- Start Justin Herbert: The Miami Dolphins have allowed 13 touchdowns and 23.6 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season, both the third-most in the NFL.
- Sit Sam Darnold: The Jacksonville Jaguars have 10 defensive interceptions this season, three more than any other team through the first five weeks. They have allowed just one quarterback to score more than 17 fantasy points against them this season, and that was Patrick Mahomes last week, who scored 12 of his 26 points with his legs (he had 60 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown in the game).
Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Are you struggling to set your Week 6 fantasy lineups? Maybe I can help… Below you can find my top fire (boom) and ice (bust) players at each position for Week 6. I also include my sleeper of the week at each position in case you are in a deeper league or in need of a replacement for an ice player.
Don’t miss my Fire & Ice chart at the bottom of this page. There, I have listed out all of my fire, good, sleeper and ice plays for Week 6 of the 2025 fantasy football season.
Quarterbacks
Fire QB Start of the Week: Justin Herbert (at MIA)
After a big Week 1 performance with 28 fantasy points against the Kansas City Chiefs, Justin Herbert has averaged just 15.1 points per game from Weeks 2-5, throwing just one pass touchdown in each of the last three games. However, he should thrive in Week 6 at Miami. The Miami Dolphins have allowed 13 touchdowns and 23.6 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season, both the third-most in the NFL.
In addition to facing a porous Miami defense, there’s also the potential that Chargers‘ starting left tackle, Joe Alt, can return to the field this Sunday. He missed Week 5 after getting injured early in Week 4, and that has drastically affected the team’s passing production. In 2025, Herbert has averaged 2.3 more pass yards per attempt and has a 30-point higher passer rating with Alt on the field compared to when he is off of it. Herbert has thrown six touchdowns with one interception when Alt is on the field, while throwing just two touchdowns and three interceptions when Alt is off.
Sleeper QB of the Week: Matthew Stafford (at BAL)
Matthew Stafford has thrown three touchdowns and scored 25+ fantasy points in back-to-back weeks, and there is no reason he won’t continue to thrive in this week’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens’ struggling defense. The Ravens have allowed the most passing touchdowns and second-most fantasy points to the quarterback position this season, allowing both Patrick Mahomes and C.J. Stroud to put up four passing touchdowns against them in their last two games. Stafford, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams are all about to eat against the Ravens’ secondary this Sunday.
Ice QB Start of the Week: Sam Darnold (at JAX)
Sam Darnold had his first good fantasy performance of the season last week with 27.6 points against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but I do not expect a similarly productive outing in Week 6. The Jacksonville Jaguars have 10 defensive interceptions this season, three more than any other team through the first five weeks. They have allowed just one quarterback to score more than 17 fantasy points against them this season, and that was Patrick Mahomes last week, who scored 12 of his 26 points with his legs (he had 60 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown in the game). Darnold had just 38 total rushing yards throughout the entire season with no rushing touchdowns.
Running Backs
Fire RB Start of the Week: Ashton Jeanty (vs. TEN)
Ashton Jeanty has put up over 100 scrimmage yards in back-to-back weeks after averaging just 49 yards per game from Weeks 1-3. He finally started to get involved in the passing game last week with career-highs five receptions for 42 yards — he had just 20 receiving yards over the first three weeks. The Tennessee Titans, meanwhile, have allowed the third-most fantasy points and the most rushing touchdowns to the running back position in 2025. Over the Titans’ last three games, they have allowed Jonathan Taylor (32.8 points), Woody Marks (27.9) and Michael Carter (18.3) to all have big fantasy days against them.
Sleeper RB of the Week: TreVeyon Henderson (at NO)
It has been frustrating to be a TreVeyon Henderson fantasy manager so far this season. He has not only been stuck behind Rhamondre Stevenson but also splitting backfield snaps with Antonio Gibson. However, Gibson is now out of the picture after tearing his ACL last week. Henderson ended up playing a season-high 50% of the team’s offensive snaps in Week 5, after playing on just 37% of the snaps from Weeks 1-4.
With Gibson out of the lineup, Henderson should continue to get more opportunities this week, in a favorable matchup. The Saints have allowed an opposing running back to score more than 14 fantasy points in each of their games this season, with Christian McCaffrey (22.7), James Cook (22.5) and Kenneth Walker (18.0) all scoring 18-plus points against them.
Ice RB Start of the Week: Alvin Kamara (vs. NE)
Alvin Kamara is averaging just 9.1 fantasy points per game over the last three weeks, accumulating zero touchdowns and just 139 total rushing yards over that span. On the season, Kamara is the RB28 on average with 11.4 points per game, averaging fewer points than Cam Skattebo, D’Andre Swift and Jordan Mason. The New England Patriots are allowing the fifth-fewest points per game to running backs in 2025.
Only one running back has scored more than 13 points against the Patriots this season, and it was De’Von Achane, who put up eight receptions for 92 receiving yards in that game. Kamara has just 77 total receiving yards on the season.
Wide Receivers
Fire WR Start of the Week: Tetairoa McMillan (vs. DAL)
Tetairoa McMillan has at least eight targets in each of his first five NFL games while averaging 70.2 receiving yards per game. However, he has yet to have a breakout fantasy performance, primarily because he has yet to find the end zone. Luckily, McMillan could not ask for a better matchup to catch his first NFL touchdown. The Dallas Cowboys have allowed the most yards, touchdowns and fantasy points to wide receivers this season.
Sleeper WR Start of the Week: Isaiah Bond (at PIT)
Isaiah Bond has played on nearly 60% of the Cleveland Browns‘ offensive snaps over the last three weeks, while seeing six and seven targets in the previous two games. His targets have also increased each week through his first five career games, showcasing his 4.39 speed with a 20-plus-yard reception in each of the last two weeks. The Steelers have allowed the third-most receiving yards per game to the wide receiver position in 2025, allowing both Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison to eat up the secondary with big chunk plays in Week 4 ahead of the Steelers’ Week 5 bye.
Ice WR Starts of the Week: Garrett Wilson (vs. DEN)
Garrett Wilson is the WR5 on the season, but this is going to be a tough matchup to overcome this Sunday in Europe. The Denver Broncos have allowed just one receiving touchdown to a wide receiver this season, the fewest in the NFL, with the secondary led by shutdown cornerback Pat Surtain II.
In the one game that Wilson hasn’t scored a touchdown this season, he scored just nine fantasy points, with 19-plus points in his other four games. Wilson is not a must-sit, but I expect him to finish the week as a low-end WR2 instead of the high-end WR1 point he has been delivering to his fantasy managers.
Tight Ends
Fire TE Start of the Week: Tucker Kraft (vs. CIN)
Tucker Kraft has had just one big fantasy day this season, 24.4 points in Week 2, while averaging just 8.8 points in the other three games this season. However, this weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals should be his second huge game of the year. The Bengals have allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends this season. Last week, Sam Laporta had career-highs with 92 receiving yards, one touchdown and 20.2 fantasy points against the Bengals.
Sleeper TE of the Week: Mason Taylor (vs. DEN)
Rookie tight end Mason Taylor has emerged as Justin Fields’ second-favorite target over the last few weeks. Since Week 3, Taylor has the second most targets, receptions and receiving yards on the New York Jets, behind only Garrett Wilson in each category, while Taylor, Wilson and Breece Hall are the only Jets players with more than six targets over the last three weeks.
Taylor has seen his targets increase each week of his NFL career and saw a team-high 12 targets last Sunday, scoring 17.7 fantasy points with nine receptions for 67 receiving yards and a two-point conversion reception. This is a tough matchup for Garrett Wilson, who will see a ton of Pat Surtain II in coverage, which should lead to plenty of opportunities for Taylor to have a second great fantasy week in a row.
Ice TE Start of the Week: Zach Ertz (vs. CHI)
After a solid start to the fantasy season, Ertz has scored just 12.9 total points over the last three weeks combined, averaging just 4.3 points per game in that span. He has not had more than three receptions in any of the previous three games and had zero receptions on his lone target last Sunday. Ertz has seen his snap rate drop into the low 50s twice since Week 3, which is a significant drop off from the 90% offensive snap rate he had in Week 2 when he scored a season-high 18.4 points. It is too risky to plug Ertz into your lineup again this week after three straight duds.
Fire & Ice Fantasy Football Plays
Here, I categorize every relevant fantasy player into five different buckets: (1) fire starts (best starts of the week); (2) thumbs up (good starts); (3) Risky players with upside (sleepers); (4) Ice starts (predicting bad performance from good player); (5) Stop (must sits).
Note: If a player/defense is not listed, I am not considering starting them in Week 6. I did not include Philadelphia Eagles/New York Giants players as they will have already played by the time this article is published.
Fire 🔥
- QB: Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Baker Mayfield, Jayden Daniels
- RB: Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, James Cook, Jahmyr Gibbs, Josh Jacobs, Ashton Jeanty, Kyren Williams, Javonte Williams, Quinshon Judkins
- WR: Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Emeka Egbuka, Rome Odunze, Davante Adams, Tetairoa McMillan
- TE: Jake Ferguson, Tucker Kraft, Trey McBride, Tyler Warren
- DEF: Packers, Broncos, Rams
Thumbs Up 👍
- QB: Dak Prescott, Matthew Stafford, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Patrick Mahomes
- RB: Breece Hall, Rico Dowdle, J.K. Dobbins, De’Von Achane, Rachaad White, Travis Etienne, David Montgomery
- WR: Quentin Johnston, Drake London, Ja’Marr Chase, Deebo Samuel, Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle, Michael Pittman Jr., George Pickens, Xavier Worthy, Marvin Harrison Jr., Keenan Allen, DK Metcalf, Jakobi Meyers, Chris Olave
- TE: Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, Brock Bowers, Darren Waller, Travis Kelce
- DEF: Seahawks, Colts, Steelers, Chargers
Upside 📈
- QB: Jared Goff, Daniel Jones, Jordan Love, Bo Nix, Mac Jones, Bryce Young
- RB: Jacory Croskey-Merritt, D’Andre Swift, Michael Carter, Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Kimani Vidal, Haasan Haskins, Chuba Hubbard (if he plays)
- WR: Ladd McConkey, Stefon Diggs, Brian Thomas Jr., Tee Higgins, DJ Moore, Jameson Williams, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, Calvin Ridley, Isaiah Bond, Romeo Doubs, Rashid Shaheed
- TE: Mason Taylor, Hunter Henry, David Njoku, Jake Tonges, Harold Fannin Jr.
- DEF: Browns, Bills, Patriots, Raiders, Jaguars, Titans
Ice 🥶
- QB: Sam Darnold, Tua Tagovailoa, Geno Smith, Trevor Lawrence, Michael Penix Jr.
- RB: Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara, Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet, Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, Chase Brown
- WR: Garrett Wilson, Zay Flowers, Travis Hunter, Cooper Kupp, Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir
- TE: Zach Ertz, Kyle Pitts, AJ Barner, Juwan Johnson
- DEF: 49ers, Cardinals, Commanders, Buccaneers
Stop 🚫
- QB: Aaron Rodgers, Cam Ward, Dillon Gabriel, Spencer Rattler
- RB: Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, RJ Harvey, Emari Demercado
- WR: Marvin Mims, Jerry Jeudy, Ryan Flournoy, Chris Godwin
- TE: Mark Andrews, Evan Engram, Pat Freiermuth
- DEF: Ravens, Chiefs, Lions, Falcons
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