Fantasy Football Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice
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
Jameis Winston, Buccaneers (19% Owned): Winston’s return to action was messy, including two interceptions. He also threw a TD though, and completed 80 percent of his passes overall. I don’t think he’s a good NFL quarterback, but he’s working with the same weapons that allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick to put up 400+ yards in three straight games. His next two games are at Atlanta, and home for the Browns, so the opportunity for him to masquerade as a QB 1 is glaring.
Derek Carr, Raiders (44% Owned): Carr put up a stinker, I get it. I still see the volume there for him, as well as a plethora of capable options in the passing game. I cannot figure out for the life of me how Amari Cooper ever gets one target in a game, but if they can figure out how to involve him consistently, Carr can become a must-start. His upcoming matchups vs. the Seahawks, Colts and 49ers are also inviting.
Running Backs
Corey Clement, Eagles (24% Owned): Clement is practicing fully, so he is now the No. 1 add of the week in the wake of Jay Ajayi’s torn ACL. Like the Patriots’ formerly messy backfield, the Eagles’ situation is clear. Clement is most likely to be the top dog, with Wendell Smallwood carving out some work until Darren Sproles is healthy. In his last healthy outing Clement rushed for 56 yards on 16 carries; that’s not ideal production, but it is an ideal workload. Clement’s upcoming matchups (at Giants, Panthers, at Jaguars) are rough, but high volume players with a modicum of talent don’t grow on trees. Spend freely.
Alfred Morris, 49ers (42% Owned): Morris is a plodder, plain and simple. But Matt Breida got hurt last week, and right now Morris is the only show in town. For as long as Breida is out, Morris is a volume-heavy RB2. Don’t expect any blowup games, but you can safely count on him for 50-70 yards, with the threat of a short-yardage touchdown.
Wendell Smallwood, Eagles (7% Owned): Smallwood is a back to add in the event that Darren Sproles is still too banged up to play. In Sproles’ absence Smallwood has proven a capable pass-catcher, and he has high-end RB2 upside if Clement goes down again. Don’t go nuts because Clement is on track to play, but Ajayi owners might want to invest some FAAB capital. For what it’s worth, Smallwood is averaging six yards per carry, so he will likely be involved even when Sproles is back.
Frank Gore, Dolphins (10% Owned): Gore has notched double-digit carries in back-to-back games, and any RB getting 10+ carries needs to be owned. He’s only rushed for 41 and 63 yards in those games, but he remains someone serviceable who can be thrown in during your regulars’ bye weeks.
LeGarrette Blount, Lions (12% Owned): Blount should be owned by anyone who owns Kerryon Johnson. He is not very good, but the Lions insist on giving him carries. If Johnson gets hurt, Blount is a volume-based RB2. If you own Kerryon Johnson, you really should handcuff him.
C.J. Anderson, Panthers (24% Owned): Anderson should be rostered by all Christian McCaffery owners. That is all.
Wide Receivers
Christian Kirk, Cardinals (9% Owned): Kirk is the Cardinals receiver you want. Larry Fitzgerald is hurt and looking his age, and the Cardinals let some veteran receivers walk in favor of drafting Kirk in the second round. He put up 85 yards and a score last week, and 90 yards two weeks ago. He is developing a rapport with fellow rookie QB Josh Rosen, and is easily Arizona’s most explosive pass-catcher. He won’t cost you much, but he’s a sneaky good add.
Keke Coutee, Texans (34% Owned): Coutee benefited from heavy volume without Will Fuller in Week 4, but with Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins on the field last week, Coutee still was a factor. His rushing touchdown was fluky, but he also caught six passes for 51 yards and a score while Fuller was invisible. That doesn’t mean they won’t flip roles from time to time, but Coutee is absolutely worth owning, especially in three-WR leagues.
Taywan Taylor, Titans (12% Owned): I guess no one liked my big push for Taylor, because he’s still only 12 percent owned. He didn’t perform well last week, catching just three passes for 30 yards and seeing a reduction in snap percentage. I’m not overly concerned about it. You’re not relying on Taylor to be an every-week starter, and he is a more explosive, dangerous player than Taaje Sharpe, with whom he’s competing for work. He’ll cost you nothing now, and he should still be considered the No. 2 option in the Titans’ passing game.
Courtland Sutton, Broncos (6% Owned): Sutton is a beast. The 6’3, 218-lb. rookie has seen six targets in back-to-back games, hinting at a possible, eventual takeover of the No. 2 receiver role. As Demaryius Thomas slows down, Sutton seems like a natural successor. It hasn’t happened yet –Thomas had a throwback game in Week 5 -- but Sutton also hauled in a touchdown pass last week, salvaging a meek 18-yard game. He’s not trustworthy yet, but now’s the time to scoop him up and let him blossom.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Packers (9% Owned): Valdez-Scantling stepped up when called on, catching seven passes for 68 yards and a touchdown (very close to two TDs). His role could be severely diminished as Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison heal up, but it’s possible for him to surpass those two, as both have had their underwhelming moments. He’s not one of the most important adds, but he’s worth stashing to see if his role is expanded.
Robby Anderson, Jets (34% Owned): Anderson finally exploded last week, putting up 123 yards and two touchdowns. You can’t rely on Anderson week-to-week, but he’s one of the fastest players in the NFL, and he can catch a bomb in any given week. He’s playable as a FLEX in good matchups, especially as the Jets coaches’ confidence in QB Sam Darnold increases.
Chris Godwin, Buccaneers (38% Owned): Godwin is a decent add here with Tampa Bay’s favorable schedule coming up, and O.J. Howard’s big, red-zone friendly body missing. He only saw two targets vs. Chicago, then had a bye week, so he’s off people’s radar. But he soaked up 16 targets combined in the two weeks prior to the Bears debacle, and we don’t know his chemistry yet with Winston. He’s talented enough to have on the bench with a wait-and-see approach.
Tight Ends
Cameron Brate, Buccaneers (30% Owned): Continuing on the theme of likely Bucs production, Brate is the clear TE add of the week with O.J. Howard out for the next few games. Brate is a proven red zone threat, and he has a known rapport with Winston. He scored eight and six touchdowns in the previous two seasons, respectively, so with the TE role all his I like him a lot.
Geoff Swaim, Cowboys (9% Owned): Swaim is an emergency/bye week option, but in a Cowboys passing game utterly devoid of weapons, Dak Prescott has targeted Swaim 15 times in the last three games. Swaim has responded by being serviceable, piling up at least 39 yards in all three games. It’s not pretty, but the position is ugly and Swaim offers non-zero consistency.