Staying active on the waiver wire is an important way for season-long fantasy owners to improve their teams and get an edge on the competition. Shifts in opportunities for players due to injuries or performance cause value spikes that owners can take advantage of to fill in roster holes to build a championship lineup.
Each week, we will discuss waiver wire targets at each position to consider for both the week ahead and the rest of the fantasy season.
Week 6 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds
* Current roster % in home leagues is noted in parentheses (from FantasyPros)
Michael Penix Jr., QB (Atlanta Falcons) (22%)
The Falcons host the Buffalo Bills on Monday night as Josh Allen and friends look to rebound from their first loss of the season. The game has a high total and Atlanta will likely need to keep pace with explosive plays which bodes well for Michael Penix Jr. to produce for fantasy owners for the second straight game.
It’s been a sharp contrast for Penix Jr. with two good fantasy weeks and two bad fantasy weeks to start the season. In Weeks 1 & 4, Penix Jr. averaged 305.5 passing yards with two total touchdowns in each start. In Weeks 2 & 3, he sputtered to 153.5 passing yards per game and zero total scores.
The Falcons amassed a season-high 435 total yards in their win over the Commanders in Week 4. With their early bye week, they’ve had time to heal up and get prepared for a primetime clash on Monday. Penix Jr. is a streaming quarterback option to keep an eye on this week.
Looking for more fantasy football content? Make sure to check out Sean Koerner’s and Chris Raybon’s weekly fantasy football rankings by subscribing to FantasyLabs’ 2025 fantasy football kit.
Michael Carter, RB (Arizona Cardinals) (46%)
How….how did the Cardinals lose that game?
Arizona has been snake-bitten at the running back position this season with injuries to both James Conner and Trey Benson. Emari Demercado and Michael Carter were expected to split the backfield workload in Week 5, but Carter was the clear-cut number one option with 23 total touches.
Carter rushed 18 times for 51 yards and a touchdown and added five catches on five targets for 22 yards. His 2.8 yards/rush will need to improve for him to keep the role, but Demercado’s surprising unforced fumble at the goal line likely helps cement trust in Carter at the top of the depth chart.
The Cardinals head to Indianapolis to play a good Colts team. Carter’s upside in the passing game makes him a plug-n-play RB2 option this week off the waiver wire. He could be a season-long value piece if his workload continues.
Now available: our NFL DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.
Kendrick Bourne, WR (San Francisco 49ers) (4%)
Without many standout waiver wire receivers this week, Kendrick Bourne may have the most potential one-week upside as a starting fantasy option in Week 6. He tied a career high in targets (11) and catches (10) last Thursday night against the Rams, with his elevated opportunities coming from injuries to Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings.
Bourne finished with 142 receiving yards in the 49ers’ upset victory over the Rams. He is very unlikely to see enough targets to make him fantasy viable if Jennings and Pearsall both play this week. But if both sit out again, Bourne could easily see double-digit targets again in a potential shootout with Tampa Bay.
Keep an eye on the injury reports this week, but Bourne may be worth a speculative add in case he is the main show again in the San Francisco offense.
Evan Engram, TE (Denver Broncos) (64%)
Evan Engram‘s fantasy output has trended the right way over the last three weeks, with the new Broncos tight end catching his first touchdown pass of the season from Bo Nix this past game. He finished with four catches for 33 yards and the score. While that may not seem like a ton of upside, it starts to look appealing when you take a gander at the other options on the waiver wire.
Engram has 13 targets over the past two weeks after just six in his first two games before missing Week 3 with an injury. The Broncos offense came alive in the second half to upset the defending champion Eagles and Nix seems to be the real deal for Denver. Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin headline the target options for Nix, but Engram is a veteran option in the middle of the field that should continue to see more opportunities.
Green Bay Packers, D/ST (43%)
The Packers are the obvious waiver wire pickup if they were dropped prior to their Week 5 bye week. Micah Parsons has to be licking his lips at the thought of Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals coming to town this week. Browning has thrown six interceptions over his last four games since replacing Joe Burrow.
This should be a get-right game for a Green Bay defense that tallied four sacks in each of their first two games but struggled to pressure the quarterback in Weeks 3 & 4. They only have two total turnovers forced on the season but should have plenty of opportunities against Browning to add to those numbers. They are a must-add defense/special teams this week and could be a multi-week proposition with the Cardinals and Steelers on the horizon.
Pictured: Michael Penix Jr.
Photo Credit: Imagn
