Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 5 Players Available on the Waiver Wire

With five weeks of the 2011 fantasy football campaign now in the books, fantasy teams run the gamut from 5-0 juggernauts to 3-2 contenders to 2-3 pretenders and 0-5 whipping posts, and fantasy players with multiple teams likely have some combination of most or all of them.

However, whether your team is sitting pretty or struggling mightily, most fantasy football squads share a common denominator. Whether it's due to injuries or by weeks, almost all teams have a hole in their rosters that needs to be plugged.

To aid fantasy owners in their quest to plug away, here's a look at the top five fantasy football waiver wire targets for Week 6 of the 2011 season.

1. Tim Tebow: QB, Denver Broncos

Week Five Stats: 4 of 10, 79 yards, 1 touchdown, 6 carries, 38 yards, 1 touchdown

Unless your mailing address is a cave, you've most likely heard by now that when the Denver Broncos emerge from their Week 6 bye, second year pro Tim Tebow will replace Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback in the Mile High City.

Tebow likely won't perform to the level of expectations put on him by his fanatical supporters in Denver, but Tim Tebow has already shown that he's a much better fantasy option than NFL signal-caller, rushing for a score in every game in which he's played in the NFL but one, so fantasy owners looking to improve at quarterback should take a deep breath and hop on board the Tebow train.

2. Jackie Battle: RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Week 5 Stats: 19 carries, 119 yards, 2 receptions, 21 yards

Kansas City Chiefs running back Jackie Battle leaped to the top of many waiver wire priority lists on the heels of his 140 total yards explosion against the Indianapolis Colts last week, and the fifth year veteran appears to have laid claim, at least in the short term, to the title of lead back in Kansas City.

It's worth noting that the Chiefs have a Week 6 bye and that Battle's big game came against an Indianapolis run defense that your grandmother would probably rack up yardage against, so expectations moving forward should be tempered, but starting running backs don't grow on trees, so at the very least the former University of Houston standout is worth a speculative add.

3. Earnest Graham: RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 5 Stats: 5 carries, 30 yards

The Week 5 status of Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting tailback LeGarrette Blount is very much in doubt following the knee injury the second year pro sustained in the third quarter of Tampa's blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week, and if Blount is unable to go this week against the New Orleans Saints, eighth year veteran Earnest Graham would likely be called upon to pick up the majority of the slack.

Graham has shown the ability to be a productive fantasy asset in the past, rushing for nearly 900 yards and scoring double-digit touchdowns for the Buccaneers in 2007, and if Blount is sidelined this Sunday, Graham would easily be the best short term waiver option available to fantasy owners in need of help at running back in Week 6.

4. Darrius Heyward-Bey: WR, Oakland Raiders

Week 5 Stats: 7 receptions, 99 yards, 1 touchdown

After pulling a vanishing act for much of his first two seasons in the National Football League, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey is finally showing some signs of life, turning in his second straight solid game in last week's win over the Houston Texans.

With 11 receptions for 214 yards and a score over the past two weeks the burner from Maryland is starting to show some glimpses of the talent that made him the (admittedly puzzling) seventh overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and while two games does not a consistent fantasy option make, there's enough upside to warrant a waiver look from fantasy teams that are needy at wideout.

5. Greg Little: WR, Cleveland Browns

Week 5 Stats: Did Not Play

The Cleveland Browns made a change to their starting lineup during their Week 5 bye, inserting rookie wide receiver Greg Little into the starting lineup opposite Mohammed Massaquoi. The former North Carolina star was Cleveland's second round pick in last April's draft and has 14 catches for 131 yards so far this season.

Little is easily the Browns Biggest playmaker among their wide receivers and has apparently made enough strides that head coach Pat Shurmur trusts the youngster enough to insert him into the starting lineup.

Given the additional targets Little will likely now see on a team that has the second most passing attempts per game to this point in the season, he is definitely worth consideration from forward thinking fantasy owners looking to bolster their receiving corps.