Bjorn Yang-Vaernet examines which players on the waiver wire are worth prioritizing for Week 6 and highlights others to preemptively stash.

I must have jinxed the lack of injuries in last week’s waiver wire article because several impact players suffered injuries in Week 5 including:

• Anthony Richardson (shoulder)
• De’Von Achane (knee)
• Khalil Herbert (ankle)
• Justin Jefferson (hamstring)
• Tank Dell (head)

As always, many of these injuries will open up situations to take advantage of in the coming weeks. Let’s get right to it.

The waiver wire is one of the most important pieces of season-long draft leagues. It is the easiest way to acquire new players and every year there are gems to be found. The goal of this article will not only be to highlight which weekly breakout players to prioritize but find others to preemptively pick up before the breakout happens.

This article will only reference players that are less than 50% owned in ESPN leagues. The players are categorized by position group and within each group is the order of how I would prioritize them. 

Quarterback

Matthew Stafford (Available in 66% of ESPN leagues)

My Week 6 bye week QB streamer is Matthew Stafford. Stafford got Cooper Kupp back in Week 5 and for one half of the game, the offense was humming. In the first half, Stafford threw 17 times, for 147 yards and two TDs. In the second half, the Rams couldn’t put much together, as the Eagles controlled the game with two drives of eight and six minutes and forced two punts.

However, Arizona presents a much weaker challenge in Week 6. Arizona pressures QBs at one of the lowest rates in the league, which should give Stafford plenty of time to dice up the defense. Through Week 4, the latest available data in the Advanced Team State Explorer, the Cardinals’ defense ranked:

• No. 4 in highest expected points added allowed
• No. 4 in yards per attempt allowed
• No. 7 in the percentage of “boom” plays allowed

These rankings don’t include the Week 5 domination by the Bengals’ offense that threw for over 300 yards and three TDs. Notably, the Bengals previously did not score more than 20 offensive points in Weeks 1 to 4 before playing the Cardinals.

As a pocket passer, Stafford needs volume in order to produce good scores. While the Rams are a pass-first offense, the Arizona offense has also been just capable enough on offense to force teams to keep their foot on the gas pedal. Altogether, Stafford offers a safe floor with the potential to put up a Week 5 Joe Burrow-like game (23-plus fantasy points).

Running Back

Roschon Johnson (Available in 63% of ESPN leagues)

Roschon Johnson was listed as a stash in this article series in Week 4. A mere two days after the article dropped on the website, the Bears played on Thursday night and Khalil Herbert suffered an awkward-looking ankle injury. Tom Pelissero reports that Herbert is “expected to miss multiple weeks.” 

This opens the door for Johnson to become the lead RB on a rejuvenated Bears team. The Bears have recently leaned back into Justin Fields’ running skill set, which has opened up more running lanes for their RBs. Prior to his ankle injury, Herbert rushed for 110 yards on 27 attempts (6.7 yards per carry) in Weeks 4 and 5.

With Travis Homer also expected to miss some time with a hamstring injury, Johnson’s only competition is D’Onta Foreman, whom Roschon rendered irrelevant after one game. I’d expected Johnson to take over the lead RB role with Foreman backing him up.

I should note that Johnson sustained a concussion on the same Thursday night game. However, with a few more days to recover, he could be cleared by next Sunday. Even if Johnson does miss next week’s game, he could still be the lead RB in Chicago for two or more weeks as Herbert recovers. Overall, Johnson is a priority pickup if he is available.