Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 6: Woody Marks and Germie Bernard step up

After a marginally less injury-plagued Week 5, it’s time for another round of waivers. These are my waiver and FAAB targets headed into Week 6.

▶ Quarterback

Kirk Cousins, Raiders

Cousins is the highest-scoring quarterback who is rostered in fewer than half of Yahoo leagues. He cooled off in Week 5 versus the Patriots but still has three games of 20+ points to his name. The Raiders take on the Bills in a game with a 52.5-point team total this week. Even though the Bills own most of the points from that total, it’s a great matchup for Cousins. Buffalo ranks 27th in EPA per dropback allowed.

Jameis Winston, Giants

Winston has shaken off a dreadful first start with two solid performances. He has 576 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions—both of which came two weeks ago—in his past two starts. He is the QB7 in EPA per play over that stretch. He’s also playing his normal, gun-slinging style with the fourth-highest aDOT in the NFL over the past two weeks.

Aaron Rodgers, Steelers

Rodgers is the No. 2 scoring quarterback with less than 50 percent Yahoo rostership. He is coming off three games in a row with three touchdown passes and is one of just four quarterbacks with more than 30 pass attempts in all five games this year. The Steelers are fourth in the league in pass rate over expected, and Rodgers is eighth in total attempts. That’s enough to keep him in the QB2 mix versus the Bucs this week.

▶ Running Back

Woody Marks, Texans

Marks is a “Not in My League” first-ballot hall of famer, but he is only rostered in 53 percent of Yahoo leagues. David Montgomery went down with a groin injury in Week 5 and is expected to miss some time. Marks gave up one snap and no touches to Dare Ogunbowale. Maybe he is more involved after a week of game-planning, but it looks like Marks will be a workhorse with Montgomery out. If you have any FAAB left, this is where to spend it.

Dameon Pierce, Eagles

It’s a thin week at running back outside of Marks. Pierce entered Week 5 as Will Shipley’s backup, but the latter left with a foot injury and did not return. If both he and Saquon Barkley are out for Week 6, Pierce would be next in line. Carson Steele did not play a snap in Week 5 despite being active, so the Eagles seem to trust Pierce to handle the bulk of the touches.

The bad news is that it’s the Eagles offense. They have been terrible this year and Pierce isn’t exactly the type to overcome a bad environment. Pierce is a 5-10% FAAB option at most.

Kimani Vidal, Chargers

Vidal’s snap share and route rate have increased in every game this year. They hit 41 percent and 39 percent in Week 5. He still managed just eight carries. On the other hand, he almost certainly made the Chargers’ best play on offense (or defense) of the year.

Omarion Hampton is still the lead back between the tackles, but Vidal could challenge for a 1B role on the ground while also being the primary route runner.

Kendre Miller, Saints

The Saints continued with their three-headed monster of a backfield in Week 5, but Miller at least pulled away as the top option between the tackles. He led the team with 10 attempts for 30 yards and a score. Alvin Kamara and CJ Donaldson combined for five carries. Miller’s touch total should increase in Week 6 versus the Giants, as opposed to the low-scoring loss to the Vikings he played through in Week 5. But it’s still a role comprised mostly of low-value touches on an offense that doesn’t want to run the football. Miller is a desperation RB4 for Week 6.

▶ Wide Receiver

Germie Bernard, Steelers

Steelers wideouts are dropping like flies. Michael Pittman Jr. was placed on injured reserve last week and will miss at least three more games. Roman Wilson suffered a finger injury in Week 5 and will reportedly miss “a couple of weeks.” Even depth option Ben Skowronek went down with a calf injury on Sunday. That leaves Bernard as the clear WR2 on one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the league. Bernard led the Steelers with nine targets versus Indianapolis. His six catches tied Jaylen Warren for a team high and his 80 yards were just seven shy of Warren. Bernard is a highly drafted rookie who is earning targets and stepping into a larger role. That’s the type of player you want to spend FAAB on. I’m getting down 20-25% on him.

Malik Washington, Dolphins

If you’ve read this article in any of the previous weeks, you already know the drill. Washington earns loads of targets. He doesn’t do much with them. Washington led the Dolphins with eight targets in Week 5. He caught six for 43 and added 18 yards on his lone carry. If you need a steady WR4 option, he’s your guy.

Kendrick Bourne, Cardinals

Arizona traded Marvin Harrison Jr. to Houston over the weekend, freeing up the WR2 role for someone, but we don’t exactly know who that is yet. Bourne led the team with 70 receiving yards on five catches. He ran 61 percent of the routes and earned a 16 percent target share, both of which tied with Jalen Brooks, who went for a measly 16 yards. Bourne was operating as the team’s WR3 before MHJ was traded and was more productive on Sunday, making him the clear choice of the two. But his role isn’t as guaranteed as the yardage total in Week 5 would suggest.

Demario Douglas, Patriots

Mack Hollins was placed on IR ahead of Week 5 and A.J. Brown is currently parked there as well, though he is eligible to return this week. This is how the volume shook out with both of those players sidelined:

Douglas was the most productive for fantasy purposes via two touchdowns, but he continued to play his slot-only role. He hasn’t been efficient this year either, averaging a team-worst 1.2 yards per route run. Kyle Williams is the team’s most efficient wideout this year at 2.4 YPRR, but that has come on the fewest routes, which held true in Week 5. Efton Chism is somehow the best balance of routes and production. His mark of .23 targets per route leads the team—aside from Brown—and his 1.9 YPRR trails only Williams. He ran three quarters of the routes in Week 5 while playing both in the slot and outside. This situation is ultimately a stay-away for me, but if you feel compelled to add a Patriot, Chism is the guy.

Dontayvion Wicks, Eagles

The Eagles are a similarly messy situation. Darius Cooper keeps scoring touchdowns but earned just three targets in Week 5. Wicks, on the other hand, has at least 17 percent of Jalen Hurts’ targets and 21 percent of his air yards in every game this year but hasn’t pushed past 15.3 PPR points in a week. First-round rookie Makai Lemon is seeing modest target totals and they’re mostly check-downs or screens, which never seem to work.

Wicks is the best fantasy option here until DeVonta Smith returns. Much like the New England wideouts, this is an easy spot to avoid.

Adonai Mitchell, Jets

Mitchell has been out for three weeks with a finger injury. There has been no clear timeline for his return, so this may be more of a long-term play if he isn’t back for Week 6. Mitchell had a 25 percent target share and an absurd 57 percent air yards share through two games. When he’s healthy again, Mitchell will put up at least WR3 numbers.

Jordyn Tyson, Saints

Tyson is available in just over half of all Yahoo leagues. If your roster is shallow and doesn’t have an IR spot, maybe you can’t afford to stash him yet. If you have the extra space for him, Tyson is a phenomenal investment. We probably won’t see him until Week 9, after the Saints’ bye. Once he’s up to full speed, the top-10 pick should easily overtake Devaughn Vele as the team’s WR2. Despite imploding in Week 5, the Saints are 12th in passing yards per game and second in attempts per game. Tyson is both a bet on talent and opportunity.

▶ Tight End

Brenton Strange, Jaguars

Strange is heating up with 14 catches for 163 yards over the past two weeks. He has led the team in receptions in back-to-back games. That isn’t a fluke either. Strange has seen 32 percent of the Jags’ first-read targets during his two-game breakout. Parker Washington is the only other Jag with more than six first-read targets in the past two weeks, and he is still three shy of Strange.

Pat Freiermuth, Steelers

The Muth found the end zone twice on Sunday and easily posted his best fantasy score of the season. Touchdowns aside, it was also his best game by usage. His 79 percent route rate and 21 percent target share were both season-highs. He accounted for a massive 42 percent of Aaron Rodgers’ air yards, which is also a new high-water mark. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this happened after Pittsburgh lost its WR2 and WR3. Muth is a solid streaming option for Week 6.