The waiver options this week aren’t great. There aren’t many players that are widely available that really jump off the page at you. So this might be a week to be a little more conservative and utilize some patience. There are some interesting handcuffs to add and maybe some sleepers worth stashing, but on the surface this is a very bland week for waivers. However, that doesn’t mean we’re taking the week off so check out some players that should be on your radar ahead of Week Six!
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen BUF; FAAB Bid: 10% - The Bills are off next week, but this is still a guy worth looking at. Allen is no stranger to the waiver wire article, but he was surprisingly dropped in several leagues last week and he’s now available in about half of all ESPN and Yahoo leagues. Allen continues to struggle as a passer with nine total turnovers, but he’s still maintaining relevance with his production running. He has over 150 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. His ownership plummeted after his concussion last week, but he was cleared on Saturday and has some great matchups coming up against the Dolphins, Eagles, Redskins, Browns, and then the Dolphins again. After their bye week, that’s a very nice schedule to return to.
Kirk Cousins MIN; FAAB Bid: 7-8% - Cousins had a terrible start to the season, but after a few complaints from his teammates, an embarrassing public apology on his own podcast, and he’s turned it all around in short order and Bob’s your uncle. Cousins threw for over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Giants. Hopefully this is a promising trend for the Vikings offense that has struggled moving the ball through the air. The Vikings have some nice matchups on the horizon against the Eagles, who have a terrible secondary, followed by the Lions, Redskins, and Chiefs.
Gardner Minshew JAX; FAAB Bid: 5% - The legend that is Gardner Minshew has become quite the colt phenomenon that he’s actually been a pretty good quarterback. He has four games with multiple touchdown passes and he only has one interception so he’s been pretty disciplined with the ball. However, he has lost four fumbles in his last four games (three this past Sunday) so that is his Achilles heel. But even in four-point per passing touchdown leagues he has at least 16 points in every game he’s appeared in. He also has two games this season with at least 40 rushing yards so he can be productive with his legs. He’s mostly a deep league option or a QB2 in two-quarterback leagues, but he’s an okay option at quarterback if you’re dealing with some injuries.
Running Backs
Chase Edmonds ARI; FAAB Bid: 6-8% - Among one of the more surprising developments on Sunday was the fact that Chase Edmonds had 11 total touches in a competitive game for the Arizona Cardinals. Double-digit touches would have been understandable if the Cardinals were on either end of a blowout, but the Cardinals needed a last-second field goal to win the game. Not only that, but Edmonds was pretty productive as well. He finished with eight carries for 68 yards and a touchdown with three catches for 18 yards. He won’t always get this kind of a workload, but he might just be worth grabbing if you’re a David Johnson owner to have the security of a handcuff.
Alexander Mattison MIN; FAAB Bid: 5-6% - As mentioned up top this is mostly a handcuff option to Dalvin Cook . Cook has looked incredible this season and it all stems from the fact he’s finally healthy and is putting together quite the campaign. But Mattison might be one of the best handcuff options across the whole league. There’s the known fact that Cook has struggled to stay healthy at times, but Mattison has been getting work with 34 carries for 189 yards. When he’s gotten on the field he’s shown he’s an effective runner. Even with Cook healthy (for now) Mattison is still getting about seven carries per game. For now, he’s a stash as you can’t play him, but there’s a big opportunity for him if Cook gets hurt.
Jonathan Hilliman NYG; FAAB Bid: 4-5% - You can’t get too excited about a New York Giants running back when they’re in line for a short week of prep and the long-term prospects aren’t promising when you consider how fast Saquon Barkley is returning from injury. But Hillman could be in line for a starter’s workload this Thursday night against New England after Wayne Gallman left Sunday’s game with a concussion. Yes, the matchup is horrid since New England is giving up just 61.2 rushing yards per game, but running backs on the waiver wire haven’t been as abundant in 2019 as they have been in previous years.
Reggie Bonnafon CAR; FAAB Bid: 3-5% - Bonnafon, similar to Edmonds, had a big day on Sunday with 80 rushing yards and a touchdown. 59 of those yards came on a big touchdown run late in the fourth quarter after Christian McCaffrey had already scored three touchdowns. CMC has proven himself to be pretty durable so it would take a serious injury to McCaffrey to warrant a necessary add for Bonnafon. But in deeper formats or even dynasty leagues, Bonnafon’s worth flagging.
Wide Receivers
Will Fuller HOU; FAAB Bid: 15% - Fuller is only available in shallower leagues, but he should be owned in every league. It’s well known that he’s a big play threat and that he’s shown incredible chemistry with Deshaun Watson . He has a slow start to begin 2019, but he had 20 targets over the last three games. He just didn’t find the end zone. But boy did he find the end zone on Sunday and then some. Fuller was targeted 16 times on Sunday and caught 14 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Those are ridiculous video game numbers. He basically received half of Watson’s targets, leaving DeAndre Hopkins owners frustrated once again. Fuller will have his up-and-down weeks, but he really showcased the big play potential on Sunday. Again, he’s only available in shallow leagues, but he should be owned with a great matchup next week against the Chiefs.
Michael Gallup DAL; FAAB Bid: 12-14% - So Gallup returned from injury on Sunday and was welcomed back with 14 targets from Dak Prescott . He caught half of those for 113 yards and a touchdown. In three games played this year he now has 20 receptions on 29 targets for 339 yards and a score. Even if he’s only seeing seven or eight targets per game he’ll maintain fantasy relevance. Staying healthy will be key for him going forward, but he’s looking like a viable flex option on a weekly basis if he’s active.
Jamison Crowder NYJ; FAAB Bid: 7-8% - You may be able to get Crowder for cheap this week with people jumping ship. He hasn’t been fantasy relevant since his monstrous Week 1 performance where he had 14 receptions on 17 targets. That’s what he did in his lone game with Sam Darnold under center and it’s been all downhill since Darnold got sick. But in the event that Darnold finally returns this week, it would benefit Crowder. He won’t always see 17 targets, but half that workload would still be beneficial. In the three games without Darnold, Crowder has eight receptions for 75 yards on 14 targets. You have to imagine owners would have cut bait at this point and this could be the perfect time to scoop him up.
Auden Tate CIN; FAAB Bid: 6-7% - Tate was a pretty popular play this past week in DFS because of his cheap price tag as well as the opportunities that would find his way to him. The Bengals should be trailing in a majority of their games going forward, which means they’ll abandon the run and air it out more. This benefits Tate’s fantasy value and he could continue to see six-to-eight targets each week. His value might dip a little once A.J. Green returns, but cross that bridge when you get to it.
Darius Slayton NYG; FAAB Bid: 5% - This is a tough player to gauge because he’s behind Evan Engram , Sterling Shepard , and probably Golden Tate on the pass-catching depth chart, but he’s looked pretty good in the three games he’s played in. He’s caught 9-of-12 targets for 157 yards and a touchdown through three games. Those may not come off as that impressive, but when you consider he’s only a rookie and he has five targets in two of his three games then you have to consider him as a deep league option. As mentioned above, the Giants play the Patriots on the road Thursday night so it’s far from an ideal matchup for the rookie wideout. He could be a sneaky option for the Giants if the other three pass catchers listed above are getting all the attention by opposing defenses.
Keke Coutee HOU; FAAB Bid: 3-4% - Coutee may be pretty far down the Houston wide receiver depth chart, but all he needs is an opportunity and he’s worth a stash in deeper leagues. Fuller has had his struggles with staying healthy, despite the big game on Sunday, and we saw last year how that opened the door for Coutee. With Kenny Stills being ruled inactive, Coutee got some extra work in and caught three-of-four targets for 72 yards against Atlanta. He’s mostly worth looking at in deep leagues with some big play upside.
Byron Pringle KC; FAAB Bid: 1-2% - Take this one with a grain of salt because despite the big game Sunday night, it’s hard to trust Pringle with so many mouths to feed in Kansas City. Pringle led the way with six receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown on Sunday on nine targets. The nine targets are a surprise since he had just a pair in his last two games entering Week 5. Tyreek Hill will eventually return and get his full workload and there are still players like Travis Kelce , Demarcus Robinson , and Mecole Hardman in the mix. Pringle is strictly a deep league addition that you can cut bait with if he’s relegated to a couple targets per week.
Tight Ends
Gerald Everett LAR; FAAB Bid: 8-10% - Everett’s available in a majority of leagues and has been playing incredibly well over his last two games. He has 12 receptions on 19 targets for 180 yards and a touchdown over his last two games. With games against the 49ers, Falcons, and Bengals coming up, Everett is a good streaming option if you’ve grown frustrated by players like T.J. Hockenson , O.J. Howard , Delanie Walker , or Greg Olsen . The tight end position has been frustrating this season. Even with Tyler Higbee still in the fold, Everett has been exceptional the past couple weeks and could keep the momentum going over the next few games.
Chris Herndon NYJ; FAAB Bid: 8-10% - Just another weekly reminder that Chris Herndon is eligible to return next week. If Sam Darnold is the starting quarterback when he returns then you have to like this addition even more. I’ve been writing him up for three weeks now and nothing has changed. He might be the best tight end available on waivers.
Hayden Hurst BAL; FAAB Bid: 3-5% - If the injury to Mark Andrews proves to be pretty severe then Hayden Hurst is worth a look. Andrews went down after landing awkwardly after trying to catch a short pass from Lamar Jackson in the second half of Sunday’s game. He did return to finish the game, but when he was initially hurt he remained on the field for quite some time. Hurst doesn’t have much appeal outside of deeper leagues, but he did catch all four of his targets for 32 yards. Again, if Andrews has to miss a game or two then Hurst has some upside. For now, proceed with caution because Andrews, at this time, is just fine.
Defense/Special Teams
Washington Redskins (at MIA) – The appealing aspect of this matchup is that it’s against the Dolphins. But keep in mind, the Dolphins are fresh off their bye week, they’re playing at home, and the Redskins don’t have a great defense as they ranked 26th in defensive DVOA according to Football Outsiders. Washington can be run on with ease. The Patriots just put up 130 rushing yards on them, and Sony Michel had 91 of them and he wasn’t having a great season heading into this game. But the Dolphins offense is still pretty weak as they’ve scored just two touchdowns through four games. Washington will be pretty popular, but don’t expect them to put up the kind of fantasy numbers the Patriots did a few weeks back.
Baltimore Ravens (vs. CIN) – The Ravens opened as 10.5-point favorites against the Bengals next week and while they don’t have the prototypical dominant defense we’re used to seeing from them, they’re in too good of a spot to not notice for next week. The Bengals have a fairly inadequate offense. They’re 0-5 and have put up 20 points or fewer in four of their five games. Garbage time may reward Cincinnati with some production, but the Ravens need this kind of a game to jump start the defense because it’s been pretty bad this year.
Dallas Cowboys (at NYJ) – This matchup isn’t as interesting with Sam Darnold likely returning next week so the Jets offense should look better than it has the past three games or so. Dallas has a middle-of-the-road defense, but they could get a few sacks in this matchup against the Jets. Obviously the Redskins and Ravens are the better plays, but the Cowboys have some upside even in this road matchup.