FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 6 Monday Night (Cowboys at Chargers)

We could have a good one on our hands tonight between the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers. Per the NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook, this game has a 50.5 over/under, and the visiting Cowboys are 1.5-point favorites.

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5 times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.

FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy, and numberFire has projections if you select the game from the slate tab. It's worth checking out both before making your lineups.

MVP Candidates

We have a pretty clear group of six players -- three on each side -- who stand out as our best MVP candidates, and that's reflected in numberFire's projections.

Beginning with the Chargers, their top trio features Austin Ekeler ($16,500), Keenan Allen ($16,000), and Justin Herbert ($15,500), who just so happen to also be the three highest-salaried players.

Ekeler practiced in full all week, so he should be back to seeing his usual volume. When we last saw him in Week 1, he logged 16 rushes and 5 targets on his way to 164 scrimmage yards and a score. While this is at best a neutral matchup against a tough Dallas defense, Ekeler's usage gives him elite upside in a potential shootout.

Allen leads the Chargers in target share (31.0%), air yards share (31.6%), and red zone target share (27.3%), and the season-ending injury to Mike Williams a few weeks back only further solidify this target-heavy role. We've already seen Allen explode for 27.1 and 36.46 FanDuel points this season.

Herbert has scored over 20 FanDuel points in all four of his games thus far, and he's actually the QB1 in FanDuel points per game (24.2). He's sixth in numberFire's Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back, and he's even helped his fantasy bottom line with three rushing touchdowns. As a quarterback, he'll likely be a chalky MVP, though, which is something to keep in mind.

It's worth noting that the Cowboys are sixth in schedule-adjusted pass defense, per numberFire's metrics, and they've allowed the third-fewest FanDuel points per game to wideouts and sixth-fewest to QBs. However, cornerback Trevon Diggs is out for the year, and this defense was annihilated by the San Francisco 49ers last week, so this shouldn't deter us from looking to Allen or Herbert here.

The Cowboys' MVP trio are the next three in salary between CeeDee Lamb ($14,500), Tony Pollard ($14,000), and Dak Prescott ($13,000). Los Angeles' defense is nothing to write home about, ranking 21st in adjusted pass defense and 24th in adjusted rush defense.

Lamb has the lowest projection of the group, but he might also garner the lowest MVP roster percentage. Admittedly, while his 21.9% target share and 27.5% air yards share don't leap off the page, he did go off for an 11-catch, 143-yard performance versus a tough New York Jets defense in Week 2. He also leads the team in end zone target share (36.4%). The Chargers have allowed the most FanDuel points per game to wideouts, further enhancing Lamb's outlook.

Pollard's opportunities have been up and down due to nearly all of Dallas' games being blowouts in one direction or the other, but he's still averaging 16.2 rushes and 4.4 targets per game. He saw over 20 rushes in both Weeks 2 and 3, and that's the kind of volume we're hoping for in what should be a tight game. While he hasn't scored since Week 1, his 58.7% red zone rush share leads the team. Hopefully, his modest results over the last couple of weeks keep his MVP popularity lower than what it would normally be.

Finally, Prescott is projected for the second-most FanDuel points behind Herbert, but he's my least favorite MVP of these six. Averaging just 12.6 FanDuel points per game as the QB24, he's been a rather pedestrian fantasy signal-caller this season and has thrown for multiple scores just once. Given that he will likely garner a fair bit of MVP attention anyway, I'm more inclined to opt for Lamb or Pollard if I'm picking a Cowboy. Prescott should still be viewed as a perfectly good flex play, though.

Flex Breakdown

Staying with Dallas, Jake Ferguson ($8,500), Michael Gallup ($8,000), and Brandin Cooks ($7,000) are the relevant pass-catchers behind Lamb.

Ferguson leads the team with a 32.4% red zone target share, and his 17.5% overall target share is second. It hasn't quite translated to big-time fantasy points yet -- he's reached double digits just once -- but his role continues to trend in the right direction, and he probably has more upside than he's shown so far.

Gallup actually led all Dallas wideouts in snaps last week (81.6%) and has been much more productive than Cooks this season despite the two seeing roughly the same target share (14% apiece). Gallup is averaging 1.31 yards per route run (YPRR), whereas Cooks is at 0.69 YPRR. The former is the preferred play, but Cooks could always stumble into a touchdown.

The main beneficiary of Mike Williams' absence is Josh Palmer ($11,000), who recorded season-highs in snap rate (87.1%), targets (8), and yards (77) in Week 4. However, this salary is tougher to get behind when the best options are at $14,000 and above. He's also dealing with a groin injury that popped up over the weekend, though he's still expected to play.

Therefore, when factoring in salary, Quentin Johnston ($8,000) is arguably the more intriguing Los Angeles pass-catcher. The rookie saw only three targets and played half the snaps in Week 4, but it's possible his role grows after a bye week, particularly if Palmer is limited at all. Despite the modest snaps, he still logged a promising 76.9% route participation rate.

Gerald Everett ($7,500) is on the touchdown-or-bust radar, but his 9.9% target share is pretty meh. While he would get a slight bump if fellow tight end Donald Parham Jr. (questionable) doesn't play, Parham was practicing in full at the end of the week.

Joshua Kelley ($9,500) and Rico Dowdle ($7,000) are the backup running backs for both teams. Kelley actually rushed 16 times and played 44.7% of the snaps with Ekeler active in Week 1, so he shouldn't be a total afterthought tonight. Dowdle will probably see just a handful of touches behind Pollard.

If this is a back-and-forth game as expected, it will probably leave the kickers outside of the optimal lineup. Likewise, the defenses can probably be ignored outside of rostering them to be contrarian.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.