DFS Optimizer: Week 6 2025

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Are injuries piling up on your season-long roster? DFS gives you a chance to rebuild each week with healthy players. The FFA Lineup Optimizer takes the guesswork out of constructing the perfect lineup.

Building winning DFS lineups requires strategy, analysis, and identifying value across salary tiers. Chris and Jesse from FFA each created a Week 6 DFS lineup using a combination of FFA projections, VOR metrics, and the Lineup Optimizer to uncover the most efficient combinations within a $60,000 salary constraint. For a detailed breakdown of how to use this tool for DFS, check out this page.

Jesse’s DFS Lineup Build – Week 6

When constructing this week’s DFS lineup, I took a stars and scrubs approach that started with two core building blocks: Puka Nacua and George Pickens. These two WRs anchored my strategy and dictated the rest of my roster.

Building the Foundation

Puka Nacua at $9,800 was an easy starting point. Through five games, Nacua has been dominant, leading the NFL with 52 receptions and 588 receiving yards. He became the first player in NFL history to record 50 catches through the first five games of a season. At 18.9 projected points, he offers one of the highest floors among all WRs.

George Pickens at $7,500 provided excellent value as my WR2. Pickens has become the go-to-guy in the Cowboys passing offense since CeeDee Lamb went down with an ankle injury in Week 3. Over the last three weeks, Pickens has exploded for 15 catches, 259 yards, and four touchdowns on 24 targets. At 13.8 projected points with his salary, the points-per-dollar ratio (1.84) was too good to pass up, especially with Lamb expected to miss Week 6.

The QB Stack

With Pickens locked in, I decided to stack him with Dak Prescott. Prescott has been playing some of the best football of his career. Through five games, Prescott is second in the league in pass yards and tied for third in passing TDs. At $8,000 with Prescott projected for 19.1 points, pairing him with Pickens increases the upside when the Dallas passing game gets going.

Despite the optimizer suggesting Javonte Williams, I decided to remove him from the mix because that would have given me three Cowboys in the lineup. While stacking QB and WR is a good DFS strategy, loading up on three players from the same team caps your ceiling if that offense underperforms.

Optimizing the Rest

After locking in my three cornerstones, I turned to the FFA Lineup Optimizer to fill out the remaining spots while staying under the $60,000 salary cap.

At RB, J.K. Dobbins ($6,600) and Jacory Croskey-Merritt ($6,200) came in as the optimal plays. Dobbins has been everything Denver hoped for when they signed him in free agency. Through five games, he’s rushed for 402 yards and four touchdowns on 77 carries while averaging 5.2 yards per attempt. Croskey-Merritt at $6,200 is a solid value play, especially if we continue to see his workload increase.

The WR slots were filled out with Tetairoa McMillan ($6,600) and Stefon Diggs ($5,900). Tet is facing a Dallas defense that ranks 32nd in pass yards, while Diggs in the flex spot provides reliability at a discounted price. Both give me exposure to different offenses and game environments.

Trey McBride at $6,400 fills in the TE slot. McBride is coming off his worst fantasy performance of the season but still has 29 receptions for 275 yards through five games. His 11.3 projected points at this salary represents solid value with good upside.

I rounded out the lineup with the Dolphins defense at $3,000. This was purely a salary driven decision to reach exactly $60,000.

Chris’ DFS Lineup Build – Week 6

For my Week 6 lineup, I built around two of the top three PPR RBs through 5 weeks. Christian McCaffery and Javonte Williams have each already surpassed 100 fantasy points on the season, giving me a reliable foundation to anchor the rest of my lineup around.

Building the Foundation

McCaffery ($9,500) serves as the centerpiece of my lineup, sitting as the RB1 and averaging 24.78 PPG. With the 49ers dealing with a banged-up receiving corps, McCaffery has been relied on heavily in both the run and passing game (52 targets, 3rd in NFL). Projected for 22.6 points in Week 6, he will provide a reliable floor with elite upside.

With the RB1 locked, Javonte Williams ($7,800) offers RB1 level value as my RB2. Joining a high scoring offense like Dallas has been exactly what Williams needed to rejuvenate his career. Through 5 weeks, he already has a career high 5 rushing TDs and with 447 rushing yards, having him more than on pace to surpass 1,000. The combination of volume, redzone opportunities, and big play ability make Williams a key piece of my lineup at a good value.

The QB Stack

After selecting McCaffrey and Williams, the optimizer suggested Josh Allen ($9,100) as my QB. I locked him in, entering Week 6 as the QB1 and leading QBs in rushing yards. Allen’s dual-threat ability provides both another high floor, elite ceiling player for my lineup. Leading the league in red-zone snaps (44), his consistent involvement near the goal line makes him a reliable anchor at quarterback and perfect complement to my strong running back foundation.

For the tight end position, I selected Dalton Kincaid ($5,800) to stack with Allen instead of the optimizer’s suggestion, Trey McBride ($6,400). This will add correlation upside to my lineup, while Kincaid’s target share in Buffalo continues to rise. He’s seen 6 targets in 3/5 games to start the season and just recorded his first career game over 100 receiving yards in Week 5.

Optimizing the Rest

With three cornerstones and my TE selected, I used the FFA Lineup Optimizer to help fill out the remaining spots while staying under the $60,000 salary cap.

At this point, I still had not selected a WR and decided to go with the top 3 optimizer suggestions. This was Tet McMillan ($6,600), Keenan Allen ($6,300) and Chris Olave ($5,900). Each of these WRs brings something different to the lineup. McMillan was the 8th overall pick in this year’s draft, drawing 8+ targets in each of the first five games of his career. Going up against the Cowboys’ secondary this week, who rank dead last in passing defense and allow 282 yards per game, McMillan could be set for a breakout performance.

Allen’s return to LA has been everything both parties hoped for so far. He has been a steady target for Herbert, already seeing 44 targets. In the red-zone, Allen has ran 19 routes and been targeted on 42% of them, showcasing that his chemistry with Herbert has not missed a beat.

The final optimizer suggestion I used was Chris Olave. Spencer Rattler has relied heavily on Olave through the first 5 weeks, ranking second in the league in targets with 54, behind only Puka Nacua (62). He gets open often and provides a safety net for his young QB. In a matchup vs New England this week, a defense that ranks 26th against the pass and allows 242 YPG, Olave will bring his target hog nature to the lineup.

My flex suggestion from the optimizer was Chris Godwin, who has been limited to start the season by an ankle injury and may be forced miss Week 6. From choosing Kincaid and Williams, I had some extra salary cap to work with for my flex position. I decided to choose Stefon Diggs following his monster revenge game in Buffalo, where he posted 146 receiving yards and 10 receptions (24.6 FPTS / WR4). Coming off an ACL injury in 2024, Diggs has quickly developed chemistry with Drake Maye and currently leads the team in receiving yards.

I then finished out the lineup with the Dolphins defense at $3,000. With only $3,100 remaining to choose a defense, this choice was purely salary cap based and the lineup is now optimized for Week 6.

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— Chris Russo

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