Week 5 of the 2022 fantasy football season is nearly in the books! And it’s time to improve our rosters on the Week 6 waiver wire. Let’s take a look at the top Week 6 waiver wire pickups and targets that fantasy managers should consider adding to their rosters.
Note: All roster percentages are from Yahoo and players are listed by position in order of priority.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 6 | Quarterbacks
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (34% rostered)
I think it’s time to accept Geno Smith is just good. I don’t know how it happened for the nine-year veteran, but he’s figured something out and is playing tremendous football.
Smith completed 16 of 25 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns against the Saints. He’s now averaged 25 fantasy points per game over his last three. The Seahawks get the Cardinals next week. Smith is not only a streamer but a weekly QB1 at this point. He’s worth a 5-10% FAAB bid if you need a spot starter and up to 15% if you need a quarterback.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 6 | Running Backs
Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks (43% rostered)
If Kenneth Walker remains out there in your league, this is what you’ve been waiting for. Rashaad Penny was carted off the field with a fractured tibia. He is expected to have surgery, which would end his season.
MORE: Week 6 PPR Fantasy Football Rankings
After Penny went down, Walker took over as the lead back with DeeJay Dallas as the satellite back. Walker carried the ball eight times for 88 yards and a touchdown. He may not do much in the passing game, but he’s going to be the lead rusher in what we have to accept as a legitimately good offense. Walker is the clear top waiver wire pickup of the week. He’s worth over 50% of your FAAB. Do whatever it takes to get him.
Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (34% rostered)
Tampa Bay’s backfield still belongs to Leonard Fournette. Let’s make that perfectly clear. At the same time, Rachaad White looks damn good in limited opportunities.
White carried the ball five times for 14 yards and caught three of four targets for 28 yards. If Fournette ever missed time, White would be about as valuable as Fournette is now. He’s a true elite upside handcuff and needs to be on more rosters. White is worth a 15-20% FAAB bid, but given his snap share and Fournette’s performance, you can probably get him for 5-10%.
Mike Boone, Denver Broncos (36% rostered)
Melvin Gordon did not, in fact, “carry the load” on Thursday. Gordon played 56% of the snaps to Mike Boone’s 41%. It looked exactly like the split between Javonte Williams and Gordon. They ran nearly the same number of routes (21-19) and commanded three targets each.
While Gordon did out-carry Boone 15-7, Boone’s involvement established two things. First, he would be the clear lead back if Gordon were to get hurt. Second, Boone has standalone RB3 value. With bye weeks coming up, Boone is going to look much more appealing than he may seem now. He’s worth a 25-30% FAAB bid if you didn’t shell out for him last week.
J.D. McKissic, Washington Commanders (27% rostered)
In what has become a weekly occurrence, J.D. McKissic is on the waiver list. McKissic is not flashy. He’s not special. But he will catch a handful of passes every week and gives you a PPR floor. This week, McKissic caught five of seven targets for 37 yards.
With bye weeks coming up, you may find yourself in need of a guy like McKissic, who has scored at least 7.8 fantasy points every week. He’s worth a 3-7% FAAB bid.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 6 | Wide Receivers
Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots (47% rostered)
Jakobi Meyers probably isn’t out there in your league, but it’s still jarring to see his roster percentage below 50%. This guy is a WR1 for an NFL team. He led the Patriots’ receivers in snaps, routes run, and targets this week. He needs to be rostered.
MORE: Week 6 Non-PPR Fantasy Football Rankings
Meyers returned after a two-game absence and immediately relegated DeVante Parker to the ranks of irrelevancy. Meyers caught seven of eight targets for 111 yards and a touchdown. He’s now scored 10.2, 18.5, and 24.1 fantasy points in his three games this season. He’s a must-add and is worth a 15-20% FAAB bid.
Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts (8% rostered)
After spending the first two weeks as a complete nonfactor, the Colts’ rookie wide receiver has seen his usage increase each of the past three weeks. Alec Pierce saw five targets in Week 3, six in Week 4, and nine this past Thursday night.
Pierce is obviously still behind Michael Pittman, but he also remains well behind Parris Campbell in terms of playing time. Pierce played 26 fewer snaps and ran 11 fewer routes but has consistently commanded more targets than Campbell. It feels like it’s only a matter of time before he takes over as the starter in two-receiver sets.
At this point, Pierce needs to be rostered everywhere. If he can produce 16.1 fantasy points in a game where the Colts could barely generate any offense, we can be confident 20+ point games are ahead, particularly when the Colts actually score touchdowns. He’s worth a 10-15% FAAB bid.
Josh Reynolds, Detroit Lions (31% rostered)
With the Lions on bye in Week 6, Josh Reynolds is far from a priority. D.J. Chark will almost certainly be back following the bye as well. The thing is, I’m not so sure Reynolds hasn’t permanently claimed the WR2 role opposite Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Reynolds has now scored at least 12.8 fantasy points in four straight weeks. He led the team in snaps, routes run, and targets on Sunday. If you can afford to hold a fringe fantasy starter like Reynolds through the bye, he’s still rostered in too few leagues. He’s worth an 8-12% FAAB bid.
Rondale Moore, Arizona Cardinals (18% rostered)
In his second game back, Rondale Moore was much more involved in the offense. He caught seven of eight targets for 68 yards.
I’m not sure how legitimate Moore’s performance is. It felt a bit flukey. I still think he’s a distant third behind Marquise Brown and Zach Ertz in the target hierarchy. With that said, Moore did score 13.8 fantasy points. Fantasy managers need to be proactive, not reactive. If Moore is nothing, you can just drop him a week later. For now, he’s probably worth a speculative add. I wouldn’t throw more than 3-7% of my FAAB on him, though.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills (2% rostered)
Sure, I’ll throw Khalil Shakir on this list. With Jamison Crowder out indefinitely and Isaiah McKenzie still in the concussion protocol, Shakir operated as the primary slot receiver. He caught three of five targets for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Shakir looked fine, but he’s still only going to play when McKenzie is out. It’s likely McKenzie returns next week, and Shakir will go back to a backup role. Don’t add him.
Marvin Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars (5% rostered)
I really have no idea what to make of Marvin Jones’ Week 5 explosion. Jones caught seven of 11 targets for 104 yards. Trevor Lawrence played horribly in the Jaguars’ home loss to the Texans. He was unable to find Christian Kirk or Zay Jones.
My guess is this is more an anomaly than a sign of things to come, but whenever a receiver sees a double-digit target count, we have to take notice. Jones was second in snaps and routes run. In deeper leagues, you can stash Jones with bye weeks coming up, but in standard-sized leagues, I wouldn’t bother.
Darius Slayton, New York Giants (0% rostered)
The Giants have no idea what they’re doing with their wide receivers. It’s a true testament to Brian Daboll and Daniel Jones that they were able to win with Marcus Johnson and Darius Slayton as their top two receivers.
Allegedly, Wan’Dale Robinson and Kadarius Toney are close to returning. I’ll believe it when I see it. The once-banished Slayton played behind Johnson but led the Giants with seven targets. He may very well disappear when the Giants’ receivers get healthy, but in the meantime, he’s at least worth considering. I wouldn’t spend more than a couple of bucks of FAAB on him, though.
Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers (3% rostered)
It feels like every week we have a new WR1 in Green Bay. We thought Romeo Doubs might have been the guy. Allen Lazard also had his day. This week, it was Randall Cobb commanding a team-high 13 targets, catching seven of them for 99 yards.
Is Cobb going to suddenly be startable weekly? No. But I do feel obligated to mention him for the same reason as Jones above. Cobb still played just 63% of the snaps and ran behind Lazard and Doubs. I would not be targeting Cobb on the Week 6 waiver wire.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 6 | Tight Ends
Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (28% rostered)
You will never be able to confidently start Taysom Hill. But if you need a hail mary, he’s proven himself enough.
Hill, who is definitely not a tight end, carried the ball nine times for 112 yards and three touchdowns. He also completed his lone pass attempt for 22 yards and a touchdown.
Things may change when Jameis Winston returns, but we really have no timetable for that to happen. Hill is seeing plenty of action with Andy Dalton under center, and given his performance, we have no reason to think it will stop. Hill is worth a 4-8% FAAB bid.