We now have made it through five weeks of the NFL season and it was another interesting week. We, unfortunately, saw Dak Prescott go down with a season-ending injury. Dalvin Cook also left the game with a groin injury. Week 5 also saw the Broncos and Patriots game get postponed and we got the second Tuesday night game in 70 years.
Hopefully, you’ve been able to withstand the injuries, postponements and canceled games thus far. Either you have and are just looking for players to add to a strong team or you’ve been hit hard and are in need of someone to plug into your starting lineup.
One thing I brought up last week, and still recommend, is to pay attention to who the other teams in your league have been dropping. With injuries and COVID causing some chaos so far this season many teams may have been scrambling to field a team. There may be some players not identified on this list who could help your team instantly.
As always though I am here to try to identify some of the more popular waiver wire adds, some deeper league options, and some to keep an eye on up until your waivers run. Now every league may be a little different, but I will be looking at players who are on 50% or less of teams across Yahoo and ESPN platforms. I will also include some players who might be above 50% but are worth the look to see if they’re available in your league.
Bye Weeks: Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, and Seattle Seahawks
Week 6 Waiver Wire: Possibly taken, but worth a look
Myles Gaskin (RB, MIA)
Gaskin is still just on a little more than 75% of rosters on Yahoo and ESPN. He continues to be very much involved in the game and saw 16 rushing attempts for 57 yards and a touchdown. He also caught all 5 of his targets for 34 receiving yards. Once again, the starting running back for the Dolphins isn’t the most appealing, but he is definitely worth a pickup and has provided a safe floor due to volume so far.
Chase Edmonds (RB, ARI)
Edmonds was listed as a pickup last week and had himself a quality fantasy day on just 8 total touches. He rushed 3 times for 36 yards and a touchdown while also catching 5 passes for 56 yards. It’s tough to guarantee production on a limited workload, but Kenyan Drake just has not been getting it done this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kingsbury starts to get Edmonds more involved. He’s nearly 66% of teams in Yahoo leagues, but still under 50% on ESPN and is worth a pickup to see if he continues to get more involved.
Robert Tonyan (TE, GB)
Despite being on a bye this week Tonyan’s rostership jumped significantly in Yahoo formats, but still just under 50% on ESPN. He is definitely on the streaming radar in a tight end landscape that has been brutal.
Week 6 Waiver Wire: On less than 50% of teams
Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB, MIA)
Fitzpatrick completed 22 passes for 350 yards and 3 touchdowns in their win against the San Francisco 49ers. He also added on 16 yards rushing on 3 attempts. He gets a Denver defense in Week 6 that has given up points to the quarterback position.
Andy Dalton (QB, DAL)
Dalton finds himself thrust into the starter role after the season-ending injury to Dak Prescott. Dalton will not be Dak from a fantasy perspective (or NFL perspective), but he does have good weapons around him. If you’re desperate for a starter, you can probably do worse than Andy Dalton.
Justin Herbert (QB, LAR)
Just barely over 50% on Yahoo and 35% on ESPN, Herbert was highlighted in this article last week. He completed 20 passes for 264 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also gets a decent two weeks of matchups after the bye in week 6 with the Jaguars and Broncos. If you’re streaming and have room to hold onto him through the bye he’s a good option.
Tee Higgins (WR, CIN)
Higgins continued to draw the attention of Burrow this week and caught 4 of his 8 targets for 62 yards. He now has seen 24 targets over the last three weeks. With A.J. Green leaving the game with an injury it appears Higgins would be in line to run with Boyd as the top two wide receivers for a Bengals team who will need to throw the ball.
Chase Claypool (WR, PIT)
Claypool very well could have had his best day as a professional after turning 10 touches (3 rushes and 7 receptions) into 116 total yards and 4 touchdowns (1 rushing and 3 receiving). This was almost the perfect storm of events as Claypool didn’t have any resistance from the Eagles defense and Diontae Johnson leaving with an injury appeared to open up a path to more targets. Claypool saw more targets this week alone than the first 3 weeks combined. He’s one to pick up and see how his role pans out moving forward, but will probably come at quite the cost with this blowup game.
Mecole Hardman (WR, KC)
Sammy Watkins left the game with a hamstring injury on Sunday. Hardman only caught 2 receptions for 50 yards this week. Should Watkins miss time, the door is open for more targets for Hardman.
Travis Fulgham (WR, PHI)
In a receiving group ravaged by injuries, Fulgham has stepped up to attempt to fill the void. This week he caught 10 of 13 targets for 152 yards and a touchdown. He now has 15 targets, 12 receptions, 209 yards, and 2 touchdowns through two weeks. His role may be in question once/if Alshon Jeffrey and DeSean Jackson get on the field together. However, in what has been a wild season so far with postponed/canceled games and injuries Fulgham probably is more of a deeper league option. You would need to continue to monitor the injuries to the receivers in Philadelphia and may want to temper expectations.
Alexander Mattison (RB, MIN)
As previously mentioned, Cook left the game on Sunday night with a groin injury, which Mattison took over and rushed 20 times for 112 yards and had 3 receptions for 24 yards. Cook has reportedly avoided a major injury, but his Week 6 status remains in doubt. Mattison should obviously be looked at should Cook miss time, and might be worth a stash regardless if you have space.
Justin Jackson (RB, LAC)
Just over 50% on ESPN but just around 44% on Yahoo, Jackson appears in this article again. In the first full game without Austin Ekeler, Jackson out-touched Kelley 20-12 and out-snapped him 42-25. Jackson rushed 15 times for 71 yards (Kelley 11 for 29). Jackson caught 5 receptions for 29 yards (Kelley 1 for 9). It can be tough with injuries and COVID, but if you can stash him on your bench and hold through Week 6 he’s worth a pickup.
