Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season was a fun one for fantasy players, especially if you loaded up on Buccaneers, Lions, Texans or Packers. Besides the big point totals—even going back to Thursday and the early game in London—the other storyline of this week’s fantasy action was some big-name players coming back from injuries and showing out while other stars went down.
Many matchups were decided by big-name players leaving early and not returning. Those injuries could open up potential opportunities for other players going forward, though, so you’ll need to be very active on your leagues’ waiver wire as we near the halfway point of many leagues’ regular seasons.
In the coming week, only the Bears and Cowboys will be on their bye, leaving us 30 teams in action in Week 7. Broncos-Saints kicks off on Thursday Night Football in what will likely be a battle of rookie starting QBs. Another new rookie starter will take the field in the early game next Sunday as the Pats face the Jags in London. We also get another double-header next Monday with a marquee matchup in Tampa between the Bucs and Ravens along with the Chargers headed to Arizona to face the Cardinals.
With all the new injuries that happened this week, there’s a lot to keep a close eye on going forward. Here are some of the players who left early with new injuries to monitor:
New Week 6 Injuries to watch:
- QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- RB Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans
- RB Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns
- WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
- WR Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers
- WR Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
- WR D.J. Moore, Chicago Bears
- WR Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers
- WR Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers
- WR Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
- TE Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
- TE Hayden Hurst, Los Angeles Chargers
With those injuries in mind, here are some of my top names to watch for on waiver wire Week 6:
RB Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers
On Saturday, I highlighted Vidal as a great stash option after Gus Edwards landed on IR with an ankle injury. Hopefully, you acted fast and were able to grab him like owners in about 10% of leagues did before this week’s kickoff since he’ll be a way more popular option now.
Vidal ($4,000; 13.1 FPTS) was inactive for the first four games of the Chargers’ season but made his debut in a big way on Sunday.
He finished with two catches for 40 yards and that touchdown while adding 11 yards on his four carries. The best news is that he was very involved in the rotation with J.K. Dobbins ($6,200; 18.2 FPTS). If Dobbins were to get hurt, he’d be the focal point of a run-heavy offense, making him a great handcuff. but he also has standalone value for at least the next few weeks since he’s in such an involved role in the rotation.
Vidal wasn’t the only big sleeper running back on Sunday, though, Bucs running back Sean Tucker ($4,000; 37.2 FPTS) had the biggest game of any running back on the board and scored two touchdowns while running for 136 yards and catching three passes for 56 more yards. With Rachaad White (foot) out, he took advantage and stepped up huge in the Bucs’ big win in which Bucky Irving ($5,400; 18.5 FPTS) also played well.
Both are great additions this week, but I give Vidal an edge over Tucker on the waiver wire since Tucker’s role is much less clear going forward.
Other names to watch on the wire at running back include Tyrone Tracy (who plays Sunday night), Kareem Hunt (if your league slept on him with the Chiefs’ bye), and Alexander Mattison.
WR Bub Means, New Orleans Saints
The Saints lost Chris Olave ($6,600; 0.5 FPTS) to a concussion on his first target of the game, and it seems unlikely that he is able to bounce back and play this week on a short week against the Broncos. Even without Olave, Spencer Rattler ($4,000; 14.42 FPTS) produced 243 passing yards, a touchdown and 27 rushing yards in his first NFL start. With Derek Carr (oblique) out indefinitely, it’ll probably be Rattler vs. Bo Nix ($5,400; 23.74 FPTS) on Thursday night. Rattler’s favorite target on Sunday was fellow-rookie Bub Means ($3,000; 15.5 FPTS), who few fantasy owners had heard of before this week, and none had on their fantasy football rosters.
Means did have a single target back in Week 1 but had not posted a single fantasy point until Sunday’s breakout performance against the Bucs. He finished with eight targets, which tied for the team lead, and also led all Saints’ wide receivers with 45 receiving yards and scored his first NFL touchdown.
Means was a fifth-round pick out of Pitt and will likely be a big part of the Saints youth movement while Carr and Olave are out. The Broncos have a solid secondary but may be without Patrick Surtain II (concussion), leaving Bub in a much better matchup.
Other receivers who emerged from Sunday’s game with big numbers to take note of include Gabe Davis ($4,400; 21.5 FPTS) of the Jaguars, DeMario Douglas ($4,400; 21.2 FPTS) of the Patriots and Romeo Doubs ($5,200; 19.9 FPTS) of the Packers if someone bailed too early on the still-productive option. Michael Wilson ($4,600; 10.10 FPTS) will also be an important option to track with Marvin Harrison Jr.’s injury.
QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Maye ($5,000; 22.52 FPTS) was the other rookie who made his first NFL start this week, and he finished with better numbers than Rattler, even though both their teams ended up losing by wide margins. Maye looked solid completing 20-of-33 passes for 243 yards and three passing touchdowns in the same offense that was stuck in neutral under Jacoby Brissett.
On the downside, Maye did turn the ball over three times with two interceptions and a fumble. The best news for Maye’s fantasy future is that the Patriots let him air it out and take shots down the field
Maye will likely continue to have some growing pains, but he showed a lot of potential in his first NFL action and has a good matchup this week. The Pats head to London to face the Jaguars, who have been torn up the last two weeks by Joe Flacco and Caleb Willams on opposite ends of the experience spectrum. Maye isn’t a QB1 yet unless you’re desperate or in deep leagues, but he does look like he can be a solid QB2 option or bye-week fill-in.
Aside from the two new rookies and a surging Bo Nix, Justin Fields is still available in many leagues as a bye-week or depth solution, or you can hope that Matthew Stafford can get back on track once he gets his receivers back as the season goes on. The Rams come back from their bye week and Stafford is barely owned in a third of leagues at this point.
TE Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders
If someone in your league dropped Evan Engram ($4,700; 22.2 FPTS) while he was injured or if Cole Kmet ($4,600; 24 FPTS) is still on the waiver wire, those two heroes from the London game are a great place to start your shopping at tight end. If you really have to dive deep or are a Goedert owner, the Eagles Grant Calcaterra ($2,700; 10.7 FPTS) looked solid as a fill-in and could be a sneaky deep-league stash.
Ertz ($3,700; 10.8 FTS) is still owned in only 25% of leagues, but the veteran option continues to be a steady presence in the Commanders’ attack every week. He hasn’t had any monster games but consistently contributes and gives Jayden Daniels ($7,300; 20.96 FPTS) a strong option to look for underneath.
He came that close to scoring a touchdown this week and finished with four catches for a season-high 68 yards on five targets. He had a season-high eight targets last week and has had multiple catches in every game this season for an average of 38 yards per game. As Daniels gets more comfortable and the Commanders let him throw more, Ertz should continue to be a fringe starter with good touchdown upside.
Bengals DST
The Bengals are in the Sunday Night Football matchup, so this recommendation is much more based on their upside and favorable upcoming schedule. After the Giants, Cincinnati will face the Browns, Eagles and Raiders, who have all ranked in the top 10 of fantasy football points allowed to opposing defenses.
While the Bengals did get trounced by both the Commanders and the Ravens, they have also forced five turnovers in their first five games and looked solid against the Chiefs, Pats and Panthers. They’re very much a matchup-based pickup if they can start getting some momentum on Sunday night.
The Bengals are available in about 85% of leagues, but if you don’t trust them even in those matchups, other streaming options to consider for Week 7 include the Commanders (vs. the Panthers), the Colts (vs. the Dolphins) or even the Rams (vs. the Raiders).
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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