Fantasy Football 2025: Start’EM, Sit’em For Week 6

The 2025 fantasy season continues to move forward! Hopefully, your fantasy teams are in a positive trending arc. This season has not been kind to fantasy managers who have had to weather the storm of a slow start for players. With just over a quarter of the fantasy season in the books, league positions are starting to take shape. Whether you’re 5-0 or 0-5, it’s not over yet. The season is still going, and you will need to prepare for Week 6 all the same. In Week 5 for fantasy football, several players had great games for fantasy managers.

Fantasy managers finally got a breakout game from Commander running back Jacory Crosky-Merritt. Merritt finished as the RB5 with 27 points. Another standout performance from Week 5 came from rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who continues to prove that he’s the real deal. Egbuka finished Week 5 as the WR1 with 163 yards and a score for 31.3 fantasy points. But as Week 6 gets underway, fantasy managers will be without players from the Vikings and Texans. So here are some options for your lineups in the new week of fantasy football.

Starts and Sits for Week 6

Quarterbacks

Start: Sam Darnold vs. JAX

Darnold had a great game in Week 5 against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Darnold was red hot going toe-to-toe with Mayfield, throwing for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Darnold finished as the QB3 for Week 5 with 27.6 fantasy points in the game. Now Darnold gets another solid matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags gave up 26.7 fantasy points to Patrick Mahomes and have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. The Jags have also allowed the sixth-most passing yards heading into Week 6.

Start: Matthew Stafford vs. BAL

Matthew Stafford currently leads the league in passing yards averaging 300.6 yards per game. Stafford also sits as a top 10 fantasy QB averaging 19.5 fantasy points per game. Now he gets a sweet matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are giving up everything from passing yards (1,313), touchdowns (12), and fantasy points (25.4 FPPG). Stafford is set up to have a great matchup as the Rams passing game is averaging 289 yards per game.

Sit: Justin Fields vs. DEN

No matter what you might believe, garbage time still counts. And Justin Fields made good on that for fantasy. Fields managed a few scores towards the end of Week 5’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. While Fields finished as a top 10 quarterback for Week 5 with nearly 26 fantasy points, he gets a tougher opponent in the Denver Broncos. The Broncos have been tough on fantasy quarterbacks this season, allowing just 14.6 fantasy points per game. The Denver defense has also been tough on passing touchdowns. They’ve allowed just four passing touchdowns so far this season. Fields may have his work cut out for him this week.

Running Backs

Start: Ashton Jeanty vs. TEN

Since the Raiders decided to give Ashton Jeanty more work in the offense, he’s been thriving. Over the last three weeks, Jeanty has averaged 15 fantasy points per game. With Geno Smith’s recent interception issues, the Raiders should try to lean a bit more on the run game. The Titans are a perfect chance to do just that. The Titans are allowing 5 y/a to opposing running backs and have already given up nearly 147 yards per game on the ground. Jeanty is set up to have a big game this week against a defense that is giving up the third-most fantasy points per game heading into Week 6.

Start: Jacory Crosky-Merritt vs. CHI

Finally breaking out in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Jacory Croskey-Merritt has the opportunity to keep it going with another great matchup against the Chicago Bears. JCM went off against the Chargers, posting a 14/111/2 line and finishing with 27 fantasy points. Now, “Bill” gets a Bears defense that is giving up 31.1 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. JCM is giving fantasy managers 6.6 y/a rushing this season. The Commanders gave JCM a full workload last week, and hopefully, that trend continues against the Bears.

Sit: Derrick Henry vs. LAR

Derrick Henry hasn’t been the same since Week 1. Over the last three games, Henry has had to deal with fumbles, poor performances, bad game scripts, and now the loss of Lamar Jackson. Henry was a non-factor against the Houston Texans in Week 5. Henry rushed for just 33 yards on 15 attempts and finished with 9.3 fantasy points. The game got out of hand early as the Texans went up big before halftime. A similar fate could befall the team again against the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams are averaging 24.6 points per game and could beat down on a depleted Ravens secondary to bolster their score. Henry could be phased out of the game early, becoming a non-factor again for fantasy managers against the Rams.

Wide Receivers

Start: Rome Odunze vs. WAS

Rome Odunze’s second-year explosion is something that needs to be studied. Odunze has been fantastic for fantasy managers who bought in on the second-year leap. Odunze is averaging 19.9 fantasy points per game heading into Week 6 and has five touchdowns with 296 receiving yards. Now he gets to go up against a Commanders defense that is ranked ninth in fantasy points allowed at 36 FPPG. The Commanders are also giving up 11.8 yards per attempt and have surrendered eight touchdowns to receivers so far.

Start: Xavier Worthy vs. DET

Worthy gave fantasy managers a scare as he popped up as a DNP for Thursday’s practice. But it looks like the Chiefs were just giving the speedy wide receiver a break after dealing with a late ankle injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Worthy will look to bounce back against the Detroit Lions after putting up just 11 fantasy points against the Jags. The Lions have 10 touchdowns surrendered to the receiver position and are allowing 10.8 yards per attempt. This game has “shootout” written all over it too. Fantasy managers will be hoping that’s just the case for this game in Week 6.

Sit: Tee Higgins vs. GB

Tee Higgins has been a disappointment for fantasy football this season. But to be fair, a lot of it has to do with things that are not under his control. Jake Browning has been horrible for the Bengals’ offense after Joe Burrow went down. Now the Bengals will turn to Joe Flacco to provide some kind of offensive lift. Flacco didn’t look great with the Cleveland Browns either before being traded, throwing just two touchdowns to six interceptions. Until fantasy managers see improvement at the quarterback position for Higgins, he’s better left on the bench. Green Bay will be looking to improve after returning from an early-season bye. The Packers are a mid-range defense against the WR spot, allowing nearly 34 fantasy points per game.

Tight Ends

Start: Tyler Warren vs. AZ

Warren has been another stud for the tight end position so far this season. Warren is giving fantasy managers a 13.3 FPPG average and is involved with the Colts’ offense every week. Now he gets an Arizona Cardinals matchup for Week 6. The Cardinals are allowing nearly 15 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. With the Colts offense humming under Daniel Jones this year, Warren could keep the fantasy points flowing.

Sit: Pat Freiermuth vs. CLE

The Steelers’ tight end position has been a carousel and not in a good way. And Pat Freiermuth has been on the negative end. The Big Muth has been averaging just 3.4 fantasy points per game this season and has seen his role shrink with Jonnu Smith on the roster. With no real volume to help him out and facing off against the Browns’ defense, which allows the 11th-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends, there are better options to target aside from Freiermuth.