Yahoo DFS Football: Week 6 Picks

Yahoo DFS Football: Week 6 Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.

Another exciting slate of NFL action is on tap in Week 6, with the Sunday 1:00 PM Eastern main slate consisting of 11 games. This slate excludes the Bills, Bears, Colts and Raiders (bye), Giants-Patriots (Thursday Night Football), Panthers-Buccaneers (London, 9:30 AM Eastern time Sunday) and Lions-Packers (Monday Night Football). A lot of the talent sitting out this week comes on the defensive side of the ball, leaving plenty of offense to choose from. The suggestions below include a star wide receiver coming off a career game, a couple of Cardinals primed to take flight in a favorable home matchup, and a tight end facing a divisional foe that had no answers for him last year.

TOURNAMENTS (GPP – GUARANTEED PRIZE POOL)

QB: Kyler Murray, ARI vs. ATL ($26): After eclipsing 300 passing yards in each of his first two games, Murray has come alive as a rusher in the past three, totaling 189 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The dual-threat quarterback should have no trouble finding success through the air against a Falcons team that just got roasted to the tune of 426 passing yards and five touchdowns by Deshaun Watson, and Murray's rushing ability raises his floor in case an Atlanta defense that's yielding 30.4 points per game unexpectedly stiffens up.

RB: Le'Veon Bell, NYJ vs. DAL ($28): The logic behind this pick is similar to last week's, only this time, starting quarterback Sam Darnold has officially been cleared and will finally return to take some of the defense's attention off Bell. Bell's averaging 24.5 touches as a Jet and got 23 in Week 1 with Darnold under center, so volume shouldn't be an issue for the veteran running back, but his efficiency should skyrocket with Darnold replacing third-stringer Luke Falk. As for the matchup, the visiting Cowboys just gave up 182 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns to Green Bay's Aaron Jones.

WR: DeAndre Hopkins, HOU at KC ($33): Hopkins has been quiet by his lofty standards, with 347 yards and two touchdowns through five weeks. Those are fine numbers, and Hopkins is still getting plenty of attention from quarterback Deshaun Watson with 44 targets (tied for sixth among wide receivers) and at least five receptions in every game. Houston's offense will need to score in bunches to keep up with the Chiefs, and Hopkins is primed for a big game after playing second fiddle to Will Fuller last week.

Other Against-the-Grainers

QB: Patrick Mahomes (KC, $40), Kyle Allen (CAR, $27)

RB: Nick Chubb (CLE, $31), Joe Mixon (CIN, $17), Kenyan Drake (MIA, $15)

WR: Michael Thomas (NO, $33), Odell Beckham (CLE, $30), Preston Williams (MIA, $14)

TE: Greg Olsen (CAR, $19), Will Dissly (SEA, $22)

DST: Dallas Cowboys (at NYJ, $17), Philadelphia Eagles (at MIN, $11)

CASH GAMES (H2H, 50/50s and DOUBLE UPS)

QUARTERBACK

Deshaun Watson, HOU at KC ($37): Watson finally heated up last week after a slow start, eclipsing 400 yards through the air to go with five passing touchdowns in a 53-32 win over Atlanta. While Kansas City's biggest problem on defense has been defending the run, Houston's offense runs through Watson rather than Carlos Hyde or Duke Johnson. The Texans will need to score plenty of points to keep pace with the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs attack, and Watson should be up to the challenge.

RUNNING BACK

Derrick Henry, TEN at DEN ($28): Henry is the focal point of Tennessee's offense. He's averaging over 20 touches per game (with no fewer than 17 in any contest) and has found pay dirt in all but one game. Meanwhile, the Broncos are allowing 126.4 yards per game on the ground -- 11th most in the league -- and are tied for sixth-fewest points per game offensively at 18.0, so they're unlikely to force the Titans to abandon the run. 

Chase Edmonds, ARI vs. ATL ($12): If David Johnson (back) can't go, Edmonds would inherit a three-down role in a fabulous matchup against the reeling Falcons defense. Johnson's back "locked up" on him in last week's win over the Bengals, and while the starter was able to stay in the game, Edmonds got more looks than usual and took full advantage with 68 yards and a touchdown on eight carries in addition to three catches for 18 yards on four targets. Even if the two backs end up splitting work this week, Edmonds shouldn't have much trouble outplaying his $12 valuation.

WIDE RECEIVER

Amari Cooper, DAL at NYJ ($32): The Jets getting Darnold back under center should help the team's stagnant offense, but it won't do anything for New York's leaky secondary. Among that unit's lowlights through four games is allowing 123 yards and a touchdown to John Brown and 161 yards and a touchdown to Odell Beckham. Cooper's been far more productive than either of those guys with 512 receiving yards and five touchdowns thus far, plus he brings plenty of momentum into this one coming off a career-best 226-yard effort on 11 catches with a touchdown in last week's loss to the Packers.

Terry McLaurin, WAS at MIA ($20): McLaurin is probably the most talented offensive player on either team in this battle of winless squads. The rookie opened his career with a three-game touchdown streak, then missed a game with a hamstring injury before topping 50 yards in his return. Regardless of who's throwing him the ball, the sky's the limit for a healthy McLaurin against a Dolphins team that's giving up 40.8 points per game.

Courtland Sutton, DEN vs. TEN ($18): Sutton has significantly outperformed his $18 valuation, scoring three touchdowns in the last two weeks and averaging over 80 receiving yards per game for the season. His price will likely skyrocket if the second-year wide receiver posts another strong performance, and a Titans defense that's allowed six different players to top 70 receiving yards through five weeks is unlikely to slow Sutton down.

TIGHT END

George Kittle, SF at LAR ($22): Kittle absolutely annihilated the Rams in the two 2018 meetings between these teams, piling up 14 catches for 247 yards while finding the end zone in each game. The 49ers have been running all over the opposition thus far, but they might be forced to turn to the air as underdogs in Los Angeles. Even with his team's run-first approach, Kittle has provided over 50 yards in every game and has six-plus catches in all but one.

DEFENSE

Los Angeles Chargers, LAC vs. PIT ($12): This unit got off to a slow start with 14 fantasy points through the first three weeks, but the Chargers have bounced back over the past two weeks with outputs of 11 and 14 points, thanks in large part to a reinvigorated pass rush that's sacked the quarterback eight times in those last two games. With Ben Roethlisberger (elbow) done for the year and Mason Rudolph (concussion) looking unlikely to play, the visiting Steelers are expected to start undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges under center. Just look at the Jets if you want to know just how badly an NFL offense can perform with a third-string quarterback.

Honorable Mentions

QB: Lamar Jackson (BAL, $36), Tom Brady (NE, $32)

RB: Christian McCaffrey (CAR, $40), Carlos Hyde (HOU, $18), Sony Michel (NE, $17)

WR: Cooper Kupp (LAR, $28), Chris Godwin (TB, $26), Mecole Hardman (KC, $12)

TE: Austin Hooper (ATL, $25), Vance McDonald (PIT, $12)

DST: Washington Redskins (at MIA, $14), Carolina Panthers (at TB, $18)

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Sasha Yodashkin plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Youngsash, DraftKings: Yashdogg,Yahoo: Sasha, Fanball: Yashdogg.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Yodashkin
Sasha has been contributing NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and Tennis content to RotoWire since 2015, with an emphasis on DFS. He is a huge New York sports fan who has been playing fantasy sports since middle school.
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