even if it requires garbage time to get there.

However, Fields has feasted on an easy schedule so far, with huge stat lines against the Steelers, Dolphins and Cowboys, who are all inside the top-five for most fantasy points permitted to quarterbacks.

In his last matchup against a middle-of-the-pack defense in the Bills, Fields struggled before getting hurt.

Denver is one of the hardest opponents for fantasy passers, allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to the position. They’ve also held other quarterbacks with rushing ability in check on the ground, including Jalen Hurts (3 yards), Justin Herbert (6 yards) and Daniel Jones (2 yards).

If there’s a week to sit Fields in favor of a streamer, this is it.

Other QBs to sit:

Jared Goff at Chiefs — Goff came through outdoors and on the road in Cincinnati thanks to the matchup, but the Chiefs will represent his toughest test of the season. Kansas City has traditionally been a challenging place for quarterbacks to perform and its defense has given up the ninth-fewest passing yards and fourth-fewest passing TDs on the year.
Tua Tagovailoa vs. Chargers — Tua produced without Tyreek Hill against the Panthers last week, but the degree of difficulty will be much higher versus the Chargers. The Bolts’ defense is permitting just 188 passing yards per game and hasn’t allowed multiple TD passes to any QB this season.

Derrick Henry, RB, Ravens

vs. Rams

With all the injuries the Ravens are dealing with, their offense doesn’t have the same firepower and the defense is putting them in comeback mode far too often.

When that happens, it limits Henry’s fantasy potential due to his lack of a role in the passing game.

King Henry has been turned into a low-end fantasy RB2 who basically needs to find the end zone to pay off. It’s always possible he saves his day with a trip over the goal line, but you might want to consider your other options this week.

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The Rams are 7.5-point favorites over the Lamar Jackson-less Ravens. Sean McVay’s crew also gives up the second-fewest fantasy points to RBs even without the added threat of Henry being game-scripted out of this contest.

Other RBs to sit:

David Montgomery at Chiefs — Montgomery’s production has been easy to decipher this season. In his three positive matchups, he topped 60 yards and found the end zone every time. However, against his two tougher opponents, he was held to 43 yards and 12 yards, respectively, with no touchdowns. The Chiefs aren’t an easy matchup for fantasy backs, so Montgomery will be a TD-or-bust RB3.
Chase Brown at Packers — The arrival of Joe Flacco should result in more checkdowns to Brown, which will help his value over the long term. I’m not willing to pursue that this week though, against the Packers’ defense, which grants the fifth-fewest points to RBs.
Alvin Kamara vs. Patriots — Kamara was already giving up snaps and touches to his backup, Kendre Miller, and that was before he popped up on the injury report with a new ankle issue. It’s still possible Kamara plays this week, but the injury, combined with Miller’s success and an above-average Patriots’ run defense, makes the veteran a sit.

Jameson Williams, WR, Lions

at Chiefs

The decision to bench Williams isn’t just about matchup, though this is his toughest opponent of the season on paper.

It’s also not solely based on this being an outdoor game, where Goff tends to be less productive more often than not.

Sitting Williams comes down to the fact that he’s been unusual for fantasy this year, outside of one game where he posted 108 yards and a touchdown on just two catches.

His stat lines in the other four contests are 4-23-0 (WR76), 2-43-0 (WR48), 2-40-0 (WR56) and 1-9-0 (WR89).

There are simply too many mouths to feed in the Lions offense and it’s rendered Williams into a boom-or-bust WR4/flex.

Other WRs to sit:

Zay Flowers vs. Rams — Without Jackson, Flowers is a much riskier fantasy option. We’ll see who the Ravens decide to start this week in a tough spot against the Rams, but just know that Flowers won’t have the same fantasy ceiling until Jackson is back under center.
DJ Moore at Commanders — Moore has only reached double-digit fantasy points in one game this year and it coincided with him finding the end zone. Coming off the bye, the Bears have talked about getting their rookies, Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III, more involved, which could come at Moore’s expense.
Keon Coleman at Falcons — Coleman has not ascended in his second season and he’s been held under 50 yards in four straight games. To make matters worse, Falcons corner AJ Terrell, who’s been dealing with a hamstring injury, said he’ll play on Monday.

Zach Ertz, TE, Commanders

vs. Bears

After starting the season with touchdowns in two consecutive games, Ertz has steadily fallen off the fantasy radar.

The veteran went from 38 yards to 21 yards to zero yards over the last three weeks, making him an impossible start until we see something change.

His playing time has also declined in recent weeks, making you wonder whether age is a factor. Ertz will turn 35 in November.

For now, you should bench Ertz and even consider dropping him for one of the upside waiver wire adds this week, like Mason Taylor, who’s still available in 66% of leagues.

Other TEs to sit:

Mark Andrews at Rams — Andrews has been limited to 30 yards or less in four of his five outings. When you add the absence of Jackson to the equation, there’s no reason to put Andrews in your lineup against the Rams.
Juwan Johnson vs. Patriots — Johnson’s numbers have trailed off over the last two weeks, resulting in just five catches for 45 yards. He’s also dealing with an ankle injury, as well as the return of Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau. You shouldn’t be playing him; he’s another tight end to consider dropping for someone with more upside.

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