Running backs fell in Week 6, opening up opportunities across the fantasy landscape. Opportunities create value in the backfield in particular. This article will discuss deep league waiver additions, focusing on Dynasty league formats. 

Players will fall into four primary categories: 

• Short-term Starters - Players capable of providing immediate production in deep leagues. 
• Proactive Pickups - Players who need the depth chart to be clear before them but are more available than other players in a similar role. 
• Deep Darts - Speculative players who have a chance at value.
• Dynasty Buys - Players whose values have changed, and the market may not have caught up.

Quarterback

Short Term Starters

Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh (85% Sleeper rostered) 

Week 7's practice slate started with a bang. Wilson was back working with the first team, healed from the calf injury that cost him six weeks. Two straight games under 60% competition and 200 passing yards from Justin Fields may have helped heal that injury. As it stands, it looks like Wilson will get his chance to make his Steelers debut. 

Fields saved his fantasy week by rushing for 59 yards and two touchdowns. In two of the last three games, he has topped 50 rushing yards and scored twice. Wilson is unlikely to do that and carries a lower fantasy ceiling than Fields. It is also worth noting that while Wilson may start, it does not mean Fields will not play. Overall, Wilson lacks the Top 12 ceiling of Fields, but he still has to be rostered in deep Superflex formats.

Proactive Pickups

Jameis Winston, Cleveland (39% Sleeper rostered)
Joe Flacco, Indianapolis (59% Sleeper rostered)
Gardner Minshew II, Las Vegas (61% Sleeper rostered)
Mason Rudolph, Tennessee (17% Sleeper rostered)
Bryce Young, Carolina (77% Sleeper rostered)
Jake Haener, New Orleans (15% Sleeper rostered) 

This quarterback cluster represents players who could earn a start without an injury in front of them. Most will be rostered in deep Dynasty formats, but this is an excellent place to start as managers look for players who can gain value to fill their bench. With a player like Winston or Young, it may not be the wrong place to look for a cheap "Buy Low" trade option.

Dynasty Buy

Michael Penix Jr.., Atlanta (88% Sleeper rostered) 

Kirk Cousins looks good, and the Falcons offense is clicking—the perfect time to poke around on Penix's value. Early in the season, concern about Cousins' Achilles raised questions about Penix playing earlier than expected. He peaked at QB20 on KeepTradeCut, with a trade value of 4,245 shortly after Cousins disastrous Week 1 performance against Pittsburgh. 

Since then, he has ticked down ever so slightly, sitting around 3,802. Given Cousins's play, it can be easy to envision him playing out all four years of his contract. 

Hopefully, Cousins will keep it up and allow the scheme and his skill and talent to gel. But we have to recognize that Penix is one spot-start away from tremendously spiking his value. That could happen any week. 

Running Back

Short Term Starters

Nick Chubb, Cleveland (99% Sleeper rostered) 

Chubb is rostered in deep formats. He is only included because he expects to make his season debut in Week 7. Chubb carries rebound risk, and the ideal buy window is closed, but managers with faith deserve to be rewarded. 

Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco (69% Sleeper rostered)
Patrick Taylor Jr., San Francisco (3% Sleeper rostered)

Guerendo is tricky. Jordan Mason participated in Monday's practice with a non-contact injury. Mason is a tough player who has waited for his opportunity. Expect him to push hard to be active. If Mason is out, Guerendo is the ideal play. He should be added to deep leagues and potentially shallow formats, too. 

The backfield is potentially muddled without Mason. The team has trusted his pass-blocking and knowledge of the system to work in a Bellcow role. In the second half, they rotated Taylor into passing situations. Further complicating matters, Kyle Juszcyk saw four targets for the third time in his last 26 games and scored on a goal-line carry. 

Consider Taylor and Juszcyk only in the deepest of leagues. 

Emari Demercado, Arizona (27% Sleeper rostered) 

James Conner missed the second half of Week 6 with an ankle injury. Trey Benson will be the hot name and should be added if available. Expect the Cardinals to employ an actual committee situation with Demercado taking the passing game work. 

Arizona plays the Chargers on a late Monday night kick (9 pm EST), further complicating matters for managers looking to spot-start one of the backs or for information on Conner's availability. Add in the Chargers, who have been one of the stiffest defenses against running backs, ranking fourth in the fewest fantasy points allowed to the position. This situation is messy. 

Anyone with Conner who needs to start him should add Demercado if Benson is unavailable. 

Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay (29% Sleeper rostered) 

Tucker was the breakout star of Week 6, finishing the week as overall fantasy RB1 with 192 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. 

We call this “the genie out of the bottle.”

The Buccaneers have been committed to an equal split between Bucky Irving and Rachaad White. Irving has shown plenty to say he deserves a role, and the coaching staff has steadfastly supported White. 

Todd Bowles also said Tucker earned another chance. The general rule is if three backs are playing, no backs are playing in your fantasy lineup. But the upside is high enough within this offensive attack to make all three worth rostering. 

Proactive Pickups

Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers (82% Sleeper rostered)

Speaking of three-headed backfields. JK Dobbins has earned a Bellcow role in the Chargers offense with his start, but in his first opportunity, Vidal flashed on a 38-yard touchdown catch. 

Gus Edwards is on IR and is out for at least three more games. When he was healthy, he was getting phased out. Vidal adds a more explosive element than Edwards, though they are both power compliments relative to Dobbins. If Dobbins maintains his workshare, he is the only back worth starting. But a shift in philosophy or Dobbins missing time would put Vidal in line to benefit. 

D'Ernest Johnson, Jacksonville (7% Sleeper rostered) 

Travis Etienne Jr. was ruled out before halftime of Week 6 with a hamstring injury labeled as week-to-week. Davante Adams just missed weeks with a hamstring injury before being traded to the Jets. 

Curious. 

Surprisingly, Johnson was the beneficiary of the second half of the work compared to Tank Bigsby. Bigsby should still be viewed as the primary beneficiary. Johnson's usage could be multiple items. The team may trust him more in pass protection as they played the second half trailing by double digits. Or the team saw Etienne go down, knows they have a must-win game in Week 7, and wanted to preserve Bigsby for a considerable effort. Either way, Johnson sits somewhere between a committee member and a handcuff with high value. Given the attention on some other backs on the wire this week, Johnson could sneak through on a cheap FAAB outlay. 

Deep Darts

Julius Chestnut, Tennessee (2% Sleeper rostered) 

Tyjae Spears also injured a hamstring and is expected to miss at least Week 7. Tony Pollard was already trending toward Bellcow usage and should have a stranglehold on that status. Chestnut is next up. 

Chestnut has little success to stand on. A three-year vet, he has ten career carries for 14 career yards. Pollard is also the brightest spot of a disappointing Titans offense. If Pollard were out, the entire situation might trend to “stay away,” but players desperate for running back production can rarely be picking about opportunities. 

Pierre Strong Jr, Cleveland (26% Sleeper rostered) 

Jerome Ford. Hamstring. The list keeps growing. Chubb's return will reasonably draw the headlines, but the complementary back could flip without Ford. Strong fits better as a receiving back next to Chubb's power game than D'Onta Foreman and flashed with one of his best career performances in Week 6. He may represent the best chance on a crowded running back waiver week to get free production. 

Dynasty Buy

Ray Davis, Buffalo (85% Sleeper rostered) 

Davis may have posted the ultimate “Genie out of the bottle” performance in Week 6. With James Cook injured, he started in a committee with Ty Johnson but owned the second half as the Bills worked on grinding out a crucial division win. The result: 152 scrimmage yards and a win. 

The Bills spent 2023 hunting for a complementary back to Cook before drafting Davis in April. Early on, Cook had the backfield to himself in a Bellcow role, Johnson served as a change of pace, and Davis played mainly in mop-up duty. Given the team's philosophy has leaned on the run with Joe Brady as offensive coordinator, expect Davis to get a chance at a more prominent role in the regular rotation. 

Wide Receiver

Short Term Starters

Bub Means, New Orleans (22% Sleeper rostered) 

The Saints have been decimated by injury, and Week 6 was brutal for the receiving core. Chris Olave left after a concussion, and Rashid Shaheed suffered a troubling knee injury. 

Means seized the opportunity. 

Quickly becoming a favorite target of rookie Spencer Rattler, Means posted five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. Rattler and Means combine the narrative of a rookie quarterback and wide receiver and the backup narrative. The team recently moved on from A.T. Perry, suggesting Means earned his chance. Without Olave and Shaheed, the offensive ceiling in New Orleans could dip. However, Means has a chance to lock himself in the WR3 role with even more short-term value. 

Noah Brown, Washington (38% Sleeper rostered) 

Brown looked headed toward solidifying the WR2 role in Washington following Week 4, but an injury cost him that momentum in Week 5. He was back in Week 6 and was the clear second option next to Terry McLaurin, nearly doubling the snaps of any of Luke McCaffrey, Dyami Brown, and Olamide Zaccheaus while his eight targets led the team. 

Deep Darts

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland (38% Sleeper rostered) 

The Browns were fielding one of the worst offenses in NFL history with Amari Cooper. Cooper is in Buffalo now. This is the third Brown mentioned in this article. That means it is time to wrap it up. Tillman potentially stands as the biggest beneficiary in gaining relevance in Dynasty formats, though expect him to be firmly behind David Njoku, Jerry Jeudy, and Elijah Moore in targets.

Dynasty Buy

Demario Douglas, New England (79% Sleeper rostered) 

The Patriots desperately needed a wide receiver to step up as a primary receiving option, almost as much as they needed a quarterback capable of getting them the ball.

Over the last month, Douglas has emerged. He has seen nine targets in three of his previous four games, averaging 6.33 receptions and 73.33 yards, a 17-game pace of 108 receptions and 1,247 yards. 

The team still needs a primary option outside to draw coverage. But Douglas can lock in the slot role and grow with Drake Maye, who is now inserted at quarterback. 

Tight End

Short Term Starters

Grant Calcaterra, Philadelphia (2% Sleeper rostered) 

Calcaterra is the type of young athlete at tight end we always talk ourselves into, but here we are, talking ourselves into him. 

Calcaterra broke out with a career-best four receptions and 67 yards, with Dallas Goedert leaving the game in the first quarter. The offense will flow through A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but in deep leagues, especially those with a premium at tight end scoring, Calcatera could provide value.