Week 5 has come to a close, and it’s time to prepare for another exciting week in fantasy football.
Week 6 is certainly set to be an interesting one with all of the injuries that came out of week five, not to mention the problems caused by a tough bye week. The teams on bye this week are the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs, who have some fantasy firepower that will need to be replaced this week. Here are my week six waiver wire pick ups:
Quarterback:
Brian Hoyer, Cleveland Browns, 5 percent owned: Hoyer isn’t an appealing pick, but he works if you need a sub-in for Drew Brees or Alex Smith.
No, Hoyer doesn’t have a great match up this week against Pittsburgh, the 12th strongest defense against fantasy QB’s, but Hoyer has already faced the division foe this season. The Browns quarterback posted 230 passing yards and one touchdown, finishing with 13 fantasy points in week one against the Steelers.
Not particularly elite QB numbers by any means, but in this case the sequel is bound to be better than the original. There are points to be had against this Pittsburgh defense, as the Steelers give up a little more than 16.5 fantasy points on average to quarterbacks this season. When you calculate Hoyer’s consistency, or standard deviation (the average deviation from the mean, or in this case Hoyer’s average fantasy performance) you get a plus-minus of 2.46, which means so far this season, Hoyer has yet to deviate two and a half points above or below his average fantasy output of 15.78.
Overall, Hoyer makes for a pretty reliable fantasy quarterback, especially considering his availability in 95 percent of leagues.
Player to Watch: Austin Davis, St. Louis Rams, 5 percent owned
Running Backs:
Branden Oliver, San Diego Chargers, 15 percent owned: This guy burst on the scene after yet another San Diego running back went down with an injury, as Donald Brown came out of Sunday’s game against the Jets with a concussion.
Logic tells you that Brown will most likely get the week off, giving Oliver a chance to shine. Oliver rushed the ball 19 times for 114 yards and a touchdown, also adding four catches for 68 yards. This makes him particularly appealing in PPR formats. But, with literally no one left in the San Diego backfield, you’d have to figure San Diego’s offense fits the more explosive, pass-catching back more than Brown as it is, who is averaging a measly 2.14 yards per carry.
Oliver is already receiving comparisons to an early Darren Sproles, which could just be a product of overreaction Monday. But, everything points to Oliver being geared for success against a horrible Oakland defense. Oakland gives up the 9th most fantasy points against running backs, an average of 27.05 fantasy points.
Andre Williams, New York Giants, 26 percent owned: Patient owners are now rejoicing. Many owners drafted Williams as a late-round sleeper because of the question marks surrounding Rashad Jennings, or at the very least took him as a handcuff for Jennings.
Regardless, in deeper leagues with plenty of experienced owners, it is likely that Williams is unavailable, despite the 26 percent owned stat. If you are desperate and down on options, you could try to trade for him because of the injury to Jennings. Williams now comes into the RB1 conversation, at least for the expected two weeks that Jennings will be out.
Jennings is a five-year veteran that has played well at times, but has had a history of nagging injuries and fumbling problems. I’d hate to predict Jennings could be out as the starter after one injury, but with the Giants having a week eight bye, it would make sense for the team to nurse Jennings’ sprained MCL until week 9, especially since the former Heisman candidate has been playing well. In the last two games, Williams has averaged nearly 14.5 fantasy points per game and has a touchdown each of the last two weeks.
Williams will get a chance to take over the starting role the next two weeks, and has shown starter potential thus far. Expect Williams to get a healthy workload not only in the running game, but in the passing game as well. The Eagles’ defense gives up an average of one receiving touchdown a game to opposing running backs this year.
Players to Watch: Ronnie Hillman/Any Other Denver Back and Benny Cunningham
Wide Receivers:
Brian Quick, St. Louis Rams, 54 percent owned: I know Quick has been on my list for a few weeks now, and because of my 55 percent owned cap, he won’t be eligible next week. But if you haven’t picked him up yet despite his production, this will be the last attempt to put him in your lineups. Just to remind you how productive Quick has been, especially in PPR formats, here are a few basic stastictics. Quick averages nearly 18 fantasy points per game and is averaging 7.75 targets, 5.25 receptions and 83 yards receiving every game. Not only is this guy a consistent WR2 for just about any fantasy team, he has found the end zone three times in the last two games. Pick him up.
Andrew Hawkins, Cleveland Browns, 41 percent owned: Hawkins is still getting a large number of targets despite Jordan Cameron’s return. Hawkins got a healthy nine targets, but was only able to secure three of them Sunday in the Browns’ historic comeback win over the Titans.
Many of these unaccounted targets can be attributed to Brian Hoyer’s conservative ball control and inaccuracy at times. Hawkins also had a sure touchdown on a five-yard out route, but Hoyer overthrew the 5-foot-7 Hawkins near the back of the endzone. Hawkins has more value in PPR formats due to his large volume of targets, averaging a little more than 10 targets a game, which is nearly a third of Hoyer’s pass attempts. If your desperate and need a wide receiver that racks up targets, give Hawkins a look.
Players to Watch: Mohamed Sanu and Justin Hunter
Tight-End:
Owen Daniels, Baltimore Ravens, 43 percent owned: I don’t particularly trust anyone in the Ravens’ offense, mainly because of the unpredictability that the Baltimore offense presents. Torrey Smith was projected to be the Raven’s No. 1 wide out to begin the season, but we’ve seen the re-emergence of veteran wide receiver Steve Smith.
But, when you look at available tight ends on the waiver wire, this is the guy who makes the most sense, despite the difficulty in predicting Baltimore’s offensive weapons. Daniels is a guy that has had success before as a No. 1 tight end with the Houston Texans, and now he’s in an offense that loves to utilize that position.
With Dennis Pitta out, it’s hard not to give Daniels a look, especially against a dismal Tampa Bay defense. The Buccaneers are allowing 8.5 targets, 7.3 receptions, 68 receiving yards and 16.55 fantasy points against tight ends this season, ranking fifth-worst against fantasy TE’s. Daniels may be poised to break out this week, and is worth a look in most leagues.
Players listed are thos typically owned by 55 perccent or fewer leagues.
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