Should I start Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin, or Josh Downs for Week 6? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Week 6 is almost here! Whether you have a winning record or have lost all your games, it's now crucial to nail those tough start/sit decisions if you want to make the fantasy playoffs.
Luckily for you, RotoBaller is here to help. Today, we will cover Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin, and Josh Downs. Higgins' seven targets and one touchdown were the only positives of his Week 5 performance. Godwin has looked slow since his return from injury, while Downs had a solid Week 5 outing, helping his squad convert multiple key third downs. These three are all looking to have big games to build momentum for the rest of the season.
Without further ado, let's look at my fantasy outlook for each player and determine whether they're worth starting in Week 6 of the 2025 season.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Should I Start Tee Higgins in Week 6?
Higgins recorded 21.53 PPR points in the first two games of the season with Joe Burrow, a far from ideal start, but not something to worry about.
"Turned to my left & seen a TALL guy. Like, 'Oh snap!'"
- Tee Higgins, on his first impression & conversation with Bengals new QB Joe Flacco#Bengals @WCPO pic.twitter.com/FQSWfkvo3u
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) October 9, 2025
However, Burrow's injury has been a disaster for Higgins' fantasy production, as he has put up just 19.9 PPR points in the three games since then.
Despite his good 2023 season, Jake Browning has looked absolutely hopeless this year, which caused the Bengals to trade for their longtime "enemy", Joe Flacco. The former Super Bowl MVP was named as the team's new starter almost immediately after joining the team.
Flacco will now play his second game of the season against the Packers, as he shockingly defeated them in Week 3 as a member of the Browns.
The Browns' O-Line didn't do an amazing job of protecting him against the Packers' pass rush, but he still got the job done. However, the Bengals' offensive line is even worse and is arguably the worst unit in the league.
Higgins has a higher ceiling with Flacco compared to Browning, but not by much. Trusting a 40-year-old to provide enough opportunities for his WR2 while going up against a great defense behind that offensive line is very risky.
Should I Start Josh Downs in Week 6?
Tyler Warren's arrival initially spelled disaster for Downs' fantasy relevance, and many fantasy managers panicked after his 12-yard performance in Week 1 against the Dolphins. However, Downs has carved out a nice role for himself since then.
Josh Downs discusses his 3rd down mentality & staying reliable when it matters most 😤🔥 pic.twitter.com/0L24XrNnLq
— Downs 2 Business (@downs2business) October 5, 2025
Downs is now settling into the role of a "third down converter", as he converted two third downs against the Raiders in Week 5 and moved the chains four times in total. He's one of the 24 WRs with at least 160 yards and 11 first downs over the last four weeks.
Despite initial doubts about his ability, Daniel Jones has been on a roll. And while Downs' fantasy football ceiling is not as high as Higgins, he's a fairly safe bet this week. Downs can be started in 10-12+ team leagues, as a WR3/WR4 with upside.
Should I Start Chris Godwin in Week 6?
Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Chris Godwin is week-to-week with a fibula injury and is expected to miss the Bucs' Week 6 outing against the San Francisco 49ers.
Even if he somehow defies all the odds and plays in Week 6, he's nowhere near healthy enough to make a meaningful fantasy contribution. He's behind Emeka Egbuka in Tampa Bay's hierarchy right now, and OC Josh Grizzard finally made TE Cade Otton a big part of his game plan in Week 5.
Hopefully the injury is not too serious and he can make a fantasy impact soon, but for now he is essentially bench depth.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...

Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 6 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin, and Josh Downs. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 6. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 6 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin, and Josh Downs. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 6.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 6 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 6 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 6 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 6 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin, and Josh Downs compared to others:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
