Updated Fantasy Football WR Rankings Week 6: Who to start, best sleepers, injuries, waiver wire picks at wide receiver

The wide receivers came to play in Week 5! Heading into SNF and MNF, 11 wide receivers had gone over the 100 yard mark. That’s the most this season, and there’s still two games to go. Ja’Marr Chase led the way with 193 yards for the Bengals in an overtime loss to the Ravens.

Drake London was the second leading receiver in terms of yards, but the Falcons had a second receiver crack the century mark in Darnell Mooney. You can read more about Mooney below in our waiver section, but this was a very encouraging performance for London who was running more routes out of the slot. If that trend continues, and Cousins continues to build his chemistry with him, then London may finally be on the path to reaching his potential. 

And of course there were also the usual mind-boggling clunkers and disappointments. DK Metcalf was expected to have a monster game at home against the Giants, but was only able to manage 55 scoreless yards on four catches. Nico Collins looked like he was on his way to another big game, but he went down with a hamstring injury. And Deebo Samuel had just one catch for 11 yards for the 49ers. On a positive note, Brandon Aiyuk finally made a splash, turning eight catches into 147 yards in a shocking loss to the Cardinals.  

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Fantasy WR Rankings Week 6: Who to start, sit at wide receiver

Rankings based on PPR scoring. These rankings were updated on Oct. 9 and will be updated throughout the week, so check back often. 

Who are the best fantasy WRs Week 6?

Two of our top-3 wide receivers come from the same game as the Dallas Cowboys host the Detroit Lions in what could be an offensive track meet. While the Lions do have a good pass rush led by Aidan Hutchinson, their secondary is still a weakness, and Dak Prescott doesn’t need much time to get into CeeDee Lamb’s hands in space. Look for Lamb to go over 100 yards and notch at least one TD. 

Amon-Ra St. Brown will be on the opposite sideline, and he checks in at WR3 this week. He’s also coming off a bye week, so he should be well-rested. St. Brown managers have to be somewhat disappointed in the stud WR’s start this year, but after a super quiet Week 1, his target share is closer to what we’ve become accustomed to. As long as this one stays close, the Lions will have to lean on the passing game, and coming off the bye, this should be a smash spot for St. Brown. 

And Ja’Marr Chase is in the middle of our Lamb-St. Brown sandiwch. Chase had a mammoth game against the Ravens in a losing effort, amassing 10 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns. This comes on the heels of games of 3-85-1 and 6-118-2. The Giants did surprisingly contain Seattle’s offense in Week 5, but I wouldn’t bet on them doing the same to Chase who’s scorching hot right now. 

Who are the WRs on byes in Week 6? 

Kansas City Chiefs: With Rashee Rice already out with a knee injury, the bye week for the Chiefs shouldn’t have a major impact of fantasy managers. Xavier Worthy is the most notable name that won’t be available this week at the position for Kansas City. 

Miami Dolphins: Not having the name value of Tyreek Hill and Jayden Waddle available to fantasy managers looks brutal on paper, but since Tua Tagovailoa went down with a concussion, the entire Miami offense has looked absolutely lost. The bye week actually gives fantasy managers an excuse not to play Hill and Waddle who have been hurting more than helping the last few weeks. Odell Beckham Jr. also returned in Week 5, so this will give him a chance to rest up after his first action in quite some time.  

Minnesota Vikings: This one truly does sting, of course, as the bye for the Vikings means no Justin Jefferson this week. There really isn’t a replacement for a WR of that caliber, so you just have to try and minimize the damager here. It also means you have to make sure Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor are out of your lineups.   

Los Angeles Rams: The early bye week is actually a positive for the Rams as they’ve been banged up the entire season so far. Fantasy managers have been without Puka Nacua practically the entire season, and they’ve been without Kupp since Week 2.  

Who are the best fantasy WR waiver pickups Week 6?

Josh Downs continues to impress for the Colts, and he’s had success with both Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco under center. Downs racked up nine catches for 69 yards and is only rostered in 40% of leagues. His teammate Alec Pierce had an even bigger game with 134 yards and a touchdown on just three caches. Downs’ production is much stickier, and thus, the better recommendation. Pierce will be very volatile, but his spike weeks can help carry teams if you can pick your spots wisely. 

Darnell Mooney had a monster game on TNF against the Bucs, hauling in nine catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. But this wasn’t an anomaly. In fact, Mooney has had at least six targets in every game after Week 1 and had a whopping 16 targets this week. Cousins has clearly build up a rapport in short order with Mooney, and he’s rostered in 48% of leagues. At that number, he’s not available in every league, but if he’s on your wire, pounce on him now. 

WEEK 6 WAIVER WIRE ADVICE
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Who are the best fantasy WR sleepers Week 6?

Jaxon Smith-Njigba managers thought they had a great matchup against the Giants in Week 5, but JSN didn’t deliver – not much of the Seattle offense did for that matter. It was a game to forget for most of the Seattle skill players, but JSN only had one target, which he did convert into a catch, but it was for just three yards. If Seattle is going to keep pace with the 49ers this week, Smith-Njigba will have to have a much better game. 

One of the most anticipated games of the Week 6 slate for fantasy purposes has to be Dallas vs. Detroit. The offensive fireworks should be going off early and often in this one. And while CeeDee Lamb will be the focal point of the offense as usual for the Cowboys, look for Jalen Tolbert to also play a sizeable supporting role. With Brandin Cooks on IR, this is Tolbert’s time to shine and really run away with the WR2 role on this team. 

What are the biggest WR injuries Week 6?

The biggest new injury to come out of Week 5 action belongs to Houston’s Nico Collins, as he went down with a hamstring injury against the Bills. It sounds like he could be back for this week’s matchup against the Patriots, but given it’s a weak opponent, we’re going to leave him unranked for now. It could be a good chance to give Collins some extra rest without hurting the team too much. 

Optimism with #Texans that wide receiver Nico Collins and offensive tackle Tytus Howard hamstring injuries are short-term and could be back as soon as next week against #Patriots per league sources @KPRC2

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 6, 2024

The injury bug hit quite a few notable wide receivers heading into Week 5 as well that we’ll have to keep tabs on. Malik Nabers had to sit as he remains in the concussion protocol, but we’d expect him to suit up in Week 6, and we have him penciled in as WR4, but check back often to make sure he’s active. 

Davante Adams sat again with a hamstring injury, but the next time we see him on the field, it will likely be in a new uniform as rumors continue to run wild that the Raiders will be moving him, and there are no shortage of suitors. The hamstring injury is said to be legit, though, and regardless of which team he’s on, he’s likely to sit again this week. 

A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith will be coming off a bye, but if they’re able to suit up, they’ll also be returning from injury. Brown has missed multiple games with a hamstring injury, and Smith missed one game after being knocked out by the Saints in Week 3. We’re expecting both to return after the extra rest of the bye, but we’re still waiting on a definitive call for each. 

Christian Watson had to sit out for the Packers with an ankle injury. We’re leaving him unranked for now, and if he sits, it could mean big games for Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. It could also mean big things for Romeo Doubs, but he sat in Week 5 due to a 1-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. It sounds like the organization is ready to welcome him back after he complained about his usage in the offense, so we have him ranked for now. 

Khalil Shakir sat for the Bills against the Texans with an ankle injury. And while he may not be a household name yet, he was clearly a massive part of the Bills’ passing game, because without him, it looked like a completely different offense out there. Josh Allen struggled mightily, so the sooner Shakir can return the better.