This article is part of our CFB Waiver Wire series.
Waiver Wire Watch: Players to Pick Up Week 6
Week 5 was solid for my recommendations, including Ohio QB Nathan Rouke going off with four touchdowns and one of the top fantasy performances of the week. I feel really good about the upcoming week, so let's get to it. As a friendly reminder, make sure to keep up with injury news as this article is posted early in the week. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.
AAC
Thomas Sirk, QB, East Carolina: Sirk was one of the best performers last week with four total touchdowns and 389 offensive yards in a losing effort to South Florida. While there's a chance that was a fluke performance, he also threw for 426 yards and three touchdowns versus Connecticut the week before, which suggests it probably wasn't. East Carolina's defense is not very good, so Sirk will likely be racking up yards in every game for the rest of the season.
Tre'Quan Smith, WR, UCF: Likely due to UCF having only three games in five weeks, Smith is available in over 50 percent of leagues which is insane when considering the Knights have one of the best offenses in the conference. Smith is their top receiver with four touchdowns in his first three games. Quarterback McKenzie Milton trusts his senior receiver and will continue to do so when the team plays at Cincinnati this week. On that note, there's no reason Milton
Waiver Wire Watch: Players to Pick Up Week 6
Week 5 was solid for my recommendations, including Ohio QB Nathan Rouke going off with four touchdowns and one of the top fantasy performances of the week. I feel really good about the upcoming week, so let's get to it. As a friendly reminder, make sure to keep up with injury news as this article is posted early in the week. As always, I'll get to any questions or comments you have in the comments section below.
AAC
Thomas Sirk, QB, East Carolina: Sirk was one of the best performers last week with four total touchdowns and 389 offensive yards in a losing effort to South Florida. While there's a chance that was a fluke performance, he also threw for 426 yards and three touchdowns versus Connecticut the week before, which suggests it probably wasn't. East Carolina's defense is not very good, so Sirk will likely be racking up yards in every game for the rest of the season.
Tre'Quan Smith, WR, UCF: Likely due to UCF having only three games in five weeks, Smith is available in over 50 percent of leagues which is insane when considering the Knights have one of the best offenses in the conference. Smith is their top receiver with four touchdowns in his first three games. Quarterback McKenzie Milton trusts his senior receiver and will continue to do so when the team plays at Cincinnati this week. On that note, there's no reason Milton shouldn't be owned in every league as well.
*Memphis (at UConn) and Tulsa (at Tulane) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
ACC
Kurt Benkert, QB, Virginia: Benkert was very impressive while throwing three touchdowns on the blue field at Boise State in week four. He's actually thrown three touchdowns in three of the Cavs' four games this season and is available in pretty much all fantasy leagues. Miami's Malik Rosier was able to have success against Duke's defense, so there's reason to believe that Benkert can also throw the ball on the Blue Devils this week. RB Jordan Ellis also has some appeal if in need of a flex player.
Ervin Philips, WR, Syracuse: After a slow start to the season, Philips has exploded in his last two games with 28 catches for 281 yards and a touchdown. While he's not the No.1 option for Eric Dungey (that spot is reserved for Steve Ishmael), he's going to see enough targets to be worth owning. The best part is that he's owned in only 33 percent of leagues and the Orange are going to play a mediocre Pittsburgh secondary this week.
*Louisville (at NC State) has a soft matchup so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
BIG 12
Khalil Herbert, RB, Kansas: Herbert had a game for the ages in Week 4 when he shredded the West Virginia defense for 291 yards and two touchdowns on an astounding 36 carries. It was an opportune time for the sophomore to break out as the Jayhawks were on a bye last week and now they have the pleasure of playing Texas Tech who doesn't have much of a run defense to speak of. Oklahoma State racked up 221 rushing yards against the Red Raiders last week.
Cameron Batson, WR, Texas Tech: I'm all in for the Kansas and Texas Tech match-up this week as it should include a ton of offense. Outside of top receiving threat Keke Coutee, who is dealing with an injury, Batson has been the most consistent performer with at least six catches in each of his first four games. While I like Dylan Cantrell and Derrick Willies to also have decent games, I think Batson has a much higher floor than the other two.
*Oklahoma (vs. Iowa State) and TCU (vs. West Virginia) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
BIG TEN
Nate Stanley, QB, Iowa: After opening the season with a combined eight touchdown passes versus Wyoming and Iowa State, Stanley has been hard to watch with under 200 passing yards in each game against North Texas, Penn State and Michigan State. He should return to relevance against Illinois who allowed Nebraska's Tanner Lee to throw for three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Peyton Ramsey, QB, Indiana: The Hoosiers decided to go with Ramsey over the ineffective Richard Lagow and now the redshirt freshman has a chance to rack up huge numbers in his first career start against Charleston Southern. Despite not playing the majority of the snaps this year, Ramsey has 34 rushing attempts and provides the potential to have both passing and rushing scores.
*Ohio State (vs. Maryland) has a soft matchup, so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
CONFERENCE USA
Quardraiz Wadley, RB, UTEP: While the Miners are not a very good team, Wadley appears to be a diamond in the rough after rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries in Saturday's 35-21 loss to Army. The conference is full of some bad defenses, so if Wadley is going to receive the volume he has in the last two games (47 carries), he should be considered for fantasy teams.
Thomas Owens, WR, FIU: Owens was great versus Charlotte with a team-high seven catches for 101 yards and a touchdown while also throwing for a score, too. Don't let the Panthers' 3-1 record fool you, they're not that great of a team and will have to throw the ball to compete with every opponent they play. Owens is available in almost every league and can be held considered most weeks going forward.
*Louisiana Tech (at UAB), Marshall (at Charlotte), Florida Atlantic (at Old Dominion) and Army (at Rice) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
MAC
Diontae Johnson, WR, Toledo: Both Johnson and Cody Thompson should be owned in all fantasy leagues' however, Johnson is available in over 50 percent of leagues. Toledo managed 30 points against an above average Miami defense in Week 4 and should put up a bunch of points versus Eastern Michigan this week. Johnson has been surprisingly good this year with 20 catches for 363 yards and five touchdowns with a kickoff return for a touchdown as well.
James Gardner, WR, Miami (OH): The Redhawks were blown out by Notre Dame by the score of 52-17, but Gardner still had a good game with five catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. They'll return home next week to play a bad Bowling Green defense that will be prone to being torched by quarterback Gus Ragland and Gardner.
*Akron (vs. Ball State), Western Michigan (vs. Buffalo) and Northern Illinois (vs. Kent State) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
Mountain West
KeeSean Johnson, WR, Fresno State: Johnson has hauled in at least seven catches in three of the Bulldogs' four games this season. That has equated to 26 catches for 330 yards and three touchdowns. While it's a bit risky because all three of those scores came last week against Nevada, I love the matchup against San Jose State this week. The Spartans rank nationally as one of the worst defenses, so quarterback Marcus McMaryion and running back Ronnie Rivers should also get looks.
Nick Stevens, QB, Colorado State: A recommendation from last week, Stevens easily took care of Hawaii on the road with three touchdowns passes in the first half. He's still owned in only around 20 percent of leagues and the Rams should breeze through the Mountain West Conference the rest of the way. Utah State won't be able to compete with the Rams in any facet of the game this week.
*Hawaii (at Nevada) and San Diego State (at UNLV) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
PAC-12
Brandon Dawkins, QB, Arizona: Available in 64 percent of leagues and coming off a bye week, Dawkins should be considered for a matchup with Colorado. Through four games, he has five passing and six rushing touchdowns. The Buffaloes couldn't stop UCLA's Josh Rosen through the air in Week 4 or Washington on the ground in Week 3, so Dawkins should have some room to pass or run even if they don't compete in the game.
Kani Benoit, RB, Oregon: The Ducks somehow beat Cal by 45-24 despite incurring a plague of injuries which include: quarterback Justin Herbert, running back Royce Freeman, wide receiver Dillon Mitchell and tight end Jacob Breeland. A big reason they still won the game was because Benoit was electric and ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Undefeated Washington State comes to town this week, and while it will prove difficult to win the game, Benoit can still be a factor in an up-tempo affair.
*USC (vs. Oregon State) and Washington (vs. Cal) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
SEC
Kerryon Johnson, RB, Auburn: Owned in only 36 percent of leagues due to dealing with a hamstring injury a couple of weeks ago, Johnson should be scooped up immediately. The Tigers appear to be the real deal and Johnson was particularly impressive while running over Mississippi State to the tune of 116 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. Auburn's opponent this week, Mississippi, gave up a humiliating 66 points to Alabama which included all kinds of rushing yards.
Stephen Johnson, QB, Kentucky: Another repeat recommendation from last week, Johnson has an excellent opportunity to build upon his strong start to the year with 11 total touchdowns and only one interception. Missouri was off last week, so you may have forgotten about their awful defense. RB Benny Snell and receiver Garrett Johnson should also be inserted in to fantasy lineups this week.
*Alabama (at Texas A&M) has a soft matchup so if any Tide starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
SUN BELT
Jalin Moore, RB, Appalachian State: For anyone who gave up on Moore, it's time to pick him back up as he's available in just under half of all fantasy leagues. The Mountaineers will go up against a New Mexico State team who gave up over 200 rushing yards to Arkansas. Teammate Terrence Upshaw will get his carries, but I'm predicting a breakout game for Moore after a very slow start to the season.
Matt Linehan, QB, Idaho: Linehan has been mediocre at best with seven touchdowns and four interceptions through four games. He's been ok some weeks and disappointing in others, but this is the week to own him as he goes up against Louisiana-Lafayette who has had a ton of trouble stopping opposing quarterbacks.
*Arkansas State (at Georgia Southern) and Louisiana-Monroe (at Texas State) have soft matchups so if any of their starters are available, they should be considered for this week.
