2014 Fantasy Football Week 6 Waiver Wire Targets

Welcome back!  This week we saw even more injuries.  Pass catching studs Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson and Jimmy Graham are all questionable.  Running backs took a hit when Reggie Bush, Zac Stacy, Rashad Jennings and Montee Ball went down.  This is why championships are won in the trenches of the waiver wire.  Nobody can know who will make it the whole year or who might miss a few weeks here and there.  Count yourself lucky if you haven’t had anyone go down for you.  Coupled with bye weeks, you just have to be active on the waiver wire to win.  Let’s get to it!

Kansas City and New Orleans are on bye this week.  As always, owned percentages are ESPN and Yahoo respectively.

Quarterbacks

“Hot Hands”

Brian Hoyer, Browns (2.7%/5%): Hoyer isn’t getting nearly enough credit for what he’s done this year in Cleveland.  He should get more credit now after the historic comeback Sunday.  While he hasn’t thrown for over 300 yards, he also hasn’t thrown for less than 200.  He also has only thrown a single pick to six touchdowns.  He’s not a flashy option, but he is a safe one.

Austin Davis, Rams (1.8%/5%): For those streaming quarterbacks, Austin Davis should be on your radar.  He is coming off quite the performance against the Eagles, throwing for 375 yards and three scores.  He did throw three interceptions as well.  He is a high risk, high reward flier this week as the Eagles play San Francisco, a team with a formidable defense.

Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings (12.1%/18%): He’s not yet owned as much as he should be.  Did you see what Christian Ponder did Thursday?  Thursday games should be taken with a grain of salt though because teams really only have a few days to prepare.  When there are lopsided matchups on paper, the games are likely to turn out lopsided on the field.  Bridgewater brings a whole new element to the Vikings offense.  He’s fleet of foot and knows it.  This week he’ll have a tougher matchup against the Lions but his schedule gets easier.  Pick him up now.

Charlie Whitehurst (0.1%/1%) Or Jake Locker (1.5%/11%): Locker is hurt again but there’s no word on the severity of the thumb injury.  He also got his bell rung by running in a touchdown.  Whoever is playing in this has the game gift wrapped for them as Tennessee plays Jacksonville but we won’t know until later in the week.

Deep Leagues/On The Radar: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Texans.  Mike Glennon, Buccaneers.

Running Backs

“Hot Hands”

Andre Williams, Giants (36.4%/25%): Rashad Jennings left Sunday’s game with what is being called a knee sprain.  Andre Williams came in and received workhorse-type work for the second week in a row.  He rushed 20 times in the second half for 65 yards and a score.  While Jennings injury is unknown at this point, this isn’t the first time he has been dinged up.  Williams won the Doak Walker Award for the best running back in college football last year and should continue to bowl his way through defenders when given the opportunity.  If you have Rashad Jennings, you have to own Andre Williams too.

Branden Oliver, Chargers (0.4%/14%): Donald Brown left the game Sunday with a concussion.  Oliver was far and away the best running back for the Chargers during their game against the Jets.  Until Ryan Mathews returns healthy and can stay healthy, Oliver is the San Diego back to own.  He ran all over the highly ranked Jets run defense with 19 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown.  That makes him the first back to rush for over 100 yards against the Jets this year.

Ronnie Hillman (0.9%/8%): This is another injury pickup.  Reports say Montee Ball has a groin issue and could be out “a while”.  While nobody really knows what that means, it opens the door for Ronnie Hillman to take the backfield over.  Remember last year when Ball was supposed to be “the guy” and then Knowshon Moreno flashed and took over?  Ball has just been pedestrian this year with a mere 3.1 yards per carry and the Bronco’s could move to the next man up.  Hillman will be next up, followed by C.J. Anderson and Juwan Thompson.

“Grab and Stash”

Antone Smith, Falcons (1.9%/8%): This guy is an absolute playmaking machine and I cannot stop talking about him.  He has had a big play in every single game except one so far even despite his few touches.  Smith is the most explosive player in the muddled Falcons backfield and should continue to see just a few touches per game.  He is making them worth it though breaking off big play after big play.  Even with his big play ability, he is only worth a roster spot in deeper leagues until there is an injury in Atlanta’s backfield or until he gets more touches per game.

George Winn, Lions (0%/0%): Joique Bell was already out of the lineup heading into Sunday afternoon and Reggie Bush apparently wasn’t far behind.  He has dismissed reports that his ankle is seriously hurt, which is good for Bush owners, but with his injury history nothing is for sure.  George Winn took over in the second half of the Lions game as he was the only active back.  Between splitting carries with Bush and the every-down role he took over later in the game, Winn totalled 48 yards on 11 carries.  He is only worth roster consideration should Bush and Bell not be active next week.

Deep Leagues/On The Radar: Juwan Thompson, Broncos, C.J. Anderson, Broncos, Storm Johnson, Jaguars.  Benny Cunningham, Rams.  Travaris Cadet, Saints.

Wide Receivers

“Hot Hands”

Travis Benjamin, Browns (0.2%/1%): Benjamin scored a pair of touchdowns Sunday as the Browns made a franchise record comeback.  For as much flak the Browns take for being the Browns, they can really make some noise.  Brian Hoyer is playing at an extremely high level and is doing well spreading the ball around.  Last year this team lacked playmakers until Josh Gordon came back, but between Andrew Hawkins, Jordan Cameron, Miles Austin and Travis Benjamin, this year is different.  They also have a consistent quarterback for once and that helps a lot.

Odell Beckham Jr, Giants (3.8%/11%): The highly drafted rookie finally made his debut Sunday and made the most of it.  He caught four out of his five targets for 44 yards and one was a touchdown.  He brings another weapon to the offense that already has Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle but is also very talented.  The Giants should find a way to get him involved even if he is third in line for targets.  Right now, he’s a flex option or WR4 until he can prove consistent.

Brian Hartline, Dolphins (3.3%/32%): Coming off a bye, the Dolphins should be well rested.  Brian Hartline is currently second to Mike Wallace in targets, receptions and receiving yards.  He is only two behind Mike Wallace in terms of first downs with 11 to Wallace’s 13.  Nobody else on the team has more than seven behind them.  This shows that Hartline may be second on the depth chart but he is relied upon just as much as Wallace when it comes to moving the chains.  He has more value in PPR leagues and if you’re plagued by injuries, Hartline is a safe fill-in or flex play.

“Grab and Stash”

Allen Robinson, Jaguars (1.4%/13%): Robinson isn’t as much of a hot hand as much as a hand that’s available in Jacksonville.  Injuries have plagued the receiver group down south and that has made a few different Jaguars relevant each week.  With Cecil Shorts seemingly forever week-to-week and Marqise Lee missing his third game with a hamstring issue, Robinson has stepped up to take the bulk of the load.  He has seen double digit targets in the last two games and while he hasn’t turned that into anything particularly special, I believe that with opportunity, the production will come.

Mohamed Sanu, Bengals (6.8%/28%): Sanu was targeted nine times and caught five balls Sunday night against the Patriots.  He was targeted more because AJ Green was pretty much blanketed by Darrelle Revis.  Marvin Jones was supposed to be back this week but a new injury sprung up and kept him out of the game.  Sanu is the healthiest of all the top receivers in Cincinnati and if Jones misses any more time or is limited at all, Sanu gets bumped back up to second on the depth chart.

Deep Leagues/On The Radar: Stevie Johnson, 49ers.  Louis Murphy, Raiders.  Andre Roberts, Redskins.  Brandon LaFell, Patriots.  Jarius Wright, Vikings.

Tight Ends

“Hot Hands”

Dwayne Allen, Colts (11.6%/46%): Another Sunday, another touchdown for the big man.  He has now caught four touchdowns in five games.  While he hasn’t caught more than four balls in a game or gone over 64 yards, he remains a prime red zone target for Andrew Luck.  He’s limited in what he can accomplish because Coby Fleener is also in the picture but Allen is clearly the Colts tight end to own in fantasy.  If he keeps these numbers up, he will finish as a top-10 tight end.

Jared Cook, Rams (7%/22%): Cook hasn’t registered a game with less than four catches or 40 yards.  He hasn’t hit pay dirt yet this year however so he may be further down your waiver wire.  He was Austin Davis’ most targeted receiver on Sunday against the Eagles as well, which bodes well for his fantasy value.  It seems that no matter who is at quarterback for the Rams, Cook will be targeted.  The only issue here is that even though his scoring floor is average, he will need to get in the endzone to become more fantasy relevant.  If you’re in tight end trouble, you can count on him for about four catches and 40 yards per game.

“Grab and Stash”

Tim Wright, Patriots (2.4%/9%): As a Patriots fan I just have to say “FINALLY!”  Finally the Patriots are using Tim Wright after four weeks of nearly nothing.  He caught 5-of-5 for 85 yards and he even scored a touchdown.  It remains to be seen whether he will be an impactful player fantasy-wise.  The Patriots like to surprise each and every week, giving opponents different looks that exploit a weakness.  I’m not saying Tim Wright will be the next Aaron Hernandez here but he has the potential to at least fill the spot Hernandez left as the move tight end and make his own mark at the position.

Jace Amaro, Jets (1.3%/1%): I would endorse any of the rookies here (Eric Ebron, and Austin Seferian-Jenkins) except for C.J. Fiederowicz.  The reason why I singled Jace Amaro out is because the Jets need weapons badly.  He is much more meaningful to his team than any of the other rookies this year and that makes him worth a speculative.  The lack of weapons on the Jets is not the only thing holding them back but getting those weapons going is the first step toward being successful.  Amaro boasts the highest catch percentage on his team, coming in at 82.35% (14/17).  These numbers indicate that if the Jets want to succeed, they should send the ball in Amaro’s direction and he will most likely catch it.

Benjamin Watson, Saints (0.1%/0%): He caught five balls for 43 yards on seven targets Sunday after Jimmy Graham left the game with a shoulder injury.  Graham hasn’t had a clean bill of health over the course of his career and if he can’t clear up his shoulder issue this year, Watson will be the one taking over.  The Saints will most likely change their game plan to involve guys like Travaris Cadet and Kenny Stills while Watson would split time with Josh Hill.  At best, he’s a deep league pickup if Graham misses any time but he must be noted since Graham left Sunday’s game with an injury.

Deep Leagues/On The Radar: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Buccaneers.  Eric Ebron, Lions.  John Carlson, Cardinals.

Defenses/ST

Packers D/ST: They play Miami, who has given up the 25th most fantasy points to opposing defenses.

Titans D/ST: This week in who is playing Jacksonville…

Cardinals D/ST: They are playing the Redskins who can be turnover prone even after a decent showing against the Seahawks last night.

Falcons D/ST: This one could definitely blow up in my face and turn into a shootout.  On the other hand, Jay Cutler has been looking more like the pick throwing, bad decision making Jay Cutler of old.

Colts D/ST: Thursday night games have turned into lopsided messes and usually the better team on paper pummels the other team.  The Texans may be without Andre Johnson so the Colts could have an easier night than first thought.

Kickers

Matt Prater, FA: I apologize for having him in this section last week as he was cut by the Broncos before he could see the field.  He’s working out for the Lions now and if they want the best kicker available, they’ll sign him.  He was one of the best kicker in the league last year.

Chandler Catanzaro, Cardinals: 11/11 FG, 5/5 XP

Brandon McManus, Broncos: 5/6 FG, 13/13 XP

Josh Brown, Giants: 7/7 FG, 16/16 XP

Greg Zuerlein, Rams: 7/7 FG, 9/9 XP

Good luck on the upcoming week!