Week 6 Waiver Wire: Fantasy Football's Top Breakout Candidates and Pickups

Tom Brady is back, and so are the hopes and dreams of many fantasy football owners. For those owners who waited patiently for Week 5 to arrive to play him against the Cleveland Browns, we salute you.

But as most fantasy players know, it takes more than just one good performance to win a matchup, and often times it takes some digging and searching around the waiver wire to get the victory. 

Week 5 isn't over yet, but we've seen enough from Sunday afternoon's slate of games to know who to pick up next week for your fantasy team. It's important to remember the list of players below are all players that are available in more than 50 percent of Yahoo Fantasy football leagues, and while some players are left out after a big Week 5—for example, Matt Asiata from the Minnesota Vikings—take into consideration that the Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on bye next weekend. 

Position	Player	Team	Percent Owned
QB	Marcus Mariota	Tennessee Titans	47 percent
QB	Brian Hoyer	Chicago Bears	18 percent
WR	Sammie Coates	Pittsburgh Steelers	35 percent
WR	Jamison Crowder	Washington Redskins	33 percent
RB	Jalen Richard	Oakland Raiders	21 percent
RB	Jay Ajayi	Miami Dolphins	33 percent
TE	Jesse James	Pittsburgh Steelers	23 percent
TE	Virgil Green	Denver Broncos	11 percent

Brian Hoyer, QB, Chicago Bears

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Just when you think Hoyer's days as a starting quarterback in the NFL are over, he surprises us yet again. With Jay Cutler out injured, Hoyer has stepped up the last three weeks, throwing for over 300 yards in each game. Furthermore, he may have taken the starting gig away from Cutler even when he returns from injury. 

Cutler's days in Chicago are numbered and have been for a couple of years now. This recent stretch by Hoyer is reminiscent of when Josh McCown put up monster numbers for the Bears back in 2013 when he threw for 15 touchdowns to just one interception.

Now let's be clear about one thing here. Hoyer is not a franchise quarterback in this league—never has been, never will. But it's hard to ignore the hot streak he is on if you're a fantasy owner who is in desperate need of a quarterback. 

I don't necessarily agree with NFL Network's Michael Fabiano with this point, but Hoyer has scored at least 18.88 points in the past three games with six touchdowns to zero interceptions.

Maybe he is worth an add after all, as long as the Bears continue to roll with him when Cutler is healthy. 

Sammie Coates, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Coates left a lot of fantasy points go to waste against the New York Jets in Week 5, but that didn't stop him from putting up monster numbers. It's scary to think how many points he could've scored if he was able to haul in the passes he dropped. 

Be warned: if you don't have a high priority on the waiver wire, you're out of luck. After a game where he scored 25.90 points with 139 receiving yards and two scores, Coates' stock has never been higher. 

Keep in mind that the clip above was the first series of the game for the Steelers offense. If teams continue to double-team Antonio Brown (and they will), then Coates will find single-coverage all game long, just like he did against the Jets on Sunday. 

He dropped a lot of balls, including a couple of touchdown passes that went right through his hands. Coates could've easily dropped 35-40 points in Week 5, but he's only 23 with a lot of room for improvement. 

Having said that, he's a rookie you want starting on your team next week when the Steelers take on the Miami Dolphins.

Jalen Richard, RB, Oakland Raiders

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Latavius Murray should be back form injury in Week 6, but is he the bell-cow running back the Raiders think he is?

Richard has been stealing carries from Murray throughout the season and showed his game-changing ability in Week 1 when he ran for 84 yards and a score on three touches.

Richard should not be anything more than a flex option at this point, but that just shows how difficult it is to find consistency on the waiver wire for the running back position. 

While Richard's role will diminish some when Murray returns, he's shown he can catch the ball in space and make a defender miss, especially as a third-down back. He's arguably the most valuable tailback left on the waiver wire at this point of the season, unless you're hoping Adrian Peterson returns at some point this season for a late-season playoff push.

If Murray continues his subpar play when he returns, it might be a good idea to take a look at DeAndre Washington as well; that way you'll be in a good position to play Washington or Richard in the flex.