We are five full weeks into the 2025 NFL season, and with that, you are three weeks into your fantasy football season. Injuries have ravaged the fantasy football landscape so far, but you can catch back up to your leaguemates – or stay ahead of them – with these Week 6 waiver wire pickups.
The depth of your fantasy football roster is already being tested, as this week alone we saw rookie running back Omarion Hampton get placed on injured reserve, and players like Brock Bowers and Terry McLaurin continue to miss time.
The following list includes players (except one) that are rostered on fewer than 50 percent of all ESPN rosters making the chances you can pick them up pretty high. Heading into Week 6, try your best to button up the edges of your roster as you look to start the season strong.
Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups
1. RB Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals
41.8% Rostered
The lead back for the Arizona Cardinals is now Michael Carter, who entered Week 5 sharing an unknown split of the backfield with Emari Demercado. But after his Week 5 performance, there is no doubt that Carter is the lead back moving forward for Arizona.
Carter earned 23 touches in AZ’s loss to the Tennessee Titans, hauling in all five receptions while taking his 18 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. With Trey Benson on the shelf for at least another three weeks, it looks like Carter will be the workhorse moving forward, as he earns his next shot at saving your fantasy football roster’s RB group against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6.
2. RB Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers
58.8% Rostered
Speaking of backup running backs, Rico Dowdle’s 206-yard performance against the Miami Dolphins cannot go unnoticed, and that is why he breaks the 50-percent roster-ship of this article. Stepping in for the injured Chuba Hubbard, Dowdle was the key cog in Carolina’s offense in Week 5, earning 23 carries and four targets (three receptions), accounting for 234 total yards.
Download averaged just under nine yards per carry in CAR’s win, as he found the end zone on the ground. Even when Hubbard returns, Dowdle looked so impressive that he will absolutely have an every-week role moving forward, music to the ears of those zero-RB truthers out there.
3. RB Hassan Haskins & Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers
0.0% & 0.3% Rostered
The four-week IR stint for Hampton opens up the backfield for the Los Angeles Chargers, as backups Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal are next in line. With neither jumping fully into the vacated role after Hampton’s second-half injury in Week 5, it remains a big question which back will take the top role.
For Haskins, he is the bigger back of the two, and his skill set leans more toward being the between-the-tackles option, giving him a solid floor as the main ball carrier. But for Vidal, he brings the pass-catching aspect to the backfield, which could give him the higher ceiling of two, depending on the game script.
My money would be on both guys to earn a shot in Week 6 against the shoddy Dolphins run defense, with Haskins likely getting the first shot. It would not surprise me if both backs finished the game with 12-plus touches, with Vidal likely leading the group in receptions and Haskins leading the way in terms of carries. If you need to pick one option, the slight advantage goes to Haskins, but both will factor into the Week 6 game plan.
4. TE Theo Johnson, New York Giants
5.5% Rostered
Theo Johnson looks to have solidified himself as Jaxson Dart’s favorite red-zone target, as the Penn State tight end has now caught a touchdown in each of Dart’s first two starts. Johnson has seen five and seven targets, respectively, in the past two games, setting season marks in both receptions (six) and targets (seven) in NYG’s Week 5 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Loved everything about this play from the Giants from the design presnap, to the throw away from the inside defender and most notably the adjustment in air AND catch (securing the football) from Theo Johnson. pic.twitter.com/LaEhg6c8ds
— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) October 6, 2025
Johnson caught both of Dart’s touchdowns Sunday; look for Johnson to remain one of Dart’s favorite targets, especially on a short week in Week 6, as the Giants will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football.
5. TE Darren Waller, Miami Dolphins
48.3% Rostered
The career renaissance continues for Darren Waller, as he has now caught three touchdowns in his first two games with the Miami Dolphins. Having taken a big step forward in terms of snap count, Waller saw the field for 58 percent of offensive snaps, catching all five targets for 78 yards and a touchdown.
With Tyreek Hill out for the season, Waller looks to be comfortably in the running to be Tua Tagovailoa’s second target in the passing attack. As the Miami offense looks to try and pick up the slack from their terrible defense, look for Waller to have a solid role as a high-TE2 for the rest of the season, provided he stays healthy.
6. QB Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
14.4% Rostered
Coming out on the wrong side of a Week 5 shootout, Sam Darnold has strung together a really strong start to his 2025 season, and that has turned into a QB14 showing so far for fantasy football. His Week 5 performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was his best of 2025, throwing for 341 yards and four TDs.
Darnold’s relationship with Jaxon Smith-Njigba continues to grow by the week, as the former Vikings and Jets QB has looked really comfortable in his new home. You can comfortably fire Darnold up in Week 6 at quarterback if your roster needs some help, as he will be facing the Jacksonville Jaguars defense on a short week.
7. RB Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
21.0% Rostered
Kendre Miller continues to see an increased workload out of the backfield for the Saints, as he checks in as the final running back in the Week 6 waiver wire pickups. Having earned double-digit carries in each of the past two weeks, Miller has been slowly cutting into Alvin Kamara’s once-safe workload in the NO offense, something that was not seen as likely this offseason.
Miller still needs to become a bigger part of the game plan in the passing game (only four receptions for the year), so while this move doesn’t really move the needle much on paper, Miller could become an RB3 for your fantasy football roster as the season progresses.
8. WR Kendrick Bourne, San Francisco 49ers
4.5% Rostered
Stepping in for the injured Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, Kendrick Bourne shocked many in the fantasy football community with his 10-reception, 142-yard performance on Thursday Night Football.
49ers WR Kendrick Bourne caught 10 passes for 142 yards one day before the birthday of his mother, Luisa Bourne, who was at Thursday night’s game. An early birthday gift for his mom. pic.twitter.com/Ae125iP0sM
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 3, 2025
Both he and Mac Jones looked solid in San Francisco’s fourth win of the year, and while both Jennings and Pearsall are expected back in the near future, look for Bourne to have locked down the WR3 role (at worst) in the 49ers offense, a role that can have some volatility to it but can also give you a solid bench piece for you fantasy football roster.
9. TE Mason Taylor, New York Jets
8.2% Rostered
The final tight end in the Week 6 waiver wire pickups is rookie Mason Taylor, who has ascended into being Justin Fields’ second target in the passing attack. The LSU rookie has seen 25 targets across the past three weeks, including 12 in NYJ’s Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, as he is looking like the trusted safety valve option in that offense.
With the New York Jets finding themselves playing from behind a ton this year, it has fallen to Justin Fields to orchestrate the offense through the air, and Taylor has become a big benefactor of that approach. Look for Taylor to remain a threat to be a weekly top-15 TE as one of the top targets in the Jets offense.
10. WR Isaiah Bond, Cleveland Browns
4.6% Rostered
The final player in the Week 6 waiver wire pickups is another rookie, wideout Isaiah Bond. It was quite the slow start to the season for Bond as he has grown into his role with the Cleveland Browns, but his workload the past two weeks has shown what his floor could look like.
Bond saw six targets in Week 4 and seven targets this past week against the Minnesota Vikings, and with the injury to Cedric Tillman, the WR2 spot looks to be Bond’s to take and run with for the time being. As Cleveland plays from behind more often than not, look for Bond to be a PPR sponge, giving him a high-enough floor to justify including in weekly FLEX conversations.
