Waiver Favors™: 2026 Week 6 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Week 2 Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

As I do every year over the last 14 years, I’m here to help with waiver wire adds via my weekly Waiver Favors™ article!  And I’m assuming if you’re reader right now, you’re in your fantasy football playoffs, so congratulations!

I’ll make a couple suggestions for after Week 6 of the 2026 fantasy football season that hopefully will keep your team running in the playoffs.  You’re welcome.  Again.

As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues (with some minor exceptions) as of Sunday evening.

J.J. McCarthy

QB – New York Giants – 1% Owned

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, J.J. McCarthy is worth your attention.  He completed 11 of 21 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Week 6, adding 26 yards on two carries, and essentially all of that in just the fourth quarter.

With New York trailing 34-10, John Harbaugh finally pulled a struggling Jameis Winston and handed the offense to McCarthy.  McCarthy threw an interception on his first possession but then started launching passes downfield as if he had somewhere else to be. He connected with Charlie Jones for 49 yards, found Isaiah Likely for a 24-yard touchdown and led three consecutive scoring drives that cut a 24-point deficit to seven.

The Giants even reached the New Orleans 14-yard line with a chance to tie the game before McCarthy’s fourth-down attempt sailed incomplete.  According to ESPN Research, his 243 passing yards were the second most in a fourth quarter by a quarterback who did not start the game over the past 25 seasons.  He also averaged 11.6 yards per attempt and somehow led the Giants in both passing and rushing despite playing barely more than one quarter.

Yes, much of the production came against a defense protecting a huge lead.  And, yes, McCarthy still completed only 52% of his attempts and threw a pick, but McCarthy unquestionably created a quarterback controversy.  Harbaugh declined to name a Week 7 starter immediately after the game, but if he starts against Houston, his willingness to push the ball downfield—combined with some legitimate rushing ability—would put him in the fantasy QB2 conversation.

McCarthy is a priority addition in two-quarterback and superflex leagues and a worthwhile speculative pickup in 14-team leagues or deeper. Just make sure he actually gets the starting job before putting him in your lineup.

Tyrone Tracy

RB – New York Giants – 4% Owned

Surprisingly, Tyrone Tracy Jr.’s eight touches led the Giants’ entire backfield in Week 6.  Devin Singletary had five, Najee Harris had four and Cam Skattebo had zero. The Giants dressed four running backs and still had a quarterback who played one quarter lead them in rushing, so I’m not claiming that we have suddenly discovered an efficient offense.  But Tracy carried the ball six times for 18 yards and a touchdown while catching two of three targets for another 27 yards and a touchdown.  That’s 45 scrimmage yards, two scores and 18.5 fantasy points in full PPR scoring.

Touchdowns are obviously unpredictable, and Tracy isn’t going to score twice on eight touches every week.  Still, a backfield undergoing a complete reset is exactly where a player rostered in only 4% of leagues can suddenly gain value.

He’s worth an addition in all 12-team leagues or deeper.  Consider him a high-upside bench stash for now rather than an automatic Week 7 starter, because this backfield is still one bad series away from turning into a four-person committee again.

UPDATE (10/20/26) – The Giants have released Najee Harris, leaving Tracy with increased opportunity.  He’s a priority pickup for Skattebo owners.

Germie Bernard

WR – Pittsburgh Steelers – 50% Owned

Germie Bernard caught 11 of 12 targets for 87 yards and the game-winning touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 26-19 overtime victory over Tampa Bay.  Bernard ultimately tied DK Metcalf for the team lead with 11 receptions, and his six-yard overtime touchdown gave Pittsburgh the win. He became the first rookie in Steelers history to record at least 10 catches, 80 receiving yards and a touchdown in the same game.

This also wasn’t a one-week volume fluke. Bernard caught six of nine targets for 80 yards in Week 5, giving him 17 receptions on 21 targets for 167 yards and a touchdown over the past two games.  He now has 24 catches for 227 yards on the season, with nearly two-thirds of that production coming in the last eight quarters.

With Roman Wilson was placed on injured reserve with a finger injury, Michael Pittman Jr. also on injured reserve and Ben Skowronek missing Week 6 with a calf injury, the opportunity is there to stay involved with the offense.  Pittsburgh’s own coaching staff said before Sunday’s game that Bernard was expected to assume a larger role, and 12 targets certainly qualifies.

He should be the top wide-receiver claim in most PPR leagues and can be treated as a WR3 or Flex option against the Saints.  Being available in half of Yahoo leagues is actually kind of crazy, so take advantage before your league corrects the mistake.

Jaylin Noel

WR – Houston Texans – 7% Owned

Jaylin Noel caught all four of his targets for 107 yards and a touchdown in Week 6, also returning two kickoffs for 65 yards and one punt for two yards.  Noel has now reached the end zone in consecutive games after catching all five of his targets for 41 yards and a touchdown in Week 5.  Going back one more week, he caught all three of his targets for 85 yards.  That’s a three-game stretch of 12 catches on 12 targets for 233 yards and two touchdowns.  Through six games, he has 17 receptions on 21 targets for 334 yards and two scores, averaging almost 20 yards per catch.

There is, of course, one fairly significant problem: Houston traded for Marvin Harrison Jr. before Week 6.  Nico Collins remains the Texans’ No. 1 receiver, and Harrison immediately caught three passes for 34 yards in his Houston debut.  But Noel producing 107 yards and a score in Harrison’s first game is also encouraging.  His role did not disappear, and his growing connection with C.J. Stroud appears legitimate.

He’s worth adding in all 12-team leagues or deeper as an upside WR3/WR4, particularly in leagues that reward long touchdowns or return production.