Waiver Wire Week 6: Tyjae Spears, Matthew Stafford, Josh Downs Highlight Top Pickups
In some weeks, a potential league-winner emerges on the fantasy football waiver wire.
This is not one of those weeks.
While there may not be any possible stars up for grabs, there are a host of players readily available (rostered in fewer than 70 percent of Yahoo leagues, per FantasyPros) who seem at least streamer-worthy for Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season.
Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans (26 Percent Rostered)
The Titans have involved Spears, a third-round rookie out of Tulane, since the season-opener.
Slowly but surely, they're expanding his role, too, and he has done nothing to make them second-guess that decision.
In Week 5, Tennessee tasked him with a season-high 11 touches (seven carries, four receptions), and he responded with a career-high 69 scrimmage yards. He also found the end zone for the first time.
While the Titans still keep Derrick Henry plenty involved (16 touches in Week 5), Spears is versatile enough to share the backfield with Tennessee's lead rusher. Between his opportunities and talent level, there are enough positives to add Spears even with a few daunting matchups (vs. Baltimore and Atlanta) sandwiched around a bye week ahead.
Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams (57 Percent Rostered)
If Stafford had a few more passing touchdowns to his name, he'd be too rostered for a list like this.
Waiting to see this scores come before making an investment in fantasy is a relatively reasonable thing to do, but you could risk missing out on one of the league's most productive passers. Because once those touchdowns start piling up—and they will now that he has a healthy Cooper Kupp to pair with dynamic rookie Puka Nacua—Stafford's rostership will spike.
Stafford airs it out like few others. Only Kirk Cousins has more passing attempts than Stafford's 203. Just three quarterbacks are topping his 1,451 yards. His only wart is that like of scoring, as his five touchdown passes are the fewest among the top-10 leaders in passing yards.
It's worth noting, then, that this last game—again, his first with Kupp this season—was Stafford's first with multiple touchdowns. It was also his first interception-free outing since Week 1. His stock is rising, and that's saying something since it's already in a good spot.
Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts (9 Percent Rostered)
While the Colts passing game still runs through Michael Pittman Jr., Downs, a rookie third-rounder increasingly looks like the No. 2 option in this attack.
In fact, Downs might be closer to Pittman than he is to any of the pass-catchers vying for the No. 3 spot in Indianapolis.
Downs keeps hinting at putting together a monster performance sooner than later. In Weeks 3 and 5, he was targeted a total of 18 times, catching 14 of those passes for 154 yards.
His stat line could use a pinch more yardage and any kind of scoring, but he'll have a chance to fill in both gaps in Week 6. That's when he'll tussle with a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that's been bottom-10 against the pass in both yards (1,312 allowed, fourth-highest) and touchdowns (eight, tied for sixth-most).