Week 6 Waiver Wire: Examining Top Fantasy Football Targets

The wire is on fire.

We have hit that point of the fantasy football season when the waiver-wire battles become more intense than some of the weekly contests between owners.

With injuries beginning to pile up and enough usable data to lean on as breakouts do their thing and busts fade, the weekly trip to the wire best serves those who put in the time and effort to sort the fluff from the real thing.

Below, I've amassed some of the top waiver-wire targets of Week 6. Keep in mind that some are to be viewed through a long-term lens, while others are of the start-now variety but will fall by the wayside soon.

Regardless, hit the wire armed to the teeth.

Quarterback

Austin Davis, St. Louis Rams (1.8 percent owned)

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Owners who stream quarterbacks each week laughed all the way to the bank with St. Louis' Austin Davis last week.

Davis is the man in St. Louis for the foreseeable future, and streamers had an easy decision on their hands in Week 5, as the inexperienced signal-caller suited up for an encounter with a miserable Philadelphia defense.

All Davis did was throw for 375 yards and three scores to tally 26 points. The only quarterback to outscore him? Peyton Manning. Does it matter that the majority of those scores came in garbage time? Not really.

That makes it back-to-back performances with 21 or more fantasy points for Davis, who has been assured by coach Jeff Fisher that even a mishap or two will not see him lose his job, as recorded by ESPN's Nick Wagoner:

Now, Davis does have brutal matchups coming up against San Francisco and Seattle. But at quarterback, consistency is key, and St. Louis has provided owners with a quality bye-week hero in the coming weeks.

Until his production dips, Davis is a superb QB2 with proven upside.

Honorable Mentions: Charlie Whitehurst, Tennessee Titans

Running Back

Andre Williams, New York Giants (36.4 percent owned)

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The Rashad Jennings injury seemed destined to happen sooner or later. While he was one of the NFL's most criminally underrated players after stints as Maurice Jones-Drew's backup in Jacksonville and Darren McFadden's backup in Oakland, those years were also riddled with injuries.

According to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, Jennings is set to miss a nice chunk of time.

Those who did their research already handcuffed with rookie Andre Williams, but for those in need of a borderline RB1, he is absolutely the guy if he's on the wire.

Williams now has back-to-back outputs of 12 or more points thanks to an increased workload, and that will not change with Jennings out of the picture. Considering Peyton Hillis is the only other player of note at the position, let's just say Williams' touches are a sure thing.

Rotoworld.com's Adam Levitan provided an in-depth note on this matter:

While there are a number of names at the position owners simply cannot go wrong with on this week's wire, the case for Williams overrules them all not only because he is a more talented player but also because he gets to encounter a Philadelphia defense next, which allows the 10th-most points to the position.

Get those bids in as soon as possible.

Honorable Mentions: Ronnie Hillman, Denver Broncos; Branden Oliver, San Diego Chargers; Benny Cunningham, St. Louis Rams; Antone Smith, Atlanta Falcons

Wide Receiver

Odell Beckham Jr., Giants (3.8 percent owned)

Watching New York Giants rookie wideout Odell Beckham Jr. last weekend, one would have never guessed he was making his pro debut.

Beckham was all over the field making plays. Whether he was making a number of chain-moving grabs or scoring a touchdown, the LSU product looked like an established veteran with a strong rapport with quarterback Eli Manning.

Treat him as such on the wire.

Beckham brought in four passes for 44 yards and a score on the day, which was good for 10 points.

Here is where it gets great, though. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the rookie only played in 38 of 71 possible snaps. Afterward, coach Tom Coughlin confirmed to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News that "we will push him along even further now."

In other words, the explosive young player passed the eyeball test with regard to the hamstring injury that had held him out to that point.

Beckham is an WR3 with gigantic upside based on the matchup, so it should make owners happy to hear that he gets to go against Philadelphia and Dallas in the coming weeks as his workload increases.

Honorable Mentions: Mohamed Sanu, Bengals; Justin Hunter, Titans; Louis Murphy, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tight End

Ben Watson, New Orleans Saints (0.1 percent owned)

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In his stints with three different teams over the course of an extensive career, Ben Watson has been one of the more reliable tight ends in the game. 

Just not from a fantasy standpoint.

That changes with an injury to Jimmy Graham. Keep in mind that this is a long-term add, though, as the Saints have a bye in Week 6. But Watson's usage after Graham left—four catches for 44 yards—suggests good things may be in store if Graham cannot suit up in Week 7 against Detroit, a team that gives up more than eight points per game to tight ends.

Keep in mind that Watson wound up seeing the third-most targets on the team by day's end last weekend, even more than supposed No. 1 wideout Marques Colston. The trust and rapport with Drew Brees are obviously there, so at an unpredictable position, Watson is a nice security blanket to have in the coming weeks.

Honorable Mentions: Jared Cook, St. Louis Rams; Tim Wright, New England Patriots

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. ET. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.