Week 6 Waiver Wire Wonders

Week 3 Fantasy Preview
Los Angeles Chargers Wide Receiver Mike Williams. Photo Credit: Ryan Dyrud | LAFB Network

Hello and welcome back LAFB Network fam! Hopefully, you were able to secure that Week 5 win and don’t need to race to the wire to see who your team can roster. But if you lost and do need to check out the wire, no worries friend, we’re always here to bring you up when you are down.

Week 5 of the NFL brought us many happy and sad moments. The Raiders took down the Chiefs in a classic David and Goliath cinematic adventure. The Dallas Cowboys took a huge hit on their offense losing Dak Prescott for the season due to a gruesome ankle injury. And somehow the Atlanta Falcons are still winless with mighty players like Todd Gurley, Matt Ryan, Calvin Ridley, and Julio Jones leading the team.

Well enough of the small talk, let’s get down to the good stuff.

Week 6 Waiver Wire Wonders

Quarterback

(MIN) Kirk Cousins vs Atlanta Falcons

owned in about 32% of fantasy leagues

This is week two with Mr. Kirk Cousins finding his way on our waiver article. Last week against the Seahawks he proved to have a favorable matchup going 27 of 39, 249 yards, with two TDs and a pick. Overall he totaled 18.2 points and this week he gets an even juicier lay-up with the Falcons soft secondary. Kirk is beginning to look like a weekly starter with some nice matchups coming up but be wary. He has shown at times that when the Vikings are running the ball, they will finish the game only running the ball.

(MIA) Ryan Fitzpatrick vs New York Jets

owned in about 21% of fantasy leagues

For some reason, many fantasy managers don’t believe Fitzpatrick is the real deal. Sure he’s been on more teams than fingers on your hand, but when do we stop holding it against him? We saw it plenty of times last season when Fitz was tossing it to DeVante Parker, so I don’t think we should hold him to such a low standard.

Sure he’s the primetime stand-in QB for teams getting their young QBs acclimated to professional ball, but he’s also a dynamic player. We know this because of fantasy football and his beautiful points he’s been putting up. On the year, Fitzpatrick has been averaging 21.4 fantasy points a game proving he should be on your roster.

(DAL) Andy Dalton vs Arizona Cardinals

owned in 3% of fantasy leagues

Did you just lose Dak for the rest of the season? Well, you’re in luck because Andy Dalton is available in practically all fantasy leagues. Now I am not saying to go blow your waiver priority or FAAB on Dalton because there might be better options out there, but he should at least look very tempting to roster.

Personally, I don’t believe he’ll put up the same production as Dak because if he were he’d be the starter but I do think that he might be the right option to have in his particular situation in Dallas. He and A.J. Green were like peanut butter and jelly at some point in his career so who’s to say he couldn’t do that again with Amari Cooper or CeeDee Lamb?

Running Back

(DET) Adrian Peterson @ Jacksonville Jaguars

owned in about 55% of fantasy leagues

As it stands the Lions have the worst rush defense in the NFL. A couple of pegs under them are the Jacksonville Jaguars but I can’t tell you to go pick up James Robinson because he is most likely taken. AP, on the other hand, might still be available.

As it is, the Lions don’t have much of a rushing game since they have to play catchup but when they run, AP gets the ball. He is leading the backfield with 54 carries and pushed rookie D’Andre Swift further down the depth chart. AP has been averaging 4.5 yards a carry, as well as about 13 carries a game.

(MIN) Alexander Mattison vs ATL

owned in about 40% of fantasy leagues

I have to tell you guys, half the fun of the waiver article is figuring out which teams are losing players and who will take their spot. Andy Dalton is now on the wire after being dumped by the Bengals, we saw Mike Davis on waivers for Week 2 because of CMC’s injury, and now we have Alexander Mattison on the wire.

There is a kind of insurance policy that you must embark on when you have one of those first five picks in the fantasy draft. For example, I have Alvin Kamara on a few of my fantasy teams. I also have Latavius Murray on a lot of those same teams.

This “handcuff’ mentality is for situations like this. Dalvin Cook has an injury scare, so now Alexander Mattison has huge fantasy relevancy. Normally you could just scoop them up in the waiver if you had priority or bid enough FAAB but with this method, you don’t have to worry about any of that.

(LAC) Justin Jackson Bye Week

owned in about 44% of fantasy leagues

As shown, Jackson is on a bye this week but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a look to see if you can scoop him off the wire. The Chargers are still missing a little bit of a zing on their offense and it’s not the hot rookie Justin Herbert.

It is clear the Chargers have some large shoes to fill but right now it’s up in the air. Jackson has been looking more like their rushing man while Joshua Kelley handles less and less rushing work. Take your shot on either you can get your hands on, the Chargers have been looking like a good squad this year, fantasy-wise.

Wide Receiver

(LAC) Mike Williams Bye Week

owned in about 40% of fantasy leagues

Like Justin Jackson, Mike Williams has a bye this week. Now this waiver option is more based on the health of Keenan Allen. You’ll want to monitor the Allen situation to know whether or not you should pull the trigger on Williams.

(JAX) Laviska Shenault vs Detroit Lions

owned in about 34% of fantasy leagues               

Another WR that went down on Sunday was D.J. Chark. This of course influenced some of my decision to bring Shenault to your attention but I believe there might be more to it. Chark left the game in the 4th quarter and after doing so he finished the game with four targets, three receptions, and 16 yards.

In that 4th quarter, both Shenault and Chark had two receptions. That would equate to half of Chark’s overall production. Shanault, on the other hand, was more involved throughout the game finishing with eight targets, seven receptions, and 79 yards. Clearly, Shenault was getting some extra love because of the attention Chark requires but Shenault might be emerging as the No. 2 WR for this corps of receivers.

(PIT) Chase Claypool vs Cleveland Browns

owned in about 16% of fantasy leagues

Before you guys start rolling your eyes and think, “Gee, which player on the Steelers was hurt.” It was Diontae Johnson after taking a big hit during a punt, but I would like to state that Claypool has been included in the offense before this injury occurred. Before the past Sunday, Claypool averaged at least 19.5 yards per catch and even dabbled in the rushing game. Throw a big claim on Claypool in your waivers but don’t be surprised if his big performance sparked some of your league mates to do the same.

(PHI) Greg Ward / Travis Fulgham vs Baltimore Ravens

Fulgham owned in about 3% of fantasy leagues

Ward owned in about 14% of fantasy leagues

Looking for a throw in the dark? Well, any receiving option on the Philadelphia Eagles is definitely starting to look like it. Travis Fulgham has only started in two games this season but in those two games, he’s done something special. He’s scored. Yes, both of his scores this season have come in each of his starts, which means every time the man steps on the field he gets a score. Obviously, this stat is easily manipulated but there’s a problem in Philly and he seems to be part of the solution.

Another part of the Eagle’s solution could be Greg Ward. Since Week 2 Ward hasn’t had less than five targets a game. Ward actually leads the Eagles in targets and receptions with 31 and 22 respectively. He and Travis are also the only receivers to catch a TD pass from Carson Wentz.

Tight End

(JAX) Tyler Eifert vs Detroit Lions

owned in about 8% of fantasy leagues

Feel like I have an obsession with Jacksonville players? Yeah, I’m starting to think that too. Anyways, Tyler Eifert completes our finds for this week because of his target share when the Jags are in a shootout. In the past four games, each of the opponents that faced the Jaguars scored over 30 points. In those four games, Eifert has accumulated 22 targets.

Sure they’re nothing fancy but one of those targets can easily become a score and end up winning you a week. The Lions have the weapons to get the points on the board, as well as defense to let the Jags do the same thing. If you have Darren Waller, Jared Cook, or Hunter Henry on bye, Eifert could help fill out your roster at a low cost.