It is so exciting to have real, live NFL football back in our lives. One of my favorite parts is fantasy football. One of my favorite aspects of fantasy football has become playing on DraftKings. Every week is like a new puzzle to figure out. Whether you are more of a cash game player or a tournament player, each presents a unique challenge. Let’s take a look at my favorite Week 6 DraftKings plays.
READ MORE: Week 6 Streamers | Week 6 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em | Running Back Rankings
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Week 6 DraftKings Plays
Week 5 Recap
It’s always good to be completely transparent and demonstrate accountability. That’s what I like to do with everything I do and that goes for fantasy football as well. Whether it’s bold takes or DraftKings recommendations, I always like to keep track of wins and losses. It’s good for the readers to know and helps me learn from mistakes moving forward.
🚨RECAP THREAD🚨
For full transparency each week I'll recap my #DraftKings plays to see if they hit the 2.5x we generally shoot for each week in cash builds!#FantasyFootball#NFL #NFLTwitter#DFS@BlazedRTs@MyFantasyLeague
https://t.co/lrcycVumlR— ✴️Rob Norton✴️ (@norton0723) October 9, 2023
Looking back at Week 5, it was better than Week 4 from a recommendations standpoint. This week 60% of my recommendations hit the 2.5x value we look for in cash game lineups. This time the tight end group led the way tied at an 80% success rate. Meanwhile, the wide receiver group brought up the rear tied at a 42.9% success rate. Personally, it was not a profitable week despite the good recommendations. We’ll look to get it going even better with the picks and get back into the profits in the Week 6 DraftKings plays.
- Week 5 – $367 → $273 ($94 LOSS)
- Year Total – $1,597 → $1,535 ($62 LOSS)
Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford (LAR) – $6,100 v ARI
Matthew Stafford has had a solid start to his 2023 campaign. On the season he’s averaging 17.4 DraftKings points per game and has scored between 13.5 and 20.2 points in all five games so far. Stafford has topped the 300-yard mark in three of those five games. Most of that production has also come without star wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who just returned last week. That only boosts Stafford’s outlook this week and moving forward. This week he and the Los Angeles Rams get a juicy matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have a bad defense and have been more competent on offense than expected so far. That’s a great recipe for fantasy success. They have allowed the fifth-most DraftKings points to quarterbacks so far this season. This game has a combined total of 48.5 points, which is the highest on the slate. The Rams’ 27.75-point implied team total is the second-highest on the slate. This game is also being played in a dome which is another boost to the passing games. All of this added up makes Stafford one of the best Week 6 DraftKings plays at quarterback.
Matthew Stafford is a top 10 QB this week vs the Cards defense
– 3rd most FPPG allowed to QBs
– 1 of 7 teams to allow 270+ YPG
– Week 2 of Cooper Kupp healthyStafford has struggled to throw TDs this year but Kupp and a weak defense could lead a massive game
— Justin (@Justin_14P) October 13, 2023
Gardner Minshew (IND) – $5,000 @ JAX
Make no mistake, it’s a complete bummer that Anthony Richardson got placed on IR. The only silver lining is that we get a little more Gardner Minshew in our lives. Minshew is one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL right now so he is more than capable of filling in for a stretch. The nice part for us is that he’s still priced down as if he’s a backup or one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL. That’s something to take advantage of this week when the Indianapolis Colts take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. This game has a solid 44.5-point combined total which is one of the higher totals on this slate. The Colts are also 4.5-point underdogs meaning they should need to throw early and often. The Jaguars have also allowed the sixth-most DraftKings points to quarterbacks so far this year. On top of all that, while Minshew isn’t as much of a weapon with his legs as Anthony Richardson is, he can still chip in on the ground too.
Others to Consider: Joe Burrow (CIN) – $6,300 v SEA, Sam Howell (WAS) – $5,500 @ ATL, P.J. Walker (CLE) – $4,000 v SF
Running Backs
Josh Jacobs (LV) – $7,000 v NE
Josh Jacobs has now strung together two nice games in a row after starting the season with three straight rough performances. It was only a matter of time considering the usage he was getting. Jacobs’ 79% snap rate trails only Kyren Williams in 2023. His 71% share of the rush attempts trails only Joe Mixon. Jacobs is also tied with Chrisitan McCaffrey for the league lead among all running backs with an 18% target share. He has truly an elite, workhorse role that is one of the best in the NFL among all running backs. That’s paid off the last two weeks as Jacobs has scored 19.9 and 27.9 DraftKings points. He’s now up to 15.6 DraftKings points per game on the season and ranks as the RB14.
This week he gets another nice matchup against the New England Patriots. The Patriots are reeling right now and look like one of the worst teams in the NFL on both sides of the ball. The Las Vegas Raiders are 2.5-point favorites with a 22-point implied team total which should make a great setup for Jacobs to continue his recent great production.
RB leaders in targets:
Josh Jacobs – 30 👀
Jaylen Warren – 25
Bijan Robinson – 24
Miles Sanders – 24
CMC – 24
Kyren Williams – 24Patriots have allowed the 7th most RB receptions this year
— Matthew Betz (@TheFantasyPT) October 13, 2023
Chuba Hubbard (CAR) – $4,300 @ MIA
After Miles Sanders was ruled out, Chuba Hubbard instantly became one of the best Week 6 DraftKings plays at any position. The matchup isn’t great but isn’t bad either. Despite constantly playing with a lead, the Miami Dolphins have been middle-of-the-road against opposing running backs. Usually, that’s not the case. This week the Carolina Panthers are also the biggest underdogs as the Dolphins are 14-point favorites. The nice part for Hubbard is that he should still be involved in the passing game as a check-down option. He’s already seen 14 targets on the season in limited snaps. Ultimately this comes down to the workload for the salary. It’s rare to get running backs priced under even $5,500 that will be in line to get a big workload so it’s something to take advantage of.
Others to Consider: Raheem Mostert (MIA) – $6,400 v CAR, Travis Etienne (JAX) – $7,100 v IND, Joe Mixon (CIN) – $6,300 v SEA, D’Andre Swift (PHI) – $6,100 @ NYJ, Alvin Kamara (NO) – $6,800 @ HOU
Wide Receivers
Ja’Marr Chase (CIN) – $8,300 v SEA
Wow, what a bounce-back week for Ja’Marr Chase last week. After only scoring more than 15 DraftKings points once all season, Chase put up 55.2 points just last week alone when he caught 15 of his 19 targets for 192 yards and three touchdowns. That brought his season average to 23.2 DraftKings points per game. It was the first game without Tee Higgins and also the first week that Joe Burrow looked healthy.
This week, it’s still up in the air as to whether Higgins will play but it shouldn’t matter either way with Burrow looking healthy again. Chase is a stud regardless. This week’s matchup is a great one as well as the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle’s secondary is porous and has allowed the most DraftKings points to wide receivers this season. The Bengals are 2.5-point favorites and have a 23.5-point implied team total. Considering the talent and matchup, Chase looks like one of the best Week 5 DraftKings plays at any position
JA’MARR CHASE IS ALWAYS OPEN 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/bOSvTHVRG6
— PFF (@PFF) October 8, 2023
Josh Downs (IND) – $4,100 @ JAX
A lot of times it seems like there’s a pattern that this week’s hot waiver wire pickups end up being great plays on DraftKings and I think that’s the case once again here. Josh Downs is coming off his best game as a pro in which he caught all six of his targets for 97 yards producing 15.7 DraftKings points. The underlying metrics back it up as well as he had 82% route participation, 26% TPRR, 25% target share, and 30% air yards share. Downs has now had at least 82% route participation for three straight weeks.
As previously mentioned, Gardner Minshew is now the quarterback for the Colts after Anthony Richardson was placed on IR with a shoulder injury. That brings down the ceiling of the offense as a whole but helps Downs and the wide receivers specifically since there should be more pass attempts as Minshew runs far less than Richardson. The Jaguars secondary isn’t a great matchup but not one to be feared either and as previously mentioned, the Colts being 4.5-point underdogs should mean more dropbacks, which benefits Downs.
Others to Consider: Robert Woods (HOU) – $3,800 v NO, Marquise Brown (ARI) – $5,300 @ LAR, Adam Thielen (CAR) – $5,900 @ MIA, K.J. Osborn (MIN) – $4,400 @ CHI, Jordan Addison (MIN) – $5,700 @ CHI, Cooper Kupp (LAR) – $9,000 v ARI
Tight Ends
Evan Engram (JAX) – $4,500 v IND
Evan Engram has long been one of my favorite tight ends in the NFL so it pained me to have him as one of my tight ends to fade heading into the season. He’s also a guy I’ve been happy to be wrong about so far in 2023. He certainly hasn’t been anything special but he is averaging 11 DraftKings points per game so far this season. Engram has scored double-digits in three of his five games and seen exactly eight targets in four of his five games. That’s nice volume and consistency at a position with very little of those two things. Part of it has been the fact that Zay Jones has been hurt which opens things up more for Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk, and Engram to see more volume. Jones is out again this week so it should be more of the same. As previously mentioned, the game environment is nice and the Colts have been middle-of-the-pack against tight ends this year. Expect more of the same volume and production from Engram this week.
Kyle Pitts (ATL) – $3,500 v WAS
To quote the great LeBron James, “It’s about damn time.” Kyle Pitts had started off his 2023 campaign with four straight single-digit performances. He was averaging 5.7 DraftKings points per game heading into last week and was being outproduced by his own teammate Jonnu Smith. Last week though, Pitts finally came through for 15.7 DraftKings points. He caught seven of his 11 targets for 87 yards. All three were season-highs for Pitts. Hopefully, he can carry this momentum over and continue putting up good numbers. This week the Atlanta Falcons take on the Washington Commanders. The combined total is a bit on the lower end at 42.5 points. The Falcons 22.5-point implied team total is solid and they are 2.5-point favorites. This game is also being played in a dome so that should be a nice boost to the passing games. Ultimately, Pitts salary barely rose and he’s too talented and coming off a good game. That makes him one of the better Week 6 DraftKings plays at the tight end position this week.
Atlanta Falcons Kyle Pitts in the WIN today
– 11 Targets
– 7 Receptions
– 87 Yards pic.twitter.com/7psYQXXUpH— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) October 8, 2023
Others to Consider: Logan Thomas (WAS) – $3,500 @ ATL, Dalton Schultz (HOU) – $3,600 v NO, Zach Ertz (ARI) – $3,600 @ LAR
Defense/Special Teams
In terms of choosing a defense/special teams, it’s the last spot I fill in every week. It’s pretty random but there are a few areas to gain an advantage. I look to target the heavily favored teams as they usually are playing with a lead. This forces their opponent to throw it more often which can help lead to extra sacks and turnovers and hopefully a touchdown. Another aspect to target is turnover and sack-prone quarterbacks. My advice is to fill out the rest of your lineup first and then pick your favorite D/ST out of the remaining money.
My Tentative Cash Game Lineup
- QB – Matthew Stafford
- RB – Joe Mixon
- RB – Alvin Kamara
- WR – Ja’Marr Chase
- WR – Robert Woods
- WR – Josh Downs
- TE – Zach Ertz
- Flex – Josh Jacobs
- DST – San Francisco 49ers
Make sure to tune in next week to see the results from my Week 6 DraftKings plays and to see the best picks for Week 7. Best of luck to everyone and let’s all enjoy some football and win some money!
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Main Photo: Bob Donnan – USA Today Sports
