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    Building a Winning DFS Lineup for Week 6: Identifying Stacks and Locks

    Every DFS slate is different. But for the Week 6 main slate, two players jump out as elite options to build around!

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    With four teams on a bye and another London game on the schedule, the DFS main slate for Week 6 requires a little more precision than your average week. With impact injuries to navigate and projected shootouts to consider, let’s dive into the metrics and build out a Sunday lineup that marries significant upside layered with level of safety.

    Week 6 DFS Picks

    All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.

    Let’s do things a little bit differently here. In this article, we will give you the final product before taking you through the ingredients and recipe below.

    DFS Game Stack: Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys

    It’s not always as simple as overinvesting in the game with the highest-projected point total, but Week 6 might just be that easy if you build your roster in a thoughtful way and differentiate elsewhere.

    Even with me landing on what I expect to be one of the two most popular games on this slate, I don’t think we are looking at an overly chalky position because all four teams involved in those two games can be super stacked in a variety of ways.

    Jameson Williams has shown plenty of breakout potential this season, and I wouldn’t blame someone for either putting him with Goff in a build or bringing him back on the other side of a Dallas Cowboys onslaught. From a strategic point of view, long term, I actually like that move because if Williams hits on a big play, it puts the ball in the hands of the other team in a hurry and in a passing script.

    But not here, not in this matchup. The Cowboys allow a league-low 7.0 yards per deep pass attempt this season, and while their injuries up front can impact that, I think there are better ways to leverage Dallas’ defense.

    Through five weeks (four games), Goff owns his lowest quick pass rate since 2018. In theory, that would open up opportunities for Williams to sprint down the field, but Goff’s average depth of target is pacing to decline for a second consecutive season.

    The time to throw isn’t being spent on scheming up regular deep shots, but rather allowing his pass catchers to uncover on complex short routes and getting the ball in their hands with space to operate.

    That is the game plan that allowed Goff to produce our highest QB+ grade of the season in Week 4 against the Seahawks. While I’m not projecting perfection, he should have his way coming off a bye against a defense that, on short passes, ranks 23rd in completion percentage, 29th in yards after catch, and 30th in yards per attempt.

    Micah Parsons is likely out at least one more game, and DeMarcus Lawrence is on injured reserve. This is a shell of the unit we used to fear, and while Justin Fields didn’t light the Cowboys up last week in a vanilla scheme, this is simply a different animal.

    Amon-Ra St. Brown is no secret at this point, and the NFL doesn’t have much of an answer. He’s found his groove after a slow start (62.5% catch rate through Week 2, 92.9% since), and we saw him sustain elite form in this matchup last winter in Dallas (101 yards and a touchdown) in the middle of a four-game scoring binge where he reached 100 total yards in each contest.

    As for LaPorta, this is a prime spot. I’ve detailed my concerns about Dallas’ defense, and from a game theory point of view, how much better does it get?

    LaPorta has underwhelmed up to this point (12-147-0), and after the bye, he’s not a name I see getting clicked often as the third-highest-priced player at the position.

    2023

    • 83.1% snap share
    • +14.5% production over expectation
    • 1.99 fantasy points per target

    2024

    • 79% snap share
    • +11.1% production over expectation
    • 1.91 fantasy points per target

    Those LaPorta profiles look similar to me, though the public perception has fallen in a significant way.

    If I’m right in trusting the Detroit Lions, there is likely to be value one way or another on the other side. CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson are top options at their respective positions. But could last week’s performance from Tolbert be the start of a good run with Brandin Cooks on IR?

    Secondary Wide Receivers vs. DET Over Their Past 3 Games

    Chris Godwin/Michael Wilson/Jaxon Smith-Njigba

    • +8.5% production over target expectation
    • 23 catches
    • 29 targets
    • 2.04 yards per route

    Mike Evans/Marvin Harrison Jr./DK Metcalf

    • -16.5% production over target expectation
    • 12 catches
    • 23 targets
    • 1.89 yards per route

    These kneecap biters are focusing on taking away top-tier receivers, and it’s left them vulnerable at other spots. With an extra week to prepare, I expect the Lions’ focus to be even greater on Lamb. They still may not be able to stop him, but if the Lions can contain him at some level, Tolbert can pay off this very reasonable price tag.

    DFS Skinny Stack: Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers

    Your roster doesn’t have to be off the wall to be successful. After the Lions/Cowboys and Commanders/Ravens games, the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers will draw plenty of attention. I’m not breaking ground to say that, but I think we can get access in a unique way.

    With LaPorta already rostered, going in the direction of Trey McBride gives us a unique construction, even if both tight ends by themselves aren’t overlooked. Sometimes, DFS contests are decided by how you play a combination of players more than the specific players you click — this is an example of leaning into that.

    McBride is earning 7.5 targets per game this season, and the Packers rank bottom 10 in the NFL in yards per completion and pass touchdown rate. Marvin Harrison Jr. is going to be the popular pick from Arizona’s passing attack, but the rookie continues to struggle to put together 60 strong minutes. If that’s the case again in what I expect to be a pass-friendly game script, McBride could have his best game of the season without much of an ask.

    If Arizona is playing from behind, that means that Green Bay is playing with a lead. Josh Jacobs may only rank RB24 on a per-game basis this season, but his usage slots him at 11th at the position in expected points per game, making him a nice buy-low option.

    We saw Green Bay enter the fourth quarter with a double-digit lead last week and opened that final stanza with eight runs on their first 11 plays. The Packers trust Jordan Love to put them in position to win ball games, but Jacobs was brought in to be the hammer.

    Green Bay had four more rushes than passes against the 31st-ranked run defense in success rate, and a similar script could be in store for the 30th-ranked unit on Sunday.

    DFS Quick Hits

    Xavier Hutchinson at New England Patriots

    As a 6’3” fill-in option for Nico Collins, Xavier Hutchinson will be on the field plenty against a defense that is a bit top heavy and is an interesting option. Christian Gonzalez looms, but I’m assuming that his shadow talents don’t result in him following Houston’s WR3 around the field.

    If that basic thought is accurate, this punt play has plenty of upside to explore. Gonzalez not guarding Collins means that Stefon Diggs/Tank Dell will get a dose of one of the better defenders in the game.

    C.J. Stroud, meanwhile, is among the front-runners on the MVP board, and this is a cheap way to get upside that is associated with him in a game that the Texans should control through the air with Joe Mixon still banged up.

    Najee Harris at Las Vegas Raiders

    Najee Harris isn’t a flashy option and doesn’t have a carry gaining more than six yards in consecutive games.

    It’s not hard to envision him being a low-owned option this week. Yet, he’s coming off of a season-best 73.7% snap rate and faces a defense that ranks 27th in success rate against running backs, 30th in yards per carry after contact, and 31st in rush EPA.

    Harris’ eight straight 16+ touch games is the second-longest active streak in the NFL (Kyren Williams, 12), and Pittsburgh does nothing but play close games. The number of highlights won’t be high, but a volume-based productive game is very much within the range of plausible outcomes.

    Philadelphia Eagles D/ST vs. Cleveland Browns

    Chalk defenses scare me, though I’m not sure the ownership gets out of control.

    The Steelers face a backup quarterback, the Texans get a rookie, and the Chargers get a rookie while coming off their bye. There are plenty of viable plays in the top half of the pricing board this week, and paying down at the DST position is always popular, thus making a pretty straightforward Philadelphia Eagles play one that may not be as common as you assume.

    The Cleveland Browns allow pressure at the third-highest rate (43.7%) and the highest sack rate in the league (12.8%, league average: 7.4%). Nothing Deshaun Watson has done up to this point should strike fear in the hearts of any defense, let alone one coming off its bye.

    The Eagles rank better than average in non-blitz pressure rate this season (34.2%), and with the Browns posting the sixth-highest pass rate over expectation through five weeks, we could be looking at a number of fantasy-friendly opportunities for Philadelphia.

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