It’s Tuesday which means it’s time to hit the waiver wire. Mike Hubbard Jr here, welcome back to my weekly Waiver HUB. Follow me on Twitter (@FantasyHubbard) for all things fantasy football throughout the season. Feel free to tweet me or message me with any comments or questions you might have regarding fantasy football.
Week 5 has concluded and week 6 starts on Thursday with a matchup between 2 teams under .500 trying desperately to get a win. The Washington Commanders are 1-4 and the Chicago Bears are 2-3. The game is in Chicago with an even line and over/under set at 38 currently. A majority of primetime games this season have been borderline boring and low scoring, and this is set up to continue that. The Bears will likely try to run wild, and the Commanders are just going to try to hold a lead. I like Brian Robinson to have a possible breakout and Justin Fields to be running all night. I am going to pick the Commanders in this game by a score of 24-16.
Fantasy football is well underway now so it’s time to make some moves and prepare for fantasy post season greatness. Injuries are inevitable so here’s another chance to hit the waiver wire and get impactful players. Another week gone, another opportunity to make your team stronger and inch your way to that league trophy and an offseason of bragging rights.
Below are my top waiver wire priorities this week. Go get those available players to help your chances at a championship. Good luck this week and remember to check back every week to stay informed on who you could target off of waivers.
TOP PRIORITY OF THE WEEK
Kenneth Walker III – Seattle Seahawks
Walker is set to start as RB1 for Seattle when they take on Arizona. Rashaad Penny had an explosive 151 rushing yards and 2 TDs in week 4 and unfortunately broke his fibula in week 5. With Penny not playing it opens the door for Walker. He was drafted in the 2nd round of this year’s NFL draft out of Michigan State. Seattle is very high on him and for good reason. Walker finished week 5 with 88 rushing yards and a TD on just 8 carries. Walker has potential especially the way Geno Smith has been playing. Seattle has been putting up points and Walker should contribute to that. We all know the Seahawks love to run the ball so I’m expecting 15-20 carries for him moving forward. League winner upside.
Quarterbacks
Geno Smith – Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith is out there balling for Seattle. Although they sit with a 2-3 record, Smith has been great apart from week 2 against the 49ers whose defense we all know is very good. I never expected Geno to replace Russell Wilson and even play better than him this season. Geno is sitting in the top 10 fantasy QBs through 5 weeks of play. If we don’t include the 49ers game, Geno has 2+ passing TDs and averaging over 275 passing yards in each game. He also has scrambled for 77 yards this season with a rushing TD. Seattle takes on Arizona this weekend where Geno should be able to continue steady production since Arizona’s pass defense is average at best thus far.
Running Backs
Jaylen Warren – Pittsburgh Steelers
I like Jaylen as a stash. Najee Harris is struggling in this Steelers offense this year which isn’t very shocking considering they have a rookie QB and have a lot of trouble moving the football. Warren has been cutting into Najee’s playing time sometimes but mostly due to game flow. Warren is an injury away from RB1 and his playing time could continue to increase with the subpar play from Harris. Warren outrushed Harris and had more snaps in week 5. If you have the room on your bench, he is worth the add for his potential.
Kenneth Walker III – Seattle Seahawks
SEE TOP PRIORITY OF THE WEEK ABOVE
Eno Benjamin – Arizona Cardinals
Eno is looking like the healthiest RB for the Cardinals right now. James Connor and Darrel Williams are both injured, and their statuses are up in the air for week 6. If they are to miss time, Benjamin should get a huge increase in rushing attempts and most likely targets as well. Eno has been targeted 4 times in 4 of 5 games and he scored his 1st TD of the season via rush in week 5 when his role increased. Monitor the Arizona backfields health this week and add Benjamin if you’re in need of a RB.
Wide Receivers
Donovan Peoples-Jones – Cleveland Browns
DPJ is hot and cold this season. Weeks 2 and 3 resulted in just 1 catch for 10 yards. Yikes. However, the other 3 games he played in he averaged 5 receptions and 9 targets. The Browns like to run the ball, but Brissett is averaging over 32 pass attempts per game and DPJ just has to share targets with Amari Cooper and David Njoku. DPJ is worth an add if you are in a PPR league with the need of a WR for a BYE or injury.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling – Kansas City Chiefs
MVS had himself a nice Monday night when he went for 90 receiving yards. He tied both JuJu and Kelce in targets with 8 but was the leader in receiving yards. It’s hard to tell who will break out each week for KC, but MVS is a good addition to your team if you need a WR. Mahomes will always target Kelce heavily and especially in the red zone (4 TDs on MNF?!), but it seems like the chemistry is growing between MVS and Mahomes. He certainly isn’t Tyreek Hill but he sure is helping to fill that hole he left behind. KC will take on the Bills defense followed by the 49ers defense followed by a BYE week so be warned. After the BYE he has a favorable remaining schedule.
Jakobi Meyers – New England Patriots
Jakobi Meyers scored a TD in week 5. Yes, you read that right. The talented WR who never seems to find the end zone linked up with his rookie QB to score and finish the game with 111 receiving yards. Meyers is averaging 9 targets in the 3 games he has played in and has turned that into an average of 87 yards each game. Meyers is becoming WR1 in New England if he wasn’t already. The Patriots are a run first offense but when they don’t run, Meyers is a great target for whoever is behind center. Meyers will look to tie his career high in reception TDs in a season with 2 from last year. I think he passes that, and the targets are steady. Meyers is a sneaky good WR when he is healthy and plays. Add him.
Alec Pierce – Indianapolis Colts
Alec Pierce is a rookie WR that was drafted out of Cincinnati in the 2nd round of this year’s NFL draft. The rookie was basically nonexistent until week 3 when he emerged as a valuable pass catcher in the Colts offense. Since week 3 began Pierce has increased his targets, receptions, and receiving yards each game. If that were to remain intact, he would get double digit targets in week 6 and possibly hit triple figure receiving yards. He has Matt Ryan behind center which could be a lot worse, but with the injuries stacking up in the Indianapolis backfield, the Colts might be airing it out a little more than usual and that’s great news for both Pittman and Pierce.
Tight Ends
Taysom Hill – New Orleans Saints
Holy Hill. The TE/QB had himself a game to remember when he finished the game with 3 rushing TDs and threw 1 as well. Hill wound up with 112 rushing yards which was 9 more than Kamara despite Kamara rushing 14 more times than Hill. Hill has obvious huge upside and a few carries by him is likely to outscore TEs that are just receiving. Be cautious with Hill as it seems impossible to predict which game’s he will produce heavily in.
Hayden Hurst – Cincinnati Bengals
Hurst has scored a receiving TD in each of his last 2 games and has 5 or more targets in 3 of his 5 games played. The Bengals offense is still trying to click so when it does click, Hurst should benefit immensely. Hurst is tied for 2nd on the team with Tee Higgins and Joe Mixon with 20 receptions. He is also tied with Higgins for 2nd on the team in targets with 28. TE1 on a Burrow led Bengals offense should let Hurst continue to produce, especially if Higgins is to miss any more time.