Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Best Pickups For Week 6
The fantasy football waiver wire is becoming crucial as the bye weeks are starting. Plus, another week of NFL games means another week of injuries. Thankfully, there are solid options on the waiver wire that can help improve your team. Here are five of the best waiver wire pickups for Week 6 of the NFL season.
Kenneth Walker III- 47.5%
This entry feels cheap. Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker, III barely fits into our restriction of being owned in less than half of ESPN leagues. With that being said, if Walker is available on your league’s waiver wire, he should be your top priority. The Seahawks lost Rashaad Penny for the remainder of the season as he broke his fibula in Week 5. This makes Walker the definitive lead back in Seattle. In that Week 5 game, Walker rushed eight times for 88 yards and a touchdown. Eight carries is not a ton, but Penny was injured at the end of the third quarter. As a result, Walker was only the lead back for about a quarter. In the upcoming weeks, Walker will see an increased workload and he is talented enough to take advantage of that opportunity. Do your best to grab him off the waiver wire.
Eno Benjamin- 6.9%
The Arizona Cardinals running back room was hit hard with injuries in Week 5. Running backs James Conner, Darrel Williams, and Jonathan Ward were all injured. That leaves Eno Benjamin as the team’s only healthy back. This is a situation to watch. As of right now, there is no return timeline for these injured players. If they are out for a long period of time, Benjamin’s value will skyrocket. On the flip side, if they all return, Benjamin will not have as much value. On a positive note, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has been complimentary of Benjamin. With these injuries, it is likely that Benjamin will get more touches. If he performs he will only earn more touches for the remainder of the season. Benjamin’s potential in this offense is too high to let him sit on the waiver wire.
Taysom Hill- 12.1%
New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill does a lot more than play tight end. He is a true gadget-type player who finds production in all facets of the game. Hill will catch passes, throw passes, and get carries. The ability to play Hill at tight end makes him an elite option at the position. Not many tight ends can score four touchdowns in a game. Hill was able to do that in Week 5. If you do not have an elite tight end like Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews, you should think about taking a waiver wire flyer on Hill. If you do, good luck trying to figure out when to start him. The only advice one can give you there is that Hill gets more touches when the Saints are facing injury troubles.
Geno Smith- 32.6%
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has played well in 2022. Well enough to make it appear that the Seahawks won the Russell Wilson trade. From a fantasy perspective, Smith could be a valuable asset at quarterback. I will save you the spiel. Smith is currently QB6 in standard scoring formats. He is scoring points this year and that is all you ask for in fantasy. Smith will be a good addition if your quarterback is underperforming or injured. He will also be a solid streaming option if your starter is on a bye. I would be wary to start Smith against premier defenses, but he can produce against average and below-average units.
Devin Duvernay- 24.9%
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay is the only receiver on this week’s waiver wire pickups. Duvernay is on this list because he has been productive and consistent in 2022. In PPR formats, Duvernay has scored between nine and 13 points in four of his five games. The outlier is when he boomed in Week 1 with 21.4 points. Duvernay is a good player to target if you want a safe player from the waiver wire to help you stay afloat during the bye week. At the same time, he does have a relatively high upside in a productive Baltimore offense.
