Waiver Wire Week 6 Pickups

Waiver Wire Week 6 Pickups 

Our first bye week came and went, so on to the next. This week, four more teams will get a break. Those teams are the Kansas City Chiefs, the Miami Dolphins, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Minnesota Vikings. This means fantasy managers will be without players like Justin Jefferson, Kyren Williams, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill. As injuries pile up, making the right waiver wire moves could be the difference between a win and a loss. No matter where your fantasy squad is weakest, by now (unless you’ve been very fortunate), you are looking for bye-week fill-ins, injury replacements, or just some much-needed depth. The names below will be able to help you with all three. Here are my waiver wire additions for Week 6.

Caleb Williams (QB)

Chicago Bears, 60% Rostered

Being owned in 60% of leagues may mean that Caleb Williams is unavailable. But if he isn’t I would scoop him up. Williams has improved every week and is coming off of his best week as a passer. Against the Carolina Panthers, Williams completed 20 of 29 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The D.J. Moore/Caleb Williams connection everyone was hoping for at the beginning of the season seems to be coming to fruition, as both scores went to Moore. All this resulted in a top-six fantasy finish at the position and nearly 30 fantasy points (23.56 in leagues that award four points per passing touchdown.) Williams has eclipsed 20 fantasy points in two of his last three games and will now travel to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville is allowing the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks with 23 fantasy points per game. If your starter is on bye, injured, or simply underwhelming, Williams is a great option.

Tank Bigsby (RB)

Jacksonville Jaguars, 31% Rostered

Travis Etienne is reportedly still dealing with a shoulder injury, which has led to more time for backup Tank Bigsby, and Bigsby has taken his opportunity and (pardon the pun) run with it. Jacksonville just got their first win of the season and it was Bigsby, not Etienne, who found the production on the ground. Against the Colts, Bigsby garnered 13 carries for 101 yards (a career high) and two scores. This was good enough for over 25 fantasy points which made him the overall RB1 for the week. If this were just a one-week trend I’d say to ignore it, but Bigsby has been the leading rusher for the Jaguars in three of the four games he’s been active this season. Due to his limited role in the passing game (he only has one target all season) Bigsby’s value is higher in non and half-PPR, but he should be added in all formats. The Jaguars have a tough matchup this week against the Bears, so I wouldn’t recommend just plugging Bigsby into your lineup unless you have to, but he is leading the league in yards per carry (8) so adding him and playing him in the right matchups would be a smart move.

Tyrone Tracy (RB)

New York Giants, 34% Rostered

With Devin Singletary sidelined, rookie Tyrone Tracy was given the start and absolutely shined. While he failed to find the end zone, Tracy ran the ball 18 times for 129 yards (7.17 yards per carry) and finished as the RB16. That’s not bad for someone still on the waiver wire in over 65% of leagues. He also showed some of his explosiveness with two runs of 25+ yards. Still, Singletary could return in Week 6, which would relegate Tracy to backup duties akin to the type of workload he saw the first four weeks. This would not be enough to make him fantasy-relevant except for the most desperate of managers. But if Singletary needs another week to get healthy, Tracy could be in a good spot to produce against a Bengals defense giving up over 23 points to the position. Even if Singletary is good to go though, Tracy is a recommended stash in case of a re-aggravation or if the coaching staff begins to sprinkle him in a bit more after his big week. Singletary has been inconsistent this season. If that continues, seeing what they have in their rookie as the season goes on would make a lot of sense.

Jalen Tolbert (WR)

Dallas Cowboys, 17% Rostered

At first, I was not ready to buy into the Jalen Tolbert breakout narrative. Every season there are wide receivers who flash in specific weeks, only to fall back into the trash heap of irrelevancy. But Tolbert is beginning to look like he may have staying power after setting career highs in targets (10), catches (7), and receiving yards (87) against the Steelers on Sunday Night Football. He also made the game-winning TD catch which is only going to help the case that he should be on the field. His 10 targets were one more than CeeDee Lamb, and while we can’t expect that every week, Tolbert has had at least nine targets in two of his last four games and has produced double-digit fantasy points (including a top-12 finish this past week) in three of his last four. With Brandin Cooks on injured reserve, I’d grab Tolbert if you have the space to do so. While Cooks is sidelined, Tolbert looks like the clear No. 2 option in this passing attack and a solid flex with WR2 upside. Even when Cooks can return, Tolbert may have performed well enough to keep that role. 

Juju Smith-Schuster (WR)

Kansas City Chiefs, 6% Rostered

Coming into Monday Night Football we were all wondering who would step up in the absence of Rashee Rice (an absence that is likely for the entire season) and if this week is any indication, we found our answer. Against the Saints, Juju Smith-Schuster caught seven of eight targets for 130 yards. This resulted in 16.5 half-PPR points and a top-15 finish at the position. To put that into perspective, Smith-Schuster only had 260 yards all last season with the Patriots. While that type of production is not likely to happen every week, I expect him to continue to be involved in a passing game that is trying to find some consistency. This will make him useful in fantasy, especially in PPR formats. If you need help at the position then Smith-Schuster should be on your radar. The Chiefs are on a bye week in Week 6, so even if you’re just looking for depth at the position, it’s the perfect time to snatch him up while the rest of your league targets players that can help them this week. At worst, Smith-Schuster should be a decent flex play (with some upside) for the rest of the season.

Tyler Conklin (TE)

New York Jets, 29% Rostered

Tyler Conklin has been mentioned previously as someone to keep an eye on, but he is currently only rostered in 29% so clearly not everyone has gotten the memo. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. The Jets’ offense is a mess right now. Still, TE Tyler Conklin has received steady volume with at least six targets in his last three games. He also has at least 55 yards in two of those games. He has yet to find the end zone but with his usage and snap share (at least 80% in every game this season) it feels like a matter of time before he scores. Aaron Rodgers did get banged up this past week but the initial reports are that he should be good to go in Week 6, and any player who has the trust of Rodgers should be taken seriously in fantasy. I don’t see league-winning upside with Conklin, but any tight end playing over 80% of the snaps (over 90% in four of his five games) and demanding 6-9 targets per game should be rostered in more than 29% of leagues.

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