This week is going to be a busy one on the waiver wire.
Byes begin Week 6, and managers will scramble to find replacements for their Lions, Raiders, Titans and Texans players. With Derek Carr and Jared Goff on bye, some players, likely in two-quarterback leagues, will need a second starter, and the running backs for each team—Jamaal Williams, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry and Dameon Pierce are all top 12 at their position.
Receiver is a bit easier to address on waivers, but top-end talents Davante Adams and Amon-Ra St. Brown will also be off this week. Rashaad Penny suffered a season-ending injury, and James Conner is dinged up, so there's free agent running backs to be had who will have expanded roles moving forward. And after what he did on Sunday, we have to talk about the unicorn Taysom Hill and his fantasy viability again.
QUARTERBACKS WAIVER WIRE
Geno Smith (SEA) FAAB up to 10%
Here's a list of fantasy quarterbacks who have scored more points than Smith: Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray. It ends there. The Seahawks' signal caller impressed again last week, and this time against a quality defense on the road. Smith sliced up the Saints for 268 passing yards and a season-best three touchdowns. He was QB3 on the week, which follows up a QB2 performance, and Smith leads all players in ESPN's passer rating (113.1). He rarely turns the ball over, has a pair of great receivers to target downfield and has plus matchups against the Cardinals and Chargers coming up. It doesn't hurt that the Seahawks defense allows the second-most points in the NFL—he's cooking, and he has to. At some point, his success becomes a reality, and five games is a big enough sample size for me. Go add Smith, who’s somehow still available in over 50% of leagues.
Jimmy Garoppolo (SF) FAAB up to 4%
Garoppolo had a textbook game against the Panthers, and was also his best of the season. He went 18 for 30 for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Unlike last week, when a large chunk of his yardage and only touchdown came on a highlight catch-and-run play by Deebo Samuel, Garoppolo spread the ball around in Carolina and had a solid outing despite only connecting with Samuel twice. There was nothing awe-inducing about Garoppolo's outing, but you could surely do worse than the QB7 on the week. He can build on this performance with the Falcons and the Chiefs next on the schedule.
