Looking for a last-minute start like Tre Tucker at WR? An option to stash moving forward? Zach Thompson has you covered for Week 6.
Wide receiver is always a wild position every week for fantasy football. Sleepers emerge with big games while big-name options can come up empty. Sometimes the breakouts come out of nowhere, but most of the time there are some contributing factors which can help predict success.
Cheap receiver options are available across the 10-game main slate who are also sitting on many leagues’ waiver wires, but they still have a chance to make an impact this week. The options below are ranked well outside my top-25 plays at the position, but they bring value upside if you need an emergency option for your season-long team or a DFS bargain.
Here are my top five sleeper wide receivers for Week 6:
The Raiders will be without Davante Adams (hamstring) for a third straight week as the disgruntled star receiver continues to look for a trade out of Vegas. Without Adams, Tucker jumps into a starting spot and brings boom-or-bust upside at just over $4,000 on DraftKings in DFS contests like the NFL $3M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st].
Tucker would be the team’s top wide receiver if Jakobi Meyers ($5,400; questionable, ankle) isn’t able to play, although Brock Bowers ($6,000) will probably be the top option for new QB Aiden O’Connell ($4,900). O’Connell and Tucker will need to get on the same page in a hurry since the Raiders have a tough matchup with Pittsburgh.
In Week 3, the first game Adams missed, Tucker went off for 22.6 fantasy points on seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Against the Browns in Week 4, he had a rushing touchdown to go with five catches for 41 yards on his way to 15.4 fantasy points. Last week in Denver, Tucker only had two catches for 4.6 fantasy points, but he did still have five targets.
Against the Steelers, “Sticks” will be busy, especially if Meyers is sidelined. The Steelers’ defense is tough, but they have given up a wide receiver touchdown in each of their last three games with over 200 yards allowed to WRs twice in that span.
The Falcons’ passing game went off last week against the Bucs on Thursday Night Football. Drake London ($6,700) and Darnell Mooney ($5,300) carried most of the load, but McCloud has also been very involved as the team’s third receiver. He only played 54% of snaps back in Week 1 but has played almost 100% of snaps in every week since then.
McCloud has six catches in each of his last two games, totaling 52 yards against the Saints and 66 against the Bucs. He hasn’t found the end zone yet this season, but has produced double-digit fantasy points in each of those two contests.
The Falcons’ receivers have a great matchup against the Panthers this week. Carolina has allowed eight wide receiver touchdowns in their five games this season and over 170 yards to the position in each of their last three games.
With his big-play potential, McCloud has a high ceiling even though he’s the team’s third receiver. Kirk Cousins ($6,200) had the offense humming last week, and if that continues against Carolina, there should be plenty of production to go around.
The Patriots’ passing attack has struggled all season, but a new QB is running the show this week as Drake Maye ($5,000) takes over for Jacoby Brissett ($4,500). With a new signal-caller, it’s hard to know for sure what the target share will look like, but Polk has been fairly heavily involved the past few weeks.
Polk scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 2 against the Seahawks, and his role has actually grown since then. He played 83% of snaps and had seven targets against the 49ers in Week 4. He played every single offensive snap last week against the Dolphins while getting six targets, the second-most on the team behind only DeMario Douglas ($4,400).
While the matchup isn’t ideal against Houston, the Patriots may have to air it out if playing from behind. The rookie connection of Maye-to-Polk is one the Patriots hope grows into a productive one for years to come, and this week, Polk is cheap enough to be worth a look as a fantasy football sleeper. If you’re in deep leagues, Polk may be an option to stash moving forward since the job as the team’s No. 1 receiver is still available.
On the other side of that same matchup, the Texans won’t have Nico Collins (hamstring), so all their receivers will jump up a spot on the depth chart. While Stefon Diggs ($7,400) and Tank Dell ($6,200) are both priced up to compensate for their increased role, Hutchinson is still a bargain option. He’ll serve as the team’s third receiver with Robert Woods (foot) also ruled out.
Last week, Hutchinson played 71% of snaps after playing under 20% in every previous game this season. He caught 2-of-3 targets for a season-high 31 yards. The second-year receiver was a sixth-round pick out of Iowa State, but has yet to make much of an impact with Houston.
He should be on the field enough this week to be worth a flier play against the Pats, although he doesn’t have the upside that Polk brings for just $300 more.
Jefferson has been the Steelers’ No. 2 receiver most of the season and actually led the team’s receivers by playing 81% of snaps last week. While George Pickens ($5,900) dogged it and was less involved, Jefferson was one of the beneficiaries. He comes into this week just $100 over the minimum for receivers despite the fact that he’s been so involved.
Jefferson had a season-high five targets in the Steelers’ Sunday night loss and finished with three catches for 26 yards. While his numbers haven’t been impressive at all this year, he is on the field enough that he has upside as a punt play against the Raiders.
Vegas’ secondary was torn up by the Broncos last week, so Justin Fields ($5,800) will look to take advantage of the matchup here. Jefferson showed glimmers of upside with the Rams. He could be a solid option for Fields if the team looks for other options due to Pickens’ attitude and effort issues.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
