With week six’s arrival, we are now officially one-third of the way through the NFL season, and we already have a ton of changes throughout the league. So, a lot of fantasy football teams are likely in turmoil and in need of some assistance. While you can’t just trade for Joe Flacco to save all your ills, you can still snag some fantasy football options to clean up your roster holes. Every week, I highlight two players available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues who should pop off. For folks in deeper leagues, I also pick one player available in at least 90% of Yahoo! leagues. All roster rates are as of Wednesday after the initial run of waivers.
This week’s theme is “fragged,” with numerous players experiencing changing fortunes due to injuries among their teammates.
QUARTERBACKS
Bryce Young (19% rostered) versus Dallas
While I don’t fully believe in Bryce Young’s ability to string together quality games yet, this matchup is too juicy to pass up. The now-benched Russell Wilson put up 450 yards against the Cowboys, and that barely scratches the surface of their defensive ineptitude. While they held the Jets to 22 points last week, they allowed 31 or more points in the three games before that, facing the Giants, the Bears, and the Packers. This fantasy production also runs through the quarterback, as they allow the most fantasy points per game to the position, with all five quarterbacks putting up 24 or more fantasy points against them.
Mac Jones (7% rostered) at Tampa Bay
Brock Purdy won’t suit up again for the 49ers’ trip across the country, and once again, Mac Jones will try not to die on a football field. He successfully pulled it off against the Rams, putting up 342 yards and two scores without throwing an interception. That puts his three-start average at 302 passing yards, two touchdowns, and 0.33 interceptions per game. The Buccaneers yield the fifth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks and have given up multiple touchdowns to four of the five quarterbacks to play against them, including backup Tyrod Taylor.
Dillon Gabriel (5% rostered) at Pittsburgh
The Steelers have a reputation as a strong defense, but unfortunately for them, that has more to do with the uniforms they wear than their defensive prowess. They allow the fifth-most yards and the thirteenth-most points per game on the season. Defenses chew through them on a per-play basis through the air, yielding the ninth-highest EPA/pass; their defense is strong (twenty-second in EPA/rush), making them a pass funnel defensive matchup. They’ve given up multiple touchdowns to three of the four quarterbacks to play against them (including Carson Wentz!). Dillon Gabriel will also run his offense through the tight ends, and they are the third-best tight end matchup this week, according to my tight end fantasy matchup model.
RUNNING BACKS
Hassan Haskins (49% rostered)/Kimani Vidal (20% rostered) at Miami
This is an excellent split decision because we did this exactly a week ago with Michael Carter and Emari Demercado in Arizona after the Cardinals lost their starting and backup running backs, James Conner and Trey Benson. This week, we lost another running back in Los Angeles, as Chargers’ rookie Omarion Hampton hit the IR with an ankle injury. His backup, Najee Harris, is also out for the season. That brings us to a thunder and lightning setup with Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal.
Like last week, I like the thunder back (Haskins) to rack up the down-to-down carries while getting the best shot at a touchdown, and the lightning back (Vidal) to garner the receptions and have the best shot at a PPR scam floor. The PPR scam role will be fruitful, as Hampton is fourth in the league in running back receptions, so those targets are a part of that offense.
The Dolphins are a soft landing for the pair of Bolts running backs, as they allow the fifth-most fantasy points to running backs this season, allowing the most rushing yards and the fifth-most receiving yards per game to the position.
Blake Corum (15% rostered) at Baltimore
The Ravens will likely be without Lamar Jackson, which means another boat race is in order. Despite his costly fumble last week (or because of it), the Rams likely put in a lot of effort to get Blake Corum going as the back to spell Kyren Williams. The Ravens allow the second-most fantasy points to running backs, as they’ve allowed eight scores and 786 yards to the position in five games, so it will be an excellent spot for Corum to get a bunch of mop-up duty touches to get himself right again after Thursday Night Football’s fumble issues.
Jaydon Blue (10% rostered) versus Carolina
Blue did not impress in his first bit of NFL action, but he is the RB2 to Javonte Williams this week with Miles Sanders put on season-ending IR. This is more about the offense and opponent in what is likely to be a limited role. The Cowboys are an elite offense, scoring 30+ points in three-straight games and creating tons of scoring opportunities. The Panthers are one of the worst teams in the league, and this should be a beatdown for the Cowboys once again. Like Corum, this is looking like a garbage-time stream as they try to establish him as a depth option.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Tre Tucker (44%) versus the Titans
Geno Smith is quickly falling apart for the Raiders, but Tre Tucker has come on as a practical fantasy football option lately. He has six or more targets in three of his last four games, and has three top-36 finishes in five games this season. He’s a matchup-based WR3 at this point, as his targets are inconsistent, but the Titans make for a great matchup this week. They’re top-five in touchdowns, targets, and yards per target allowed, creating a primo matchup for this weekend.
Kendrick Bourne (22% rostered) at Tampa Bay
Did people forget his absolute domination of the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football? He’s rostered in just over one-in-five leagues, and Ricky Pearsall still isn’t practicing, so he’s going to be starting once again for the 49ers. Brock Purdy also isn’t practicing, so it’s looking like Mac2KB will once again be in effect this weekend as Mac Jones fills in for the injured 49ers’ starter.
Jalen Coker (9% rostered) versus Dallas
Xavier Legette has been a bust so far in his career, but he has been getting some usage this season. He missed two games due to an injury, but he has 18 targets in his three healthy games this year. The Cowboys are the worst fantasy defense at stopping opposing wide receivers by a wide margin in my matchup model (67% worse than the #2 team(!)). This is his only good matchup of the season, to be honest. This will be the only time Jalen Coker might be worth it. Jalen Coker is almost back (and may be back for this one), so things are about to get extremely crowded for Legette in the wide receiver room, and the schedule doesn’t help. Stream him, then drop him. If you don’t stream him, don’t listen to any talking heads about him after the game if he balls out. The Panthers have a dreadful schedule from now on, but this is the best matchup by a wide margin, so try to cash it in.
TIGHT ENDS
Colston Loveland (25% rostered) at Washington
It’s been a while since we heard from Loveland, as the rookie tight end left in week three after six snaps and will return this week against the Commanders. The first tight end taken in the 2025 NFL Draft hasn’t ascended to the heights of a Tyler Warren, but those heights could be just around the corner. Loveland had only three targets in the first two games combined (74 total snaps), but in week three, before his injury, he had three targets on six snaps. Obviously, we can’t roll this forward to a 50% target rate on his snaps, but it does bode well after getting a target on 4% of snaps in weeks one and two.
This week, I developed a new matchup model that considers matchups and volume, as well as the distance from the mean teams on a per-target basis, while defending against tight ends. This places Washington directly at the top of my tight end matchup rates, at least for now. We will see how Loveland fares against the Commanders. It’s a Hail Mary, since he has six targets and missed the last two weeks (though last week was a bye), but the talent and draft pedigree are there.
Harold Fannin at Pittsburgh (26% rostered)
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the #3 team in my tight end opponent model, meaning that Harold Fannin should have himself another nice game this week, alongside his compatriot David Njoku. Last week, we saw Gabriel focusing on quick strikes to the tight end, with Fannin and Njoku combining for a 42% first-read target share, with all Browns wide receivers combining for a 33.4% target share. We are seeing a changing of the guard in Cleveland, moving toward a quick-strike, ball-control offense with Dillon Gabriel, which focuses on the tight ends.
Jake Tonges at Tampa Bay (9% rostered)
Ol’ Jakey Tongues is back and producing in the George Kittle Role in the 49ers offense, and he’s leapfrogged Luke Farrell to do it. He had 11 targets, seven catches, and 41 yards last week (and a score), bringing him up to 10 catches, 99 yards, and two scores in his previous two games. With Kittle ruled out for Sunday (same with Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall), it’s looking like the CMC/Kendrick Bourne/Jake Tonges 49ers will ride once again. Tampa Bay is the fifth-best matchup based on my model, which means that Tonges should have a chance to feast once again this week.
