Some new faces join the Week 6 waiver wire and we are here to help you decide who to go after and how much FAAB to allocate to each player.
Devontae Booker, RB
Barkley was starting to come into his own the last couple of weeks, and returning to the top tier RB we drafted him to be. Well, he left early in this game with a sprained ankle and looks to be out for 2-4 weeks. Tough break for all Barkley owners, but we need to move on and grab Booker. Booker filled in nicely and scored 2 TDs and should be viewed as the starting RB for the Giants while Barkley is out. If you are a Barkley owner, you should be using a big chunk of your FAAB to grab him. Let’s not forget that the Giants have their bye week in Week 11, so it looks like they will keep Barkley out until then. Booker can be a nice piece and can be plugged in as a high ceiling RB2 going forward.
Week 5 stats: 15.4 points (16 carries 64 yards 1 TD, 2 catches 20 yards)
FAAB Bid: $12 – $26
Darrel Williams, RB
CEH is out for the next few weeks due to a sprained MCL suffered in the Sunday night game. Williams is next man up, though I think they end up bringing someone else in to help out, because he and McKinnon are probably not their ideal choices as lead backs. Both are fine pass pro guys, and both are good receiving backs, but in between the tackles both leave a bit more to be desired. Williams appeared to be the guy on Sunday when Andy Reid needed to make a call on the fly, so for now, we’re riding with him as the hot hand. Add him and you should have a solid flex plug floor for a few weeks till CEH comes back.
Week 5 stats: 6.00 points (5 carries 27 yards, 3 catches 18 yards)
FAAB Bid: $13 – $24
Kadarius Toney, WR
Are we seeing the new OBJ?? What Toney has done this season is almost identical to what OBJ did in his rookie year. Toney did next to nothing in the first 3 weeks, but was able to put together some solid games the last 2 and broke out this week with 10 catches for 189 yards. With Barkley now out multiple weeks and Golladay leaving with his own injury, the door is wide open for Toney to keep this up. He is a must add and could be that league winner pickup you need to have on your team.
Week 5 stats: 24.6 points (10 catches 189 yards)
FAAB Bid: $10 – $17
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR
I like what we saw out of Amon-Ra St. Brown these last two weeks. For a guy a lot of people had pegged as a boom or bust WR, he’s been a lot more consistent in his production, and a safe floor is always a good sign. With the season ending injury to Quintez Cephus, St. Brown should be in line for even more targets. He is yet to find the endzone, so if that can happen, his numbers can grow to even more impressive heights. He is worthy of a decent FAAB chunk this week.
Week 5 stats: 10.0 points (7 catches 65 yards)
FAAB Bid: $8 – $13
Khalil Herbert, RB
Damien Williams got the TD last week while Monty was out, but Herbert ran the ball 18 times for 75 yards and actually saw more snaps than Williams. I am not saying he will be the guy going forward, but it is looking like it will be a split timeshare going forward with Monty out. In a big waiver wire week, he is not a top option, but if you miss out on the Darrell Williams or Devontae Booker type players, Herbert could be a solid bench stash. Who knows, Damien could get banged up as well, not like we haven’t seen that before!
Week 5 stats: 7.5 points (18 carries 75 yards)
FAAB Bid: $3 – $7
Marquez Callaway, WR
4 catches for 85 yards….and 2 TDs! Callaway likely can’t sustain that conversion rate of 50% from catches to TDs, and one of his TDs was a 49 yard Hail Mary heave to end the half, but nonetheless, Callaway has repeatedly shown he can go up and high point a ball, and with Jameis throwing it, this is an important skill set. Michael Thomas’ return looms large, so I wouldn’t break the bank since we are yet to see these two on the field together this season, but Callaway has returned himself to a position where, in deeper leagues, you may want to stash him to see if he can build on this production.
Week 5 stats: 22.5 points (4 catches 85 yards 2 TDs)
FAAB Bid: $3 – $7
Alex Collins, RB
Collins filled in admirably for Chris Carson against a stout LAR defense on a Thursday night, where points can often be hard to come by. He didn’t light up your stat sheet, but he looked good, and this is an important thing to mention on a guy like Collins in the Seattle offense. He wasn’t asked to do too much, but what he was asked to do he did well. We’ve said repeatedly that the Seahawks have looked ready to phase out Chris Carson (for a truly unknown reason, he has been a fine RB for them) but this is what we’ve come to. Collins’ snaps are on the rise and Carson’s are on the decline. So… stash Collins and hope he takes over the job full time. The run should become more of a focus as the team hands the reins over to Geno Smith, who is not a prolific passer in the NFL. This is the “opportunity is king” pick of the week for me (TSF Cory).
Week 5 stats: 8.2 points (15 carries 47 yards, 2 catches 25 yards)
FAAB Bid: $3 – $7
Hunter Henry, TE
Henry scored his first TD of the season in Week 4 and followed it up in Week 5 with another, adding 6 catches for 75 yards as well. He had the most targets he’s seen this season, and also set his high mark for receptions. With two weeks in a row of this production, Henry looks like the TE to own in New England. Now I am not saying go out there and blow your load on him, but TE production is hard to come by in fantasy and with TE injuries (George Kittle) paired with lack of production, Henry could give you that safe floor you need at the position.
Week 5 stats: 16.5 points (6 catches 75 yards 1 TD)
FAAB Bid: $2 – $5
David Njoku, TE
One of the more interesting adds this week, Njoku popped big in the shootout that was the Browns vs. Chargers game. It always seemed like he had the physical tools to be a dominant TE, so it was nice to see him put a great game together. While he popped for 7 catches on as many targets for 149 yards and a TD on a 64% snap share, Austin Hooper went untargeted with a 70+% snap count. Njoku could have had an outlier of a week, but he’s worth a stash or a streaming bid as the Browns take on ARI next week looking to get back on track.
Week 5 stats: 24.4 points (7 catches 149 yards 1 TD)
FAAB Bid: $1 – $3