Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Best Pickups for Week 6

The Week 6 waiver wire is interesting.

The biggest injuries of the weekend did not come with immediate waiver opportunities either because of bye weeks (Aaron Jones, De’Von Achane) or backup players already being rostered (Nico Collins).

Even so, there were some big performances – hope you picked up Tank Bigsby and JuJu Smith–Schuster last week – and other developments that are worth some FAAB dollars.

As a reminder, recommended adds are available in at least 60% of ESPN leagues, and the watch list consists of players worth monitoring.

The deep cuts section for running backs and receivers highlights players who are rostered in no more than 5% of ESPN leagues for all you “not in my league” degens.

I will not list recommended FAAB percentages for every player because that decision comes down to too many factors including league size, team weaknesses, and the aggressiveness of the other managers in your league.

That said, I will try to clarify when there is a player I am going big on in FAAB bidding.

Also, FAAB Lab is a great, crowdsourced way to get a feel for how much a player will cost in FAAB bidding each week.

Finally, I will not be ranking kickers and defenses because frankly I don’t care about them and want them to disappear from the game.

With those caveats out of the way, let’s get to it.

Best Quarterback Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 6

1. Daniel Jones
2. Trevor Lawrence
3. Joe Flacco
4. Drake Maye (Superflex)
5. Aidan O'Connell (Superflex)

Best Running Back Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 6

1. Tank Bigsby
2. Tyrone Tracy
3. Ty Chandler
4. Jaylen Wright
5. Audric Estime (Stash)

Best Wide Receiver Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 6

1. JuJu Smith-Schuster
2. Jalen Tolbert
3. Josh Downs
4. Michael Wilson
5. Allen Lazard
6. Tre Tucker
7. Rashod Bateman
8. Ray-Ray McCloud

Best Tight End Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 6

1. Cade Otton
2. Tyler Conklin
3. Ja'Tavion Sanders
4. Theo Johnson
5. Juwan Johnson

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Best Quarterback Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 6

1. Daniel Jones – Available in 86.1% of leagues

I was out on Jones last week both because of the matchup – Seattle’s defense might not be that good or at least needs to get healthy – and the absence of Malik Nabers. Jones had a good day anyway, throwing for 257 yards and 2 scores with 38 yards on the ground. He will have a great chance to keep things going at home against a friendly Bengals defense this week.

2. Trevor Lawrence – Available in 66.8% of leagues

I was on Lawrence last week because of his history of success against the Colts, who run Cover 3 at the third-highest rate in the league. Lawrence smoked them for 188 yards and a touchdown on 13 dropbacks against that coverage in Week 5, recording 14.5 yards per attempt. The Bears use the coverage at the fourth-highest rate in the league, and while they get to the quarterback better than the Colts, their pressure rate is midpack.

3. Joe Flacco – Available in 94.6% of leagues

Flacco would top this list, but there seems to be a decent chance Anthony Richardson returns this week. Flacco has consistently put up big fantasy games over the last two seasons. The Titans have not given up any big passing games, but they have played Caleb Williams in his first start, Aaron Rodgers, Malik Willis, and Tyler Huntley.

4. Drake Maye – Available in 98.3% of leagues
5. Aidan O’Connell – Available in 99.7% of leagues

Neither of these guys should be added in a standard 1QB league, but they are worth a look in Superflex formats or very deep leagues. Maye has already been announced as the starter for this week, and it is only a matter of time before O'Connell gets the nod in Las Vegas. I am more interested in Maye because we already know what we have in O’Connell. Maye also could offer something as a runner, but O’Connell is probably in the better offensive situation even without Davante Adams.

Watch List: I did not put Tua Tagovailoa above because his roster rate jumped a bit, but he is worth stashing if still available in deeper leagues…I will be interested in Derek Carr this week if he can play. That offense has sputtered over the last three games, but the Bucs just gave up 509 yards and 4 touchdowns to Kirk Cousins…Deshaun Watson has still yet to top 200 passing yards in a game this season…I am still wary about using Bo Nix in 1QB leagues, but he is sixth among quarterbacks in rushing fantasy points per game…I expressed some concern about Andy Dalton against that Bears defense last week, and he did not have a good game. His trend lines following that big game against the Raiders also do not look great.

Best Running Back Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 6

1. Tank Bigsby – Available in 90.4% of leagues

Bigsby was an add for us last week, but he is going to cost a lot more FAAB this time around after rushing for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns on 13 carries in Week 5. Among backs with at least 30 carries, Bigsby ranks third in explosive run rate and first in yards after contact per rush. He easily ranks first in rushing yards over expected according to Next Gen Stats. Even if the Jaguars were just working Bigsby in because of Travis Etienne’s shoulder injury, there is no way they can keep him off the field completely after these performances. It also should be noted Bigsby got a lot of carries in Week 1 before suffering a shoulder injury of his own. The concern is this backfield turns into a committee that destroys the fantasy value of both players, but Bigsby is worth adding for the upside he would bring if he gets a real workload.

2. Tyrone Tracy – Available in 81.6% of leagues

We are playing a guessing game with Devin Singletary’s health, and the starting back did get in a limited practice last Friday. Tracy took advantage of his opportunity against the Seahawks, rushing for 129 yards on 18 carries and dominating the backfield work after Eric Gray fumbled at the goal line. Tracy is now averaging 5.3 yards per carry on the season. He will be worth starting if Singletary is out this week against the Bengals, but he is a good bench stash either way.

3. Ty Chandler – Available in 65.2% of leagues

Chandler will move ahead of Bigsby if we find out Aaron Jones will miss some time, but Jones may not miss any games with the bye week to heal up. That makes Chandler nothing more than a contingency add, and it is fair to wonder what his upside really is even if Jones misses time. Chandler has been the clearly inferior back through five games, averaging 1.4 fewer yards per carry and 1.8 fewer yards after contact per rush than Jones.

4. Jaylen Wright – Available in 92% of leagues

Wright is in a similar situation as Chandler in that the Dolphins are headed to their bye, which could give De’Von Achane enough time to recover from the concussion he suffered in Week 5. Wright will also have to compete for carries with Raheem Mostert even if Achane sits, although the rookie did see 36% of the carries against the Patriots.

5. Audric Estime – Available in 99.1% of leagues

Estime is eligible to return from injured reserve this week, and the Broncos left open a roster spot after putting Tyler Badie on injured reserve last week. The Broncos have gotten more out of Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin over the last two weeks, but this backfield is still not settled. Estime is a stash in deeper formats to see what happens.

Watch List: Roschon Johnson got into the end zone twice and had 10 carries, but D’Andre Swift has bounced back from a rough start to the season. In fact, Johnson would not have gotten the touchdowns he did without some bad scoring luck from Swfit against the Panthers…The great Rhamondre Stevenson benching did not happen, and Antonio Gibson was limited to 7 touches against the Dolphins, which is about par for the course. Stevenson did briefly leave the game with an ankle injury, so that does bear watching this week…It was a little surprising we did not get more out of Justice Hill with Lamar Jackson throwing 42 times against the Bengals, but he is going to be up and down all year…Trey Benson remains a high-upside handcuff, but he did not play a snap last week…Blake Corum lives! He worked as the No. 2 back in Week 5, handling 5 carries behind Kyren Williams…Emanuel Wilson remains the handcuff for Josh Jacobs, but we will see what happens when MarShawn Lloyd is eligible to return…Kendre Miller is unlikely to get enough carries to be fantasy-viable with Alvin Kamara healthy, but he could help alleviate some of the backfield load on the older back.

Deep Cuts: Kareem Hunt has established himself as the lead back, but I am still interested in holding Clyde Edwards–Helaire in deeper leagues to see where this goes…We got another D’Onta Foreman week, and he did manage 44 yards on 9 carries (4.9 YPC). But this offense is just waiting for Nick Chubb to get back…Tyler Goodson touched the ball 8 times working behind Trey Sermon with Jonathan Taylor sidelined…It is worth considering whether Dameon Pierce will return before Joe Mixon and what happens to the lead job in Houston if that happens…This is my weekly “Why don’t people care that Isaac Guerendo is the handcuff in San Francisco?” bit.

Best Wide Receiver Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 6

1. JuJu Smith-Schuster – Available in 95.7% of leagues

As I wrote last week, Smith-Schuster was the No. 1 candidate to replace what Rashee Rice was doing in Kansas City’s offense, but I did not expect 130 yards against the Saints. He went for 260 yards total in 11 games for the Patriots last season. It is important to caveat that Smith-Schuster had an up-and-down season with the Chiefs back in 2022, but he is clearly the top receiver add of the week.

2. Jalen Tolbert – Available in 92.4% of leagues

News of a Brandin Cooks injury hit after waivers last week, but it is still surprising to see Tolbert available in so many leagues. That will not be the case after this week’s waiver run. Tolbert turned 10 targets into 7 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown in Week 5 as the clear complement to CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. The Cowboys desperately need that No. 3 option in the passing game, and Tolbert appears to be it.

3. Josh Downs – Available in 65.1% of leagues

With Joe Flacco at quarterback, Downs delivered as we expected last week, catching 9 passes for 69 yards. The concern moving forward is what happens when Anthony Richardson returns, which could be as soon as this week. Downs needs to be on rosters because he is a talented receiver, but it is fair to wonder whether the volume will be there in a Richardson-led offense. For full disclosure, I originally had Downs below Michael Wilson. I moved him up, but I still am not sure that is the right call given the concerns about Indy’s passing game when it is led by Richardson.

4. Michael Wilson – Available in 87.7% of leagues

Over the last three games (one of those without Trey McBride) Wilson has seen 25.6% of the Arizona targets and has been targeted on 25.6% of his routes. With McBride back last week, but still earned 20% of the targets with a target on 22.2% of his routes. I still worry the targets in this offense will end up concentrated between McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr, but we now have had a decent run of Wilson being involved and effective when targeted.

5. Allen Lazard – Available in 62% of leagues

Lazard continued to run a lot of routes, one more than Garrett Wilson last week, and found the end zone for the fourth time in five games. He also dropped the ball three times, but we know he has the faith of Aaron Rodgers, who appears to have won a power struggle with the now-fired Robert Saleh. The Jets are not going to throw it 54 times every week, but Lazard should get a decent share of the targets assuming the Jets do not add Davante Adams.

6. Tre Tucker – Available in 82.9% of leagues

I am still interested in seeing what Tre Tucker can do, but as I expressed some concern about last week, we did see the target tree condense around Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers in Week 5. Tucker can still provide value moving forward, but we would like to see him pull away from DJ Turner in the pecking order given the lackluster nature ot the Raiders passing attack.

7. Rashod Bateman – Available in 95.5% of leagues

Bateman has been running routes all season, but he got the targets in Week 5, turning 8 looks into a 4-58-1 line. I assume this Ravens offense will lean hard into the run as much as they can, but Bateman will be interesting in weeks where we project a heavier pass script. That could happen this week against a Washington offense that is firing on all cylinders.

8. Ray-Ray McCloud – Available in 93% of leagues

This will be the last week I have McCloud as an add unless something changes because he is probably already rostered in the leagues in which he should be. Still, he continues to get targets in an offense that has leaned more and more into the pass over the last several games.

Watch List: Alec Pierce had a massive game in Week 5, but nothing has really changed for him. He was targeted 3 times. He has been targeted on 12.1% of his routes this season. Sometimes those will hit and he will have a massive game. Sometimes they won’t…I think things are going to be too up and down in the Chargers' passing game week to week, and Quentin Johnston is probably rostered in the leagues he should be rostered in…It was disappointing to see Xavier Legette leave with a shoulder injury in Week 5, and he was not getting as much work even before the injury. Jonathan Mingo earned 5 targets against the Bears, turning those into 2 catches for 37 yards. He has now caught just 51% of his targets through 20 games…The Romeo Doubs situation last week was disappointing, and it is impossible to know from the outside where this goes. Dontayvion Wicks did not shower himself in glory despite a big target share in Week 5, so there could still be a path here for Doubs…I might be more interested in the Patriots receivers if Drake Maye ends up as the starter. DeMario Douglas is worth a look in deep PPR leagues, but you have to worry about week-to-week volatility. Promisingly, Ja’Lynn Polk has run a route on 93.3% of the dropbacks over the last two weeks.

Deep Cuts: Xavier Hutchinson took over the No. 3 receiver role with Nico Collins out, running a route on 75.7% of the pass plays without Collins on the field. He finished the day with 3 targets. Hutchinson will likely struggle to earn targets with Stefon Diggs, Tank Dell, and Dalton Schultz ahead of him on the depth chart, but he is certainly worth a look in deep leagues. John Metchie will also be interesting to watch if Collins misses several weeks, but he ran just 1 route on Sunday…Not sure how deep we want to dive on the Panthers offense, but Jalen Coker and David Moore were the next receivers up with Legette injured…Odell Beckham ran 9 routes in his debut, and that is not a passing game we are interested in targeting right now either way…I would love to see Marvin Mims get more work – he did at least touch the ball twice including an explosive run against the Raiders – but he remains buried behind Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Josh Reynolds…Zach Ertz is the No. 2 receiver in Washington, which did not leave a lot of room for Luke McCaffrey even with Noah Brown out in Week 5…Jalen Brooks ran more routes, but KaVonte Turpin got the targets, turning 5 looks into 4 catches for 50 yards. Both should see more work with Brandin Cooks on IR…I am still most interested in Tre Tucker, but DJ Turner was in route on 76.2% of the Raiders’ dropbacks in Week 5 and earned 4 targets of his own…While I dream of a George Pickens–Roman Wilson pairing, Van Jefferson led the Steelers in routes and saw 5 targets in Week 5.

Best Tight End Waiver Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 6

1. Cade Otton – Available in 83.4% of leagues

With our once and future king Tucker Kraft now on too many rosters for this article, the pickings at tight end are thin. The good news is Otton has gone over 40 yards in three straight games and has two weeks with big target numbers over that stretch. The Saints have given up some big games to tight ends this season including 10 for 170 to Dallas Goedert and 9 for 70 to Travis Kelce on Monday night. Otton is not on that level, but perhaps he can replicate the 6 for 43 from Luke Schoonmaker back in Week 2.

2. Tyler Conklin – Available in 62.9% of leagues

What do you want from me? This is where we are at tight end. Conk Daddy (accept it) has 17 targets over the last two weeks, and with Aaron Rodgers winning the power struggle in New York, we likely will see the passing game prioritized moving forward.

3. Ja’Tavion Sanders – Available in 99.7% of leagues

With Tommy Tremble leaving early with an injury (and Xavier Legette, for that matter), Sanders ran 30 routes (73.2% route participation) and earned 5 targets against the Bears. Sanders is a player we have been watching in case his opportunities increase, and we might see that happen this week against the Falcons. Sanders is both a stash and a streaming option if Tremble sits out this week.

4. Theo Johnson – Available in 98.6% of leagues

Juwan Johnson (below) is the safer bet if you need someone this week, but Johnson saw promising usage against the Seahawks, albeit with Malik Nabers sidelined. That said, his route participation through the first four weeks was solid, and you would expect the rookie to improve as the season wears on.

5. Juwan Johnson – Available in 92% of leagues

Foster Moreau got the touchdown, but Johnson ran a route on 68.4% of the dropbacks on Monday night and saw 5 targets, one more than Chris Olave and the third-most on the team. If Taysom Hill misses more time (and Derek Carr is good to go), Johnson should at least offer targets to the desperate.

Watch List: I was convinced Evan Engram would be back last week, but we got another usable game out of Brenton Strange. It once again looks like Engram will return, but if not, Strange will be someone to target later in the week…Mike Gesicki was in route on 55.8% of the dropbacks in Week 5. He did have a nice catch, but it will be difficult to rely on him unless that usage increases. The same is true of rookie Erick All, who ran a route on 37.2% of dropbacks…Mo Alie–Cox got a touchdown, but we continue to see a four-person rotation at tight end for the Colts…We are where we are with the Patriots passing game. Perhaps Drake Maye sparks something. Perhaps targets become more concentrated around players like Hunter Henry. Until then, though, it is tough to trust…Noah Fant has settled into his role, and it will be tough for him to get enough targets with all three receivers healthy.