Shockwaves were sent through the fantasy community on Sunday as Ben Roethlisberger limped to the locker room. The Steelers are a high powered offense with many fantasy cogs that can be completely derailed by an injury to their maestro, Roethlisberger. Luckily, the injury is not a season-ender, and knowing Ben he will probably be back in the lineup sooner rather than later. Until then, all Steelers outside of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are not startable. Other than Ben, it was another mild week for injuries and our top waiver adds are here more for virtue of their play than new injuries ahead of them.

Week 6 Injuries:

Player Position Injury Timeframe Ben Roethlisberger QB Torn Meniscus 2-8 Weeks Eddie Lacy RB Ankle TBD Phillip Dorsett WR Hamstring TBD Davante Adams WR Concussion TBD Eddie Royal WR Toe TBD Dwayne Allen TE Sprained Ankle Week to Week Dion Sims TE Concussion TBD

As always, we’ll be focusing on players with 55% ownership or less on ESPN leagues.

Adds

1. Jay Ajayi – RB – MIA (ESPN Ownership: 42.5%)

Ajayi has come a long way since being completely left off the active roster in week 1. He exploded out of the doghouse for 22 carries for 204 yards and 2 TD’s against what had previously been a stout Pittsburgh run defense in week 6. Presumed starter Arian Foster was active but clearly not 100%, and he was only given five touches for fifteen total yards. The Dolphins don’t have a lot committed to Foster, and head coach Adam Gase has expressed discontent with the four-headed RB monster he rolled out two weeks ago. Ajayi showed three-down back talent at Boise State, and after Sunday’s masterful performance, I can’t see Gase putting him back on the bench. The worst case scenario would be a 50/50 split with Foster, and even that has some value with Foster’s injury history.

Verdict: Add in all leagues

2. Cameron Meredith – WR – CHI (ESPN Ownership: 32.2%)

Meredith was a hot add last week, but is still somehow only 32% owned in ESPN leagues. With Eddie Royal hobbled by several injuries, Meredith led the team in targets once again, catching 11 of them for 113 yards. The 6’3″ athletic stud is a favorite of QB Brian Hoyer, and should be no less than a WR3 going forward. Chicago gets the depleted Green Bay secondary on a short week this Thursday.

Verdict: Add in all leagues

3. Hunter Henry – TE – SD (ESPN Ownership: 49.3%)

The torch has been passed in San Diego. Rookie TEs rarely (if ever) have fantasy relevant seasons, but Henry is the exception. Henry outsnapped Antonio Gates 45-31 against Denver, and thoroughly outplayed him as well (6-83-1). Henry has a touchdown in three straight games, and his involvement continues to increase. He is thoroughly polished as a pass receiver and his college resume backs that up (0 drops his last season at Arkansas.) San Diego gets TE-friendly matchups Atlanta and Denver up next.

Verdict: Add in all leagues

4. James White – RB – NE (ESPN Ownership: 49.3%)

The New England offense is firing on all cylinders, and White is the clear passing-game back. He had four catches last week against Cleveland, and eight catches for two touchdowns this week against Cincy. With White playing so well, the Patriots may decided to give Dion Lewis even more time and hold him out until after the Week 9 bye. It’s hard to trust any New England weapon not named Rob Gronkowski right now, but White has multiple-TD potential every week.

Verdict: Add in all 10+ team leagues

5. Jameis Winston – QB – TB (ESPN Ownership: 51.7%)

A lot of owners dropped Winston over his bye, and rightfully so. He has been a turnover machine and under-performed in 3 of 5 games. With that said, he’s got three great matchups coming up (SF, OAK, ATL) and his passing volume should remain high with how bad the Tampa Bay defense has been. He’s the perfect replacement for Big Ben.

Verdict: Add if you’re the Roethlisberger owner and need a QB.

6. Kenny Britt – WR – LA (ESPN Ownership: 13.1%)

We’ve all been sucked in and disappointed by Britt before, but things may be different this time. He played like an absolute beast on Sunday against Detroit, making one-handed catches and running over defenders for a 7-136-2 line, and is on pace for over 1300 receiving yards. While Tavon Austin continues to get most of his targets at or behind the line of scrimmage, Britt is now the main downfield passing option in this Rams anemic passing offense (which has been improving).

Verdict: Add in all 12+ team leagues

7. Devontae Booker – RB – DEN (ESPN Ownership: 29.9%)

Booker’s workload has been steadily growing every week, and he actually out-produced C.J. Anderson against San Diego last week. The stat line is a little misleading, since pretty much every positive Anderson play was called back on a penalty, but the fact remains that Booker has a lot of juice and the coaches are trusting him more and more. Coach Gary Kubiak even came out and said this week that Booker deserves more carries. I think we could be looking at a full blown time share pretty soon.

Verdict: Add in all 12+ team leagues

8. Dion Lewis – RB – NE (ESPN Ownership: 22.3%)

The passing-downs back in the Patriots offense is a valuable position right now. James White is producing on a limited amount of touches, and we saw last year that Lewis can be even more productive. Lewis is one of the most elusive players in the NFL, and once he’s back and healthy the Patriots will use him. With White playing so well, New England may slow-play Lewis’ return to week 10, but if you’ve got an IR slot or extra roster spot, he’s worth a preemptive add.

Verdict: If you’ve got an IR slot or extra roster spot, he’s worth a preemptive add. Must add in PPR leagues.

9. Jacquizz Rodgers – RB – TB (ESPN Ownership: 29.9%)

Doug Martin still isn’t practicing and Tampa Bay gets the juicy 49ers matchup in week 7. Rodgers looked quite spry against Carolina in week 5, and he could be in line for another big game if Martin can’t go or is not 100%. Even if Martin is 100%, Rodgers could carry some standalone PPR value as a pass catching back.

Verdict: Add to speculate on a spot-start this week or if you need PPR RB depth

10. Cole Beasley – WR – DAL (ESPN Ownership: 44.7%)

Beasley is probably not available in many PPR leagues, but if he is he needs to be owned. Beasley is Dak Prescott’s new security blanket and is continually open. Dallas is scheming him open in the red zone (2 TD’s last week), and he will continue to have a major role even when Dez Bryant comes back after the bye.

Verdict: Add in all 12+ team leagues and all PPR leagues

Honorable Mentions: Brian Hoyer/QB/CHI, Jack Doyle/TE/IND, Ty Montgomery/WR/GB, C.J. Fiedorowicz/TE/HOU

Preemptive Strikes: Corey Coleman/WR/CLE, Donte Moncrief/WR/IND, Ladarius Green/TE/PIT

Holds

1. Arian Foster – RB – MIA (ESPN Ownership: 77.7%)

Let’s wait and see how Adam Gase uses these running backs before jumping ship on Foster.

Drops

1. Orleans Darkwa – RB – NYG (ESPN Ownership: 17.2%)

With Rashad Jennings back in the fold, Darkwa received zero snaps.

2. Jesse James – TE – PIT (ESPN Ownership: 49.7%)

James is a TD dependent TE streamer, and with Roethlisberger out for a few weeks, those TDs are going to be hard to come by. He only had 2 catches for 13 yards against Miami.

3. Victor Cruz – WR – NYG (ESPN Ownership: 39%)

Cruz hasn’t scored since week 1 and has an extremely low ceiling as the Giants third passing option.

4. Tyler Lockett – WR – SEA (ESPN Ownership: 53.2%)

Lockett is just not involved enough to be fantasy relevant right now. A healthy Jimmy Graham leaves him as the fourth option in the passing game.

5. Carson Palmer – QB – ARI (ESPN Ownership: 88.3%)

This Arizona offense now runs through David Johnson. A week 7 matchup against Seattle makes Palmer very difficult to start, and if you have to drop him for a streamer, I would do it.