Injuries galore and the start to bye weeks will make this a very competitive waiver cycle.
Saquon Barkley, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Daniel Jones, Maxx Williams, Travis Kelce, Joe Burrow, Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, Taysom Hill and Damien Harris all suffered injuries of varying degrees of severity in Week 5.
Four teams are on bye this week and managers will need to find one-week fill-ins for stars like Matt Ryan, Kyle Pitts, Calvin Ridley and Cordarrelle Patterson from Atlanta; Alvin Kamara and Corey Davis from New Orleans and the Jets, respectively; and Deebo Samuel, Elijah Mitchell and Trey Lance from the 49ers.
Whether you need replacements for Barkley, Edwards-Helaire, Pitts or Kamara — or a Week 6 streamer — make sure to check out The Action Network's top targets at each position, all of which are available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues, that you should prioritize come Tuesday night.
Note: Yahoo! roster percentages are reflected in parenthesis and as of Monday.
Fantasy Waiver Wire Adds
Quarterbacks
Taylor Heinicke, Washington (16% rostered)
Heinicke struggled in Week 5 and completed 20 of 41 for 248 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. He tacked on 40 rushing yards, and better days are definitely ahead against the Chiefs, who are allowing the fourth-most passing yards per game and a league-high 32.6 points per game.
It helps Heinicke from a fantasy aspect that Washington's defense has been very underwhelming, too. He should be a high-end QB2 with low-end QB1 upside in that plush matchup.
Priority: Medium to high if streaming quarterbacks, or need a replacement for Lance/Ryan.
Teddy Bridgewater, Broncos (18%)
Bridgewater had a fairly strong outing, falling just a hair shy of 20 fantasy points. He has been a serviceable starter in three of five games this year and gets the Raiders next week. You could do worse than Bridgewater as a bye week fill-in.
Priority: Medium if streaming quarterbacks, or need a bye-week fill-in.
Jacoby Brissett, Dolphins (3%)
Brissett makes this list in a very lean week for quarterback waivers based on matchup alone. He completed 27 of 39 attempts for 275 yards, two touchdowns and one interception against the Buccaneers in Week 5 and faces the Jaguars in London in Week 6. He might be worth hanging on to in Week 7 against the Falcons as a deep-league streamer.
Priority: Low to medium if streaming quarterbacks, or need a bye-week fill-in.
Jameis Winston, Saints (34%)
He looked like vintage Winston in the team's Week 5 win over Washington, completing 15 of 30 attempts for 279 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and rushed six times for 26 yards. It was his first solid performance since Week 1 when he finished as QB4.
The upward trajectory in passing attempts and subsequently yards is encouraging. The Saints have a Week 6 bye, but if you want to beat the waiver wire rush, he could be a worthwhile add now as a potential QB1 streamer, especially in Week 7 against Seattle.
Priority: Low to medium.
Running Backs
Devontae Booker, Giants (6%)
One of the biggest injuries of the day came in an injury-riddled Giants-Cowboys game: Star running back Saquon Barkley appeared to have suffered an ankle injury that left his ankle looking like a grapefruit. Giants fans and the fantasy community breathed a sigh of relief, however, after it was revealed he escaped a major injury and there were no broken bones.
Barkley was diagnosed with a low-ankle sprain and is listed as week-to-week with optimism he could return as early as Week 7 against Carolina. Booker should see the majority of the work while Barkley is sidelined. He saw 16 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown and caught three of four targets for 16 yards and a receiving touchdown.
He should be a great streamer so long as Barkley is out and a worthwhile insurance policy to roster given Barkley's injury history, but I would not overspend on what could be a one-week rental.
Priority: High.
Darrel Williams, Chiefs (16%)
Year 2 running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire suffered some sort of knee injury during Sunday night's marquee matchup against the Bills. He was visibly in pain and was taken to the locker room for further evaluation, finishing his outing with seven rushes for 13 yards and a catch for 11 yards.
There's little use in speculating how long he'll be out without knowing the extent of the injury, but if he misses time, Williams should stand to see a significant uptick in work. He saw five carries for 27 yards and caught three of five passes for 18 yards.
His ceiling is a bit capped given we may see some Jerick McKinnon sprinkled in, but he's still on the Chiefs who have to put up titanic numbers to offset their defense's shortcomings and keep them afloat.
Priority: Medium to high.
Khalil Herbert, Bears (19%)
Damien Williams was last week's top waiver add amid news that bell-cow running back David Montgomery would be placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. Williams had a strong game and saw 16 attempts for 64 yards and a touchdown and caught two of three passes for 20 yards.
He didn't exactly take over Montgomery's role, however, and was out-touched by Herbert, who saw 18 carries for 75 yards. This could be a timeshare so long as Montgomery is sidelined, meaning Herbert could be in line to see more touches in the weeks to come.
Priority: Medium.
Samaje Perine, Bengals (27%)
Joe Mixon was questionable to play in the team's Week 5 matchup against the Packers while battling an ankle injury. He started the game, but saw just 10 carries for 33 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for two yards. He was out-touched by backup Samaje Perine, who saw 11 carries for 59 yards and caught four of five targets for 24 yards and a touchdown.
It's clear Mixon was limited in this game, and given his injury history, could be limited in weeks to come.
Perine is proving to be a valuable insurance policy and could be a nice start in Detroit next week, though it's worth noting he was placed on the COVID-19/reserve list, which could impact his Week 6 availability. If he were to miss the game, Chris Evans at 2% rostered could be an interesting dart throw.
Priority: Medium.
Giovani Bernard, Buccaneers (16%)
Bernard was the No. 2 back behind Leonard Fournette in the team's 45-17 blowout win over the Dolphins. He saw four carries for 21 yards and caught two of two passes for 14 yards and a touchdown.
Bernard had been heavily utilized in the Buccaneers' passing game in Week 3 (he missed Week 4) when he caught nine of 10 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown with zero rushing attempts. He could be a valuable PPR add in deeper leagues, especially with Ronald Jones' role dwindling.
Priority: Low to medium.
Brandon Bolden, Patriots (9%)
Bolden appears to have taken over the role James White vacated as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. He caught six of six targets for 51 yards in Week 4 and caught four of four targets for six yards. It obviously wasn't an efficient outing, though the Patriots struggled all around in that game.
Bolden could be a valuable PPR asset, especially if Damien Harris — who committed a costly fumble and might be in the doghouse with Bill Belichick — stands to miss time with a rib injury.
Priority: Low to medium.
Wide Receivers
Kadarius Toney, Giants (17% rostered)
Toney posted a monster game on Sunday for the Giants, who were severely shorthanded in the game. Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton are still sidelined with hamstring injuries, and Kenny Golladay injured his knee in the first half of play and would not return.
Toney recorded 10 catches on 13 targets for 189 yards and may be the team's No. 1 option for now. It will be interesting to see how this wide receiver corps shakes out once Slayton, Shepard and Golladay are all healthy, though I foresee the first-round pick from Florida will have carved out a role for himself regardless.
Head coach Joe Judge did mention to the press on Monday that Toney is dealing with an ankle injury of unknown severity, which is worth monitoring throughout the week.
Priority: High.
Rondale Moore, Cardinals (40%)
Moore saw the second-highest target share in Week 5 behind only DeAndre Hopkins. He caught five of six passes for 59 yards, including one long 33-yard catch, and tacked on three rushes for 38 yards, finishing as WR24 in half PPR (with one game to be played). He's had somewhat of an up-and-down year, but I think his role will increase as a function of time, especially in light of tight end Maxx Williams' season-ending knee injury in this game.
Priority: Medium to high.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions (3%)
St. Brown posted his second consecutive solid game this week in the team's heartbreaking loss to the Vikings. Last week, he caught six of eight targets for 70 yards and this week he caught seven of eight targets for 65 yards. With the loss of Quintez Cephus, who broke his collarbone on Sunday, St. Brown could finally seize the opportunity to break out against the Bengals.
Priority: Medium.
Tim Patrick, Broncos (31%)
Sutton stole the show on Sunday and was the lone bright spot for fantasy purposes. He reeled in seven of 11 targets for 120 yards and a touchdown, but Patrick was also heavily targeted. He caught seven of nine targets for 89 yards and will continue to see a nice target share with K.J. Hamler out for the year and Jerry Jeudy on injured reserve. The Broncos face the Raiders next in a favorable, Week 6 home matchup.
Priority: Medium.
Mecole Hardman, Chiefs (43%)
Hardman led the team in receiving over Tyreek Hill in their primetime loss to the Bills and caught nine of 12 targets for 76 yards. It was the most targets in a game all season for the Georgia product, who gets a nice matchup on deck against Washington this week. The Football Team's defense ranks fifth-worst in the NFL in passing yards allowed and it certainly helps that the Chiefs defense is fourth-worst in that category. Hardman has upside as a flex play this week and beyond.
Priority: Medium.
Marquez Callaway, Saints (30%)
The preseason phenom reeled in four of eight targets for 85 yards and two touchdowns, including a Hail Mary pass from Winston to end the first half. The Saints are extremely lean at receiver and with the way Winston is playing, he could be a high-upside flex option as early as Week 7. The Saints are on bye in Week 6, so this is more of a long-term play.
Priority: Low to medium.
Tight Ends
Evan Engram, Giants (31%)
Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton have missed the last two games with hamstring injuries. Kenny Golladay has a new ailment every day (hip, hamstring, groin, and now knee). Kadarius Toney and Saquon Barkley have ankle injuries. Daniel Jones is in the concussion protocol.
Oddly, the oft-injured Engram is the last man standing in this offense. After missing Weeks 1 and 2, he saw six targets in Weeks 3 and 4 and four targets in Week 5 for 55 yards.
He is a viable streamer this week against the Rams' below-average pass defense and in light of the menagerie of injured skill players for the Giants.
Priority: Medium if streaming tight end or need a Pitts fill-in.
Hunter Henry, Patriots (46%)
Henry performed well in Week 5 in spite of some of the Patriots' struggles. He caught six of eight targets for 75 yards and scored for the second week in a row. He has seen a fairly consistent stream of targets and faces Dallas this upcoming week, who have allowed the second-most passing yards per game. He should be a high-end TE2/low-end TE1 in that matchup, especially how lean the position is right now.
Priority: Medium if streaming tight end or need a Pitts fill-in.
Pat Freiermuth, Steelers (6%)
Freiermuth has only had one good game this season which came in Week 3. He scored his first NFL touchdown in that game and now may see an uptick in targets with slot receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster done for the year. Freiermuth could be an interesting play as soon as this week against Seattle, whose defense ranks third-worst in passing yards allowed per game.
Priority: Low to medium.
Dan Arnold, Jaguars (4%)
Has the long-awaited Dan Arnold breakout season finally come? My verdict: Maybe. Arnold was one of two tight ends involved in the Jaguars' 37-19 loss on Sunday and caught six of eight targets for 64 yards, while Jacob Hollister caught one pass for one yard and a touchdown.
It's unclear how he will be deployed moving forward, especially given his usage seemed like a direct effect of the team not using receiver Laviska Shenault. Arnold has potential to produce in this suboptimal tight end landscape, but he's only worth adding in deeper leagues at this point.
Priority: Low to medium in deeper leagues.
