For the fantasy football player, success in daily fantasy formats comes down to your ability to find value, to identify players who are faced with great matchups, and to maximize the relationships among the players on your roster (otherwise known as correlation). In other words, what are this week's best buys on the fantasy football schedule?
Each week, I'll go through each offensive position and give you a few players I'm considering for my head-to-head lineups, as well as some of the better team defenses for you to select in order to round out those fantasy rosters. These are usually players who are getting as much volume as possible, while also coming in at value prices. I'll also include some players I'm considering for my tournament pool play. And while things may change between this posting and game time, I'll do whatever I can to keep people updated on my various social media channels all the way up until kickoff on Sunday.
With all of that in mind, here are my favorite plays for Week 6.
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen ($8,200 DraftKings, $9,200 FanDuel), Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs: Allow me to introduce the highest-scoring quarterback in fantasy, playing in the highest-profile game of the week, with the highest-projected total. Allen is an absolute no-brainer in Week 6. There's plenty of value at running back and, there will likely be value opening up at wide receiver (as it tends to do in DFS every week) for us to be able to fit Allen in our lineups. In 12 career games with an over/under of at least 50, Allen has had either a rushing touchdown or 350-plus passing yards nine times.
Patrick Mahomes ($8,000 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel), Kansas City vs. Buffalo Bills: The other side of this top matchup brings us Mahomes, who leads the NFL in passing touchdowns (15) through the first five weeks. Mahomes has also contributed with his legs, with over 25 rushing yards in three straight games. In his last 10 games (including the playoffs) with an over/under of at least 50, Mahomes has averaged 313.7 passing yards and 2.8 touchdowns.
Tom Brady ($6,300 DraftKings, $7,500 FanDuel), Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers: If you're not going to pay up at quarterback for one of the two premiums on the main slate, consider Brady as a very viable value option at DraftKings. The Buccaneers have a fantastic matchup against Pittsburgh, who are allowing a touchdown on 6% of passes -- the third-highest rate in the league -- while also creating pressure at the fourth-lowest rate. Brady has his full complement of receivers back on the field and, since their return two weeks ago, has totaled 736 pass yards (compared to just 673 in Weeks 1-3 without them).
Also interested in
Geno Smith ($5,700 DraftKings, $7,400 FanDuel), Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals: The Seahawks offense has been a revelation through the first five weeks of the season. Smith has thrown multiple TD-passes in four out of the Seattle's five games so far and over the last three weeks has averaged more than 300 passing yards while throwing for seven touchdowns. There's fantastic "stackability" here with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. A full 53.9% of Smith's targets have gone to that pair.
Running backs
Saquon Barkley ($7,700 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel), New York Giants vs. Baltimore Ravens: There are a lot of running backs in play this week, but Barkley has totaled 38.5% of the Giants offense this season -- and no other running back in the NFL is even touching 36%. Baltimore has allowed a touchdown on 12 out of 17 red zone trips and is third-worst in RB yards before first contact (3.2).
Kenneth Walker III ($5,400 DraftKings, $6,400 FanDuel), Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals: The injury to Rashaad Penny has opened up a massive opportunity for Walker and his price on both sites is still extremely cheap. In Weeks 1-4, Penny handled 61% of Seattle's RB touches. His loss creates a new floor for Walker. As the lead back, I assume he will handle north of 70%. The Cardinals have have the lead in games on a league-low 3.6% of their offensive snaps, so game script is unlikely to hurt Walker this week.
Joe Mixon ($6,900 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel), Cincinnati Bengals at New Orleans Saints: Mixon's usage in the passing game has given him a higher floor than in past years. He's had three-plus catches in every game this season and 74-plus total yards in four out of five. Mixon is a candidate for some "correction in the right direction" as he has scored only one touchdown so far, despite leading the league in inside-the-five carries.
Rhamondre Stevenson ($6,000 DraftKings, $7,500 FanDuel), New England Patriots at Cleveland Browns: The Patriots are expected to be without Damien Harris this week and Ty Montgomery isn't yet ready to return from IR, opening up a massive workload for Stevenson in Week 6. Cleveland is allowing just under 6.0 RB yards per carry and a touchdown on every 17.5 RB carries.
Also interested in
Leonard Fournette ($7,400 DraftKings, $8,400 FanDuel), Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers: Fournette's snap counts have been curtailed as other options in the Tampa Bay offense have returned to action, yet the team's increased efficiency as a result of all those wide receivers getting healthier has not impacted Fournette's production in a negative way. He has totaled 22 catches over the last three weeks and has now had TD-catches in consecutive games.
Breece Hall ($5,800 DraftKings, $7,100 FanDuel), New York Jets at Green Bay Packers: Coming off of the biggest game in his short career -- and one that could have been even bigger had he not been tackled twice on the 1-yard line -- Hall has taken over the lead role in the Jets backfield. Yet, he is still being priced as though he's a backup. The Packers have allowed the fifth-worst RB yards per carry (5.1) and Hall has shown big-play potential with a carry of 14-plus yards in every game this season. He sees solid volume, has big-splash ability, and adds a fantastic role in the Jets' passing game with three games of at least six targets.
Wide receivers
Stefon Diggs ($8,400 DraftKings, $8,900 DraftKings), Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs: The bottom line this week is that you want smart shares of this game -- period. Diggs is going to be popular, however getting premium combinations could be tough unless some extreme value opens up at wide receiver by Sunday. Diggs has had 14 straight games with an end zone target, with multiple such looks in eight of those games. Opposing WR1's have demolished the Kansas City defense this year, which has already allowed big days to Mike Evans, Davante Adams, Mike Williams (Keenan Allen was injured), Michael Pittman Jr. and Marquise Brown.
Tyler Lockett ($5,600 DraftKings, $7,500 FanDuel), Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals: Lockett is the most glaring value on the WR slate, averaging 17.9 DraftKings points per game. He's also coming off of a 30.4-point performance and has had five-plus catches in each of the last four weeks (with 36 targets over that span). Very simply put, Lockett's price is way off and should be closer to $7,000 on DraftKings. Additionally, he is playing in the second-highest totaled game on the slate against a defense that has struggled to stop opposing offenses in any way. This is an absolute layup in cash games and a game-theory fade for tournaments.
Chris Godwin ($6,100 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel), Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers: Since returning from his Week 1 injury, Godwin has reeled in 13 catches on 16 targets over the last two weeks. The Steelers are creating pressure at the fourth-lowest rate in the league and Godwin has been targeted on 27.3% of his routes when Brady is not pressured. Tampa Bay really likes to move the ball through the air. Note their league-high 80.5% of yards coming via the pass, compared to the NFL average of 65.8%.
Also interested in
Romeo Doubs ($4,800 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel), Green Bay Packers vs. New York Jets: The Packers should not have any issues in keeping their offense on the field against a Jets defense with the eighth-lowest rate of forcing three-and-outs. Dobbs is working his way into a premier pass-catching role as Aaron Rodgers' favorite target around the goal line, in addition to having his quarterback's trust on downfield throws. Doubs has had a catch of at least 20 yards in four out of five games this season. He also managed a season-high 12.0 aDOT last week in London.
Tight ends
Travis Kelce ($7,800 DraftKings, $8,300 FanDuel), Kansas City vs. Buffalo Bills: Typically, we can pay up to be contrarian at tight end. However, I'm not sure that that's the right thing to do here in Week 6 with both Kelce and Mark Andrews on the slate and both of them in the midst of hot streaks. Kelce has seen 12 red zone targets over the last three weeks. To put that in perspective, Davante Adams has 14 red zone targets for the entire season.
Mark Andrews ($7,000 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel), Baltimore Ravens at New York Giants: In Baltimore's last 10 wins, Andrews has a line of 64-803-7, with double-digit targets in six of those games. The Giants rank second in blitz rate this season, sending extra men on 39% of their defensive plays. On plays where Lamar Jackson is blitzed, Andrews has twice as many catches (14) as any other Ravens receiver even has targets (7).
Zach Ertz ($4,900 DraftKings, $6,000 FanDuel), Arizona Cardinals at. Seattle Seahawks: In the absence of DeAndre Hopkins, Ertz has done absolutely nothing but produce all season long. The Seahawks are allowing a league-high 3.0 points per drive over the last two weeks, resulting in a whopping 84 points on the NFL scoreboard. Ertz has had four games with six-plus catches -- the only tight end in 2022 who can claim such a feat. If you're not willing to pay up for Kelce, Ertz provides the best value option under $5,000 on DraftKings.
Also interested in
Tyler Higbee ($4,600 DraftKings, $6,200 FanDuel), Los Angeles Rams vs. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers are allowing the third-most red zone trips per game, presenting the Rams with a great "get well opportunity" here in Week 6. With Van Jefferson out, Higbee has taken on a massive role as the first option in this offense -- way more than last season. Higbee leads all tight ends in both targets (48) and catches (33).
Defenses
Jacksonville Jaguars ($3,000 DraftKings, $4,300 FanDuel), at Colts
New Orleans Saints ($2,800 DraftKings, $3,800 FanDuel), vs. Bengals
Carolina Panthers ($2,400 DraftKings, $3,700 FanDuel), at Rams
Disclaimer: Al Zeidenfeld (Username: Al_Smizzle) plays on his personal account in games for which he offers advice. He may also deploy different players/strategies than what he advises.