The waiver wire becomes incredibly important at this point in the season. Our Week 4 adds had some players like Kenneth Gainwell, who may have won you your fantasy football matchup last week. In Week 5, we suggested Rico Dowdle. He may have won you your fantasy football matchup. Might need to keep paying attention to this weekly article!
For the following waiver wire adds, the player has to be rostered by 60% of teams or less, and this week we go with one player at quarterback and two at each flex-position spot to add if you’re in a pinch ahead of your Week 6 matchup.
Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars: Lawrence hasn’t been highly sought after much as a fantasy football quarterback. Not as a starter for a team anyway. However, he might have had a turning point in a dramatic 31-28 victory for the Jaguars over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. Lawrence used his feet to scramble for 54 yards and two touchdowns in addition to 221 yards and a score through the air. With the monster week, Lawrence is now averaging over 15 points per week in fantasy. While I wouldn’t want Lawrence as “my guy” at QB in fantasy, if you’re in a pinch or scrambling due to a Joe Burrow injury, for example, Lawrence could be an option.
https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1975400251574894730
Running back
Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins, Chargers: This is a little bit of a tough call. Similar to Michael Carter and Emari Demercado filling in for injured Cardinals backs last week, it’s unsure who is going to lead the charge in the Chargers’ backfield. The Chargers suffered injuries to Omarion Hampton (IR) and Najee Harris (season-ending). With it being a bit muddled, with roster spots at a premium, Vidal looks to have more upside.
Vidal did get more playing time after the Hampton injury, too. If a waiver claim doesn’t work out for Vidal, go with Haskins. To be honest, either one could emerge as the main back. Another upside is they are facing Miami and its soft defense in Week 6.
Wide receiver
Josh Downs, Colts: Downs is part of a high-powered offense in Indianapolis. The issue is there are a lot of mouths to feed and Jonathan Taylor is a beast on the ground. If you are looking for a consistent, sure thing, keep it moving. Downs does have potential for solid weeks and if you’re looking on the waiver wire in Week 6, there aren’t many sure things. The speedster is part of the gameplan in Indy, though.
Through five weeks he’s had two weeks he’s been targeted eight times, collecting six catches in each of those games. He averages over five targets per game and averages four catches per game. Downs has 20 receptions, but for just 175 yards. In a PPR league, Downs can be a nice fill-in.
Kendrick Bourne, 49ers: The 49ers offense has been the walking wounded all season. Ricky Pearsall (knee) and Jauan Jennings (ankle) missed practice Wednesday, and both could be out again in Week 6 at Tampa Bay. Both missed Week 5 against the Rams and Bourne had his coming out party with 10 catches for 142 yards on 11 targets. Mac Jones, who is expected to start against the Buccaneers with Brock Purdy (toe) still hurt, seems to love to target Bourne. Tampa Bay has been in high-scoring affairs and the Niners could have to keep up. If Pearsall and Jennings are out, Bourne stands to reap the benefits again.
Tight end
Mason Taylor, Jets: The rookie tight end may have needed a couple weeks to get going. Through two weeks, Taylor had two catches for 25 yards on three targets. Taylor’s production ticked up with three catches in Week 3. But the last two weeks Taylor has scored double digit fantasy points and eclipsed 60 yards receiving in each game. Taylor had five catches for 65 yards in Week 4 and against the Cowboys, Taylor had nine catches for 67 yards on 12 targets and snared a 2-point conversion.
The LSU product is clearly growing a rapport with Justin Fields with 19 targets over the last two weeks. On the year, Taylor has 28 targets, 20 catches for 175 yards. With the amount of targets he’s receiving he’s worth an add on the waiver wire.
Harold Fannin Jr., Browns: It’s rare to have a second tight end as a waiver wire target. David Njoku is considered the top tight end for the Browns and was in Week 5 against Minnesota. However, Fannin also had four catches and a touchdown on four targets—showing he still has potential even with Njoku healthy. He also, he has additional upside knowing that if Njoku gets hurt, he would get a massive target uptick. Fannin came out like gangbusters with a seven catch, 63-yard NFL debut in Week 1. While he has had some duds, he has been targeted at least four times in every game. Fannin has also shown some nice performances and has a decent floor for a tight end. He has amassed 21 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown on 28 targets thus far.
Leave a comment