Underdog Fantasy NFL Picks Week 6 MNF: Austin Ekeler Back From Injury for Chargers vs Cowboys
NFL Week 6 wraps up tonight with the Dallas Cowboys vs Los Angeles Chargers matchup on Monday Night Football. Before MNF kicks off, let's dive into top NFL Underdog Fantasy picks for the Cowboys vs Chargers game. Our top NFL picks today include Chargers star running back Austin Ekeler as he returns from injury and Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons. Enjoy these NFL Underdog top plays and Monday Night Football picks as you watch tonight's games. If you're making more NFL picks tonight or setting NFL DFS lineups, check out our NFL daily projections. Now, let's dive into the top NFL Week 6 MNF picks on Underdog Fantasy for tonight's games.
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NFL Underdog Fantasy Top Picks
Week 6 Monday Night Football Cowboys vs Chargers Predictions
Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers – HIGHER Than 32.5 Receiving Yards
After missing the past three games, Austin Ekeler is set to return for the Los Angeles Chargers tonight. All signs point to Ekeler taking on his normal workload and not being limited in his first game back from the ankle injury. If you can trust that he is close to 100%, then there’s value in backing some Ekeler stats for Monday Night Football. Let’s specifically look at his receiving yards.
We all know Ekeler is one of the best pass-catching running backs in the NFL. Getting to 35+ receiving yards isn’t too hard for a guy who averaged 42.4 yards per game last season and 40.4 in 2021. Ekeler had at least 35 receiving yards in 12 of 17 regular-season games a year ago and he has 35+ in 23 of his last 33 regular-season games. That includes his 47 receiving yards back in Week 1 of this season before he got hurt.
So Ekeler already has a good chance of coming through on his receiving yards line. The added wrinkle, though, is Mike Williams’ season-ending injury. That should result in Ekeler being more involved in the Chargers’ passing game. Last year, Ekeler had at least 35 receiving yards in three of the four games that Williams missed with 60+ yards in two of those. Going back to 2019, Ekeler has 35+ receiving yards in five of the last six games with Williams sidelined – including 60+ in four of those games. It’s clear that when Williams is out, Ekeler’s role as a pass-catcher becomes even more elevated and important. It’s him and Keenan Allen as the two trusted options for Justin Herbert. Plus, we have Joshua Palmer questionable to play tonight with a groin injury. He’s expected to play but could be limited, leading to more Ekeler targets.
Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys – LOWER Than 4.5 Tackles + Assists
First off, it’s always risky rooting against a player with Micah Parsons’ talent. We’re talking about fading the potential Defensive Player of the Year?! Yep, because the numbers point us in that direction. Of course, the Dallas Cowboys’ star edge rusher could sack Justin Herbert three times tonight and has the elite-level skills to disrupt any run or pass play on any given snap. Still, opposing offenses know this and are intentionally scheming plays away from Parsons. We saw some of this last year and it’s continuing this season. Teams would rather have anyone else on the Cowboys defense beat them and avoid having Parsons involved at all. Simply put, that’s resulting in fewer tackle opportunities.
Parsons only has 18 total tackles this season (10 solo, 8 assists) for an average of 3.6 per game. He also has less than 4.5 tackles+assists in four of five games so far. Last year, Parsons had fewer than 4.5 total tackles in 13 of 19 games, including the playoffs. He averaged 3.8 total tackles per game as well. Keep in mind, Parsons racked up 13.5 sacks last year and already has four this season. Without those sacks, his tackle numbers would look even worse. Expect the Chargers to scheme plays away from him like so many teams are prone to do. We should also see Herbert get the ball out quickly on passing plays more often than not, hurting Parsons’ sack chances.
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Other NFL Links:
- NFL Week 6 Monday Night Football Showdown Playbook: Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Chargers DFS Picks
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Player News
Free agent Gabe Davis will visit the New York Giants.
Cut by the Jaguars after one season last week, Davis visited the 49ers on Monday. New York would be a reunion of sorts, as he played for Giants coach Brian Daboll in Buffalo. The G-Men already have several wideouts capable of stretching the field, but 26-year-old Davis could still be a decent role player in a strong offense. The problem, of course, is that the Giants profile as anything but, but rookie QB Jaxson Dart is comfortable throwing down the field.
Ravens S Ar’Darius Washington has been diagnosed with a torn achilles suffered during offseason training.
The fifth-year pro became a weekly starter for the first time last season, earning elite PFF marks in the process. He was a restricted free agent this spring but had yet to sign his $3.26 million tender. That’s a tough break, to put it mildly. Achilles timelines have shortened significantly in recent years, but Washington will probably still miss the entire 2025 campaign. The Ravens are protected in part by their first-round selection of fellow S Malaki Starks, but May is not the month you already want to be dipping into your depth. Going on 26, Washington’s career future is murky after he worked so hard to finally become a regular contributor last season.
Chiefs signed fourth-round WR Jalen Royals to a four-year contract.
Royals doesn’t have an obvious and open spot in the receiving corps to build short-term fantasy value with Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, and Rashee Rice operating in the opening 11-personnel package. He may or may not play his way into WR4 duties depending on how the team feels about JuJu Smith-Schuster. Royals has plenty of talent and Brown is on a one-year deal, so there is a future where Royals is more than a bit player for the Chiefs. It likely won’t happen in his first season without injuries in front of him.
Matthew Judon said he “probably” won’t return to the Falcons in 2025.
The Falcons, of course, drafted both Jalon Walker and James Pearce in the first round. In an exclusive interview with CardPlayer.com — not to be confused with our PokerNews.com James Cook scoop a few days ago — Judon said that his sack total was down because “I dropped (into coverage) on 60 percent of the plays. It’s hard to get a pick and a sack on the same play.” Judon also told Kyle Odegard that “a couple” teams had expressed interest in him but he was in no rush to sign.
Jets released P Thomas Morstead.
Austin McNamara and Kai Kroeger will compete for the Jets punter job this year. The 39-year-old former Saint was the league’s oldest punter last season. If he wants to keep punting, he can absolutely join the tryout circuit or a competition elsewhere. But this is probably a sign that the Morstead’s 16-year career is close to an end at this point.
Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said it’s “going to be a breakout year” for Jameson Williams.
Morton said he’d never “been around someone that fast,” then quickly corrected himself to note that Jhamyr Gibbs is also that fast. Williams came on strong last year with a 58/1001/7 receiving line, but offensive coordinator praise could mean even more targets are coming. It would likely come at the expense of Amon-Ra St. Brown’s production if Williams were to truly break out, though there’s plenty for St. Brown to give and still be a top-flight fantasy wideout. It’s risky to read too much into statements like this in the offseason, but the new offensive coordinator telling you he thinks it’ll be a breakout year for Williams is certainly noteworthy.