Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Justin Boone's lineup advice for Week 6

Make any day feel like Game Day with the Burger King Game Day Menu. Before you take your first bite, get your lineup ready with this week's must-starts and sits.

Justin Boone provides a weekly look at undervalued fantasy players to consider starting this week and potential busts you might want to leave on your bench.

For the rest of your lineup decisions, consult his Week 6 rankings .

Love is the QB14 in fantasy points per game this season, with multiple touchdown passes in every outing.

Now, he'll get his easiest matchup yet against a Cowboys defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. This game also has one of the highest projected point totals on the week at 52.5.

Given the two offenses in question, the potential is strong for a shootout, so fantasy managers should be starting all their Packers and Cowboys.

Caleb Williams at Falcons – Williams is back and facing a Falcons defense that just let Tyler Huntley finish as a top-10 fantasy QB in Week 5. Remember, in Caleb's only healthy game this season, he was the highest-scoring player at any position.

Kirk Cousins vs. Bills – Buffalo's defense is the fourth-easiest matchup for fantasy QBs and has given up top-five fantasy performances to Jared Goff, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford over the last month. Meanwhile, Cousins is currently the QB6 on the year, with multiple TD passes in four of his first five games.

After being punished in Week 2 for fumbling, Stevenson has restored his value as the lead runner in New England's backfield. In the last three games, Stevenson has posted 197 scrimmage yards, nine receptions and two touchdowns, including RB10 and RB13 fantasy results in his two most recent appearances. During that same span, Henderson has only managed 109 yards and two receptions.

Now, TreVeyon Henderson is dealing with a high-ankle sprain that's limited him in practice this week. Even if he suits up against the Jets, he likely won't be 100% healthy.

That positions Stevenson for a strong outing against a New York defense permitting the ninth-most fantasy points to running backs. In their last encounter, Stevenson delivered 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns versus the Jets in December.

Braelon Allen at Patriots – With Breece Hall sidelined, Allen has soaked up almost all of the running back touches in the Jets backfield. Despite a couple tougher matchups in his starts, Allen has been productive. The 22-year-old is coming off a 116-yard, one-touchdown effort and should provide another solid fantasy RB2 result this week.

MarShawn Lloyd vs. Cowboys – I'm recommending a running back who hasn't topped 50 scrimmage yards in a game this season… what could go wrong? The good news is that Lloyd is coming off his best outing of the season, which included a pair of touchdowns. The Packers are making strides to improve their offensive line and now have their easiest matchup yet against a struggling Cowboys defense. Lloyd can be started as a top-20 RB this week thanks to byes.

Prior to getting hurt in Week 3, Coker was on fire over the first two games with 16 catches, 204 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 targets.

Coming off the Panthers' Week 5 bye, he's practicing in full and ready to get back to work in an offense that was impressive in the opening month. Even with Coker's injury and the bye, the Panthers are 11th in passing yards and 10th in passing TDs through five weeks, after being in the bottom half of the league in both categories last season.

Coker will also draw the easier matchup when he heads to the slot, where he ran 45% of his routes in the first two weeks. The Eagles have been the most generous defense to slot receivers on the year. Don't hesitate to get Coker right back into your lineup as a top-24 fantasy wideout this week.

Luther Burden III/Rome Odunze at Falcons – The return of Caleb Williams means a return to the Bears' offense being one of the scariest units in the league. In a game with a 51.5 projected point total, I'm ready to dive back in with both of the Bears' top receivers as low-end WR2 (Burden) and high-end WR3 (Odunze) plays.

Carnell Tate at Colts – Tate is coming off a 1-6-0 stat line on five targets against the Texans, but don't let that erase his nine-catch, 145-yard performance in Week 4 from your memory. The rookie growing pains will continue, but Tate's production will improve even in a frustrating Titans offense. The first-rounder has the easiest remaining schedule among WRs, starting with the Colts, who are top-10 in receiving yards and receiving TDs allowed.

Germie Bernard at Buccaneers – Bernard has led the Steelers in receiving yards both times he's played the majority of the snaps. That includes a season-high six catches for 80 yards last week. The Bucs aren't an easy matchup, but they have given up at least 90 yards to four WRs over the last month, including Denzel Boston, Jordan Addison, George Pickens and Ryan Flournoy.

Strange was featured in this week's waiver wire column after two straight top-12 fantasy finishes with seven catches for 95 yards against the Bengals and seven grabs for 68 yards versus the Eagles.

That kind of volume immediately puts him into the low-end fantasy TE mix, but he's also making a case to be the de facto No. 2 receiver in Jacksonville's offense.

In his only meeting with the Texans last season, Strange also commanded a strong target share, with seven passes thrown his way en route to a 6-61-0 stat line. That was good enough to make him the TE9, which is the same range he'll likely land in this week.

Tyler Higbee vs. Cardinals – With Terrance Ferguson sidelined, Higbee has discovered the fountain of youth with weekly finishes as the TE7, TE15 and TE10 during that stretch. Now, he gets a Cardinals defense that's the fourth-friendliest matchup for tight ends. Higbee also put up 91 yards and a score on them in their last meeting in 2025.

Hunter Henry vs. Jets – It's unclear if A.J. Brown will return to the lineup this week, but Henry is a strong play regardless. He's reached at least 40 yards in three of his last four contests, which is also a feat he accomplished in both his games against the Jets last year. With how well Drake Maye is playing, Henry is always a threat to find the end zone, making him a quality TE2 streamer.

Lawrence has been solid but unspectacular through three games, while averaging the 13th-most fantasy points among quarterbacks. Those averages aren't likely to improve against a Texans defense that started slow but is rounding into form with just two passing touchdowns permitted over the past three games.

This is a group that caused Lawrence headaches in the past, including holding him under 10 fantasy points in both their battles last season.

With the bye week gauntlet beginning, you might not have a better option than Lawrence. Just keep your expectations in check, since he's more likely to finish as a fantasy QB2 than a QB1 this week.

C.J. Stroud vs. Jaguars (London) – Stroud's rest-of-season outlook is very intriguing with the arrival of Marvin Harrison Jr. to boost the receiver depth in Houston. That won't help him much this week against a Jags defense that's yet to allow more than one passing TD to any quarterback this season.

Jacoby Brissett at Rams – You'll often see Brissett in the start section when the Cardinals have better matchups. Sadly, that's not the case this week as he hits the road to take on the Rams. He's a risky streaming option at best, with a lower floor than usual given the matchup.

With four teams on bye, it's difficult to recommend sitting any backs that are even remotely productive in fantasy. Sadly, Hampton falls into that volatile TD-or-bust RB3 range even in a week like this.

Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal have played more snaps than Hampton over the last two weeks, as the trio is locked into a true committee. Though Hampton is still leading the way in touches, that kind of deployment lowers his ceiling and makes him very hard to trust.

He's been held to 56 yards or less in four of his five games, with touchdowns being his saving grace. The matchup isn't particularly inspiring for his chances of finding the end zone. Kansas City held him to 65 and 61 scoreless yards in their two games in 2025.

Alvin Kamara at Giants – Kamara has been limited in practice for the second straight week with a back issue. The result last week was just five ineffective touches while being part of a three-way committee with Kendre Miller and CJ Donaldson. That makes him impossible to start as anything more than a desperation RB3/flex.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt at 49ers – Fantasy managers might have been enticed by JCM's best stat line of the season, an 82-yard, one-touchdown day in Week 5. Unfortunately, he's now dealing with a groin injury that might sideline him for Monday night's matchup with the Niners. Even if he were completely healthy, Croskey-Merritt is just a volatile RB3/flex.

After leaving early in Week 4 with a foot injury, McConkey didn't play a snap last Sunday and continues to be limited in practice.

That makes him hard to trust on an offense that's already struggling. To make matters worse, the Chargers have to travel to face a Chiefs defense that's allowing the fewest fantasy points to receivers.

In his last trip to Kansas City, McConkey came away with just two catches for 20 yards. Until we see improvement from this passing attack and better health for McConkey, he should stay on your bench.

Romeo Doubs vs. Jets – Doubs is a boom-or-bust WR3/flex, who showed us both sides of his potential the last two weeks with a 6-58-2 stat line versus the Bills and a 1-16-0 result versus the Raiders. I don't want to chase that kind of volatility against a Jets defense that's a bottom-10 matchup for fantasy WRs.

Chris Godwin Jr. vs. Steelers – The 30-year-old hasn't topped 46 passing yards this season and is still waiting for his first touchdown. If it didn't happen in a prime spot against the Cowboys last week, I wouldn't expect him to erupt in a tougher matchup with the Steelers.

Brian Thomas Jr. vs. Texans (London) – BTJ has just three receptions over his last three games and was held catchless in last week's outing. It's always possible he finds the end zone, but the ceiling isn't much higher than that at this point. Let's hope he gets traded before the deadline.

We might normally give Andrews a pass for being held under 30 yards in each of his past three games, since Lamar Jackson has missed two of those contests. However, last year he only topped 35 yards twice all season.

While the potential for a touchdown is higher when Jackson is starting, the 31-year-old Andrews is just a TD-or-bust TE2 streamer at this point in his career.

Last year, he only managed four catches for 34 yards across his two matchups against the Browns.

Dalton Schultz at Jaguars (London) – Aside from his 12-catch, 140-yard outlier performance when Nico Collins was hurt, Schultz hasn't gone over 35 yards in any of his four other appearances. Meanwhile, his opponent the Jags haven't let a tight end eclipse 40 yards against them this year.

Kyle Pitts Sr. vs. Bears – Pitts has shown some signs of life in recent weeks, but now he squares off with a Bears defense that's the third-toughest matchup for fantasy tight ends.