The Top 10: Week 6

Featuring fantasy-oriented insights rooted in film-driven football analysis to provide specific takeaways to help GMs manage their fantasy squads.

Matt Waldman's The Top 10: Week 6 Matt Waldman Published 10/07/2025

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MISSION

The mission of this column—and a lot of my work—is to bridge the gap between the fantasy and reality of football analysis.

The goal of this feature is to provide you with actionable recommendations that will help you get results. The fundamental mission is to get the process right.

While it's a rush to see the box score or highlights and claim you made the right calls, doing so without a sustainable process makes success ephemeral.

The Top 10 will cover topics that attempt to get the process right (reality) while understanding that fantasy owners may not have time to wait for the necessary data to determine the best course of action (fantasy).

My specialty is film analysis. I've been scouting the techniques, concepts, and physical skills of offensive skill talent as my business for nearly 20 years.

The Top 10 will give you fantasy-oriented insights rooted in football analysis that have made the Rookie Scouting Portfolio one of the two most purchased independent draft guides among NFL scouts. This is what Atlanta Falcons Area Scout and former SEC recruiter Alex Brown has told me over the past 8-10 years.

Sigmund Bloom's Waiver Wire piece, available every Monday night during the season, is a viable source of information to kick-start your week as a fantasy GM. 

This week's Top 10 has a theme..."It." The necessary skill or skills to meet or exceed expectations. 

STRAIGHT, NO CHASER: WEEK 5'S CLIFF'S NOTES

  1. Puka Nacua is an elite fantasy WR, but not an elite NFL option, and when that may matter to you.
  2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is an elite fantasy WR and is closer to an elite NFL option than Nacua.
  3. Emeka Egbuka is an elite fantasy WR right now and has ample technique to separate from coverage.
  4. Ja'Marr Chase is an elite NFL WR and remains a weekly starter despite working with a subpar QB.
  5. Stefon Diggs may not be the same elite NFL WR he once was, but he's close enough for it to matter in '25.
  6. The difference with Dalton Kincaid's production this year is the routes, and it's sustainable value.
  7. Darren Waller was still on a pitch count, but he's back, which could translate to TE/WR fantasy value. 
  8. Matthew Stafford is just getting started in fantasy leagues this year. 
  9. Jacory Croskey-Merritt's fantasy value is poised for liftoff. 
  10. Odds & Ends: Notes on various players...

1. Puka Nacua Is An Elite Fantasy WR, But Not An Elite NFL WR

Fantasy football is what matters to most of you reading this, and Nacua is presently the top producer at the position in the hobby and the NFL. Even if you can discern the difference, should you care that Nacua isn't an elite NFL WR? 

Right now? No. At some point, possibly, and for dynasty and re-draft GMs, knowing when that point arrives will be worthwhile. 

Let's get this out of the way: I was wrong about Nacua's production value this summer -- at least thus far. I valued Davante Adams ahead of Nacua and believed their valuations should be flip-flopped in drafts this year. 

Where I was wrong comes down to usage and who benefits the most from the other. Adams draws the opponents' best defender and multiple defenders because he's the superior route-runner. This benefits Nacua, and it's something I wish had crossed my mind. 

Nacua is an excellent starting wide receiver. He's not the route specialist who can run the full route tree at an elite level against physically and technically sound press coverage. Adams is that player. 

At the same time, as good as Adams is as a runner, Nacua is a more physical ball carrier. If you want to place ball carrying on equal footing with route skills, Nacua is elite.

So is Deebo Samuel Sr. If that's how we prioritize skills, Malachi Corley might be a lot closer to elite in a world where ball carrying has this much weight.

Routes are king, especially man-to-man and advanced zone skills in situations where quarterback and receiver must read the coverage and adjust. When a lot of the receiver's targets are the product of plays schemed to use teammates to misdirect the defense so that only one player is the target, that's not the same. 

With Sean McVay's scheme, Nacua is the more productive option -- at least right now -- because McVay and Company make Nacua that schemed option. I've compiled every target Nacua earned against the 49ers on Thursday. What you'll see is elite volume, strong pass-catching, and excellent play design to get Nacua the ball. 

Place Nacua in Minnesota, Cincinnati, Seattle, or Philadelphia, and he'd be a top-producing complement whose production would still have weekly starter value, but unlikely top-10 value. NFL coaches scheme all of their receivers open, but Nacua doesn't earn the caliber of man-to-man coverage that Adams, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, A.J. Brown, or even Jaxon Smith-Njigba draw. 

It doesn't matter right now, but if Sean McVay leaves the Rams and the new coordinator isn't from the same coaching tree, we might see a decline in production. Nacua might be asked to do things that aren't in his wheelhouse, or the team acquires a primary and Nacua isn't used in as many of the ways described in the caption of the video.

We're celebrating Nacua at his career zenith, rightfully so. At the same time, it's worth whispering these points in your ear if there's a sudden departure for McVay. 

The first half of this week's Top 10 will continue exploring productive receivers -- some elite fantasy values, some elite NFL talents, and some who are various combinations of the two. 

2. Jaxon Smith-Njigba Is An Elite Fantasy WR and Near-Elite NFL WR

Seattle doesn't scheme the ball to Smith-Njigba as an extension of the ground game like the Rams do with Nacua. Seattle relies on Smith-Njigba for his route skills against man coverage and tight zones, where he and the quarterback adjust to the coverage. Nacua does this on occasion, but it's not his wheelhouse. 

I'm not going to show you those types of routes. It's well-established that Smith-Njigba's route skills were the hallmark of his game out of Ohio State. 

What's coming to fruition with Smith-Njigba is what was said about him before the draft: He can play outside and be the primary threat, although he spent much of his career at Ohio State cast as a slot player. 

The vertical skills and tracking against tight coverage are what stand out with Smith-Njigba's game at this point. 

These skills make Smith-Njigba a dangerous one-on-one option who can win anywhere on the field. It also influences Sam Darnold to display massive trust in Smith Njigba in scenarios reserved for primary options.

3. Emeka Egbuka Is An Elite Fantasy WR And A Good Separator

At least until Mike Evans returns and Chris Godwin returns to form, Egbuka is the man in Tampa Bay, and it may remain that way even with Evans and Godwin in the lineup and feeling good. Egbuka will likely benefit from their collective presence in the way Puka Nacua benefits from Davante Adams. 

There have been early-season questions about Egbuka's valuation as an NFL player moving forward: Can he beat man-to-man coverage, or is he a zone-only player? 

These were valid questions based on the targets Egbuka earned during September, and what Egbuka's college film at Ohio State was, where he spent a lot of time in the slot.  If I had any lingering questions, this week's game against the Seahawks put much of that to rest. 

Separation Score has value as a guideline -- a layer of information about how well a receiver earns separation. However, there are layers of information that provide richer context:

  • The route
  • The coverage
  • The throw

How much distance a receiver earns is not nearly as important as the distance needed to earn the ball. Keep that in mind and try not to get bent out of shape when creative stats don't capture the complete context of what they purport to measure. 

4. Ja'Marr Chase Is THE Elite NFL WR And A Weekly Start Despite...

Spotty quarterback play from Jake Browning. If you disagree that Chase is Him and it's Justin Jefferson, I'm not going to argue vociferously. 

I know, I know, I say this every few months. The first time I don't, I'll get emails. I like emails -- just not those emails. 

When Browning had good moments against Detroit, Chase made the most of them. The duo made the game competitive moments after FOX switched the broadcast to another contest. It essentially took two big plays. 

Chase can excel as a slot, split end, and flanker. Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb are the other two who can do this at a high level. You may not get the consistent weekly value from Chase this year that Nacua, Smith-Njigba, Jefferson, and Egbuka are delivering, but the highs will be stratospheric. 

5. Stefon Diggs Is Not an Elite NFL WR, But He's Close Enough for '25

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fantasy football NFL 2025 Week 6 Matt Waldman footballguys the top 10 Darren Waller Puka Nacua emeka egbuka Ja'Marr Chase Jacory Croskey-Merritt Dalton Kincaid Jaxon Smith-Njigba Stefon Diggs Matthew Stafford
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