2021/2022 Week 5 Fantasy Season

Week five of the NFL season has come and gone and now we are officially over a quarter of the way through the regular season. There were a good amount of injuries and break out players in week five and week 6 also marks the first time we have teams on byes. The Jets, 49ers, Falcons, and Saints all will be on byes this week removing some key fantasy players from the equation.

Let’s look at some of the top waiver wire pickups for week 6 as well as some players to start or sit in your lineups and finally compare players one on one that could be a toss up for your lineups this week.

RB’s For Week 6 Waiver Wire

Starting out on the top waiver wire pickups for this week we have a good amount of running back options. Running backs are usually the most valuable pickups because, unlike wide receivers, they can instantly be thrust into getting 20+ touches per week.

Devontae Booker

Starting off with Devontae Booker in New York, the Giants lost Saquon Barkely most likely for week six and longer.  Booker received 89% of the snaps last week due to Barkley’s mid-game injury and is truly going to be a workhorse running back for them.  He turned in 16 carries and three catches for a combined total of 58 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in week five.

You love to see that amount of touches and production from a running back in a game that they lost by 22 points. While the matchup against the LA Rams is not great in week six for Booker, he didn’t have a good matchup or game script last week either but produced. 

Also, Barkley will likely miss more than just one game. 

Darrell Williams

Next is Darrell Williams from Kansas City who is also benefiting from an injury to Clyde Edwards-Helaire who had a MCL strain in week five.  Helaire managed seven carries before getting hurt and Williams filled in with five carries after that for 27 yards and also had three catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. 

Khalil Herbert

Lastly, Khalil Herbert got more work than expected for the Chicago Bears after Davis Montgomery’s injury that will keep him out at least a few more weeks.  Herbert outcarried Damien Williams 18 to 16 and got 75 rushing yards.  It looks like a split workload for those two that could actually slightly favor Herbert.

WR’s For Week 6 Waiver Wire

Unlike with running backs this week, wide receiver pickups may be higher owned in fantasy leagues as they are not immediate fill-ins for week five injuries. 

Kadarius Toney

The first wide receiver who has had two big weeks in a row now due to week three and four injuries is the rookie from the Giants, Kadarius Toney. Toney filled in for Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton the past two weeks and then week five the Giants actually had another injury to Galloday. 

So even if Shepard and Slayton come back for week six, it looks like Galloday won’t be, it still leaves Toney as a solid pickup.  He has been an explosive playmaker for the Giants with six catches for 78 yards in week four and then 10 catches for a ridiculous 189 yards in week five.  He even left the game early with an injury scare but appears to be alright. 

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Amon-Ra St. Brown not only has one of the most unique names we have seen in a while but also has led the Detroit Lions in targets each of the past two weeks.  He is still only about 7% rostered as well in most leagues for a number one receiver the last two weeks. 

Jared Goff’s favorite wide receiver target earlier in the year was Quintez Cephus who had a bad shoulder injury in week five and may miss the rest of the season.  This makes St. Brown even more desirable, plus he has had at least 13 fantasy points in the last two weeks in one point ppr leagues.

QB’s For Week 6 Waiver Wire

Two quarterbacks who are still available on a lot of free agency player pools are Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston but they are both on bye for week six. 

If you need a quarterback immediately look at Geno Smith on the waiver wire. 

Remember him from the Jets?  He hasn’t thrown more than 42 passes in a season since 2014 and has never thrown more than 13 touchdowns in a season but looked sharp last week. 

Smith entered the game in week five for the Seahawks after Wilson broke his finger and Smith played well in one quarter of play as he threw 131 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  He also made plays with his legs for 23 rushing yards.

TE’s For Week 6 Waiver Wire

Lastly, at tight end we have Dan Arnold who was a productive tight end for the Carolina Panthers before they unexpectedly traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

He was eased into the lineup in week four with just 18 snaps but played 52 snaps in week five and got six catches for 64 yards.  He is owned in only 4% of leagues and looks like a good rest of season pick up as well as play next week against the Dolphins.  Expect the number of snaps he gets to keep going up also every week.

Start and Sit Portion

To start off the start and sit portion let’s circle back to look at some running backs that could be good starts in week six. 

Starting out with Leonard Fournette who has not been in many starting lineups so far this year for fantasy but should be in a lot of lineups this week.  Fournette has easily strung together his best two games of the year in the last two weeks totalling 92 yard rushing on 20 carries in week four with three catches for 47 yards and then in week five had 12 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown to go with four catches for 43 yards. 

Tampa Bay looks like they are turning more to the run the last couple of weeks and Fournette has benefited from that.  Now the Bucs get the Eagles in week six and Fournette should continue to see 15 to 25 touches in this game as well.

A running back here that has missed some time this year is Darrell Henderson of the LA Rams. The Rams get the New York Giants this week and Henderson should see plenty of work. Henderson hasn’t had less than 13 carries in any game so far this year and also has three touchdowns in just four games.

This is too good of a matchup for a guy who gets consistent touches to pass up this week.

A sit for this week will have to be Chase Edmonds who has been a great ppr running back so far this season. However, in week five he was hurt by a shoulder injury that limited his production. That should be more of the same in week six as James Connor should see more work for the Cardinals.

Wide Receivers

Looking at the wide receivers this week a guy you are going to want to start in all league formats is rookie Ja’Marr Chase. Chase has been a touchdown monster so far in his NFL career with five touchdown catches in the first five weeks.  He had his best career game last week when he went for 159 receiving yards on six catches with a touchdown. 

The targets have been steadily increasing for Chase lately as well as in his first three weeks he was only averaging less than six per game but now has had nine and ten in the last two weeks.  Also, in week six he gets a great matchup against the Detroit Lions.

Another wide receiver to start is Michael Pittman Jr. who is having a breakout year in his second season. Pitman Jr. has solidified himself as the number one option in Indianapolis and the Colts are throwing the ball all over the place with Carson Wentz right now. He finally got his first touchdown last week but hasn’t had less than six catches or 59 receiving yards since week one, so he is a consistent contributor in this offense for the Colts.

A wide receiver to sit is Odell Beckham Jr. in an unfortunate situation.  OBJ had a good first game back from injury with five catches for 77 yards but since then has only had four catches for 47 yards in two weeks with no touchdowns on the season.  He may be close to requesting a trade after being used as the third receiver even when Jarvis Landry is out.

Quarterback

A quarterback who was drafted as one of the last starting quarterbacks in most leagues or even a back in some leagues in Jalen Hurts.  Hurts has proved to be matchup proof because of what he can do with his legs and the amount of points he can put up in a win or in garbage time of a blowout game. 

This week he gets the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have been beat defensively this year and especially in the secondary.  Don’t expect the Eagles to win this game but Hurts should have plenty of fantasy value in this one and looks yet again like a solid starter and even a top six option at quarterback on the week. 

A quarterback to sit in week six looks like David Carr who had been so good in the first three weeks but now has put up an average of 202 yards per game in the last two contests with only two touchdowns and now faces a tough Denver Broncos defense in week six.  

Tight end

A tight end to consider to start if you don’t have one of the top options is Mike Gesicki.  Gesicki has had a resurgence under fill-in quarterback Jacoby Brisset with 19 catches for 186 yards and a touchdown in his last three games. If Tua is back, then he still is a good option but not as great.

Robert Tonyan is a guy that many people drafted as their number one tight end but has only had more than eight yards once in five weeks. You can’t start him with that kind of downside especially since he only has one touchdown on the year as well for the Packers.

One On One Comparison Week 6 Waiver wire

Now some of your teams probably have guys that are ranked closely together this week so in this section we will look at some players one on one to see who is the better play for week six. 

RB’s

Starting with running backs, we will look at Damien Williams first.  Williams was one of the best waiver wire prizes of week five with David Montgomery going out with an injury for the Bears in week four. However, Williams actually had less carries than Herbert for the Bears but still had solid production.  He still could be a good play this week and looks to be better than this week’s waiver wire pickup in Darrell Williams for the Chiefs as the Chiefs play Washington and Damien is a better overall player and will get more touches most likely. 

Damien Williams also looks like a better play than Josh Jacobs who lost his head coach and hasn’t had a big fantasy game since week one and also faces the Denver Broncos defense. 

Leonard Fournette looks like a better option than Damien Williams as he will likely get more touches and has a better matchup this week as well as Darrell Henderson. 

Myles Gaskin finally had a big week last week after being drafted pretty high in most drafts around the third round.  He collected 10 catches and two touchdowns against the Buccaneers and now gets a great matchup against Jacksonville. 

Gaskin may be a better play than anyone we have mentioned in this section so far apart from Leonard Fournette just because he has a secure 15+ touches.  Gaskin should even be a better play than Miles Sanders who has done almost nothing this year and still has zero touchdowns. 

Some running backs who do look better in week six than Gaskin are Antonio Gibson from Washington playing the Chiefs and Joe Mixon in a great matchup against the Lions. 

Amari Cooper

An interesting wide receiver to look at for your lineups is Amari Cooper. Cooper hasn’t had more than six targets since week one but has had his fantasy value saved the last two weeks by touchdown catches.  It will be hard to trust Cooper as the Cowboys have turned more to the run this year but Cooper still looks like a decent play in week six. 

He should be played over an early season stud in Tyler Lockett.  After the injury to Russell Wilson, Lockett won’t get as many quality deep balls thrown his way which is where his fantasy value lies.

Also, Cooper still is a good play over Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielan who also had a hot start but in the last two weeks has just five total catches for 86 yards and no touchdowns and now has to face the Panthers defense.

Tee Higgins

A wide receiver who should be considered this week for your lineups due to his touchdown upside, high volume of targets, and matchup is Tee Higgins of the Bengals against the Lions. We love picking on the Lions and before Higgin’s injury he had two touchdowns in two games and in his return last week he had seven targets.

Consider him over Marvin Jones of the Jaguars and both Darnell Mooney and Allen Robinson of the Bears. He is also more reliable than his teammate Tyler Boyd who saw only five targets in Higgin’s return and has only one touchdown in five games this year. 

Rookie Devonta Smith

Rookie Devonta Smith is in a good spot this week against the Bucs to have a big game and should be a better play than Higgins as the targets and catches have been there all year for him.  Another guy to play over Higgins is Courtland Sutton who has great chemistry with Teddy Bridgewater and has a decent matchup against Las Vegas.

Top 10 Quarterback

This week we are going to look at a fringe top 10 quarterback on the week and compare him with some other guys you may have on your rosters to see who is a better play in week six. That quarterback is Aaron Rodgers who had a monster game in week five but that was his largest yardage output on the season by far.

Besides that 344 yard game in overtime last week, his biggest yardage game is only 261 and he has only thrown for more than two touchdowns one week so far. This week he gets the Chicago Bears who like to slow things down and could command a defensive and low scoring game.

A quarterback who looks better is Matt Stafford who has had a great year for the Rams.  Stafford has three games over 320 passing yards and two games with more than two touchdowns and will face the New York Giants where he could score a lot of points. 

Carson Wentz is a surprise pick here to start over Rodgers but he has been a steady fantasy quarterback and had a breakout game last week with 400 yards passing.  Wentz can also do it with his legs as he had 60 total rushing yards in their first two games. Wentz now gets the Houston Texans in a juicy fantasy matchup. 

Rodgers does look like a better play than Taylor Heinicke who has a good matchup against the Chiefs and also Joe Burrow in a good matchup against the Lions, although it is close on both of them.

Conclusion Week 6 Waiver Wire

At tight end we can compare the Rams Tyler Higbee to some other tight ends again ranked around the 10th best plays for tight ends in week six.  Higbee has been solid but inconsistent with two touchdowns on the year and has three games with four catches or more.

But if you’re looking for more consistency with touchdown upside, play both Dolphins Mike Gesicki or the Broncos Noah Fant over Higbee.  Higbee does have better upside and consistency than a tight end such as Jared Cook for the Chargers or the Eagles Zach Ertz, however as those two can completely disappear in games and end up with just one or two targets.