Dameon Pierce Start or Sit Advice for Week 6

Dameon Pierce Start or Sit Advice for Week 6

The Philadelphia Eagles have been grounded by multiple injuries this season. This week they’ll try to overcome multiple absences as they host the Panthers, who are returning from their bye week to face Philly. In addition to Jalen Hurts (blood clot in his calf) already being out, Saquon Barkley (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, Tank Bigsby (core) is on IR, and Will Shipley (foot) will likely miss multiple weeks. The next man up is Dameon Pierce ($5,100), who is ready to roll for what could be a large workload this week. Is that enough for him to earn a spot in your Week 6 fantasy football lineups? Let’s take a look and see what to expect.

Pierce just signed with the Eagles from their practice squad before last week’s game against the Jaguars. Coach Nick Sirianni praised him at that point, saying, “He’s an NFL starting running back. Maybe wouldn’t have said that when he was on our practice squad publicly, because of the fear of losing him. But he’s an NFL starting running back.”

Now Pierce may get a chance to prove Sirianni right. He hasn’t played regularly since 2024 with the Texans, when he took 40 carries for 293 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He split the 2025 season between the Texans and Chiefs but only had 14 carries total for 36 yards.

Last week, Pierce took over after Will Shipley left with a foot injury. In a tough matchup with Jacksonville, Pierce managed only 14 rushing yards on 11 carries and lost two yards on two catches. The offensive line has struggled to open up much space for any of the Eagles’ running backs this season, and the Jaguars have been excellent against the run all year.

This week, Pierce will be in a much more fantasy-friendly matchup against the Panthers, who have allowed the second-most FPTS per game to running backs this season. Opposing running backs have five touchdowns in four games against Carolina, with an average of 120 rushing yards and 37.5 receiving yards per game.

Especially with Hurts out, Pierce will likely get a heavy workload on Sunday against the Panthers, and their struggles against the run do give him solid upside. He has touchdown-dependent upside, although the offense is unpredictable under new QB Tanner McKee.

Pierce is a solid FLEX play or RB3 this week, but he is high-risk since no Eagles running backs have had a lot of success since the offensive line has struggled to open running lanes. If you need help from the waiver wire and Pierce is available, though, he can be a strong plug-and-play option.

The Eagles and Panthers meet in one of the seven early games on the main DFS fantasy football slate on DraftKings, highlighted by the NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st, $100K Leaderboard Eligible]. In those contests, Pierce is only $5,100 and brings one of the highest ceilings for the bargain running backs on the board. If you choose to go with a value RB, Pierce has one of the more secure workloads in that price range, although how much he’ll be able to do with that work remains to be seen.

Start or Sit: Start Dameon Pierce as RB3 or FLEX in standard-sized leagues