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Sunday Night Football in Week 6 features the Steelers hosting a Seahawks squad that is down key members of their offense, namely quarterback Russell Wilson (finger) and running back Chris Carson (neck). To make matters even worse for Seattle, star wide receiver DK Metcalf missed a lot of practice time (and opportunities to build chemistry with backup quarterback Geno Smith). Metcalf and Tyler Lockett are both capable of delivering dominant performances, but we’re going to pour our DFS resources into the Steelers, who opened as 4.5-point home favorites at several sportsbooks. Our FanDuel single game lineup features just one Seattle player, and it’s not one of the top WRs.
In case you’re in need of a refresher, here are key scoring settings for FanDuel single-game contests: The point total for the “MVP” is multiplied by 1.5, but he doesn’t cost any additional money like the “Captain” in DraftKings Showdown contests. FanDuel’s default scoring is half-point PPR and four-point passing TDs, and there are no bonuses for 300-yard/100-yard games like on DraftKings.
MORE FD SINGLE GAME: How to win a FanDuel single-game contest
FanDuel Single Game DFS Picks: Seahawks vs. Steelers
$60,000 budget, need at least one player from each team
MVP (1.5x points): RB Najee Harris, Steelers ($16,500)
Naming Harris our MVP is among the easiest DFS decisions we’ll make this season. He’s been a volume hog for Pittsburgh, handling the rock 108 times (47.1 percent of the team’s total). He’s also played well in recent weeks, averaging 20.2 FanDuel points over his past three contests. If his current form holds, Harris will be in a solid position to eclipse 100 total yards and find paydirt.
MORE SNF: DraftKings lineup
FLEX: WR Diontae Johnson, Steelers ($13,500)
Not only is Johnson averaging 9.3 targets per game, but he’s improved in several efficiency metrics since last season, including yards per catch (12.2) and catch rate (67.6 percent). Last week’s two-target workload was an anomaly, and he’s likely to threaten double-digit looks again this week, especially with JuJu Smith-Schuster (shoulder) out for the season.
FLEX: WR Chase Claypool, Steelers ($12,000)
While the entire pass-catching group will need to step up a bit to make up for the absence of Smith-Schuster, Claypool figures to usurp a significant share of those vacated targets. After a slow start, Claypool has come on in his past two, catching 66.7 percent of his targets (21) and averaging 16.1 yards per reception over that span. Seattle’s pass defense can be picked on, so this is a good spot for Claypool to further establish himself as a dynamic running mate alongside Johnson.
FLEX: RB Alex Collins, Seahawks ($9,500)
There’s not a lot to like about this matchup — the Steelers rank No. 9 in rush defense, limiting opponents to 100.4 yards per game — but we like the potential volume. Collins will start and receive a full workload in place of Carson, who landed on IR with a neck injury. Collins handled 17 touches in Week 5’s start and should be in line for a similar number of touches on Sunday night.
FLEX: TE Pat Freiermuth, Steelers ($7,000)
While Claypool and Johnson are both likely to see elevated usage in the wake of Smith-Schuster’s season-ending injury, they were already entrenched as top targets. It’s reasonable to expect someone lower on the pecking order — namely Freiermuth, Eric Ebron, or James Washington — to step up, as well. Freiermuth gets the nod from us this week. He leads the group in receptions (11) and is the only one of the trio to score a touchdown so far this season.
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