Fantasy Football Week 6 Lineup Decisions: Who to start, who to sit, must-start plays, flex plays and more

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Fantasy Football is all about the matchups. Even though you drafted your team with certain hopes and intentions, your weekly lineup decisions shouldn’t be determined by the order you picked your players in. You need to check who your players play and make sure you’ve got the right guys in — and the wrong guys out.

We can take some educated guesses based on coaches film, meaningful data, healthy personnel, defensive schemes, track records, and key details of offenses. The things we know can help us minimize the impact of the things we don’t know. This should lead to better decisions being made.

We’ll go through every game and highlight the players who aren’t obvious starts and sits (because you don’t need to be told to start Puka Nacua). You should feel more comfortable starting or sitting players based on the information given, and feeling comfortable with your Fantasy lineup before the games start is the best feeling in the world.

All lines from Caesars Sportsbook.

The Eagles should be able to execute their typical slow-paced and balanced offense, if not a run-heavy plan like they employed in Week 7 last year against the Giants. Philly went into pass-heavy mode when they trailed the Rams by 10-plus points in Week 3 and again last week in a tight matchup against the Broncos. It’s hard to envision the Giants keeping up on the scoreboard with Philly after they couldn’t do it against the Saints on Sunday. Maybe that’s why the Eagles opted to give Saquon Barkley only nine touches last week — so he’d be fresh to take on his old team on a short week. Obviously in such a game script we’d be wholly dependent on A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith making splash plays in order to be strong Fantasy starts. The Giants have allowed those in bunches — 17 catches by receivers of 20-plus air yards through five weeks is the second-most in the league, plus they’re bottom-10 in deep attempts per game (6.8) and yards after the catch per reception (5.2) to receivers. They’ve allowed a long touchdown to a speedy receiver in consecutive games. They’re both risky, but Brown and Smith deserve at least high-end flex consideration even though they’re in a boom-or-bust spot if Hurts doesn’t throw a lot. 

MUST-STARTS: Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley

STARTS: A.J. Brown (No. 2 WR), Cam Skattebo (low-end No. 2 RB), Eagles DST

FLEX: DeVonta Smith (high-end flex)

SITS: Jaxson Dart, Theo Johnson and Dallas Goedert (high-end No. 2 TEs), Wan’Dale Robinson (desperation PPR WR), Tyrone Tracy Jr., Jalin Hyatt, Will Shipley, Giants DST

Tough spot for Justin Fields, who came through for Fantasy managers last week when he scored 22.6 of his 29.9 Fantasy points in fourth-quarter garbage time. Denver’s been solid against quarterbacks this year (they just held Jalen Hurts to 23.5) and their track record against rushing quarterbacks was good last year and is good again this year. Just ask Fields: He had 27 yards on eight carries with the Steelers against the Broncos last season in a low-scoring, ugly game. New York’s defense has been brutal and should force Fields into negative game script, which could give him an opportunity to put up garbage time stats again if the Broncos call off their pass rush, but when that’s your best hope for your QB, you should at least consider other options. 

Maybe Garrett Wilson will need garbage time to save his day, too. Wilson’s track record against the Broncos and specifically shutdown CB Pat Surtain II is dreadful: In games in 2022, 2023 and 2024, Wilson has never scored, never topped 54 yards and never had more than five receptions. And while Surtain didn’t cover Wilson for every single snap, he did see him a lot and limited him to, per PFF, a total of 58 yards on five catches (10 targets). 

And don’t think Courtland Sutton will get off so easily when it’s expected he’ll see a lot of Sauce Gardner in coverage. In Sutton’s past three against the Jets in 2022, 2023 and 2024, he scored once, never had more than 60 yards and never had more than three receptions. And while Gardner was stupidly used as almost exclusively a left cornerback for those games, he did hold Sutton to, per PFF, a total of 13 yards on one catch (five targets). At least Sutton has a glimmer of hope: The Jets pass rush has been rough this year and the return of Jermaine Johnson might only help them a little bit. It should mean a little more time for Bo Nix to throw. 

MUST-STARTS: Breece Hall

STARTS: Justin Fields (low-end starter), JK Dobbins (No. 2 RB), Garrett Wilson (No. 2 WR), Courtland Sutton (No. 2 WR), Mason Taylor (PPR; borderline starter in half & non-PPR), Broncos DST

SITS: Bo Nix (borderline No. 1/2 QB), Evan Engram, R.J. Harvey, Isaiah Davis, Marvin Mims (desperation WR), Troy Franklin, Josh Reynolds, Jets DST

This is a tough matchup for Derrick Henry in a number of ways. The Rams defense has been great against running backs, allowing 3.5 yards per rush on the year with zero rushing touchdowns and just three explosive runs given up all season. Christian McCaffrey had 57 yards on 22 carries last week; Jonathan Taylor had a long touchdown wiped out by a penalty but otherwise had 76 yards on 17 carries; Saquon Barkley had 46 yards on 18 carries. And of those three, only McCaffrey had more than 15 PPR points thanks to massive amounts of receiving numbers. There’s also the expected negative game script that really limits Henry’s snaps — he played 67.5% of their snaps last week in a blowout loss and needed a garbage time touchdown just to get him to 9.3 PPR points. 

The Ravens’ moves this week seemed to be a trade-off of pass rush talent for pass coverage and run defense talent. Odafe Oweh had the most pressures this year for Baltimore, per PFF, but he was a significant liability against the run. C.J. Gardner-Johnson can line up at nickel or safety and can add some turnovers to the unit, but he’s been known to miss tackles in space. Alohi Gilman will definitely improve the pass defense in the back of the Ravens secondary and is solid in run support. If the end result is less pass rush pressure on Matthew Stafford, however, then the quarterback should feast just as he did last week against a 49ers pass rush that struggled to fluster him.  

MUST-STARTS: Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams, Davante Adams

STARTS: Matthew Stafford, Derrick Henry (low-end No. 2 RB), Zay Flowers (low-end No. 2 WR), Rams DST

SITS: Cooper Rush, Mark Andrews (No. 2 TE), Justice Hill, DeAndre Hopkins, Rashod Bateman, Tutu Atwell, Ravens DST

The Cowboys sacked Justin Fields five times last week including twice when they got pressure on him inside of two seconds. James Houston, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa have helped make this defense a little more dangerous than expected, and they’re getting it done without blitzing a ton either. Considering the rough shape the Panthers offensive line has been in, the Cowboys could easily have another good game getting after Bryce Young. It doesn’t help Young when he’s pressured but other than his completion rate (67.2% to 47.3%), his numbers are mostly the same whether or not defenders get near him. He has struggled versus zone coverage, however, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt with one touchdown and four interceptions against zone. That’s what Dallas plays the most of week in and week out. As bad as the Cowboys defense has been, Young’s been pretty rough himself, making him tough to trust even in a good matchup on paper. 

Dallas’ run defense hasn’t been so hot, however. In their past three games, including a matchup where they shut down Chicago’s runners, the Cowboys have allowed an explosive run rate of 14.1%, third highest in that stretch, along with a not-good 4.6 yards per carry. Breece Hall and Josh Jacobs each went over 17 PPR points (D’Andre Swift had a good-for-him 10.8). This is where the Panthers should be focused — attacking the Cowboys run defense with Rico Dowdle, who carried them to a victory over Miami last week. 

MUST-STARTS: Javonte Williams, George Pickens 

STARTS: Dak Prescott, Rico Dowdle, Tetairoa McMillan (No. 2 WR), Jake Ferguson

SITS: Bryce Young, Ryan Flournoy and Xavier Legette (desperation WRs), Tommy Tremble, Jalen Tolbert, Hunter Renfrow, Jaydon Blue, Cowboys DST (desperation DST), Panthers DST

The combination of Arizona’s secondary missing multiple starters and its pass rush struggling to get consistent pressure against Tennessee should make for an easy outing for Daniel Jones. A big factor helping Jones is his O-line, which has held three opponents to a pass rush pressure rate under 30% (that’s good) and giving up just four sacks (that’s real good). It should lead to at minimum a decent week for Jones, just not one where he finishes with a ton of stats; a big week would be more likely if Jonathan Taylor also didn’t have a favorable matchup and/or if the Cardinals could put points up on their own. 

Despite averaging a gross 2.8 yards per carry in a favorable matchup against the Titans, Michael Carter is clearly the Cardinals’ lead back. He played nearly 60% of the snaps including 2 of 3 inside the 5, he scored a goal-line touchdown and he didn’t drop the football when he crossed the goal line like Emari Demercado did on his monster run last week. Carter also caught all five targets for 22 yards, a crucial development that unquestionably keeps his floor high in PPR leagues. Indy’s run defense hasn’t been great, giving up 4.5 yards per rush on the season, but they’ve improved in terms of limiting big gains. The Titans, Rams and Raiders RBs combined for just two rushes of more than 12 yards. That takes some upside away from Carter, who didn’t have a run longer than seven yards or a catch longer than nine yards last week anyway. It also might be bad news for Carter if the Colts build a lead and force the Cardinals into hurry-up mode in the second half — that might mean more work for Demercado, who is still probably the team’s favored third-down option.

MUST-STARTS: Jonathan Taylor, Trey McBride, Tyler Warren, Michael Pittman

STARTS: Marvin Harrison Jr., Colts DST 

FLEX: Michael Carter (PPR preferred)

SITS: Daniel Jones (high-end No. 2 QB), Kyler Murray, Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, Emari Demercado, Greg Dortch, Michael Wilson, Cardinals DST

I’m a little nervous counting on the Seahawks running backs this week against the Jaguars. For starters, Jacksonville has been really good against the run — 3.9 yards per rush allowed and a slim 5.7% rush rate on 10-plus-yard runs (and 2.3% on explosive 12-plus-yard runs). Not a single running back has gone for more than 57 yards on the ground against Jacksonville and only Kareem Hunt, who scored the first two touchdowns the Jaguars allowed to a back this year, accumulated 10-plus PPR points on rushing stats alone. Where the Jaguars have been smashed by RBs is in the passing game — Christian McCaffrey was awesome, Chuba Hubbard scored in Week 1 that way and even Chiefs running backs caught all seven targets for 60 yards last Monday. Two problems: One, Sam Darnold has targeted his running backs on 9.4% of his throws, the second-lowest mark for any quarterback this season. Two, Zach Charbonnet has a 29-snap edge in snaps played on pass plays over Kenneth Walker in their four games together, but it’s clear both backs split reps, which makes it tough to trust either one regardless of matchup. There’s always the chance the Seahawks involve their running backs more through the air, and it’s also possible the Jaguars have a let-down game after an emotional win on Monday, but short of those factors we could be looking at a tough week for both Seattle running backs.  

MUST-STARTS: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

STARTS: Travis Etienne, Kenneth Walker III (No. 2 RB), Brian Thomas Jr. (low-end No. 2 WR), Seahawks DST, Jaguars DST

FLEX: Zach Charbonnet (low-end flex)

SITS: Sam Darnold (high-end No. 2 QB), Trevor Lawrence, Cooper Kupp (desperation PPR flex), Tory Horton (desperation flex), A.J. Barner (No. 2 TE), Bhayshul Tuten, Parker Washington, Dyami Brown, Travis Hunter

There was a four-week stretch in 2024 when the Chargers didn’t have JK Dobbins and knew their run game was crumbs. From Week 13 through 16, they threw the ball 62.3% of the time, a lot for them. Outside of that four-week stretch when Dobbins was around and the Chargers knew they had a semblance of a run game, they threw 52.4% of the time. Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins are backups for a reason: Vidal is a little shifty and physical but inexperienced and has made three plays of 13-plus yards over 176 career snaps. Haskins is a good pass protector and decent receiver but doesn’t have much in the way of speed with one play of 13-plus yards over 310 offensive snaps. Even new guy Nyheim Miller-Hines has experience and pretty good hands for receiving but hasn’t played an NFL down since 2022 and had two fumbles lost this preseason. Even in a fantastic matchup that Rico Dowdle shredded a week ago, why would the Chargers trust them when they have Justin Herbert, even if Herbert’s playing behind a depleted offensive line.

MUST-STARTS: De’Von Achane

STARTS: Justin Herbert, Quentin Johnston, Jaylen Waddle (No. 2 WR), Darren Waller (low-end TE)

FLEX: Ladd McConkey, Keenan Allen

SITS: Tua Tagovailoa (high-end No. 2 QB), Kimani Vidal, Hassan Haskins, Nyheim Miller-Hines, Malik Washington, Oronde Gadsden, Ollie Gordon II, Dolphins DST, Chargers DST

The only time the Saints went away from zone coverage was in Week 4 when they played a lot of man-to-man coverage on third downs at Buffalo. Rushing quarterbacks like Kyler Murray and Jaxson Dart each saw a lot of zone coverage, so that’s probably what Drake Maye will see a lot of unless/until the Patriots build a big lead. The Saints have tried amping up its pass rush over its past three games with a lot of blitzing but it hasn’t resulted in a ton of pressure nor a ton of sacks. This should lead to a busy week for Drake Maye, particularly since the Saints run defense is solid overall but especially good at limiting big plays (just three carries of 12-plus rush yards allowed this year, and only one for 16-plus yards).

STARTS: Drake Maye, Stefon Diggs, Hunter Henry, Chris Olave (low-end PPR WR), Patriots DST (should be good in Weeks 7 and 8 too)

FLEX: Chris Olave (PPR), Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller

SITS: Spencer Rattler, Rashid Shaheed (desperation WR), Juwan Johnson (desperation TE), TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kayshon Boutte, Taysom Hill, Demario Douglas, Saints DST

This matchup is more challenging for the Steelers’ offense than the Browns’ offense. It’s because Cleveland plays the most man-to-man coverage of any defense in the league and typically can create pass rush pressure without having to blitz. Cleveland has also held opposing running backs to 3.1 yards per carry this year with a 3.0 explosive rush rate allowed. Aaron Rodgers has been one of the worst quarterbacks when pressured this year (a 39.0 RB rating should tell you everything). DK Metcalf has a terrible 5.9% target per route run rate when Rodgers has been pressured and an 8.6% target per route rate against man coverage, and of the four receivers to nab 15-plus PPR points against the Browns this year, three needed touchdowns to get there. And only one running back — Jahmyr Gibbs, has more than 14 PPR points against the Browns. I’d be careful trying anyone from the Steelers offense. 

STARTS: Quinshon Judkins, David Njoku, Steelers DST, Browns DST

FLEX: DK Metcalf, Jaylen Warren (PPR)

SITS: Aaron Rodgers, Dillon Gabriel, Kenneth Gainwell (stash for a week), Jonnu Smith, Jerry Jeudy, Isaiah Bond (stash), Jerome Ford, Harold Fannin

Jonathan Taylor torched them, but he torches pretty much everyone. D’Andre Swift had a miserable rushing average but caught a few passes and scored on them. Two Commanders running backs totaled nearly 24 PPR points against them. This is what the Raiders have allowed to running backs in their past three games. It’s not to guarantee Tony Pollard will follow suit, but the Raiders aren’t really in a position to slow anyone down. Pollard still locked up 72% of the snaps and 14 of 19 running back carries for the Titans in Tyjae Spears’ first week back. That includes playing all four snaps inside the 10, and it doesn’t include three catches Pollard had. I don’t like that the Titans are on the road for a third straight week, but if that’s the biggest knock Pollard has in a favorable matchup, then he probably makes the cut as a low-end No. 2 running back.

STARTS: Ashton Jeanty, Tony Pollard, Jakobi Meyers

FLEX: Tre Tucker, Calvin Ridley

SITS: Cam Ward, Geno Smith, Elic Ayomanor, Michael Mayer, Tyjae Spears, Chig Okonkwo, Gunnar Helm, Raiders DST, Titans DST

Based on this year’s stats alone, Joe Flacco had a better catchable throw rate, a lower interception rate and a lower off-target rate than Jake Browning. He also saw 11 drops while playing for the Browns, hurting all of his other counting stats. And while he had a 22.6% target rate to running backs while in Cleveland, that hasn’t been the norm for him throughout his career — he’s more a downfield thrower than a checkdown artist. Not that Jake Browning wasn’t interested in throwing downfield, he just wasn’t great at it. Flacco appears to be a much better processor of coverage and lot more comfortable throwing downfield than Browning with slightly better accuracy. This should be a step in the right direction for the Bengals passing game, even if we don’t see much evidence of it this week. Green Bay has given up 15-plus PPR points to only two receivers this season: George Pickens (33.4 PPR points on 11 targets) and Deebo Samuel (17.4 PPR points on eight targets, a late TD was involved).

MUST-STARTS: Ja’Marr Chase, Josh Jacobs 

STARTS: Jordan Love, Tucker Kraft, Packers DST

FLEX: Tee Higgins, Chase Brown, Romeo Doubs

SITS: Joe Flacco, Matthew Golden (low-end flex), Christian Watson (stash), Noah Fant, Andrei Iosivas, Samaje Perine, Bengals DST

At Seattle, Chris Godwin’s snap share dipped by 10, his route rate slid from 93% to 79%, he lined up in the slot on 42% of his plays (that rate went up from Week 4), but his ADOT cratered from 14.6 yards to a measly 2.75 yards. You probably also noticed his targets sag from 10 in Week 4 to four in Week 5 — and for good reason: The Seahawks found themselves double-teaming Godwin throughout the game, mostly on middle-of-the-field routes. Why they did that when Emeka Egbuka and Sterling Shepard, both clearly quicker than Godwin, tore them apart is beyond me. The 49ers tend to play zone-heavy coverage, mostly Cover-3 much like the Seahawks opted for last week, but since losing defensive end Nick Bosa to a torn ACL they’ve greatly reduced their blitz rates and haven’t gotten much pressure on the quarterback (just two sacks). Godwin has nine of his 14 targets when Baker Mayfield hasn’t been pressured, but Egbuka has 14 of his 17 targets in the same scenario. I’d be a little squeamish trusting Godwin as anything more than a low-end flex, even if this figures to be a moderately high-scoring game. 

MUST-STARTS: Christian McCaffrey, Emeka Egbuka

STARTS: Baker Mayfield, Rachaad White, Jake Tonges 

FLEX: Kendrick Bourne 

SITS: Mac Jones (high-end No. 2 QB), Chris Godwin (low-end flex), Demarcus Robinson Brian Robinson Jr., Sean Tucker, Sterling Shepard (desperation WR), Cade Otton (desperation TE), Buccaneers DST, 49ers DST

Not one of Jared Goff’s 12 touchdowns this season have come when he’s been pressured. His QB rating when pressured is 67.8, which pales in comparison to the 137.3 he has when he’s not pressured. His completion rate, yards per attempt and off-target rate all go in the wrong direction when he’s pressured. And wouldn’t you know it? The Chiefs lead the NFL not only in pass rush pressure rate (46.4%) but specifically pass rush pressure rate without blitzing (49.2%). When pressured this year, Goff has leaned on Sam LaPorta the most (25.6% target per route rate), followed by Jameson Williams (20.4%). Where are Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs? Insanely low: 9.8% and 12.9% target per route rate respectively. I don’t think anyone will ever sit those guys, but maybe giving some thought to LaPorta and Williams isn’t a bad idea, especially if Goff ends up having to find targets against man coverage while running from Chris Jones & Co. 

MUST-STARTS: Patrick Mahomes, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown 

STARTS: Xavier Worthy, Sam LaPorta, Travis Kelce

FLEX: David Montgomery, Jameson Williams (low-end flex) 

SITS: Jared Goff, Tyquan Thornton (desperation flex), Kareem Hunt, Isiah Pacheco, Isaac TeSlaa, Chiefs DST (desperation starter), Lions DST

Buffalo earned a fourth-best 42.7% pass rush pressure rate on non-blitzes, which is particularly great since they aren’t a blitz-heavy defense. Might this be problematic for the Falcons passing game including Drake London and Kyle Pitts? When their quarterback has been pressured this year, London has seen a very low 14.3% target per route run rate. Pitts hasn’t fared much better, sitting at 15%. Naturally, London (34.4%) and Pitts (20%) have led the Falcons in target per route run rate when their quarterback isn’t pressured, and that’s when their numbers are at their best. Obviously, Penix won’t be pressured on every snap, which keeps the door open for London to have a good game (Pitts too). But you should know Buffalo has allowed five touchdowns and three 15-plus PPR point games to WRs, and one touchdown with zero 10-plus-point PPR games to TEs this season. 

MUST-STARTS: Josh Allen, Bijan Robinson, James Cook

STARTS: Drake London (borderline No. 1/2 WR), Dalton Kincaid, Kyle Pitts (low-end starter), Bills DST 

FLEX: Khalil Shakir 

SITS: Michael Penix Jr., Darnell Mooney, Keon Coleman, Tyler Allgeier, Ray Davis, Falcons DST

There’s a chance the Bears play this game with two backup tackles lining up against the Commanders’ quality pass rush. When pressured this season, Caleb Williams has been awful when pressured so far this season, completing 48.6% of his throws for 4.3 yards per attempt with one touchdown and a concerning 20% off-target rate. Washington’s pass rush pressure rate has been good — 37.8% — when they haven’t blitzed, which they may not have to do in this game. Williams wasn’t blitzed much by the Raiders in Week 4 (a defense built similarly to the Commanders) and he still had a rough game stat-wise. I’m a little nervous about Williams’ upside, especially given his protection problems. 

There isn’t anything about the Bears defense that should scare you out of starting Jayden Daniels. They’ve played a lot of man-to-man coverage this year, but doing that against a rushing quarterback like Daniels is a recipe for disaster. I’d expect a good amount of zone coverage. The Bears’ pass rush couldn’t get going against the Raiders in Week 4. It should be a smooth week for Daniels, but it might be an explosive week for Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Chicago’s run defense has been among the worst in football this year and especially in its past three games when they’ve allowed more than 6.0 yards per rush and a league-high 15.7% explosive run rate to RBs. For a speedster like Croskey-Merritt, the matchup is as good as it gets. Three RBs have hit at least 15 PPR points in four games against Chicago. In fact, the matchup might be so good that Daniels may not have to throw it a lot nor run it a lot as he eases his way back into form after missing time with a knee injury. 

MUST STARTS: Deebo Samuel

STARTS: Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift (low-end No. 2 RB in PPR), Commanders DST

FLEX: DJ Moore (PPR)

SITS: Zach Ertz (No. 2 TE), Colston Loveland (stash!), Luther Burden, Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols, Olamide Zaccheaus, Luke McCaffrey, Bears DST

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