RADIO
Matt's wide receiver (WR) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 6 of 2025. His WR lineups advice for Week 6 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
Looking at the overall landscape of the wide receiver position for fantasy, we have a refreshing mix of players we expected to be there, along with some late-round draft values that have shown promise in terms of sustainability through the first five weeks of the season.
Each week, we have seen some impressive performances from players accustomed to the waiver wire, and last week was no different as Kendrick Bourne became the hero we didn't know we needed when he dropped 24.2 fantasy points on the Rams' secondary in primetime. I'm also willing to bet no one had a Ryan Flournoy 18-point fantasy performance on their bingo card either.
Crazy things are bound to happen, and to make sense of it all, here are the RotoBaller Week 6 starts and sits at the wide receiver position.
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Week 6 Starts - Fantasy Football Booms
Tetairoa McMillan - WR, Carolina Panthers vs. Dallas Cowboys
Tetairoa McMillan enters Week 6 of his rookie campaign, averaging a respectable 11.8 fantasy points per contest. If not for Emeka Egbuka rearing apart opposing secondaries to the tune of 20.5 fantasy points per game, more people would likely be talking about the Panthers' rookie receiver.
While the so-called fantasy production hasn't necessarily come to fruition, it's only a matter of time. Despite sitting 33rd in fantasy scoring among receivers, McMillan sits 14th in receiving yards with 351. That's more receiving yards than Drake London, DK Metcalf, Ladd McConkey, and many other wide receivers selected before him during fantasy drafts.
The breakout is coming. Digging deeper into the analytics, McMillan has commanded a 22.8% target share and an air yard share of 41.8%, ranking second among wide receivers who have run at least 150 routes this season.
That fantasy breakout happens this week as the Panthers are set to host the Dallas Cowboys. This season, Dallas has allowed 944 receiving yards to opposing receivers and 10 receiving touchdowns, the most in the league in both categories. This poor play has led to a league-worst 45.32 fantasy points per game against. With Carolina's lack of quality competition for fantasy points, McMillan is well-positioned to have himself a day.
Calvin Ridley - WR, Tennessee Titans at Las Vegas Raiders
Call it stubbornness, call it pride, or some would call it foolishness, but believing in Calvin Rildey paid off last week, although it's hard to believe anyone started Rildey last week if they had options available to them.
Against the Cardinals last week, Cam Ward completed 21 of 39 passing attempts, with 10 of those passes heading in Ridley's general direction—the 25.6% target share. Ridley usage has been primarily positive this season, sitting 30th in targets with 3,3, earning a 20.1% target share and a 26.7% first-read target share over the season.
CAM WARD TO CALVIN RIDLEY@Titans ARE ON THE VERGE pic.twitter.com/HdCwJTMQ5Z
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 5, 2025
When examining the often-overlooked numbers, Ridley ranks 20th in air yards with 418 and 23rd in air yard share at 35%. The opportunity has always been there, but Ridley's production has been tied to Ward's development. Through five weeks, Ridley has seen a catchable ball just 66.7% of the time.
Ward should feel comfortable this week as the Raiders sit 28th in sacks with seven and 26th in interceptions with two. So far this season, the Raiders have allowed opposing receivers to catch 70 passes for 843 receiving yards, both of which rank in the bottom three in the league. When you add the reception and yardage total to the six touchdowns Las Vegas has yielded in the passing game, you get 39.66 fantasy points against per game, the fourth-most.
Stefon Diggs - WR, New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints
Last week, Stefon Diggs became the first Patriots receiver since Julian Edelman, back in 2019, to post back-to-back 100-yard receiving games when he torched the Bills' secondary for 146 yards on 10 receptions. Not only does Diggs have multiple 100-yard receiving performances, but he also has 16 or more fantasy points in each of the last two weeks, and his 204 fantasy points per game over that period is the seventh-most.
In those last two contests, Diggs's 19 targets rank third in the NFL behind Justin Jefferson and Puka Nacua as the former Pro Bowl pass catcher continues to recover from the ACL injury that cost him most of the 20254 season. The best is yet to come, as Diggs is still only running routes at a 67.2% rate.
He has accounted for 54.5% of the Bills' air yard share and a 39.6% target share. If you're asking if Diggs is back, yeah, he's back.
Stefon Diggs put up 10 catches for 146 yards in his return to Buffalo 🦬 pic.twitter.com/6Py9JVeMXd
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2025
Fantasy managers should consider Diggs a WR1 this week as his utilization and recent production continue to grow. This week, Diggs will face a Saints secondary that has contributed 38.95 fantasy points per game to the position over the last two weeks, the sixth-most. During the previous two weeks, New Orleans has surrendered 319 receiving yards and three touchdowns to opposing receivers on 22 receptions.
Week 6 Sits - Potential Fantasy Football Busts
Garrett Wilson - WR, New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos
When considering sit options each week, one of the first things I do is look to see who is most likely to line up across from Patrick Surtain II and add them to the list. This week, Garrett Wilson is that player, as he has run 61% of his routes from out wide as opposed to 39% in the slot.
In 2023, we saw this matchup as Surtain shadowed Wilson on 20 of 29 routes (69%), limiting Wilson to one reception on four targets for 12 yards. Surtain's press coverage rate per Next Gen stats was 45% and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year also recorded an interception. Away from Surtain, Wilson would catch two balls for 43 receiving yards.
This season, Denver allows 27.70 fantasy points per game to the wide receiver position, the fifth-fewest, thanks to holding opponents to just one touchdown reception. One reason for that low touchdown total has been the pressure this Broncos front brings after the quarterback. It's hard to throw touchdown passes from your back, which the Broncos have been doing, sacking the opposing quarterback 21 times already this season.
Fields will need to rely more on his feet than his arm this week if the Jets are going to move the ball.
Brian Thomas Jr. - WR, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Seattle Seahawks
Heading into Monday Night Football and the conclusion of Week 5, Brian Thomas Jr. had been widely considered a bust, considering he was selected late in the first round or early in the second round of fantasy football drafts back in August.
Through the first four weeks of the season, Thomas has seen 32 targets in four games, but has only come away with all that volume with 12 receptions. The 21.5% target share, 26.3% air yard share, and 25.9% first-read share are all good; the 71% catchable target rate is less desirable.
Those catchable targets will be more challenging this week, as Thomas will see plenty of Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon. This season, Woolen and Witherspoon, along with the rest of the Seahawks' secondary, have allowed 684 receiving yards and just four touchdown receptions. For a receiver who had been held out of the end zone through the first four weeks, the chances of him catching a touchdown this week are increasingly low.
Jaylen Waddle - WR, Miami Dolphins vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Fantasy managers' thinking about starting Jaylen Waddle this week should proceed cautiously. On one hand, volume is kin. Against the Panthers, Waddle earned a 25% target share and a 46% air yard share, accounting for 43% of the Dolphins' receiving market share. Waddle had 110 yards receiving in that contest but also had 131 air yards, which could have added to that total.
In two games without Tyreek Hill, since 2023, a healthy Waddle has 14 receptions for 252 yards on 18 targets.
That was the good news; the bad news is that Waddle faces a stingy Los Angeles secondary that has allowed just two touchdowns on 55 receptions this season, leading to 27.02 fantasy points against, the fourth-fewest.
Last week, Los Angeles surrendered 96 yards and a touchdown to Deebo Samuel Sr. on eight receptions. However, looking at both pass catchers' usage, Samuel ran just 39.3% of his routes out wide, with 57.1% coming from the slot. On the other hand, Waddle ran 74.2% of his route from out wide versus just 25.8% from the slot.
If Waddle is to be successful, he'll need to be used from the slot more than he has, and I'm not sure Miami is ready to commit to that.
Los Angeles has the seventh-ranked defense this season and the fourth-best defense against the pass. While Waddle has the potential to have a great week, the risk does not outweigh the reward this week.
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