Week 6 felt fairly punishing, particularly during the main slate. We saw disheartening injuries to Marvin Harrison, Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and found out Jauan Jennings is playing through a bevy of broken ribs. It’s true that injuries have really been the defining factor in whether or not to start or sit players in fantasy football’s 2025 season. Just about 30 of the consensus preseason top-120 players have already missed or are due to miss multiple weeks with injury.
Having said all of that, our 2025 run of scintillating marquee games during primetime slates rolls on tonight with the final Monday Night Football double-header of the early leg of the season, here. We’ve got Falcons vs. Bills, and Commanders vs. Bears—that means fantasy and DFS intrigue abound. Here are my recommendations on which players are must-starts, and which players you should smash/fade, start/sit, etc.
Monday Night Football Week 6 Must-Starts
- Josh Allen
- James Cook
- Drake London
- Bijan Robinson
- Jayden Daniels
- Rome Odunze
- Caleb Williams
Monday Night Football Week 6 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em
Start ‘Em: Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders
Bill, baby! Washington’s rookie detonated in Week 5 with 14 carries for 111 yards and 2 TD, finally reflecting what the underlying metrics have been screaming: he leads all qualified rushers at 6.6 yards per carry and has been Washington’s most efficient early-down option. His snap share crept past the 50% mark and the staff trusted him in clock-kill situations, a flashing green sign for bankable touches. The matchup is pristine. Chicago is allowing a league-worst 52.3% rushing success rate and 6.1 yards per carry to running backs, and they also leak 12.3 receiving PPR points per game to backfields—fertile ground for screens and angle routes off play-action. Washington’s offense already ranks eighth in yards per possession (34.8) and marries motion with gap and zone schemes that create friendly reads for a patient back. Croskey-Merritt grades as a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside in season-long PPR, and his $5,600 tag on DraftKings is too light for a lead runner in the slate’s cleanest trench mismatch. If he lands 16–18 touches, a 20-plus PPR outcome is well within range.
Sit ‘Em: Keon Coleman, WR, Buffalo Bills
Coleman burst out with 8/112/1 receiving in Week 1 but has mostly cooled since. Over Buffalo’s last four games he’s totaled just 13 catches for 114 yards and one TD, with volatility in routes and target share as Dalton Kincaid and Khalil Shakir siphon high-leverage looks. Atlanta’s pass defense has played suffocating football and forces tight throwing windows on the perimeter, which is precisely where Coleman lives. Buffalo also leans into tempo control and intermediate timing when opponents spin Cover-3 looks, a distribution that funnels targets to Kincaid and Shakir rather than contested sideline fades. At $5,300 on DraftKings, Coleman offers weak point-per-dollar value unless he spikes a long score. In season-long PPR he profiles as a touchdown-or-bust WR4; in DFS single-game builds he’s a fade outside of contrarian large-field stacks. Talent is real, but the role and opponent make him a sit.
Start ‘Em: Tyler Allgeier, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta’s change-of-pace back has quietly logged 43 carries for 155 yards and 2 TD in four games. Allgeier has been handed 10+ carries in every contest (except a shutout loss) and is an effective short-yardage option behind Bijan Robinson. Crucially, Buffalo has been vulnerable to the run: the Bills allow 5.4 yards/carry on zone runs (third-most in the NFL), and they’ve been giving up chunk gains on the ground when forced into light boxes. Allgeier’s role suggests a floor of ~9–10 PPR points, mostly from rushing; he has just three catches for four yards so far, so bonus PPR upside is limited. A dome game removes weather risk and keeps his touchdown equity intact. On DraftKings he’s priced at $4,700. If he hits a 9.7–10 point projection, he’d deliver about 2.0 points per dollar—above-average value for a sub-$5K back. Given his steady volume and goal-line utility in a matchup that fits Atlanta’s outside-zone DNA, Allgeier is a start in season-long PPR as a flex and a savvy DFS value.
Sit ‘Em: DJ Moore, WR, Chicago Bears
The name value tempts, but the 2025 usage doesn’t. Through four games Moore has 16 receptions on 21 targets for 173 yards and one TD, while Rome Odunze has emerged as Chicago’s alpha and primary red-zone option. Ben Johnson’s scheme has Moore toggling between motion decoy and underneath outlet, which caps air yards and leaves him reliant on broken tackles for spike weeks. Washington’s defense can concede yards between the 20s, but its 40% pressure rate forces quick throws short of the sticks—exactly the kind of volume that produces 4-for-45 lines without the touchdown deodorant. That profile is fine in deep leagues but replaceable in standard PPR lineups this week. On DraftKings he’s $5,400, a middling salary that requires a score to justify. With Chicago leaning on Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet for high-leverage targets, Moore looks like a sit in season-long and a thin DFS play unless you’re stacking Caleb Williams and hunting for correlation in large fields.
Start ‘Em: Khalil Shakir, WR, Buffalo Bills
Shakir is the sneaky beneficiary of Atlanta’s identity. The Falcons live in Cover-3 on 49.5% of snaps and bring heat at 39.5% pressure, a combination that pushes Buffalo toward rhythm throws and crossers. Against Cover-3, Shakir has produced 3.47 yards per route run, and Josh Allen has shredded the shell with 76.9% completions, 9.2 YPA, and 0 INTs. Atlanta’s scheme squeezes tight ends (more on that below), which funnels targets to slot/inside receivers who can attack the seams after play-action. Buffalo’s offense also sustains possessions—34:10 time of possession and scores on 51.1% of drives—so Shakir’s route and target volume project cleanly even if overall pace dips. In season-long PPR he’s a start as a WR3/FLEX with spike-week juice. On DraftKings, he’s a strong mid-tier value in Allen stacks and a viable single-game Captain pivot when you leverage his Cover-3 efficiency rather than chase the perimeter highlight.
Sit ‘Em: Dalton Kincaid, TE, Buffalo Bills
The individual talent is obvious and his Cover-3 usage is healthy (23.7% target share; 3.29 YPRR against that shell), but this matchup pushes his median down. Atlanta has been ruthless against tight ends: zero touchdowns allowed, just a 53.3% catch rate, and 4.6 yards per target. The Falcons’ seam fits are disciplined, and their pressure rate forces shallow outlets that typically end a few yards short of the marker rather than exploding after the catch. With Buffalo content to convert through slot/outside spacing and tempo rather than forcing throws into bracketed windows, Kincaid’s path is volume-without-ceiling. In season-long PPR he’s a fringe start in deep formats but a sit if you have a comparable option with red-zone leverage. In DK single-game builds, he’s overpriced relative to matchup efficiency and projects better as a contrarian fade than a core piece.
Start ‘Em: Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears
Everything about Chicago’s tendencies points to Kmet. Washington’s defense is excellent overall (310.3 yards allowed; 147.0 passing; 40% pressure rate), but it has been permissive to tight ends, yielding a league-high 11.7 yards per target and a 7.1% TD rate at the position. Caleb Williams’ third-down profile—66.7% of his throws short of the sticks—feeds Kmet’s sit-down and leverage routes, and Washington’s pressure splits magnify the check-down tree (opponents fall to 48.1% completions, 7.0 YPA with heat compared to 72.5% / 9.5 when clean). Chicago’s staff also likes Kmet in high-red-zone play-action, which matters with Washington’s red-zone defense skewing toward edge crash and interior games. In season-long PPR he’s a start as a top-10 option this week. On DK, he’s an ideal mid-salary bring-back in Commanders-on-slot builds and a leverage pivot off Rome Odunze chalk.
Sit ‘Em: D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears
Swift is always one crease away from a highlight, but the situational math stacks against him. Chicago’s offense sits 24th in rushing yards per game (102.3), and in this matchup the Bears likely chase the sticks through Williams’ quick throws, not sustained runs. Washington’s defense compresses space and gets offenses off schedule with that 40% pressure rate, and the Commanders have been sturdy against efficiency on the ground this season (their team review pegs them at 4.0 yards per carry allowed). Washington also holds possession through balance (34.8 yards per possession on offense, 8th), which trims total Bears rush attempts if Chicago spends the second half in throw mode. In season-long PPR, Swift is a sit if you have comparable volume options; the reception floor could be modest if Williams keeps targeting Kmet underneath. In DraftKings, he’s overpriced for a role that needs a long run or multiple goal-line looks; consider him only in multi-entry builds that fade Croskey-Merritt and script a surprise Bears lead.
