Week 6 Adds, Drops, Buys, and Sells
What a week! Week 5 was exhilarating but the turnaround is quick. Waivers are running and we have championship rosters to build. With that in mind, here are the adds, drops, buys, and sells to consider making in Week 6.
START/SIT ASSIST | TRADE CALCULATOR
Add Kadarius Toney
I wrote about Kadarius Toney here last week as a waiver wire target. He had good usage in Week 4 and turned it into solid production. But then came Week 5. The real breakout. He caught 10 balls (13 targets) for 189 yards. His 33-percent target share was top-5 among all wide receivers for the week and his 124 air yards were top-12. Kenny Golladay is expected to miss some time with a knee and who knows when Sterling Shepard will be back. Either way, the Giants must find a way to keep Toney involved. Toney is dealing with an ankle injury of his own so monitor that situation. Otherwise, he’s a priority add off the waiver wire.
Add Darrell Williams
Clyde Edwards-Helaire will miss some time after leaving Sunday night with an injury. That moves Darrell Williams, who has been seeing an increase in snap share every week, into the RB1 chair. Jerrick McKinnon will also be more involved, particularly in the passing game, but Williams should take the majority of the early-down and goal line work. His floor is low, but he’ll have weekly multi-touchdown upside fir as long as CEH is out.
Buy A.J. Brown
I wrote about A.J. Brown here as a buy candidate in Week 3. Then he went out and injured his hamstring because of course. He returned to the field in a limited capacity (64-percent snap share) in Week 5, catching just three passes for 38 yards. While the boxscore scouts are in full panic mode, Brown’s day was actually very encouraging. Even while playing less than his full complement of snaps, Brown still led the Titans in targets (six) with a 27-percent share. The reason I liked him as a buy in Week 3 was because he was seeing the targets and he finished Week 2 top-5 in air yards. Plus, we already know how good he is anyway. Brown should be back to full-go in Week 6 against the Bills on Monday Night Football.
Add Amon-Ra St. Brown
A Lions receiver? Gross. While it may not feel great, Amon-Ra St. Brown has led Lions wide receivers in targets in each of the last two weeks. That’s with target shares of 21-percent and 23-percent. His snaps have increased as well as he’s emerged as the alpha of the receiving corps. Quintez Cephus is out now which will only help St. Brown continue his ascension. It’s hard to trust any Lions receiver for consistent production but with bye weeks beginning this week, a guy like St. Brown will help you get through.
Buy James Robinson
The Jaguars are gross enough to make it possible to buy James Robinson at a reasonable price. He’s locked into a bellcow role. He only saw one target in Week 5, but that was an outlier as he had averaged over four per game through the first month. He’s received 18 carries in back-to-back games and he’s seeing most of the goal line work as well. The offense is bad but that will only bring in more targets when they go into comeback mode. Robinson is explosive and creative enough to break-off long runs on his own as he’s shown with at least one carry over 20 yards in three-straight games. Don’t be afraid of the bad offense. Go buy JRob from anyone that is.
Add David Njoku
How about David Njoku? He showed us why we’ve been keeping him stashed on our dynasty squads for five years. Njoku was the only Browns tight end to receive a target in Week 5 and he was sixth at the position with a 22-percent target share. The Browns tight end group has been impossible to predict so far and Jarvis Landry will be back soon which will muddy the target waters further, but Njoku is worth an add for anyone desperate for help at the position.
Add Ricky Seals-Jones
Logan Thomas went on injured reserve last week and Ricky Seal-Jones slid right into that TE1 role. He played 99-percent of the snaps and saw a 20-percent target share. Only Terry McLaurin ran more routes on the day. If he continues this usage, RSJ will be a top-10 tight end for as long as Thomas is out. If you’re in need of a tight end, this is your guy.
Drop Trey Sermon
Trey Sermon was a placeholder only while Elijah Mitchell was out. He was the RB26 and RB37 in his two starts. It was clear from Week 1 when he was a healthy scratch, that Sermon was not going to live up to his preseason expectations. Now he’s back to the bench, playing just 3-percent of the snaps in Week 5. He has no stand-alone value, is not a strong handcuff, and the Niners are on a bye. Sermon is very droppable.
Add Dan Arnold
It’s a tough world out there if you don’t have one of the top few tight ends. Dan Arnold is another you can throw a dart at if you’re in need. In just his second game since coming to the Jaguars from Carolina via trade, Arnold played 73-percent of the snaps and was third among all tight ends with a 24-percent target share.
Hold Chuba Hubbard
Early indications are that Christian McCaffrey will be back in Week 6. While that means Hubbard will be relegated back to pure backup status, he is worthy of a hold if you have the roster spot for him. McCaffrey hasn’t exactly been the epitome of health over the last two seasons and Hubbard proved in Week 5 that he is one of the strongest handcuffs in fantasy. While he was losing passing game work in Week 4, Hubbard came back with a 16-percent target share in Week 5. He played 65-percent of the snaps as the clear RB1. He may not have the RB1 upside like an Alexander Mattison, but Hubbard is a plug-and-play RB2 whenever McCaffrey is out. As we get later into the season, a guy like that becomes more and more valuable. Hold if you can.
Sell Kareem Hunt
Sell Kareem Hunt? Really? After what he just did in Week 5? The answer is yes. This is a split backfield and Hunt has been scoring like an RB1. That won’t continue. Hunt is seeing targets which is great, but he’s only getting 37-percent of the running back rush attempts. For someone who is only averaging 11 carries per game, his five rushing touchdowns (9% rate) are well above expectation. And sure, he’s seeing some goal line carries but Nick Chubb is still seeing the majority of those opportunities. It’s just Hunt has been uber-efficient (unsustainably efficient) with his. We’re not going to see a guy with a 40-percent opportunity share continue to score as an RB1 for the duration of a season. It won’t happen. Now, can he be an RB2? Yes, he can and probably will. But if someone in your league is willing to pay the RB1 price tag, go ahead and cash in.
Add/Buy Rondale Moore
Rondale Moore was predictably dropped in a lot of leagues after a couple quiet weeks. I hope you held, as I suggested in Week 4, but if you don’t have him go get him. Moore played on a season-high 48-percent of the snaps in Week 5. He saw a 19-percent target share which was his highest since Week 2. He caught five of his six targets for 59 yards and ran for another 38 yards on three carries. We saw his game-breaking ability in Week 2 so as he gets more targets we’ll see more of those big splash plays. He’s going to continue to be more involved in the offense especially with tight end Maxx Williams going down for the season and leaving a lot of middle of the field targets behind.
Buy D’Andre Swift
D’Andre Swift has played over 70% of the snaps in consecutive weeks (73% and 74%) as he continues to take on a larger role in the Lions offense. Most importantly, he’s heavily involved in the passing game. Swift has had a target share over 14% in every game this season (17% in Week 5). That’s great news especially considering the Lions are almost always playing from behind and needing to pass the ball. They have the worst receiving corps in the league and defenses are focused on containing tight end T.J. Hockenson. This leaves Jared Goff no choice but to check it down to his explosive second-year tailback. Swift has top-3 upside every single week.
Buy Chase Edmonds
Chase Edmonds continues to be one of the most consistent running backs in the league. He’s the only running back in the top-20 that has yet to score a touchdown. Imagine that, you’re getting weekly RB2 production for a guy who hasn’t even found the end zone yet. The scores will come. In the meantime, he’s consistently seeing targets. He’s had a target share over 12-percent in every game. He’s proven solid in the ground game as well as we saw in Week 4 when he carved up the Rams defense for 120 rushing yards. Edmonds won’t be hard to get from the touchdown worshipers, making him an excellent buy candidate for anyone who needs an RB2.
Add Devontae Booker
Devontae Booker totaled 58 yards and two touchdowns on 19 touches in relief of the injured Saquon Barkley in Week 5. It’s unclear how long Barkley will be out, but he’ll at least miss Week 6. Booker looks like he’ll be the workhorse in his absence.
Add Khalil Herbert
Khalil Herbert actually out-snapped Damien Williams in Week 5, 53-percent to 48-percent. He carried 18 times for 75 yards, though he did not receive a target. It’s looking like this backfield will be a full-blown timeshare in David Montgomery’s absence. If Herbert pulls away with the job, he’ll certainly be a valuable asset for the next few weeks. He’s still not a priority add, especially considering his lack of involvement in the passing game, but worth a bench stash especially as we have reached the bye weeks.
Add Van Jefferson
Van Jefferson has been quietly productive in Los Angeles. He has seen a double-digit target share in every game. As we get into bye weeks, Jefferson will be a name to roster as a fill-in flex play.
Buy Calvin Ridley
Calvin Ridley sat out Week 5 due to a personal matter. The Falcons are on a bye this week which means two-straight weeks with no Ridley production. That opens the window for a buying opportunity. While he hasn’t been as productive as we’d hoped when we drafted him in the second round, Ridley has been the target magnet he was promised to be. He has seen a target share over 21-percent in every game this season, including 31-percent in each of his last two. He’s also seeing the air yards as he entered Week 5 sixth among wide receivers (456) and second in team air yards share (48.8-percent). The Falcons offense has been improving which should only help unlock Ridley out of the bye week.
Buy Elijah Mitchell
Elijah Mitchell came back from his two game absence to reassume the RB1 role. He played 68-percent of the snaps with a 61-percent opportunity share. With Raheem Mostert out for the season and Jeff Wilson not expected back until at least November, Mitchell is clearly the guy to roster in this backfield. We know how productive the Kyle Shanahan backfield can be so go buy Mitchell before the price goes up. The Niners are on a bye this week which will only make acquiring him easier. Then ride him for the rest of the season.
Buy Tee Higgins
Tee Higgins may no longer be the alpha in the Bengals passing attack, but he still has a significant role in one of the league’s most explosive offenses. Higgins came back from a multi-week absence to an 18-percent target share. Rookie Ja’Marr Chase continued to operate as the WR1, but Higgins was the clear WR2 over Tyler Boyd. He’s an excellent buy-low candidate with the upside to go off for a big week at any time.
