This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Football series.
The Week 6 NFL main slate begins Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT and features 11 games. The Packers and Steelers are on bye, while the Thursday Night Football (Broncos-Kansas City), London Game (Ravens-Titans), Sunday Night Football (Giants-Bills) and Monday Night Football (Cowboys-Chargers) participants all play outside the main slate in Week 6. Yahoo will be running plenty of NFL DFS contests for Week 6, but the biggest is the Sunday Baller, which pays out a guaranteed prize pool of $175,000 to the top 2,252 finishers, including $25,000 to the winner. You can submit up to 150 entries into this contest, which has a maximum total capacity of 10,300 entries but will still run if it doesn't fill, potentially providing you with enhanced odds of winning, also known as overlay.
Playing in guaranteed prize pool (GPP) contests is about chasing upside, while lineups geared towards head-to-head, 50/50 or double-up formats should prioritize high floors. The players you want to target for these different contest types aren't mutually exclusive, but winning a GPP tournament usually requires finding a hidden gem or going against the grain in a spot or two, while building a solid base of the same chalk plays you would use anywhere. Against-the-grain plays typically consist of big-name players in tough matchups or boom-or-bust types with uncertain roles.
Keep in mind that Yahoo DFS contests use 0.5 PPR scoring rather than full PPR, which lowers the comparative value of wide receivers and running backs (in that order) while especially affecting high-volume pass-catchers. Your NFL $175k Sunday Baller lineup will consist of one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and one D/ST unit. Among suggested Week 6 options are an affordable QB-WR stack, as well as a few players primed to take advantage of injuries to notable teammates.
QUARTERBACK
Trevor Lawrence, JAC vs. IND ($26): Lawrence threw for a season-high 315 yards against Buffalo's stout secondary during last week's win in London, and he's a nice value in his return to the United States against a Colts defense that's given up 1,410 passing yards to QBs -- second most in the NFL. Indianapolis has also allowed the third-most rushing yards (149) and fourth-most rushing TDs (two) to QBs this season, and Lawrence is an underrated runner, as he's averaging 26.4 rushing yards per game in 2023 after scoring five rushing TDs in 2022. He's thrown multiple TDs only once through five games in what's been a surprisingly slow start, but that one performance came against the Colts in Week 1.
Honorable Mentions:
Kirk Cousins, MIN at CHI ($35); Justin Fields, CHI vs. MIN ($34); Matthew Stafford, LA vs. ARI ($30)
Against the Grainers:
Jalen Hurts, PHI at NYJ ($34); Tua Tagovailoa, MIA vs. CAR ($32); Joe Burrow, CIN vs. SEA ($27)
RUNNING BACK
Raheem Mostert, MIA vs. CAR ($27): Mostert's tied with Christian McCaffrey for the NFL lead with seven rushing TDs, and Miami's speedy RB has added one score through the air. His 314 rushing yards through five weeks aren't spectacular, but Mostert has ceded significant work to standout rookie De'Von Achane, whose 460 rushing yards are second only to McCaffrey's 510. Achane suffered a knee injury last week and will be put on IR however, just in time for Mostert to take over as the clear lead back against a Carolina defense that has allowed the most rushing yards (640) and rushing TDs (eight) to running backs among teams on the Sunday Baller slate. Across the entire NFL, the Broncos came into Week 6 tied with Carolina for the most rushing TDs allowed to RBs, and only the Broncos and Giants have allowed more yards to the position than the winless Panthers.
D'Onta Foreman, CHI vs. MIN ($10): Foreman has spent Chicago's last four games as a healthy inactive, but he could be primed to take on a major Week 6 workload after both Khalil Herbert (ankle) and Roschon Johnson (concussion) got injured in the previous game. Foreman had five games with at least 113 rushing yards in a nine-game stretch as Carolina's lead back last season, so he has proven capable of thriving with a heavy workload. Minnesota's run defense has been surprisingly stingy, but the 1-4 Vikings aren't exactly defensive juggernauts, as they're among the 10 most generous scoring defenses at 24.4 PPG allowed per game. At the minimum valuation, Foreman's a low-risk, high-reward play on a Bears team that's riding high after snapping a 14-game losing streak last week.
Honorable Mentions:
Kyren Williams, LAR vs. ARI ($28); Kenneth Walker, SEA at CIN ($27); Josh Jacobs, LV vs. NE ($23)
Against the Grainers:
Jonathan Taylor, IND at JAC ($21); Rhamondre Stevenson, NE at LV ($16); Keaontay Ingram, ARI at LAR ($10)
WIDE RECEIVER
Cooper Kupp, LAR vs. ARI ($28): In his season debut last week, Kupp reclaimed his role as Matthew Stafford's favorite target from standout rookie Puka Nacua ($28). Kupp had eight catches for 118 yards on 12 targets, while Nacua finished with seven catches for 71 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. Both talented WRs have sky-high ceilings against an Arizona secondary that just got eviscerated by Ja'Marr Chase to the tune of 15 catches for 192 yards and three TDs. Kupp has averaged 106.6 receiving yards on 11.1 targets with Stafford as his QB, to go with 22 TDs in 27 games, and he showed no signs of being bothered last week by the hamstring injury that led to his season-opening IR stint. Given Kupp's longer track record of elite production, he gets the nod over the identically priced Nacua here, though using both in a Rams stack alongside Stafford is also an option.
Calvin Ridley, JAC vs. IND ($17): Ridley had 101 yards and a touchdown against the Colts in Week 1. In three of the Colts' four subsequent games, an opposing wide receiver has reached 140 yards, and two of the three found the end zone. Nico Collins had 146 yards and a TD in Week 2, Nacua had 163 yards and a TD in Week 4, and DeAndre Hopkins racked up 140 yards in Week 5. Ridley went quiet for a few weeks after his strong Jacksonville debut, but he reemerged with a season-high 122 yards in last week's win over the Bills, putting forth a performance reminiscent of his 1,374-yard 2020 season with the Falcons. With Ridley having shaken off the rust, he'll be looking to join the 140-yard club against the Colts, and he forms an affordable stack with Lawrence, as Ridley's a better value than fellow Jacksonville WRs Christian Kirk at $19 or Zay Jones at $17.
Jakobi Meyers, LV vs. NE ($16): In three games with Jimmy Garoppolo as his QB, Meyers has caught 23 of 32 targets for 241 yards and three TDs, with at least seven catches and 75 yards in each game. Besides Davante Adams (54), Meyers (36 in four games) and Josh Jacobs (30), no Raider has more than 10 targets this season, so there's little reason to expect a drop-off in volume given the lack of viable pass catching alternatives. New England's banged-up secondary has four cornerbacks on IR, and the Patriots have been outscored 72-3 over their last two games, so Meyers is poised to keep rolling against his former team.
Honorable Mentions:
Ja'Marr Chase, CIN vs. SEA ($31); DJ Moore, CHI vs. MIN ($24); Drake London, ATL vs. WAS ($14)
Against the Grainers:
Garrett Wilson, NYJ vs. PHI ($21); DeVonta Smith, PHI at NYJ ($19); DK Metcalf, SEA at CIN ($19)
TIGHT END
T.J. Hockenson, MIN at CHI ($23): Minnesota placed star WR Justin Jefferson (hamstring) on IR on Wednesday, and while Jordan Addison and K.J. Osborn should also take on larger roles in Jefferson's absence, some of Jefferson's 10.6 targets per game will likely be redistributed to the Vikings tight end as well. Hockenson hasn't been hurting for volume as is; he leads all TEs this season in targets (39) and catches (30), and his 254 yards are 35 shy of Sam LaPorta's league lead at the position. Hockenson's two TDs also have him one back of the six TEs who share the lead with three. By the time he's done ravaging a leaky Bears defense that's allowing 31.4 PPG (third most in the NFL) and just gave up 77 yards and a TD to Commanders TE Logan Thomas last week, Hockenson could be the league leader among tight ends across the board.
Honorable Mentions:
Evan Engram, JAC vs. IND ($19); Dallas Goedert, PHI at NYJ ($18); Zach Ertz, ARI vs. LAR ($14)
Against the Grainers:
George Kittle, SF at CLE ($15); Kyle Pitts, ATL vs. WAS ($13); Cade Otton, TB vs. DET ($13)
DEFENSE
Las Vegas Raiders vs. NE ($12): In case you missed it earlier, the Patriots have been outscored 72-3 in their last two games. Mac Jones has just 260 passing yards and six turnovers over that two-game span, and his passing yardage total has declined with each game this season. When these teams met last season in Vegas, Jones threw for 112 yards on 31 passes, and we could see similar ineptitude from New England's struggling QB in this rematch against a Vegas defense that's coming off its best performance of 2023, which included a season-low 13 points allowed and season-high three interceptions Monday against the Packers. The Raiders have also produced multiple sacks in all but one game, and Pro Bowl pass rusher Maxx Crosby is likely to add to his season total of five sacks.
Honorable Mentions:
Philadelphia Eagles at NYJ ($20); San Francisco 49ers at CLE ($18); Miami Dolphins vs. CAR ($12)
Against the Grainers:
Minnesota Vikings at CHI ($16); New Orleans Saints at HOU ($14); Los Angeles Rams vs. ARI ($10)
