This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.
The Week 6 NFL main slate begins Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT and features 10 games. The Dolphins, Rams, Vikings and Kansas City will be on bye, while the Thursday Night Football (49ers-Seahawks), London Game (Jaguars-Bears), Sunday Night Football (Bengals-Giants) and Monday Night Football (Bills-Jets) participants play outside the main slate in Week 6. Yahoo will be running plenty of NFL DFS contests for Week 6, but the biggest is the Sunday Baller, which pays out a guaranteed prize pool of $120,000 to the top 1,211 finishers, including $10,000 to the winner. You can submit up to 150 entries into this contest, which has a maximum total capacity of 7,000 entries but will still run if it doesn't fill, potentially providing you with enhanced odds of winning, also known as overlay.
Playing in guaranteed prize pool (GPP) contests is about chasing upside, while lineups geared towards head-to-head, 50/50 or double-up formats should prioritize high floors. The players you want to target for these different contest types aren't mutually exclusive, but winning a GPP tournament usually requires finding a hidden gem or going against the grain in a spot or two, while building a solid base of the same chalk plays you would use anywhere. Against-the-grain plays typically consist of big-name players in tough matchups or boom-or-bust types with uncertain roles.
Keep in mind that Yahoo DFS contests use 0.5 PPR scoring rather than full PPR, which lowers the comparative value of wide receivers and running backs (in that order) while especially affecting high-volume pass-catchers. Your NFL $120k Sunday Baller lineup will consist of one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and one D/ST unit. Suggested Week 6 plays focus heavily on players that have underperformed their lofty expectations to begin the season but are poised to pick up the pace in Week 6, be it due to favorable matchups, changes in team contexts, or both.
QUARTERBACK
Jalen Hurts, PHI vs. CLE ($28): This is a nice buy-low opportunity on Hurts, who is set to get top two WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith back from a hamstring injury and a concussion, respectively, coming out of Philadelphia's Week 5 bye. With the two star WRs back in the fold, Hurts should regain the aerial effectiveness that helped him post a 45:21 TD:INT over the previous two seasons before dropping to a 4:4 mark through four games in 2024. He adds significant value with his legs, with 30 rushing TDs since the start of the 2022 season. Cleveland's defense had high expectations heading into 2024, but the banged-up Browns have struggled on both sides of the ball en route to a 1-4 start. Star pass rusher Myles Garrett (Achilles) and CB Denzel Ward (hamstring) are among the notable defensive players who may not suit up here for a Browns defense that's allowing 24.2 points per game.
Honorable Mentions:
Lamar Jackson, BAL vs. WAS ($38); Jayden Daniels, WAS at BAL ($36); Dak Prescott, DAL vs. DET ($29)
Against the Grainers:
Kyler Murray, ARI at GB ($31); Kirk Cousins, ATL at CAR ($27); Will Levis, TEN vs. IND ($21)
RUNNING BACK
Bijan Robinson, ATL at CAR ($29): Robinson hasn't been outright bad, but the 2023 first-round draft pick has underachieved relative to lofty preseason expectations, scoring between 9.2 and 14.2 fantasy points in each of Atlanta's first five games. He's well set up for a breakout Week 6 performance against a Panthers defense that has allowed the most rushing TDs (nine) and third-most rushing yards (603) to RBs. Robinson has at least 18 touches in three of five games and will be fresh for a large workload with the Falcons having been off since last Thursday.
Josh Jacobs, GB vs. ARI ($27): Jacobs finally scored his first TD as a Packer last week against the Rams and is averaging 19.6 touches and 80.4 rushing yards per game heading into a Week 6 home game against a Cardinals team that has allowed the second-most rushing yards to RBs (612), trailing only the idle Rams (621). Twelve RBs in the Sunday Baller slate have higher valuations than Jacobs, so he offers top-end upside at a reasonable cap hit given his high touch floor against a vulnerable opponent.
Honorable Mentions:
Saquon Barkley, PHI vs. CLE ($36); James Conner, ARI at GB ($31); Tony Pollard, TEN vs. IND ($27)
Against the Grainers:
Rico Dowdle, DAL vs. DET ($21); Rachaad White, TB at NO ($20); Trey Sermon, IND at TEN ($10)
WIDE RECEIVER
CeeDee Lamb, DAL vs. DET ($32): Lamb is another player who hasn't quite played up to expectations yet in 2024, but a slow start relative to the lofty standards set by last season's totals of 135 catches for 1,749 receiving yards and 12 receiving TDs was foreseeable after Lamb spent most of the offseason holding out for a new contract. Like Brandon Aiyuk, Lamb should be shaking off any last bits of rust by Week 6, and his average of 75.6 receiving yards per game this season is closer to his floor than his ceiling. Lamb has a nice opportunity to put any talk of a slow start in the rearview mirror against a Lions that's secondary that's allowing 218.3 yards per game to WRs. Jalen Tolbert ($17) is also a nice value as Dallas' No. 2 WR with Brandin Cooks (knee) on IR, but it's worth paying up for the top-end talent of Lamb here.
Tank Dell, HOU at NE ($20): Dell has much more room to grow in the absence of Nico Collins (hamstring) than Stefon Diggs does. Dell ranks a distant third in targets (21) among Houston's WRs behind Collins (45) and Diggs (41) this season. Diggs is likely to continue running primarily short and intermediate routes, while Dell could be asked to fill the downfield role that helped Collins rack up a league-high 567 receiving yards prior to going on IR. C.J. Stroud's ability to burn defenses with the deep ball should be on full display against a New England secondary that has allowed the ninth-most yards to WRs. Dell excelled as a top-two option in Houston's receiving corps as a rookie last season, compiling 709 receiving yards and seven TDs in just 11 games.
DeAndre Hopkins, TEN vs. IND ($17): Tennessee's entire offense is set up for success coming out of a bye against a Colts defense that's allowing a league-high 419.2 scrimmage yards per game. Hopkins looks like the best Week 6 value on the Titans at this salary, which gives him the edge over Calvin Ridley at $21. After Ridley got off to a hot start while Hopkins was limited by a knee injury, Hopkins has reemerged as Will Levis' favorite target, catching six of seven targets for 73 yards and a TD in the one game during which both Levis and Hopkins played their full customary snap share. Hopkins has accounted for seven of Levis' 13 career passing TDs, so the veteran WR should remain the second-year QB's go-to option in the passing game against a Colts defense that just allowed Jaguars WRs Brian Thomas and Christian Kirk to combine for 210 yards and a TD.
Honorable Mentions:
A.J. Brown, PHI vs. CLE ($29); Terry McLaurin, WAS at BAL ($26); Zay Flowers, BAL vs. WAS ($25)
Against the Grainers:
Chris Olave, NO vs. TB ($26); Amari Cooper, CLE at PHI ($25); DeMario Douglas, NE vs. HOU ($13)
TIGHT END
Trey McBride, ARI at GB ($20): Continuing a common theme, McBride's another player who has played closer to his floor than his ceiling so far. He's averaging 7.5 targets per game but has yet to find the end zone or reach 70 yards in a game after totaling at least 89 yards in four of his last 10 games to close out his breakout 2023 campaign. A concussion cut one of his games short and kept him from playing another, but in what will be his second game back from the injury, McBride shouldn't have any physical limitations against a generous Packers defense that has allowed 245 yards (12th-most) and two TDs (one shy of most in the league) to tight ends. With numerous top TEs underperforming, McBride's combination of high volume floor and favorable matchup make him worth paying up for relative to alternative options at his position.
Honorable Mentions:
Brock Bowers, LV vs. PIT ($20); Tucker Kraft, GB vs. ARI ($17); Kyle Pitts, ATL at CAR ($14)
Against the Grainers:
Jake Ferguson, DAL vs. DET ($19); Isaiah Likely, BAL vs. WAS ($13); Dalton Schultz, HOU at NE ($11)
DEFENSE
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NO ($12): Tampa Bay's pass rush has heated up with 10 sacks over the past two games, and this affordable unit has a lofty ceiling against a Saints offense that will have rookie QB Spencer Rattler making his NFL debut in place of the injured Derek Carr (oblique). Rattler averaged only 5.3 yards per attempt on 38 throws in the preseason. Even when Carr was available, the Saints had trended down dramatically on offense after a hot 2-0 start, averaging only 16.3 PPG during their current three-game losing streak. With a few extra rest days after playing on Thursday Night Football, the Buccaneers are well positioned to continue their defensive success against their NFC South rivals; Tampa Bay has limited New Orleans to 13.4 PPG in their last five meetings.
Honorable Mentions:
Pittsburgh Steelers at LV ($18); Houston Texans at NE ($13); Philadelphia Eagles vs. CLE ($13)
Against the Grainers:
Baltimore Ravens vs. WAS ($13); Indianapolis Colts at TEN ($13); Las Vegas Raiders vs. PIT ($10)
