Fantasy Football Week 6 Waiver Wire: Kenneth Walker III And More Injury Replacements
The 2022 fantasy football season is rapidly approaching its midpoint. While some teams may have clearly established themselves as top dogs in their league with unblemished records, there is still plenty of time remaining for even winless managers to turn things around.
Whether you are at the top or the bottom of the standings, wisely playing the waiver wire remains critically important heading into Week 6.
There are several players available in most leagues who could change the fortunes of downtrodden managers. These free agents could turn into fantasy stars now that they have an opportunity to shine.
Even if you are loaded with talent, it’s never a bad idea to overturn the bottom of your roster. It’s time to release any low-upside players or failed draft picks who are still lingering and use that spot to bring in a competent free agent, one who could potentially start if injuries occur or a bye-week replacement is needed.
With that in mind, here are the top waiver wire pickups for Week 6:
All suggested players are rostered in 50 percent or less of Yahoo leagues. Rankings and fantasy point stats courtesy of FantasyPros.com and based on points-per-reception scoring.
Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks (35 Percent Rostered)
1 of 5
Geno Smith wasn’t assured of anything more than a backup job this offseason, but the veteran has blossomed since winning the Seattle Seahawks' starting quarterback role. While Seattle isn’t going to build around the 32-year-old, fantasy managers should have no longer have any qualms about making him their starting quarterback in 2022.
Smith had the second-best performance of any quarterback in Week 4 and followed that up with another fantastic showing in Week 5. He finished with 24.02 points in a barnburner versus the New Orleans Saints, good for the third-most at the position heading into Monday.
It’s becoming clear that Smith and the Seahawks offense are going to remain surprisingly explosive this season. The team has one of the worst defenses in football—allowing the most yards and second-most points at this juncture—which won’t lead to many wins but will provide plenty of opportunity for Smith to pile up huge numbers.
Smith was a recommended free-agent add last week, but he’s surprisingly still available in a majority of leagues right now. He’s the sixth-highest scoring QB in fantasy over the first five weeks of the season, vastly outperforming the likes of Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr, among others.
If you don’t have a top-five quarterback on your roster, consider Smith a must-add waiver-wire pickup heading into a juicy Week 6 matchup with the rival Arizona Cardinals.
Eno Benjamin, RB, Arizona Cardinals (10 Percent Rostered)
2 of 5
DraftKings DFS Value: $4,600
The Arizona Cardinals had been heavily relying on James Conner to shoulder their rushing load, but the veteran running back went down with a rib injury on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cardinals’ platoon also lost Darrel Williams and Jonathan Ward in the contest, gravely depleting their backfield depth.
Those ailments gave backup Eno Benjamin a chance to serve as Arizona’s lead back for most of the second half. While Benjamin didn’t post huge numbers against a stingy Eagles defense, he did finish the contest with 25 yards and a score on eight totes while also adding 28 yards on three receptions.
The Arizona State product has steadily worked his way up the Cardinals’ depth chart after being inactive for every game as a seventh-round rookie in 2020. He chipped in 34 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown in nine games last year and already has a respectable 136 yards and a touchdown on 30 totes this season.
The 23-year-old is well worth a speculative add heading into Week 6 due to his potential to see a massive number of touches against the Seattle Seahawks.
If Conner and Williams are sidelined or limited, Benjamin could feast against a defense that has allowed a league-worst 170.2 yards per game and has already given up a whopping nine touchdowns on the ground.
Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seattle Seahawks (45 Percent Rostered)
3 of 5
DraftKings DFS Value: $5,400
Rashaad Penny’s impressive resurgence at the end of last year carried over into the early weeks of the 2022 campaign, but the star-crossed running back suffered another major injury Sunday.
According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Penny ”seriously” injured his left ankle and is likely to miss the remainder of the season.
With Penny out for the foreseeable future, rookie rusher Kenneth Walker III immediately becomes one of the top waiver-wire pickups in all leagues.
Walker was considered one of the best prospects at his position—the Bleacher Report Scouting Department ranked only Breece Hall ahead of the Michigan State product—but the Seahawks have used him sparingly due to Penny’s effectiveness.
Prior to Week 5, the 21-year-old had only seen the field for 46 offensive snaps, rushing 20 times for 58 yards and catching six passes for 14 yards. With Penny exiting in the third quarter, Walker ended up taking on his biggest workload of the season so far against the New Orleans Saints.
Walker finished the day with a career-high 30 snaps and tallied up a promising 88 yards on only eight carries while also scoring his first NFL touchdown.
Expect the rookie to take on a large portion of Penny’s volume going forward. Considering the veteran had been on the field for a backfield-high 170 offensive snaps and led the team with 57 carries before going down this weekend, it’s an opportunity that will be highly fantasy relevant.
Walker should be the No. 1 waiver wire claim of the week, and he's worthy of a huge FAB bid.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Jakobi Meyers, WR, New England Patriots (48 Percent Rostered)
4 of 5
DraftKings DFS Value: $5,300
The New England Patriots didn't have starting quarterback Mac Jones for their Week 5 matchup with the Detroit Lions, but they still put up a boatload of points with rookie Bailey Zappe making his first NFL start under center.
Zappe was dialed in during New England’s breezy 29-0 victory over Detroit, connecting on 17-of-21 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. A large percentage of his throws went to wideout Jakobi Meyers, who displayed a fantastic rapport with the first-year signal-caller.
Meyers finished the game having reeled in seven of his eight targets for 111 yards and a touchdown. Tyquan Thornton was the only other Patriots receiver to garner more than a single target in the contest, and the rookie only saw three looks on the day.
It was yet another fantastic outing for Meyers, who had missed the last two games with a knee injury. Prior to being sidelined, the 25-year-old helped lead New England to victory with a nine-catch, 95-yard showing against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2.
Meyers has established himself atop a Patriots pecking order that looked rather uncertain heading into 2022. It appears it won’t matter which quarterback starts for New England, either, as the fourth-year receiver’s strong rapport with both Jones and Zappe is resulting in big fantasy days regardless of who is lining up under center.
Managers in need of a high-floor, low-risk WR3 should consider Meyers. He’s a steady hand who can fill in for an injured starter or get you through the slew of upcoming bye weeks.
Taysom Hill, TE/QB, New Orleans Saints (29 Percent Rostered)
5 of 5
DraftKings DFS Value: $5,100
The New Orleans Saints seem to have found the perfect way to use Taysom Hill. After unsuccessfully trying to convert him to a traditional quarterback last year following Drew Brees’ retirement, they're now utilizing Hill in a variety of ways this season and are seeing incredible results thus far.
After scoring twice in his first three games, Hill exploded in Week 5. He went off for 112 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries and added a 22-yard touchdown pass for good measure in a 39-32 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Although Hill has quarterback and tight end eligibility in most fantasy leagues, New Orleans has been deploying the 32-year-old mostly as a rusher. He isn't logging a ton of offensive snaps—he had a season-high 23 on Sunday, bringing his total for the year up to 57—but he’s been devastating when he does touch the ball.
In the wake of his scintillating Week 5 showing, Hill now has 228 yards and five touchdowns on only 21 carries. He’s caught only one pass for two yards, and his lone throw on the year was the aforementioned scoring strike.
Although he missed a game with injury and has only been sporadically on the field, Hill is now the seventh-highest scoring tight end in PPR formats and the second-highest scoring in standard.
While Hill has been relying on an unsustainable number of big plays to reach his lofty numbers, he should be rostered in nearly every format right now. The game-breaking star has too high of a ceiling and too much potential for week-winning outings to be left on the waiver wire.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
