Week 6 Fantasy Football Waiver Adds: Feed the Pigpen, Clean the Trough
Five Sundays are in the books, the injury report looks like a crime scene, and waiver claims are due soon. This week’s list is built around the backfields and receiver rooms that just got thinner.
The ground rules: Every player in the main list below was under 50% rostered in the data we checked. Percentages vary by site, so confirm in your own ESPN, Sleeper or Yahoo league before you spend FAAB. Suggested bids are percentages of a $100 budget.
RUNNING BACKS
Dameon Pierce (RB, PHI): ~2% rostered
With Saquon Barkley week-to-week with a hamstring injury, Tank Bigsby on IR with a core injury, and Will Shipley potentially out multiple games with a plantar fascia tear, Pierce is the next man up in Philadelphia. He didn’t look good Sunday, though the Eagles’ offense did show some life. Bye-week demand at running back should make him a popular claim.
Suggested bid: 4 to 8%. He’s unexciting, but touches are touches.
Keaton Mitchell/Kimani Vidal (RBs, LAC): ~ 35 – 43% rostered
They are both a PPR add in 12-plus-team leagues. Omarion Hampton’s work load gets smaller and smaller by the week, logging only a 30% snap share in Week 5. Vidal and Mitchell are both averaging more YPC than Hampton. Add them as a flex-depth piece, not a difference-maker.
Suggested bid: 4 to 8%.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Germie Bernard (WR, PIT): ~1% rostered
He was pushed into an expanded role in Week 5 because of injuries and caught six passes for 80 yards on nine targets. Michael Pittman Jr. is on IR and Roman Wilson is expected to miss multiple weeks. Bernard looks to have the trust of Aaron Rodgers.
Suggested bid: 4 to 8%.
Kendrick Bourne (WR, ARI): ~6% rostered
With Marvin Harrison Jr. traded to Houston, Bourne slides into the number three role behind Michael Wilson and Trey McBride (not necessarily in that order). He led all wide receivers with 5 receptions on 8 targets.
Suggested bid: 4 to 6%.
Antonio Williams (WR, WAS): ~8% rostered
He’s worth stashing, and a Diggs absence would push him into a bigger role. A pure upside bench play.
Suggested bid: 2 to 4%.
Malik Washington (WR, MIA): ~39% rostered
While he won’t light the world on fire, he provides a steady floor. He’s had at least five targets and five receptions in each of the last three games giving you over 10 PPR points per game.
Suggest bid: 2 to 4%.
TIGHT ENDS
Heads up: Hockenson, Gesicki and Sam LaPorta are all on bye this week. Streaming a tight end is a real need.
Brenton Strange (TE, JAX): ~27% rostered
Over the last two weeks he has a team-high 26.2% target share and has caught 14 of 16 targets for 163 yards.
Suggested bid: 6 to 10%.
Tyler Higbee (TE, LAR): ~3% rostered
Over the last three weeks, Higbee has had at least 5 catches and 62 yards in each game, averaging 7.7 targets per game. Colby Parkinson returned this week and he still saw six targets, catching 5 of them for 83 yards.
Suggested bid: 4-6%.
Pat Freiermuth (TE, PIT): ~15% rostered
He scored two more touchdowns Sunday, his third and fourth in five weeks, and he’s getting more targets than Darnell Washington.
Suggested bid: 3 to 5%.
STASH OF THE WEEK
Jordyn Tyson (WR, NO): ~49% rostered. A Week 9 return seems likely, and he’s worth stashing, especially if you can keep him in an IR spot.
TIME TO CUT BAIT: DROP CANDIDATES
Dropping players hurts, but your bench should be working for you. These are the ones to consider cutting if you need the roster spot.
- David Montgomery (RB, HOU): He hurt his groin on Sunday and scored 1.1 points, his fourth straight week under seven. With Woody Marks taking over, there’s little reason to hold him in shallow leagues.
- Will Shipley (RB, PHI): He has a plantar fascia tear and may miss multiple games. That’s a drop unless you have an IR spot.
- Tank Bigsby (RB, PHI): He’s on injured reserve with a core injury. Same rule: cut him if you don’t have IR space.
On the bubble: Kenyon Sadiq (NYJ TE) and Michael Penix Jr. (ATL QB) both had injuries Sunday. Hold them for now, but have a replacement ready.
THE FINAL WORD
Waiver wire season rewards patience and a decent sense of timing. The biggest claims this week will be the injury replacements (Pierce, Marks), and the best stashes are the players who are one injury or one bye away from mattering (Tyson, Williams).
Don’t overspend on a player who’s a bye-week fill-in. And if you’re cutting anyone, cut the injured player with no clear return date.
That’s the pigskin life.
