Fantasy Football Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.
Quarterbacks
Jacoby Brissett, Colts (12% Owned): This week’s free agent selection at QB is pretty bare, but if you’re desperate Brissett could pay off. Brissett threw for 314 yards last week against the 49ers, who have a terrible defense. He also ran for a touchdown, which is the real reason I’ve included him; Brissett has three rushing TDs on the season and he has a good matchup vs. the Titans this week.
Running Backs
Eddie Lacy, Seahawks (48% Owned): None of the Seahawks are sexy to own right now, but they are worth owning. Lacy led the team with nine carries, and he averaged a pathetic 2.1 yards per carry with them. It’s hard to glean much because few RBs can impress with such a low carry total, but he seems to be first up for Pete Carroll. That’s important, because if he can get going from the jump, he has a shot to convince Carroll to ride him until the end.
C.J. Prosise, Seahawks (14% Owned): At this time, Prosise is for those with good records who can afford to stash a player. Prosise is hurt right now with an unclear timetable, but when he plays he has the most clearly defined role on the team. As the passing back, Prosise has the most capability of big plays, and with Seattle’s terrible offensive line he will be looked to frequently to bail out Russell Wilson. In his brief career, he’s averaged 5.1 yards per carry and 14.5 yards per reception. He’s high-octane.
Thomas Rawls, Seahawks (38% Owned): Rawls is the other half of the early-down duo with Lacy, and he saw eight carries last week while averaging 2.5 yards per rush. No one seems to want to seize the gig, but chances are Rawls will cost less than Lacy, if anyone even bids FAAB dollars. If anything happened to Lacy, Rawls would become a must-own, and that works in the reverse for Lacy should Rawls get injured.
Samaje Perine, Redskins (14% Owned): Nothing’s changed since the last time Perine appeared here. He’s useless if Rob Kelley is active, but Kelley is no guarantee to suit up. If Kelley is out, expect Perine to dominate the snaps – yes, even though Chris Thompson is infinitely more explosive – and rack up yardage through sheer volume.
Marlon Mack, Colts (9% Owned): Mack might be the first free agent this week who is legitimately exciting. Take his Week 5 performance with a grain of salt, as it did come against the 49ers, but he looked incredible. Mack averaged 10 yards per carry this week, scoring a touchdown, and also adding a receiving TD on his lone target of the day. Frank Gore frustratingly remains the Colts RB to own, but Gore owners need to add Mack ASAP because he is going to take over the gig.
Elijah McGuire, Jets (16% Owned): Do you like starting running backs? I can’t promise you McGuire is good, but this rookie is going to get 20+ carries this week if Bilal Powell doesn’t play. McGuire has a golden opportunity to have the Jets’ backfield to himself against what’s been a dismal Patriots’ defense. There’s a chance that New England jumps the Jets’ D early and ruins the game flow for McGuire, but regardless it’d be surprising to see him carry the rock fewer than 18 times.
Wide Receivers
Cooper Kupp, Rams (47% Owned): Kupp has seen six or more targets in four of the Rams’ five games, and has clearly become Jared Goff’s guy. I’m not sure why Goff would rather throw to Kupp than super-talented Sammy Watkins, but in Kupp’s defense he’s always been a highly productive player dating back to college. Kupp does not have fantasy WR1 upside, but he is proving to be as safe as it gets in terms of opportunity.
Allen Hurns, Jaguars (49% Owned): Hurns turned in a dud last week, and that’s going to happen here and there. He is still the Jaguars’ top receiver, and he’s still going to have some weeks where you confuse him for a WR1. RB Leonard Fournette’s dominance limits Hurns’ upside below what he was as a 2015 breakout, but he continues to be a weekly threat for TDs.
Nelson Agholor, Eagles (31% Owned): Agholor’s targets are consistently around 5-7, and while most weeks he’ll only give you around 40-50 yards, he has big play upside. In deep leagues, that has value when bye weeks deplete your roster of comfortable options. You will never feel comfortable throwing Agholor in there, but some weeks he’s going to put up sick stats.
Tight Ends
David Njoku, Browns (7% Owned): Remember what it was like to own Hunter Henry last season? How he would be barely targeted but just…voila… have a TD? That’s Njoku this year. He’s a 6’4, 246-lb. beast of a man who is scoring a touchdown every five targets. Njoku hasn’t seen more than four targets in any game, but he’s scored in three of his last four games. TE this year has been pretty gross, so you might as well take a shot at a kid with legitimate upside.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jets (28% Owned): Seferian-Jenkins is just a guy getting targeted. It’s that simple. ASJ is averaging six targets per game, and he found the end zone last week. His upside is bottom half of the Top 10 moving forward, but that’s pretty much also his floor.