What do Sammie Coates, Cameron Meredith, Adam Thielen, Chris Hogan and Jeremy Kerley have in common?
All five wide receivers posted more than 100 yards receiving over the weekend, startling fantasy football owners and giving them plenty of options going into the rest of the season.
Welcome to the Week 6 waiver wire.
Given the swath of names above, it is quite clear wideouts dominate this week’s waiver wire. For those in need at running back, here’s to hoping owners went all-in on Jordan Howard of the Chicago Bears as advised weeks ago.
Here’s a look at the latest players owners need to gobble up off the wire.
Week 6 Waiver-Wire Targets
Brian Hoyer, QB, CHI (16.6 percent owned)
Those struggling at quarterback don’t have a ton of options.
Given the wealth of injuries in Chicago, though, it shouldn’t register as a surprise to see Howard’s quarterback, Brian Hoyer, come up in the waiver discussion.
Easy matchups or not, Hoyer has put in a solid two weeks of work as starter for the Bears, this past weekend throwing for 397 yards and two touchdowns, good for a season-high 23 points.
Granted, this performance came against the struggling Indianapolis Colts, but Hoyer next gets the Jacksonville Jaguars before a potential shootout with the Green Bay Packers. Before Sunday’s outburst, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed the job is Hoyer‘s to lose:
Hoyer doesn’t take many risks, but it’s not a bad thing given how easy it makes projecting his performances. He’s the perfect pickup for a spot start or two if needed.
Sammie Coates, WR, PIT (39.9 percent owned)
Always a big-play threat, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates led all scorers at his position with 25 points ahead of Monday’s action.
Coates turned deep opportunities into long gains consistently against the New York Jets, catching six passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
ESPN’s Field Yates revealed a trend fantasy owners will want to know about:
Granted, Coates hadn’t hit double digits all year before Sunday. Even worse, he dropped several passes, hence his only catching six of 11 targets, meaning the 25 points could have been so much more.
If fast owners who scoop up Coates are lucky, his growing target numbers—four, eight, 11 over the past three weeks—will continue to hover in the same realm, if not grow. Just in time, too, because the Steelers next get the reeling Miami Dolphins.
Cameron Meredith, WR, CHI (1.5 percent owned)
Meredith is a product of the Bears dealing with injuries to guys like quarterback Jay Cutler and young wideout Kevin White.
Meredith, a former college quarterback, built a strong rapport with Hoyer on the second team in practice. The rest writes itself—both got thrust into a starting role, and Meredith responded, starting opposite Alshon Jeffery on Sunday and catching nine passes for 130 yards and a score, good for 17 points.
Given a new starting gig, Meredith received a strong nine targets, five more than he’s seen in a game this year. Yes, he lost a costly fumble late, but Chicago doesn’t have anyone else to turn to, and the team isn’t about to bench what could be a breakout star at a position of need during what is already a lost season at 1-4.
The same matchups mentioned for Hoyer apply here. A physical freak at 6’3″ and 207 pounds, Meredith should continue to post big days while defenses focus on Jeffery.
Jesse James, TE, PIT (20.6 percent owned)
Everybody gets a piece of the pie in the elite Pittsburgh passing attack led by Ben Roethlisberger.
This includes tight end Jesse James, who now has a touchdown in each of his last two outings and three over his last four. James caught six passes for 43 yards and a score against the Jets Sunday, good for 10 points.
Every number there was the best of his season, though the Jets did essentially gift him the score, as the NFL captured:
If anything, James being so open speaks to how thin the Pittsburgh offense can spread defenses, meaning the production isn’t going anywhere.
James just received a season-high eight targets, a number that could stick around for good now that he’s scored twice over two weeks. He now boasts a strong floor, making him a must have for owners in need.
All scoring info and statistics courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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