FlurrySports takes a look at the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 6, including Miami Dolphins TE Darren Waller.
Welcome to our Week 6 fantasy football waiver wire pickups. Normally, this is where I craft some clever intro, but this week, I just need to vent and ask a few questions that I am dying to receive answers for:
- Why do players insist on dropping the football before crossing the goal line?
- What is up with the fantasy football community’s hatred of veteran RBs?
- How does anyone think that the current way “roughing the passer” is officiated is acceptable?
- Who tried to say the Jets have a good defense (it’s been three years of this nonsense!)?
- As a truck driver who makes overnight deliveries, how concerned should I be about running into Mark Sanchez?
The NFL is as wild and nonsensical as ever. Seriously, if anyone has a logical explanation for any of these questions, please do let me know! Otherwise, let’s try to do what we always do and dissect the latest snap counts, injuries and evolving usage rates across the league to our advantage on the fantasy waiver wire!
Here are our favorite fantasy football waiver wire pickups to target heading into Week 6.
Note: Players must be owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues to be included in the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. Ownership percentages will reflect their status on Tuesday mornings ahead of standard waiver processing.
Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 6
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (18.4%)
We featured Bryce Young as part of last week’s fantasy football waiver wire pickups in what appeared to be a very favorable matchup. Instead, the Panthers were able to just keep feeding the ball to Rico Dowdle on the ground, and Young came away with a below-average fantasy output. It’s no secret at this point that Young kind of stinks as an NFL QB. However, those who find themselves in a pickle at the position have every right to consider him as a streamer once again. Carolina will host the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6, a defense that ranks dead-last in EPA/play against the pass and has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.
Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers (2.2%)
It’s actually mind-blowing to me just how many QBs are rostered in over 50% of leagues at the moment. Are that many people playing in 2QB/superflex formats? Sadly, the answer is probably no. At any rate, it leads to us floating Mac Jones’ name out there among our fantasy football waiver wire pickups for those in need at the position. Brock Purdy’s contract looks like a massive overpay, as Jones has done nothing but win while filling in for the 49ers starter this season. Purdy’s week-to-week status would seem to indicate Jones is in line for another start in Week 6 against a Tampa Bay defense that has allowed the fifth most fantasy points to opposing QBs.
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers (58.8%)
Yes, we’re technically breaking the 50% ownership threshold again here, but it’s pretty obvious as to why. If Rico Dowdle is available in your league, he has to be added after his monster Week 5 effort in the absence of Chuba Hubbard. A 200-yard day on the ground and over 32 PPR points vaulted Dowdle up the board to RB27 status on the season as of Monday morning. Dowdle has always been a solid RB dating back to his time in Dallas. While this is still likely Hubbard’s backfield when healthy, Sunday’s performance could lead to a few more weekly opportunities. Regardless, Dowdle is one of the more valuable backups/handcuffs around.
Kenneth Gainwell, Pittsburgh Steelers (47.1%)
With the Steelers on bye in Week 5, we left Kenneth Gainwell out of last week’s fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. Plenty of managers were fine with picking him up regardless after his massive performance in Dublin two weeks ago. With Pittsburgh back in action this week, Gainwell is now squarely in the waiver wire crosshairs. Keep in mind that his big Week 4 output can be attributed to Jaylen Warren missing the game entirely. He is fully expected to be back this coming Sunday, but Gainwell is worth rostering should a similar scenario happen again. Kaleb Johnson is a distant third option to these two in this backfield at the moment.
Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints (47.1%)
It was no surprise to see the run game be a bigger priority for the Saints in Week 5 given how putrid the Giants’ run D has been to date. As part of that game plan, Kendre Miller saw his snap percentage rise for the fifth consecutive week while Alvin Kamara played a season-low 56%. The latter was much more utilized in passing situations, while Miller appears to be getting most of his opportunities in early-down rushing situations. While this takes away from his PPR upside, the Saints’ backfield continues to work its way towards an even split. Miller has averaged at least 3.86 yards per carry in four of five games this season.
Hassan Haskins (0.3%) & Kimani Vidal (0.1%), Los Angeles Chargers
What’s left of the Chargers’ backfield is a late addition to our fantasy football waiver wire pickups column by default after it was announced that Omarion Hampton was placed on IR due to an ankle injury. This development, coupled with the loss of Najee Harris for the season, leaves L.A. with the not-so-exciting duo of Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal heading into Week 6. To be clear, neither of these players seems super exciting. However, both are waiver wire targets by default given the situation. Expect the Bolts to possibly try and add another RB as well.
It seems reasonable to expect a pretty even split here, as the two backs have differing strengths as players. For now, I’ll give the slight edge to Haskins in terms of waiver wire preference simply due to the fact that he played his college ball at Michigan. You know that strikes a chord with Jim Harbaugh.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers (27.6%)
After missing two games with a hamstring injury, Xavier Legette returned to the Panthers’ lineup in Week 5 and promptly was on the field for 55 of the team’s 70 total offensive snaps. The three targets he saw come his way paled in comparison to the 15 he saw in Weeks 1 and 2 combined, but one has to believe that number will increase. Trusting a Bryce Young-led passing attack to support a second receiver consistently on a weekly basis may be a stretch. That said, Legette has a favorable matchup to take another step forward in Week 6. At worst, he is a depth option with upside to target in fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins (20.4%)
In the Dolphins’ first game since losing Tyreek Hill to a season-ending injury, Jaylen Waddle predictably took the reins as the top WR. There was very little production happening behind him, but I’m still on board with rostering Malik Washington as depth at the position in fantasy. Washington is not an every-down player, but he has seen multiple targets in four of five games this season. His skill set seems to fit well with Miami’s emphasis on getting the ball out quickly. Those in leagues where return yards are rewarded definitely want to take action, as Washington had another 98 yards in that sector on Sunday.
Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts (1.8%)
Alec Pierce was quietly operating as the Colts’ WR2 when he sustained a concussion that has forced him to miss each of the last two games. He was listed as a full participant in practice last Thursday, so it came as a bit of a surprise that he missed Week 5. However, such a designation would seem to indicate he will definitely return in Week 6. Given the antics of Adonai Mitchell last week, there’s no doubt that Pierce will slot right back in as the WR2 for Indianapolis. The presence of Tyler Warren makes him the third target in the passing game, but the Colts offense looks capable of supporting him in this role with Daniel Jones spreading the ball around.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins (48.3%)
For the bettors among us, Darren Waller has Comeback Player of the Year odds in the neighborhood of 25-1. Given the story behind him returning to the field this season, I really hope that comes in. After an eye-popping two-touchdown performance in his season debut last week, Waller found the end zone again on Sunday. More importantly for fantasy football waiver wire pickups, his snap count jumped from 28% to 58%. Expect that number to grow further still moving forward. Waller figures to have plenty of opportunity as a pass-catcher in this offense following the aforementioned injury to Tyreek Hill and will continue to be a red zone focal point.
Theo Johnson, New York Giants (5.5%)
Tight ends have long been a preferred target for rookie quarterbacks, and this appears to be ringing true when it comes to Jaxson Dart. Honestly, we can’t really blame him or be too surprised since he lost his would-be top wideout, Malik Nabers, in his NFL debut. With Darius Slayton also sustaining an injury in Week 5, the Giants’ wide receiver room is in shambles. As a result, Theo Johnson has a great opportunity to provide some fantasy consistency at the oh-so-inconsistent TE position. While it’d be foolish to bank on the three touchdowns he has scored over the last two games, the 12 total targets are very appealing.
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