Welcome to another week of the injury wire… I mean waiver wire rankings. The fantasy season is inevitably filled with injuries and Week 5 was capped off with a handful of running backs going down. One thing is for sure, this past Sunday is the reason why handcuffs are a common term in fantasy football. Last week I mentioned players stepping up when given the opportunity. Well this week is no different.

The question begs, who will step up and make you thank the waiver wire gods? To try and answer that question, we have our weekly waiver wire rankings. Our featured experts have once again ranked this week’s top readily available players (rest of season value). Read on to view the pundits’ consensus rankings as well as their top D/ST rentals for week 6.

Featured Pros

Brett Talley (The Fantasy Fix)

Kevin Hanson (EDSFootball)

KJ (Fantasy Team Advice)

Mike Tagliere (TagsFF)

Sean Koerner (Bloomberg Sports)

Zach Wilkens (RotoBaller)

Waiver Wire Rankings (STD Scoring)

Week 6 Waiver Wire Advice

Each expert was asked to share advice about a target or two they like this week along with any other waiver wire suggestions they have. Here’s what the experts had to say.

Q1: Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.

Zach Wilkens – RotoBaller

I’m still trying to figure out what to make of Antone Smith. Dating back to last year he has a touchdown of 30 yards or longer in 6 of his last 8 games in which he got a carry or reception. That is crazy. Perhaps even crazier is that those six long touchdowns come in just 23 touches during that span. Coach Mike Smith finally acknowledged that they need to get Antone Smith the ball more. It’s not often that a 29 year old comes out of nowhere to become relevant but Antone Smith has done more than enough to earn more carries and earn a speculative pickup to your fantasy bench.

I was also really impressed with Odell Beckham Jr. I expected a transition period for OBJ after he missed a ton of practice time with his hamstring issue. That just wasn’t the case. At times he looked like the best receiver out there for the Giants. He looked like a talent deserving of the 12th overall pick in last year’s NFL draft. I try not to get too excited because it’s just one game, but I love what I saw from him. I’m sure he’ll have his ups and downs as a rookie, but I expect he’ll be a very hot fantasy commodity down the stretch.



KJ – Fantasy Team Advice

Ronnie Hillman headlines my list of Week 6 waiver wire targets as Montee Ball is expected to be out a while following his groin injury in Week 5. C.J. Anderson was a healthy scratch in the game, which suggests that Hillman has leapt up the depth chart and should now be in line for starter’s carries.

This may have been the breakout we were waiting for, as Tim Wright finally saw steady usage in the Patriots passing offense with 5 receptions for 85 yards and a TD in Week 5. It was clearly a recipe for success, and with Kenbrell Thompkins being cut, and Aaron Dobson/Danny Amendola barely seeing any targets, I expect Wright’s role to slowly grow as he gains the trust of Brady and the Patriots coaches.



Mike Tagliere – TagsFF

I was touting to a few co-workers last week that Davante Adams needed to be owned in both 10 and 12 team leagues, because it is not every day that you have a chance to grab a wide receiver off of waivers that would immediately be a top 12 option if there were just one injury. Adams already passed Boykin on the depth chart and is now the #3 option for Aaron Rodgers. He won’t pass Jordy or Cobb, but if one of them were to go down, I would look at him like a strong WR2 with WR1 upside every week. While Branden Oliver may not be an every week starter for the rest of the season, he will be a top 15 RB option this week against a Raiders defense that is in complete disarray. He has also carved out a role regardless if Ryan Mathews or Donald Brown are active. Rumor is that Mathews has two more weeks.



Kevin Hanson – EDSFootball

Despite the difficult matchup against the Jets, Branden Oliver racked up 182 yards of scrimmage and a pair of touchdowns on 23 touches (including four receptions) and heads into MNF as the top-scoring running back so far this week. With Danny Woodhead out for the year, Ryan Mathews (knee) expected to miss a couple more games and Donald Brown (concussion) leaving Sunday’s game, Oliver, who has drawn comparisons to ex-Chargers RB Darren Sproles, should have a featured role in an incredibly favorable Week 6 matchup. The Raiders have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing RBs. While I prefer Ronnie Hillman for the rest of the season, assuming a prolonged absence for Montee Ball (groin), Oliver is the best option for fantasy owners looking for a Week 6 plug-and-play considering Denver’s tough (but not Branden Oliver-proof) Week 6 matchup vs. the Jets.



Sean Koerner – Bloomberg Sports

Ronnie Hillman is the best bet for short-term value as well as long term since it appears Monte Ball could miss several weeks. Andre Williams has a chance to flirt with RB1 value the next 1-2 weeks that Jennings may miss. Branden Oliver is interesting because he offers short term value with Mathews and Brown likely out this week. Even when they return, he should maintain a pretty big role in the offense in a Danny Woodhead/Darren Sproles type role. Justin Hunter should now be owned in all 12 man leagues as he will finally be a full-time player – his upside will be curbed for as long as Locker is out though.



Brett Talley – The Fantasy Fix

Andre Williams is my pickup for Week 6. Rashad Jennings, who suffered a sprained knee in Week 5, is basically halfway to his carry total from last year. The 163 carries that Jennings had last year were the most he has ever had in his career. If this sprained knee isn’t the injury that brings him down, there’s a decent chance something else will. If Williams were to become the lead back, he would probably be getting 15+ carries per week and would be running behind an O-Line that Football Outsiders had ranked as a top 10 run blocking unit entering Week 5.



Q2. For owners looking to rent a D/ST in Week 6, what readily available option should they target first?

Zach Wilkens – RotoBaller

When looking at fantasy defenses for the coming week your first question should always be “Okay, who faces the Jaguars this week?”. The answer this week is the Tennessee Titans. Yes, it’s the easy answer but it’s also the right one. The defense facing the Jaguars has delivered four top-five fantasy weeks with the fifth week still being top-ten. The Titans haven’t allowed fewer than 26 points over the past four weeks but we’ve already seen the mediocre defenses of the Steelers and Redskins struggle and then put up great weeks against the Jaguars. The Titans are available in a ton of leagues. It’s the obvious answer but I’m here to talk you down if you were considering anything else.



Mike Tagliere – TagsFF

If you had started every defense that has played against the Jacksonville Jaguars, you’d have the best defense in the league. No matter what scoring settings your league plays on, the Tennessee Titans are a defense you should play this weekend, and the best part is that they are available in over 80% of leagues. The Jags haven’t scored more than 17 points against a D/ST, have thrown 7 interceptions and have allowed 3 defensive touchdowns.



Sean Koerner – Bloomberg Sports

The Tennessee Titans are the #1 ranked defense this week and should be available in most leagues. They get the Jaguars at home so they will stick out like a sore thumb on the waiver wire and come at a high price for a rental. If you are unable to snag them or willing to give up enough on a rental defense, I would consider targeting the Packers. The Dolphins should be able to put up some points on them, but the Packers should be a lock for a few sacks and a pick against Tannehill.



Kevin Hanson – EDSFootball

The Titans defense has struggled in their past four outings (32.25 PPG allowed), but they could be a viable starting defense with a great matchup this week. Only the Raiders have averaged fewer points or yards than the Jaguars so far this season and Jacksonville has yet to score more than 17 points in any game. No team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing defenses than the Jaguars, who have allowed opposing D/STs to score double-digit fantasy points in all five games and have allowed three defensive touchdowns.



Brett Talley – The Fantasy Fix

The Baltimore Ravens defense is averaging a respectable 5.4 fantasy points per game, and they just turned in an entirely decent performance against Andrew Luck and the Colts. Football Outsiders had Baltimore ranked as the 12th best defense in the league prior to the matchup with the Colts. That ranking could improve this week given their adequate job of maintaining a good offense. This week they’ll face an offense that isn’t good, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs put up 31 points in Week 5, but that was against a New Orleans defense that has only managed to handle a Matt Cassel led Vikings team. They will have a tougher go of it against Baltimore.



KJ – Fantasy Team Advice

Not many terrific options out there for Week 6 that are owned in fewer than 50% of leagues, so I will most likely be giving the Washington Redskins a chance. If Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton are both out, the Cardinals will be firing up their 3rd string QB Logan Thomas who was woefully ineffective against the Broncos in Week 5.

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Thanks to this week’s Featured Pros for sharing their advice! You can check out more picks from the pundits as their weekly rankings are unveiled soon.