It has certainly been a wacky Week 5 in the fantasy football world as we saw some teams pick up wins on Thursday with D.J. Moore's blowup game against the Washington Commanders and Zack Moss continued crushing the game for the Indianapolis Colts despite Jonathan Taylor's return.
Those kinds of breaks can determine matchups, but more often than not the moves on the margins can be the difference between securing victory on a weekly basis.
While there aren't any obvious pickups like Jerome Ford or Puka Nacua on the board this week, there are still plenty of options available to improve your fantasy football lineup in Week 6, when owners will have to contend with bye weeks for the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. Let's break down the five best pickups for Week 6, with all rostered percentages based on Yahoo! leagues.
5. Houston Texans' TE Dalton Schultz
We've covered Texans' quarterback C.J. Stroud a lot in this space over the past few weeks and we've seen him become a viable fantasy commodity over the course of the season. Stroud's strong play has elevated some of the Texans' playmakers to fantasy relevance, with Dalton Schultz finally joining the party in Week 5.
Schultz was targeted a season-high 10 times in Houston's narrow loss to Atlanta, catching seven of them for 65 yards and a touchdown. The spike marked the second straight game that Schultz has found paydirt, which is something most fantasy owners would love to get out of the tight end position.
Owners in need of help at tight end could make a play for Schultz, who is rostered in 36 percent of leagues, as either a temporary starter or a bye-week filler. Considering the state of tight end play in fantasy football, anybody who gets 10 targets at the position is certainly worth a look.
4. Kansas City Chiefs' WR Rashee Rice
The Chiefs' passing game has been pretty self-explanatory since Tyreek Hill was traded away prior to the start of last season. Travis Kelce has been the clear top target and the receivers have rotated their time in the spotlight with Marques Valdez-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, and Skyy Moore all receiving game plan emphasis at times.
Finding a receiver who gets regular play from Patrick Mahomes would be an excellent pickup in fantasy, so now might be the time to get in on Rashee Rice. The 2023 second-round pick was personally suggested to Kansas City's front office by Mahomes after he threw with Rice in offseason workouts and that trust is starting to spill onto the field.
Rice had a solid effort in Week 5, turning five targets into four catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. The key thing to note with Rice is that he is getting consistent target volume, racking up at least five targets in four of Kansas City's first five games, and he has done good work with them to surpass Toney on the depth chart.
There is still a window to add Rice, who is rostered in 39 percent of leagues, ahead of a short-week matchup with the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Rice could be a good bye-week filler for any George Pickens owners while also having the upside of playing with the best quarterback on the planet.
3. Chicago Bears' RB D'Onta Foreman
Any time a starting running back gets hurt it usually leads to a mad rush to the waiver wire to secure his backup as an immediate starter. This could certainly be the case in Chicago, where the running back room was absolutely ravaged by injuries during the Bears' Thursday night win over Washington.
The headline on the injury front is that starter Khalil Herbert suffered a high ankle sprain that should sideline him for several weeks. Both of Chicago's backups also got hurt during the game, which should create an opportunity for D'Onta Foreman to assert himself back into the mix.
Foreman was a key free-agent acquisition for the Bears in the offseason but got passed on the depth chart by rookie Roschon Johnson early in the year. Chicago has made Foreman a healthy scratch each of the past two games, meaning he is the only fully healthy running back on the Bears' roster entering Week 6.
Johnson has a shot to be back in Week 6, but even if he does return it looks like Foreman will at least be part of a committee for the next few weeks. Foreman is rostered in just 7 percent of leagues and is coming off a year where ran for 914 yards in Carolina, so there is some solid RB2 potential here if he gets the majority of carries in the coming weeks.
2. Chicago Bears' RB Roschon Johnson
The reason that Foreman isn't the top pickup of the week is because there is still the potential that Johnson, who passed him on the depth chart earlier this season, will be available in Week 6. Johnson left the Bears' win over the Commanders to be evaluated for a concussion, so the latest information indicates he is still in the concussion protocol as of this post's writing.
While it is true that no one has returned from a concussion within one week since Kenny Pickett cleared the protocol in December, Johnson does have the advantage of three extra days from Chicago's mini-bye after a Thursday night game. Those extra days may allow Johnson to clear the protocol, where he would figure to be the heavier half of a platoon with Foreman in the Bears' backfield.
Johnson has impressed the coaching staff with his pass-catching skills and his ability to showcase some good speed, making him an asset in PPR leagues. The Bears will also look to continue running the ball to help ease the pressure on Justin Fields, who has played two strong games in a row, ahead of a Week 6 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
There is a sizable contingent of Johnson owners, as he is rostered in 41 percent of leagues, likely as a result of when he passed Foreman on the depth chart. Even if Johnson isn't good to go for Week 6, he will be inherting at worst an increase in work for as long as Herbert is out, making him a good filler at running back during bye weeks.
1. Indianapolis Colts' WR Josh Downs
We've discussed Downs before in this space but the problem for the Colts' rookie has been that the passing offense varies heavily from starter Anthony Richardson to backup Gardner Minshew. While Downs has done well with both quarterbacks, his production has been much better with the pass-first Minshew under center than the hybrid game of Richardson.
An injury to Richardson's shoulder may serve to the benefit of Downs, who clicked well with Minshew again in Week 5 to the tune of six catches for 97 yards. It is unclear how long Richardson will be sidelined, but as long as Minshew is the starter it will be to the benefit of Downs, who is more of a possession receiver that can be trusted on third downs.
The other game that Richardson missed was in Week 3 and Minshew looked to Dobbs a season-high 12 times. Dobbs turned eight of those targets into receptions for 57 yards, making him a valuable PPR play in any game that Minshew is starting.
There is a great opportunity to add Dobbs, who is rostered in only nine percent of leagues, with Indianapolis set for a trip to Jacksonville in Week 6. The game may well turn into a revenge spot for Minshew, who will look to his new favorite target a lot and makes Dobbs the top pickup of the week.
