Good W.I.L.L Hunting - Week 6 Waiver Wire

Every Tuesday, @TrueNorthFFB's very own Will Harris @itsharristime will be providing you with his W.I.L.L (Weekly Insights to Lead Your League). He’ll provide an in-depth positional look at the top waiver wire adds of theweek that are rostered on less than 40% of Yahoo leagues. @itsharristime will also give you three Professor Lambeau Picks just in case you cannot get the recommended waiver add for each position. How Bout Dem’ Apples looks at the stat lines of last week’s waiver wire insights and how @itsharristime fared.

QUARTERBACK

Andy Dalton- rostered @ 3%, Dallas Cowboys

Andy Dalton, aka the Red Rifle, aka the best backup quarterback in the NFL, is losing one of his many monikers that goes along with being a red haired quarterback.

The one moniker that he’ll be losing this week is the “best backup QB” one. With the unfortunate injury to Cowboys starter QB Dak Prescott (don’t watch the replay for the faint of heart), Dalton is now thrust into the starting role in Dallas.

Looking at the list of QBs available on waivers, and there are many, it took me some time to narrow it down to Dalton. Full disclaimer - if Justin Herbert is still available in your league, who is only rostered in 52% of leagues, go and get him. Stop reading the QB section of this article and put in a claim immediately!

The math is simple on QBs. There are 32 starting QBs and most leagues are 12-14 teamers. With that simple math, there is a plethora of start worthy QBs available, and this week is no different. What draws me to Dalton are three things:

1. We know what we are getting with Andy Dalton with a large sample size from his time in Cincinnati (safe QB with a sneaky rushing upside).

2. The plethora of weapons in the Dallas offense.This will be the best supporting cast that Dalton has ever had around him from the offensive line to the pass catchers to the running back. Think about it: CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and Ezekiel Elliot are a bit of an upgrade from AJ Green, Mohammed Sanu, John Ross and Jeremy Hill (hopefully you sensed the sarcasm in that sentence).

3. Strength of Schedule. The fact that Dallas is in the putrid and wide open NFC East means matchups with the likes of the Eagles (twice), Giants and Washington (twice) and that alone could make a case for Dalton as your starting QB. Mix in the fact that his first start is against Arizona, and after the bye Dallas plays against the nearly defenseless Vikings, Dalton is shaping up to be a very attractive QB add for the rest of the season.

Load up the Red Rifle for Week 6 with ease and for his divisional games versus Washington and the Eagles.

Professor Lambeau’s Picks

• Derek Carr- 21%, Las Vegas Raiders

• Ryan Fitzpatrick, 21% - Miami Dolphins

• Baker Mayfield, 39% - Cleveland Browns

RUNNING BACKS

Tony Pollard. - rostered @ 22%, Dallas Cowboys

The already shallow running back well is drying up very quickly this season given the amount of injuries as well as the cancelled/postponed games due to COVID.

It is not pretty out there.

I could take the easy route and tell you to go and get Alexander Mattison who is going to be a RB1 candidate filling in for the injured Dalvin Cook. Mattison is being rostered at 41%, and doesn’t qualify for a Good W.I.L.L pickup.

So here we are, looking down the running back barrel at another elite handcuff, Tony Pollard of the Cowboys.

Pollard and Mattison have battled for the title of “best RB backup” since the start of the season. Pollard has actually put together a stronger resume in his limited touches, and in 2019, was #5 among qualified RBs with a 5.3 yard per carry (YPC). Given opportunity, Pollard made the most of it, logging 3 games of over 17 f/pts on a snap share of less than 20%.

Pollard can give you points in a pinch, and is worth a stash on your bench as a free agent pickup this week. Under no circumstances should you be making a waiver claim for him This is a depth add and though we don’t want to say it after the Dak injury, if Elliot was ever to be injured, Pollard would be a locked in RB1, the same as Alexander Mattison.

Professor Lambeau’s Picks

• Brian Hill - 20%, Atlanta Falcons

• Matt Breida, 25%, Miami Dolphins

• Duke Johnson- 28%, Houston Texans

If you like True North's content click here to head on over and subscribe to our YouTube channel, the TNFF Network for top-notch video content.

WIDE RECEIVER

Chase Claypool - rostered @ 17%, Pittsburgh Steelers

As I sit here writing this article and recovering from the turkey induced hangover caused by Canadian Thanksgiving, I am extremely thankful for this young WR out of Notre Dame.

Chase Claypool had been one of the most polarizing rookies outside of Antonio Gibson this offseason. Even worse, many didn’t even have Claypool on their fantasy radar for good or bad reasons coming into this season.

Claypool, aka Mapletron, changed all that with a 4 TD day versus the Eagles at Heinz Field on Sunday. This, in fact, would have been a 5 TD day if not for a bogus pass interference call that called back another Mapletron touchdown.

We all should have seen this game coming, and some of us, myself included, did. The Eagles have been burnt this season by size/speed players (see George Kittle, Week 4), and it was a coin flip for me between Eric Ebron and Chase Claypool. Ebron did Ebron like things while Claypool established further trust and rapport with mercurial QB Ben Roethlisberger en route to a 4 TD performance.

With Diontae Johnson ruled out during the first quarter, Claypool was a target magnet for Big Ben, with Claypool commanding 11 targets, 7 receptions and 110 yards. Claypool was even used on a jet sweep to score a TD, showing that the trust is not only there with his quarterback, but also the coaching staff.

This usage against the Eagles should not have come as that big of a shock to you. Claypool did have a Week 2 game that saw him go 3/3 for 88 yards and a touchdown. He has, for all intents and purposes, looked really good since training camp and into the start of this season. Maybe the fantasy world was sleeping on him due to the cancelled Titans game that forced a bye week?

Either way, Claypool is a top WR add this week and looks to be the X in Pittsburgh. What will be tough to predict when this Steelers WR receiver corps is healthy is just who will be the top fantasy options. I predict that there will be different Mapletron, Diontae and JuJu weeks depending on opponents and matchups. Prepare for that volatility but embrace the boom that comes with this elite receiving corps.

Professor Lambeau’s Picks

• Travis Fulgham - 3%, Philadelphia Eagles

• Preston Williams- 22%, Miami Dolphins

• Mike Williams - 40%, Los Angeles Chargers

Click here to head on over to listen to the Jet Sweep Show podcast with @itsharristime and @TNFF_Smokey.

TIGHT END

Darren Fells -2%, Houston Texans

This week on the waiver wire there was a treasure trove of WRs to choose from. At TE, it’s the polar opposite with us having to scrounge the depths of Siberia to find someone or something to fill in.

What better place to start than in Texas where no-name TEs have been making themselves fantasy relevant for years now. Before going down with a concussion, Jordan Aikins had been TE 18 on the year.

It’s a scary place out there, but with the Texans, they always have another athletic TE to step in and fill the void, and this week’s hero was none other than Darren Fells. Fells if you remember was #3 in the league last year with 7 TDs. With Aikins banged up, Fells fell right back into his TD scoring ways against the Jaguars in Week 5 getting 2 targets for 2 receptions, 58 yards and a score.

It’s not pretty, but winning fantasy championships often aren’t. Go and add Fells for a bye week fill in or for your starting TE for the foreseeable future.

Professor Lambeau’s Picks

• Gerald Everett - 1%, Los Angeles Rams

• Irv Smith Jr. - 6%, Minnesota Vikings

• Cameron Brate- 2%, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

HOW ABOUT DEM' APPLES

Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers- 27.36 f/pts, 264 Yds, 4 TDs

Chase Edmonds., RB, Arizona Cardinals- 20.20 f/pts, 36 Yds, 1 TD

Tre’Quan Smith, WR, New Orleans Saints - 2.80 f/pts, 8 Yds, 2 receptions

Robert Tonyan, TE, Green Bay Packers- BYE

Thank you for reading my waiver wire article. Make sure to come back next week and please leave a comment or message me on Twitter @itsharristime

Edited by: Joe Simonetti (@joesimonetti77)

Graphic work: Dan Made Graphics (@DanMadeGraphics)