This is the week many fantasy mavens in Minnesota dread most: Justin Jefferson’s bye week.
Four NFL teams were off last week, but Week 6 is the first one with significant bye consequences. The Vikings will be joined on the sidelines by the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Rams.
The absences include top quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford), running backs (Aaron Jones, Kyren Williams, Kareem Hunt, De’Von Achane) and pass catchers (Tyreek HIll, Jaylen Waddle, Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy).
So this will be the season’s busiest week yet on the waiver wires. Here are some of the top players you might be able to grab this week:
Quarterbacks: Everyone saw Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins top 500 yards last week. And the Chargers’ Justin Herbert still has big upside. Seems hard to believe, but the Giants’ Daniel Jones and Indy’s Joe Flacco could be good plays for this week.
Darnell Mooney #1 of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates with Kirk Cousins #18 after scoring a 12 yard touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Oct. 03, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Running backs: The Jaguars’ Tank Bigsby ran wild last week and is the obvious top choice. But there’s also Cincy’s Chase Brown, Dallas’ Rico Dowdle … and a deep sleeper we discuss later in this report.
Tank Bigsby #4 of the Jacksonville Jaguars runs for a fourth quarter touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium on Oct. 06, 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
Wide receivers: The Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster would be a great choice were it not for the bye. But Atlanta’s Darnell Mooney looked great last week, as did the Giants’ Wan’Dale Robinson and the Colts’ duo of Josh Downs and Alec Pierce.
JuJu Smith-Schuster #9 of the Kansas City Chiefs runs after a catch during the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 07, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Tight ends: Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft is a keeper after scoring twice last week. The Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth is serviceable, and the Giants’ Theo Johnson could be a nice sleeper.
Tucker Kraft #85 of the Green Bay Packers scores a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams during the third quarter at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 06, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Sitting stars
Jets RB Breece Hall has been one of the season’s biggest busts, and he will continue to be against Buffalo. … Denver’s suddenly competent defense will cool off Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins. … Jacksonville RB Travis Etienne has been relegated to the background as the Jags take on Chicago. … Same goes for Cincinnati RB Zack Moss against Chicago. … Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb will again face double coverage from Detroit. … Pittsburgh WR George Pickens will continue to be an afterthought against Las Vegas. … Cleveland WR Amari Cooper will again be a bystander in Philadelphia. … And Seattle QB Geno Smith will have trouble against a 49ers defense still stinging from its upset loss to Arizona.
Breece Hall (20) of the New York Jets looks on before a game against the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 29, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Matchup game
Everyone runs on the Colts, and that will include Tennessee RB Tony Pollard. … Both running backs in the Atlanta-Carolina matchup will go off, so make sure you start Bijan Robinson and Chuba Hubbard. … San Francisco RB Jordan Mason will have one more big game against Seattle before the return of Christian McCaffrey. … Dormant Saints WR Chris Olave will wake up against the weak Tampa Bay pass defense. … Jacksonville will not be able to cool off the Bears’ hot combo of Caleb Williams and D.J. Moore. … Tight end Dallas Goedert will likely lead the Eagles again against Cleveland. … And we think this is finally the week that Mark Andrews regains his spot as Baltimore’s No. 1 tight end against Washington.
Tony Pollard #20 of the Tennessee Titans rushes against Storm Duck #36 of the Miami Dolphins during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 30, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Injury watch
Among the New York Jets’ many issues is the ankle injury suffered by QB Aaron Rodgers against the Vikings in London. Don’t expect him to be full speed this week against Buffalo. … New Orleans is hurting worse at QB with Derek Carr out (oblique). … The list of questionables is overflowing with running backs (Colts’ Jonathan Taylor, Texans’ Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce, Bengals’ Zack Moss, Steelers’ Jaylen Warren and Raiders’ Zamir White), receivers (Giants’ Malik Nabers, Raiders’ Davante Adams, Packers’ Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, Eagles’ A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, Bills’ Khalil Shakir and Panthers’ Xavier Legette) and tight ends (49ers’ George Kittle, Browns’ David Njoku, Jaguars’ Evan Engram, Saints’ Taysom Hill). There are even a couple of notable kickers (49ers’ Jake Moody, Cardinals’ Matt Prater).
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8), right, reacts as he is tackled during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Deepest sleeper
He started out as an unremarkable wide receiver at Iowa. But he has converted to running back, and now New York Giants rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. is one of the most sought-after players on the waiver wires. He rushed 18 times for 129 yards last week in Seattle, taking over after teammate Eric Gray’s catastrophic fumble at the goal line. While Devin Singletary may return from his groin injury this week, Tracy has earned a spot in the Football Giants’ offense.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. #29 of the New York Giants carries the ball against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Oct. 06, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Thursday pick
49ers at Seahawks (+3½):
Pick: 49ers by 8
Jordan Mason #24 of the San Francisco 49ers runs with the ball while being chased by Christian Gonzalez #0 of the New England Patriots in the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium on Sept. 29, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on Twitter — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.
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