Week 5 of NFL action has concluded. Some teams are starting to separate themselves as leaders. Others are trying not to fall too far behind. The same goes for fantasy football teams and their managers. Luckily, they have another weekly installment of waiver wire pickups to subscribe to.
The waiver wire hasn’t been the most robust we’ve seen through five weeks. However, Week 6 has players with weekly starting upside for fantasy manager’s lineups. These starters very well may end up being league winners (see Kenneth Walker and Taysom Hill).
Fantasy Football waiver wire, Week 6: Running backs
1. Kenneth Walker, Seahawks
The 2022 2nd round pick has only seen limited action for the Seahawks thus far. That changed when starting running back, Rashaad Penny, left the game with an injury. Kenneth Walker was thrust into the starting role mid-game and finished with 88 yards and 1 touchdown on 8 carries.
Only rostered in 38% of NFL.com fantasy leagues, Walker is set to be Seattle’s starting running back for the rest of the season after further testing concluded that Penny has a broken fibula, a season-ending injury. He showed his explosiveness on his 69-yard touchdown run and should continue to flash his potential for the rest of the season. He is a priority add in all formats. He is worth starting and could be a league winner.
2. Joshua Kelley, Chargers
The third-year running back saw 10 rushing attempts and 2 receptions in the Chargers’ Week 5 matchup against the Browns. He turned this into 82 scrimmage yards and 1 touchdown. Another back mate Sony Michel only saw 1 rushing attempt. He turned this into 0 scrimmage yards.
Available in nearly 99% of NFL.com fantasy leagues, it appears as though Kelley has emerged as Los Angeles’ RB2. For now, he offers a floor as a change-of-pace back and a ceiling of a feature back if Austin Ekeler were to miss anytime. He is stashing in PPR formats, and worth adding in any format if you roster Austin Ekeler.
3. Caleb Huntley, Falcons
The second-year back saw his first game-time action in 2022 after spending all of 2021 on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. His most significant action came in weeks 4 and 5 with injuries prohibiting Cordarrelle Patterson and Damien Williams from playing. Through two weeks, he has 18 rushing attempts, 90 rushing yards, and 1 touchdown.
Only rostered in 1.2% of NFL.com fantasy leagues, Caleb Huntley has had a larger role than expected. Most expected Tyler Allgier to be the biggest beneficiary of the carries, but that hasn’t been the case. Caleb Huntley is worth rostering in standard formats due to his limited pass-catching ability and is worth stashing in deeper leagues.
If he’s still available, Eno Benjamin