Through the Sunday afternoon contests, Week 5 brought the fire with plenty of weird touchdowns and wild plays. Fantasy production was all over the map, but several players stepped up as attractive pickups from the waiver wire looking ahead to NFL Week 6.
The Jaguars earned their first win of the season, leaving no winless teams in the NFL. On the other extreme, the Vikings remained undefeated with a win over the Jets, and the Chiefs will look to join them at 5-0 when they face the Saints on Monday Night Football.
In Week 6, the Chiefs and Vikings will both be on their bye week along with the Rams and Dolphins. If your team is built around players from those teams, you will need to work the waiver wire extra hard this week. It’s also extremely important to plan strategically for bye weeks later in the season and keep your team as deep as possible.
Before we hit some of the top options at each position, let’s take a look at some of the new injuries to watch coming out of Week 5.
Week 5 Injury:
- QB Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
- QB Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets
- RB De’Von Achane, Mimai Dolphins
- RB Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings
- WR Nico Collins, Houston Texans
- WR Gabe Davis, Jacksonville Jaguars
- WR Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers
- TE Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
With those injuries in mind, here are some of my top names to watch for on waiver wire Week 6:
RB Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars
I highlighted Bigsby last week in my Waiver Wire pickups and back in my first Waiver Wire post of the season. He was still owned in under 25% of leagues, though, coming into Week 5.
Tank broke through with the biggest week of any fantasy running back, racking up 101 yards and two touchdowns on his 13 carries and adding a 28-yard reception. He ran for a 65-yard score in the fourth quarter, but his more impressive score came in the third-quarter on this play that was so good the team busted out his legal name:
Whether you call him Cartavious or Tank, he has to be owned in all leagues going forward. He may continue to share time with Travis Etienne Jr., but he has been effective enough to earn more reps and opportunities going forward. In Week 5, Bigsby had a 41% snap rate, played 60% of snaps, and got both carries from inside the 10-yard line.
Bigsby wasn’t the only breakout running back in Week 5. Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. had a huge game running for 129 yards in the Giants’ win (more on that below). Tracy is also owned in under 25% of leagues and makes a great add, especially for as long as Devin Singletary (groin) is out.
Another running back to have on your radar is Dolphins RB Jaylen Wright, who is only owned in about 10% of leagues. Miami is on a bye, but Achane’s injury could open the door for him to be more involved. Don’t forget that Panthers rookie Jonathon Brooks is eligible to return from the IR as well, and Jeremy McNichols stayed involved for the Commanders.
QB Daniel Jones, New York Giants
The Giants went on the road this week to Seattle and knocked off the Seahawks. Daniel Jones led the way with a huge game, making up for the absence of Malik Nabers (concussion) and Devin Singletary (groin).
Jones finished with 257 passing yards and two touchdowns and ran for 38 yards as well, including this tough run in the first quarter to set up the Giants’ first score of the game.
Jones has six touchdown passes and just one interception in his last four games. He led the Giants to a win over the Browns in addition to the Seahawks in that stretch, and lost to the Commanders and Cowboys by just one possession.
Over the next two weeks, Jones gets favorable matchups against the Bengals and the Eagles. Jones is on a roster in under 10% of leagues, and he’ll hopefully get Nabers and Singletary back for those two matchups.
It’s also worth checking out if Kirk Cousins is available in your league since he’s only rostered in 51% of leagues coming off a massive game on Thursday Night Football. Cousins seems to be settling into Atlanta’s offense and has a high ceiling against the Panthers next week.
WR Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens hadn’t been forced to throw the ball much this season—relying mostly on Derrick Henry and a strong defense—but on Sunday against the Bengals, Baltimore had to air it out to get back in the game. When they did, Rashod Bateman was the guy:
Bateman finished with 15.8 fantasy points by catching four passes for 58 yards and that touchdown. He finished second on the team with eight targets behind only Zay Flowers.
Bateman also scored a touchdown in Week 3 and had at least four targets in every game aside from Week 4’s rout of the Bills in which the Ravens played from ahead and hardly threw the ball down the field.
Although it’s sure to change after his big game, Bateman is available in over 90% of leagues. The former first-round pick has plenty of big playmaking ability but has struggled to stay healthy. He looks healthy at this point of the season, though, and could play a big role for Baltimore in the weeks to come. The Ravens are 3-2 after winning three straight games and face the impressive Commanders at home in Baltimore next week before going on the road to Tampa Bay and Cleveland.
If Bateman is too big a stretch for you, other receivers who will get plenty of attention this week on the waiver wire will include Darnell Mooney of the Falcons (if available), Darius Slayton of the Giants, Josh Downs of the Colts and Jordan Whittington of the Rams (if you can wait until after the bye).
TE Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins
For the second straight week, waiver wire hero Tucker Kraft was the top tight end in fantasy football. I hyped Kraft as a great option to pick up last week and also listed him as my top fantasy football sleeper tight end. Kraft was snatched up in most competitive leagues, but if he’s available, he has to be the top add at the position
A much more widely available option to look for is Jonnu Smith of the Dolphins. Smith and the Dolphins seemed set on trolling his former team, the Patriots this week, and involved Smith heavily in their game plan led by QB Tyler Huntley.
Smith finished with five catches for a season-high 62 yards while also getting a season-high eight targets. He came up with a goose-egg in Week 4’s ugly loss against the Titans but was much more involved in this week’s plan. He also had a big week back in Week 2, when he hauled in 6-of-7 targets for 53 yards.
Granted, if you need immediate help, Jonnu isn’t the way to go since the Dolphins are on a bye next week. After that, Miami will face the Colts, Cardinals, Bills and Rams in a generally favorable stretch of tight end matchups with Tua Tagovailoa also potentially returning during that stretch.
Other options to consider if Kraft is off the table include the Commanders’ Zach Ertz, the Bucs’ Cade Otton and even the Chiefs’ Noah Gray.
Colts DST
The Colts allowed the Jaguars to get their first win of the season in Week 5, but I still like their defense as a good pickup, based in large part on their Week 6 matchup. They go on the road for a second straight divisional game in Week 6 to face the Titans, who have been the most generous team in the NFL to opposing defenses.
The Colts have forced a total of eight turnovers in the last four weeks and have had exactly four sacks in three of their five games. In Week 3 and Week 4, they posted huge fantasy points against the Bears and Steelers, and they’ll look to get back on track against the Titans, who will be returning from their bye week.
Tennessee went 1-3 in their four games this season with 16 sacks allowed, nine turnovers and three DST touchdowns against.
The Colts are available in over 80% of leagues, but if you don’t trust them this week, the Eagles are another solid option to consider since they’re available in two-thirds of leagues—plus, they return from their bye week with a favorable matchup against the Browns. Other teams to check for on the waiver wire include the Texans (vs. the Patriots) and the Falcons (vs. the Panthers).
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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