RADIO
Hey there RotoBallers! Week 5 brought yet another big offensive performance from Todd Gurley while Adam Thielen added a fifth 100-yard outing in as many games. The Chiefs' elite offense was able to trump the Jaguars' elite defense in a dominating 30-14 win. The Steelers held up their end of the bargain in a 41-17 win over an Atlanta offense that couldn't quite get going in a prime spot. This weekend sees the Falcons set up in another projected shootout as they will take on the Buccaneers. There should be plenty of fantasy points overflowing from the box score in that contest.
The goal of this weekly column will be to locate some of the best DFS stacks each week. Stacking, or pairing a quarterback with one of his pass-catchers, is a great way to maximize point scoring. This method is generally viewed as a strategy in tournaments, but I also have no problem using safe, high-floor stacks in cash games, as well.
The top Week 6 DFS stacks will be listed below, loosely sorted by salary. The focus will be on the main slate (1:00 PM and 4:00 PM EST Sunday) games across both sites. All references to team defense DVOA come from Football Outsiders while cornerback and wide receiver matchups and grade references come from Pro Football Focus.
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High-Priced Week 6 DFS Stacks
Atlanta QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones vs. Tampa Bay
The beat up Atlanta defense has been the gift that keeps on giving to daily gamers this season as it has forced Matt Ryan and company to air it out frequently over their first five games. Look for that to happen again in Week 6 against a Tampa Bay offense that has been explosive in its own right. The Buccaneers' defense isn't very good, either, which should turn this game into a high-scoring shootout. Tampa Bay's pass defense ranks dead last in DVOA and is allowing big fantasy performances left and right. Ryan has been one of the top fantasy quarterbacks this season, reaching multiple passing touchdowns in three of his five games this season and averaging the third-most fantasy points per game on DraftKings while being tied for second on FanDuel.
Julio Jones is still looking for his first touchdown of the season, despite being third in the NFL in receiving yardage. He draws one of the top Week 6 matchups as he will square off against a Tampa Bay secondary that is amongst the worst in the league. Jones figures to draw primary coverage from Carlton Davis, who grades out at 56.3 at Pro Football Focus. It is hard to believe but that grade is the highest of any of Tampa Bay's projected starting defensive backs. Julio is in a blowup spot this weekend and is just $7,900 on DraftKings.
Minnesota QB Kirk Cousins and WR Adam Thielen vs. Arizona
Cousins has been solid in his first five games with the Vikings, averaging the eighth-most fantasy points per game on both DraftKings and FanDuel. The veteran quarterback will go up against an Arizona pass defense that has been average this season, ranking 12th in DVOA. They have been good at limiting the fantasy points of opposing quarterbacks but they haven't faced many good offenses outside of the Rams. When those two teams met, Los Angeles went for 34 points while dismantling Arizona's defense. Minnesota's offense has the potential to hang another 30-spot on Arizona this weekend.
Is there anything that can stop Adam Thielen at this point? The veteran receiver may have just overtaken Antonio Brown as the most consistent fantasy wide receiver in all of football. Thielen has rattled off five-straight 100-yard games to open the season, making him the first player since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to achieve the feat. Thielen will go up against an Arizona defense that will try to slow him with slot corner Budda Baker. Baker grades out at 66.8 over at PFF. Even better, since Thielen primarily runs routes out of the slot, he will mostly avoid coverage from lockdown corner Patrick Peterson.
Moderately-Priced Week 6 DFS Stacks
Los Angeles QB Jared Goff and WR Robert Woods @ Denver
The Los Angeles offense continued to roll in Week 5 despite losing both Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp to concussions during the game. Quarterback Jared Goff has been unstoppable this season, reaching at least 321 passing yards in four of his five contests and tossing 12 touchdowns to just four interceptions. The Broncos don't represent a very intimidating matchup for Goff as they rank just 18th in pass defense DVOA.
Woods continues to go under the radar despite his strong play since joining the Rams before the 2017 season. With both Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp looking questionable for this weekend after suffering concussions in the previous week, Woods could see a heavy workload in Week 6 against the Broncos. He is expected to draw Bradley Roby in coverage on Sunday. Roby has struggled this season, grading out at just 54.4 at PFF. Woods is an elite play if one or both of Cooks and/or Kupp is out and a solid option if they do get cleared in time to play.
Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston and WR Mike Evans @ Atlanta
Winston will make his first start after missing the first three games of the season with a suspension and beginning Week 4 on the bench behind Ryan Fitzpatrick. He wound up taking over for Fitzpatrick in Week 4 and went on to play 55.6% of the team's offensive snaps against the Bears. He threw two interceptions but wound up completing 16 of 20 passes and throwing a touchdown against a tough Chicago defense. He draws a prime matchup against a leaky Atlanta secondary in Week 6 which, along with his offensive weapons, makes him a top-six quarterback play.
Evans is off to a good start this season, scoring three times in four games while racking up 426 receiving yards along the way. He finds himself in another great spot this weekend as he will square off against a struggling Atlanta secondary. The Falcons rank 23rd in the league in DVOA against the opposition's WR1 and have allowed big games to Antonio Brown (six catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns), A.J. Green (4/78/1), Michael Thomas (10/129/0), and Devin Funchess (7/77/0). Week 1 against the Eagles was the only contest where Atlanta held opposing receivers in check. Evans and Winston is a reasonably-priced stack that has multi-touchdown upside this weekend.
Bargain-Priced Week 6 DFS Stacks
Carolina QB Cam Newton and WR Devin Funchess @ Washington
Newton's rushing production continues to keep him in the conversation as a weekly QB1, even when he doesn't do much through the air. Newton has 165 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground this season and will take on a Washington defense that was just annihilated by Drew Brees and the Saints this past Monday night.
Funchess continues to operate as Cam Newton's No. 1 receiver and doubles as the team's best red zone option. There is a chance that Greg Olsen returns to action this weekend but he could be limited coming off of a foot injury. Funchess is averaging 7.0 targets per game this season and hasn't been below seven looks in a game since Week 1 against the Cowboys. While Washington employs shutdown corner (and former Panther) Josh Norman, Funchess runs only 24% of his routes from Norman's side of the field, meaning he will be able to avoid him for much of the afternoon. Funchess remains too cheap on daily fantasy sites considering his touchdown upside.
Atlanta QB Matt Ryan and WR Mohamed Sanu vs. Tampa Bay
Check above for information on Ryan's great matchup this week. One common theme in daily contests has been No. 2 receivers going off in prime spots. Sanu has done this a few times this season already, putting up six catches for 111 yards in Week 4 and four catches for 73 yards and a score in Week 5. A Week 6 matchup against the Buccaneers is a great week to go back to Sanu, who will see primary coverage from M.J. Stewart, who has a 54.5 grade at PFF. If you like the idea of getting exposure to the Tampa Bay matchup but don't quite want to pay up to get to Julio Jones, Sanu is a great option.
"YOLO" Contrarian Stack
Arizona QB Josh Rosen and WR Larry Fitzgerald @ Minnesota
Rosen and Fitzgerald will travel to Minnesota to take on a Vikings defense that has taken a huge step back since the 2017 season. While this was a unit to avoid the previous season, especially from a passing game standpoint, Minnesota has been quite generous to enemy passers this season, ranking 26th in DVOA and allowing the fifth-most DraftKings and sixth-most FanDuel points per game to signal-callers.
Fitzgerald has struggled since Week 1, aided by a pesky hamstring strain. He isn't a safe DFS play this weekend but it is worth taking a shot on him as a dart throw in tournaments. The future Hall of Famer will primarily draw coverage from Vikings slot corner Mackensie Alexander, who has a 41.6 grade at PFF. Arizona is going to have to pass a lot to keep up with an explosive Vikings offense, which also raises Fitz's ceiling this weekend. If there was ever a spot for him to blow up, it is now. Most fantasy gamers probably still think of the Vikings as a shutdown passing defense which ensures that this will be a low-owned Week 6 pairing.
