The new fantasy football season isn’t quite as shiny and new anymore, and bye week season is about to hit in full force. Be sure your team is tuned up and ready for the challenges of the coming weeks by checking out some of the new names emerging as top Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6.
Be sure to stay locked in to DK Network throughout the week and the rest of the season for all the latest news and fantasy impact. We’ll run down a few of the top potential waiver wire pickups for Week 6 in this post, but be sure to watch how the week unfolds and how players recover. Week 6 will be the bye week for four teams with plenty of fantasy options. The Bengals, Lions, Dolphins and Vikings will all be out of action in Week 6, so be sure you have backups ready if you normally rely on players from those squads.
This post is designed to be an early look at some of the names to keep an eye on coming into your preparation for Week 6 and the rest of your fantasy football run to glory.
Top Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6
| Player | Position | Team | Week 5 | Why Consider Them? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germie Bernard | WR | Pittsburgh Steelers | 14.4 FPTS | Bernard caught 6-of-9 targets for 80 yards and could be the Steelers’ WR2 if Roman Wilson (finger) misses time after Michael Pittman Jr. (foot) landed on IR this week. |
| Kendre Miller | RB | New Orleans Saints | 9.0 FPTS | Miller led the Saints backfield with 10 carries for 30 yards and a touchdown. He seems to be the top option for early-down work and has favorable matchups coming up. |
| Jameis Winston | QB | New York Giants | 29.74 FPTS | Winston threw three touchdowns for a second straight week, leading a furious comeback against the Commanders. He has a revenge game against the Saints coming up. |
| Brenton Strange | TE | Jacksonville Jaguars | 13.8 FPTS | Strange has his second big week in a row and is getting heavy volume coming into a favorable part of his schedule (around a Week 7 bye week) |
| Browns DST | DST | Cleveland Browns | 9 FPTS | The Browns DST has shown solid upside even after trading away Myles Garrett. They’ll host the Ravens (with or without Lamar Jackson) in Week 6 before even better matchups against the Titans, Steelers and Saints. |
Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups and Adds for Week 6
One key factor to keep a close eye on every week is new injuries. Here are some new situations to monitor moving forward:
Players with new injuries from Week 5 to watch:
- RB David Montgomery, Houston Texans
- RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns
- RB Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings
- RB TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
- RB Raheim Sanders, Cleveland Browns
- WR KC Concepcion, Cleveland Browns
- WR Roman Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers
- TE T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
- TE Kenyon Sadiq, New York Jets
With those injuries in mind, here are some of my early names to watch if you’re shopping on the Week 6 waiver wire.
WR Germie Bernard, Pittsburgh Steelers
On Saturday, the Steelers placed offseason acquisition Michael Pittman Jr. (foot) on IR, meaning he will miss at least the next three weeks after sitting Sunday. In Sunday’s game, the Steelers also lost Roman Wilson (finger), who was quickly ruled out after dislocating his finger. Wilson’s injury status and involvement in practice will be key to watch this week, but in his absence on Sunday, rookie Germie Bernard stepped up with another solid game.
Bernard stepped up and ran a route on 35 of the team’s 38 dropbacks on Sunday, catching six of his nine targets for 80 yards. He led the team in targets in their win over the Colts and showed a strong connection with QB Aaron Rodgers.
If Wilson is out next week or limited by his finger injury, Bernard would be the team’s second receiver and be a very startable option in the Steelers’ high-volume passing attack. After next week’s matchup in Tampa against the Bucs, he’d have more favorable contests against the Saints and Browns before his Week 9 bye week.
Pittman can’t return until Week 10 at the earliest, so Bernard has a window to solidify his role.
Another good option to consider is Kendrick Bourne (12 FPTS) who will step into a larger role with Marvin Harrison Jr. on the move. I highlighted Bourne’s upside on Saturday, and he came through with a team-high 70 receiving yards on Sunday. Other available receivers with big Week 5 performances to notice include DeMario Douglas (22.5 FPTS), Jaylin Noel (15.2 FPTS) and Darius Cooper (15.1 FPTS).
RB Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
At running back, a few timeshares seemed to significantly tilt in one direction. The Packers’ MarShawn Lloyd (16.7 FPTS) and Texans Woody Marks (12.5 FPTS) each had big games and could have seized control of their backfields, so if they’re available they’re great pickups. It’s also worth being sure that Ollie Gordon (14.8 FPTS) and Emanuel Wilson (14.2 FPTS) aren’t still on your waiver wires after they claimed their starting roles the last few weeks. If you have to dig a little deeper at the position, though, Kendre Miller (9.0 FPTS) is a pickup that is trending in the right direction.
With Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) still on IR for at least two more weeks, Miller will likely continue to share time with CJ Donaldson (3.0 FPTS) and Alvin Kamara (2.6 FPTS). On Sunday, Miller led the Saints backfield with 10 carries for 30 yards and a touchdown.
He played 30% of snaps but got 59% of the carries against the Vikings. He was just the second running back to score a touchdown against Minnesota this season, and he seems to be the preferred option at this point for the Saints on early downs.
Donaldson played more snaps and ran more routes, but Miller is the better pickup for the next few weeks since the Saints have a good chance of playing from ahead in Week 6 in New York against the Giants and then in Week 7 at home against the Steelers. Miller has touchdown-dependent upside, and it looks like he’ll have a chance to excel in an early-down role for the next couple of weeks.
QB Jameis Winston, New York Giants
In a tie with the Commanders, Jameis Winston (29.7 FPTS) was the third-best QB on the main slate. He racked up 326 passing yards and three touchdowns while rallying his team back to force overtime, and he ran for 27 yards as well. He relied heavily on Isaiah Likely (32.4 FPTS) and Malik Nabers (32.1 FPTS), who snagged this pass to tie the game late.
Winston attempted a season-high 54 pass attempts and threw three touchdowns for the second straight week. He didn’t have any turnovers and effectively led the Giants’ offense. With Nabers and Likely as effective options in the offense, the Giants and Winston have good upside for the next two weeks before their bye week.
The Giants host the Saints in Week 6, setting up a potential revenge narrative for Winston against one of his former teams. In Week 7, the Giants visit the Texans, who have struggled against the pass this season.
Other available QB options to help you fill in your bye week or injuries include Aaron Rodgers (22 FPTS), C.J. Stroud (20.94 FPTS) and Kirk Cousins (13.7 FPTS).
TE Brenton Strange, Jacksonville Jaguars
It was early on Sunday morning, but Brenton Strange (13.8 FPTS) stepped up for a second straight week for the Jaguars and is locking himself into a very involved role in Jacksonville’s offense. He finished with seven catches on eight targets for the second straight week.
He had seven catches for 97 yards last week against the Bengals and followed that up with seven catches for 68 yards in London against Philadelphia. He didn’t get into the end zone either week, but against the Eagles he was stopped at the one-yard line on two separate drives.
He has plenty of touchdown potential if he keeps getting so much work and the Jaguars’ passing attack continues to grow. Strange will have another chance in London next week as the Jaguars stay abroad and face the Texans. Houston has been a favorable matchup for tight ends, and Strange brings both a high ceiling and a high floor with so much volume.
Other tight ends who may be on the waiver wire and had big Week 5 performances include Pat Freiermuth (21.5 FPTS), Eli Raridon (10.7 FPTS) and Chig Okonkwo (10 FPTS).
Browns DST
The Browns DST (9 FPTS) played well in the team’s loss to the Jets, allowing just 17 points. They have allowed under 25 points in each of the last four weeks, and they have at least three sacks in each of those contests. They forced two turnovers for the second straight week as well, including this sack and forced fumble:
Next week, the Browns are home against their rivals, the Ravens. Lamar Jackson may or may not be available, but either way, this Browns’ defense has proven it can produce. After the Ravens, the Browns have an even better stretch with matchups against the Titans, Steelers and Saints before facing the Texans in Week 10 and going on a bye in Week 11.
Cleveland’s defense can be a streaming pickup if needed, but they have also shown enough upside to be a multi-week solution.
The Patriots DST (6 FPTS) will face the Jets next week and is still available in about half of leagues. The Chiefs DST will be coming off their bye week into a great matchup against the struggling Chargers, who sunk to 0-5 with a loss to the Broncos on Sunday.
