Waiver Favors: 2016 Week 6 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

As usual, I’m back to help with some waiver wire adds via my weekly Waiver Favors article!  All pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues (with some minor exceptions) as of Sunday evening.

Jay Ajayi

RB – Miami Dolphins – 29% Owned

Arian Foster returned managed to return from his (unsurprising) hamstring injury, but Jay Ajayi kept his role on top the RB depth chart.  He was decent in recent weeks, including 13 carries for 42 yards and a TD in Week 5 against the Titans, but it was nothing compared to what he did against the inconsistent Steelers defense.  Ajayi rushed for a whopping 204 yards and two TDs on 25 carries, setting career highs in basically everything.  It’ll be interesting to see how this looks next week, as it’s possible that Foster was out-touched 6 to 25 because he was coming back from injury.  But if Ajayi remains the clear cut RB1 in Miami, he’s going to be valuable in all 12-team leagues and deeper.

Cole Beasley

WR – Dallas Cowboys – 45% Owned

Guess who has gotten an average of 6.5 targets and 65 yards per game over the first 6 weeks of the season?  Surprise, it’s Cole Beasley.  And in the last two games, he’s also caught 3 total TDs.  Sure, he’s done all his scoring with Dez Bryant out of the lineup, but he plays a fundamentally different role than Bryant, and actually had his most targets (12) in Week 1 when Bryant was on the field.  Beasley is a worthwhile pickup in all PPR leagues, and even in non-PPR leagues 12-teams or deeper.

Torrey Smith

WR – San Francisco 49ers – 25% Owned

Well, that little experiment didn’t work for the 49ers.  After an encouraging start, the offense looked even more lost with Colin Kaepernick behind center.  Blaine Gabbert was a checkdown master, so at minimum, Kaepernick demonstrated some decent shots downfield.  And as predicted, with Gabbert benched, poor Jeremy Kerley’s value evaporated.  But Kaepernick did manage to drag Torrey Smith back from the dead, as he targeted him 25% of the time in his first game back.  Smith managed to grab 3 of 7 for 76 yards and a TD.  Smith disappeared after Week 2 with Gabbert, but if Kap keeps the job, there can be some sneaky value here for 12-team leagues and deeper.

Robert Woods

WR – Buffalo Bills – 22% Owned

Robert Woods has been the the #1 WR in Buffalo with Sammy Watkins on IR.  Of course, that doesn’t mean a whole lot, but it does mean that he’s been getting consistent volume.  In the last 4 weeks Wood’s had targets of 8, 10, 6 and 6.  He’s averaging 5 receptions, but only 52.5 yards, per week.  Regardless, based on opportunity and volume alone, he’s a WR4/5 for 14-team leagues or deeper, and perhaps a decent stash to cover bye weeks in PPR leagues.

Ty Montgomery

WR – Green Bay Packers – 1% Owned

With Eddie Lacy less than 100% and James Starks out, Ty Montgomery ended up getting tons of work.  He rushed 3 times for 6 yards and also grabbed 10 of 12 targets for 98 yards, many of which came out of the RB position.  It’s unlikely that Aaron Rodgers will continue to be this bad with his primary receivers, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Montgomery continue to get a good amount of touches out of the backfield.  Plus, with Davante Adams potentially suffering from a head injury, he may continue getting looks it 3-wide sets as well.  Worth a speculative pickup in 14-team leagues and deeper.

Chester Rogers

WR – Indianapolis Colts – 0% Owned

So if you need a deep pickup in a deep league, then perhaps undrafted free agent pickup Chester Rogers is someone to consider.  After Donte Moncrief went out due to injury, Rogers managed to secure the Colts WR3 role.  In Week 5, Rogers played a season high 54 snaps, getting 6 targets, demonstrating an increased trend to go 3-wide in Indianapolis.  In Week 6, he managed to snag 4 of 4 for 63 yards.  As Andrew Luck trusts him more, and as defenses continue to key on T.Y. Hilton and Phillip Dorsett, Rogers’ role may grow.  He’s worth a speculative stash in 16-team leagues and deeper.

And just so you know, Ben Roethlisberger has a meniscus tear and needs to get surgery.  It’s unlikely he’ll be back for at minimum 4 weeks, but it will probably be longer.  I would love to suggest Landry Jones (0% Owned), who is now set to helm the Steelers and should look to lock on to both Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, but honestly, he’s not good.  With a 58.2% completion percentage in 2015 along with 3 TDs to 4 INTs, I’m not looking for any miracles in 2016.  If you need a QB in two QB 14-team leagues or deeper, sure, give him a stash.  Otherwise, move along.  Nothing to see here.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a torn meniscus in left knee and will have surgery Monday morning. No timetable for his return.

— Ron Cook (@RonCookPG) October 17, 2016

Landry Jones is expected to start against the Patriots.

— Ron Cook (@RonCookPG) October 17, 2016

And here are previous pickups I’ve mentioned that are still worthy of your consideration:

10-Team Leagues or Deeper

Carson Wentz, Terrelle Pryor, Jordan Howard, Terrance West

12-Team Leagues or Deeper

Mike Wallace, Victor Cruz, Dennis Pitta, Jacob Tamme, Tyrell Williams, Darren Sproles (PPR), Jamison Crowder, Kyle Rudolph, Quincy Enunwa, Eddie Royal, Brian Hoyer, Cameron Meredith, Hunter Henry

14-Team Leagues or Deeper

Fozzy Whittaker (PPR), Sam Bradford, Jerick McKinnon, Matt Asiata, Kenny Stills, Cameron Brate, DeAndre Washington, Adam Thielen, Sammie Coates, Chris Hogan, Devontae Booker

16-Team Leagues or Deeper

C.J. Fiedorowicz, Jalen Richard (PPR), Theo Riddick (PPR)

Check back every week for more Waiver Favors!