Start Luther Burden III or DeVonta Smith? Week 6

Our Week 6 call

Start DeVonta Smith over Luther Burden III in Week 6.

Market-based projections have DeVonta Smith at 12.2 points and Luther Burden III at 12.6, a gap of 0.5. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. DeVonta Smith still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 34 against 51, and that outweighs a gap this size.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 12.6 fantasy points for Luther Burden III, with 100 percent of the markets a WR needs posted.

The market-based projection for Luther Burden III is 6 rushing yards, 52 receiving yards, 4-5 receptions and 0.4 touchdowns (6, 13, 12 and 14 market sources).

Player markets imply 12.2 fantasy points for DeVonta Smith, with 100 percent of the markets a WR needs posted.

The market-based projection for DeVonta Smith is 57 receiving yards, 4-5 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (12, 10 and 11 market sources).

That puts Luther Burden III 0.5 points ahead of DeVonta Smith on the market projections.

Week 6 matchups

Luther Burden III and CHI visit ATL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

ATL allowed 37.7 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 5 games, the 6th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 181 yards and 0.8 touchdowns a game against ATL.

DeVonta Smith and PHI host CAR on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CAR allowed 28.4 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 4 games, the 9th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 152 yards and 0.3 touchdowns a game against CAR.

By points allowed to the position, Luther Burden III has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Luther Burden III is not on the injury report.

DeVonta Smith is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 6

Through Week 3, DeVonta Smith played 93 percent of PHI snaps, drew 33 percent of the targets, earned 48 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

DeVonta Smith, Week 1 against WAS: 52 of 55 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 53 yards.

DeVonta Smith, Week 2 against TEN: 67 of 76 snaps, 13 targets and 10 catches for 117 yards, 1 touchdown.

DeVonta Smith, Week 3 against CHI: 50 of 50 snaps, 8 targets and 6 catches for 65 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Luther Burden III played 15 games for CHI and scored 127.9 PPR points, 8.5 a game, finishing WR48.

He caught 47 of 60 targets for 652 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 4 red zone targets and 318 air yards.

He was on the field for 39 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Luther Burden III, Week 18 of 2025 against DET: 1 carry for 10 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 35 yards, 7.5 PPR points.

Luther Burden III, Week 17 of 2025 against SF: 38 of 66 snaps, 9 targets and 8 catches for 138 yards, 1 touchdown, 27.8 PPR points.

Luther Burden III, Week 15 of 2025 against CLE: 26 of 66 snaps, 7 targets and 6 catches for 84 yards, 14.4 PPR points.

In 2025, DeVonta Smith played 17 games for PHI and scored 201.8 PPR points, 11.9 a game, finishing WR20.

He caught 77 of 113 targets for 1008 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 10 red zone targets and 715 air yards.

He was on the field for 89 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 6 calls

• Start A.J. Brown over Luther Burden III.
• Start Luther Burden III over Carnell Tate.
• Start CeeDee Lamb over Luther Burden III.
• Start A.J. Brown over DeVonta Smith.
• Start DeVonta Smith over Carnell Tate.
• Start DeVonta Smith over Chris Godwin Jr..