Week 6 Waiver Wire: Dameon Pierce Has the Gross Volume We Deserve

Dameon Pierce turned thirteen touches into twelve yards, and you should probably bid on him anyway.

Shit Sandwich of the Week: Dameon Pierce, RB, Eagles

Philadelphia has run out of healthy running backs with recognizable jobs. Saquon Barkley is dealing with a hamstring injury, Tank Bigsby is on injured reserve, and Will Shipley could miss three to six weeks with a partial plantar fascia tear.

That leaves Pierce, who played 77 percent of the offensive snaps against Jacksonville. He logged eleven carries and five targets across 48 snaps, finishing with thirteen touches and twelve yards. Twelve. The Jaguars stuffed him so thoroughly that his rushing lanes required a search warrant.

Eat the sandwich.

The role is too large to ignore while Barkley is out, especially with Carolina next. Pierce doesn't need to become a different runner overnight. He needs Philadelphia to keep giving him the ball, preferably with blocking this time. If Barkley plays, the whole thing shrivels. Follow his practice status before treating Pierce as anything more than an emergency starter.

• FAAB: 12–18%
• Redraft: Add. Start as an RB2 or flex only if Barkley remains out.
• Dynasty: Add as short-term depth, but don't pay for this workload as though it belongs to him.
• ALL IN: No. The opportunity has an expiration date.

Pierce is the Shit Sandwich of the Week because nobody wants thirteen touches for twelve yards. You roster him because thirteen touches are still thirteen more than the inspirational speech sitting at the end of your bench.

Woody Marks, RB, Texans

Marks is the best running back add on this list if he's available in your league. He probably won't be in deeper Sleeper formats, where his roster rate has already reached 56 percent, but check anyway before spending twenty minutes convincing yourself that your fifth wide receiver is good depth.

David Montgomery left Week 5 with a groin strain and is considered week-to-week. Marks handled nineteen touches for 85 yards after Montgomery went down, and his snap share climbed into the mid-80s.

That's a usable workload without any interpretive dance.

Montgomery's expected return keeps this below an ALL IN bid, but Marks can change a lineup during the weeks that matter. He also has more dynasty appeal than Pierce because the pickup isn't built entirely around a single injured starter and a depth chart held together with medical tape.

• FAAB: 25–35%
• Redraft: Priority add and immediate starter while Montgomery is out.
• Dynasty: Add or hold. This is the back on the list I'd most want after the injured starter returns.
• ALL IN: No. Strong bid, yes. Emptying the account for a short injury window, no.

Germie Bernard, WR, Steelers

Now we get to the good stuff. A wide receiver played 92 percent of the snaps, commanded a 30 percent target share, caught six of nine targets for 80 yards, and added a four-yard rush. Bernard's roster rates remain at roughly one percent on Yahoo and six percent on Sleeper.

I'll wait while the rest of your league bids on the guy who caught one touchdown on three targets.

Bernard's Week 5 wasn't a random spike. His playing time jumped from 40 percent in Week 4 to 92 percent, while his target share rose from five percent to 30 percent. Pittman is on injured reserve, and Roman Wilson's dislocated finger is expected to cost him at least a couple of weeks. The Steelers need somebody to catch the football in Tampa Bay. Bernard has already shown them who.

This is the waiver receiver I want most. He has the playing time, targets, production, and a depth chart that isn't getting healthier by Tuesday morning. That's four ingredients, which is one more than an AI-generated list usually permits.

• FAAB: 15–22%
• Redraft: Add in every twelve-team league. Startable as a WR3 or flex against Tampa Bay.
• Dynasty: Strong add. A rookie earning this kind of snap and target growth belongs on a roster.
• ALL IN: No, though receiver-needy teams should bid near the top of the range.

Bernard gets the full coffee treatment this week: strong, useful, and unlikely to leave you staring into the mug wondering where your will to live went.

Kendrick Bourne, WR, Cardinals

Arizona traded Marvin Harrison to Houston, which opened targets without asking anyone's permission. Bourne drew eight of them against Detroit, second on the team behind Trey McBride, and caught five for 70 yards.

That doesn't make Bourne the new centerpiece of the offense. It does make him a veteran receiver standing in a newly opened lane with evidence that the quarterback will look his way.

The appeal is more immediate in redraft than dynasty. Bourne can settle into a useful target volume while defenses devote their first answer to McBride. He doesn't need to dominate. Five or six catches can pay the bill in a flex spot, especially during the bye-week stretch.

• FAAB: 7–11%
• Redraft: Add in twelve-team leagues and deeper formats. Flex option when bye weeks squeeze the lineup.
• Dynasty: Add for contenders needing depth. Rebuilding teams shouldn't treat him as a long-term asset.
• ALL IN: No.

Brenton Strange, TE, Jaguars

Strange has received eight targets in each of his past two games. He turned those targets into fourteen catches, 163 yards, and 30.3 fantasy points, and he owns an 18.2 percent target share for the season with 20.8 percent of Jacksonville's first reads.

A tight end being used like an intentional part of the passing game feels vaguely illegal, but the paperwork checks out.

Strange is already rostered in 32 percent of Yahoo leagues and 47 percent of Sleeper leagues, so this may be the last clean buying window. Houston is next, followed by Jacksonville's Week 7 bye. That bye will scare off managers who plan waivers with all the foresight of a goldfish. If you can cover one empty week, the usage is worth carrying.

• FAAB: 10–15%
• Redraft: Add and start unless you already have a locked-in option.
• Dynasty: Add or hold. Repeatable targets matter more than one touchdown spike.
• ALL IN: No.

Pat Freiermuth, TE, Steelers

Freiermuth set a season high with seven targets in Week 5, catching five passes for 44 yards and two touchdowns. He now has four touchdowns this season, and one usage model placed his target-share increase from 13.2 percent to 23.3 percent.

The two touchdowns are the shiny object. The seven targets are why he belongs here.

Pittsburgh's missing receivers create room over the middle, and Tampa Bay is a workable streaming matchup. Freiermuth will still find a way to produce three catches at some point because tight ends consider emotional consistency a personal insult. For Week 6, though, the opportunity is real.

• FAAB: 5–8%
• Redraft: Add as a Week 6 streamer or a longer hold for managers stuck in tight-end purgatory.
• Dynasty: Hold or buy cheaply. The role has more value than the weekly box scores sometimes show.
• ALL IN: Absolutely not.

If Strange is available, I prefer him. If Strange is gone, Freiermuth is the sensible consolation prize, which is more flattering than anything I've said about the position in weeks.

Samaje Perine, RB, Bengals

Cincinnati is on bye, so Perine won't solve an immediate Week 6 lineup problem. That's also why he may survive waivers at roughly three percent rostered on Yahoo.

Perine carried fourteen times for 68 yards, caught a receiving touchdown, and played 51 percent of the snaps in his last game. That usage deserves a bench spot before his next opponent arrives and everybody else discovers the same box score.

This is a stash, not a bid made in panic. Managers with a playable Week 6 lineup can use the quiet week to get ahead. Managers already starting a backup's backup should spend elsewhere.

• FAAB: 2–4%
• Redraft: Bench stash through the bye. Don't add him expecting Week 6 points.
• Dynasty: Hold as experienced backfield depth.
• ALL IN: No.

Suggested Drops

The early-season guardrail still matters: I don't recommend dropping a player selected in the first six rounds during roughly Weeks 1–5. Five games aren't enough to bury a meaningful investment because of one bad Sunday or a frustrating depth-chart wobble.

That protection window has ended. Draft price no longer gets to sit in the lineup wearing a fake mustache, but the drop still needs a football reason.

Will Shipley, RB, Eagles

Shipley's partial plantar fascia tear is expected to cost him multiple weeks, with a three-to-six-week range. He was already filling in for Barkley, so the path back to reliable work isn't clean.

• FAAB: 0%
• Redraft: Drop in shallow leagues. Use an injured-reserve slot if available in deeper formats.
• Dynasty: Hold where benches are deep. The injury shouldn't erase his longer-term value.

Roman Wilson, WR, Steelers

Wilson dislocated his left ring finger and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks.

Bernard's bigger role makes Wilson difficult to carry in ordinary redraft formats.

• FAAB: 0%
• Redraft: Drop if you need an active player and don't have an injured-reserve slot.
• Dynasty: Hold. Don't turn a finger injury into a permanent evaluation.

Tre' Harris, WR, Chargers

Harris is week-to-week with a hamstring injury. The Chargers' Week 7 bye points toward a possible return around Week 8.

• FAAB: 0%
• Redraft: Drop in shallow leagues if the bench is tight. Hold in deeper formats where a two-week wait is manageable.
• Dynasty: Hold.

Javon Hargrave, DT, Packers

Hargrave tore his Achilles against Chicago and will miss the rest of the season.

• FAAB: 0%
• Redraft: Drop in individual defensive player leagues.
• Dynasty: Move to injured reserve where the format and roster depth justify it.

Week 6 D/ST Streamers

Kansas City vs. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers carry the week's lowest implied total at 17 points. They've committed thirteen giveaways, allowed the second-most sacks, and scored more than seventeen points once. Kansas City is coming off its bye and remains available in about 75 percent of Yahoo leagues.

• FAAB: 2–3%
• Redraft: Top streaming choice.
• Dynasty: Weekly matchup play.

Indianapolis vs. Tennessee

Indianapolis is rostered in only four percent of Yahoo leagues, while Tennessee sits last in scoring at 11.6 points per game and 31st in yards per play at 4.5. Tennessee has also thrown an interception in three straight games.

• FAAB: 1–2%
• Redraft: Strong stream and the best widely available alternative to Kansas City.
• Dynasty: Matchup play only.

New York Giants vs. New Orleans

New Orleans has committed eleven turnovers and allowed thirteen sacks. Three of its five opposing defenses reached double-digit fantasy points.

• FAAB: 1%
• Redraft: Viable fallback if Kansas City and Indianapolis are gone.
• Dynasty: Stream only.

Week 6 Kicker Streamers

Harrison Butker, K, Kansas City

Butker is rostered in 17 percent of Yahoo leagues. Kansas City is an 8.5-point home favorite with a 25.5-point implied team total, giving him the scoring environment we want without pretending kickers can be understood by mortal science.

• FAAB: 1%
• Redraft: Add and start.
• Dynasty: Stream based on matchup.

Dominic Zvada, K

Zvada is roughly one percent rostered on Yahoo, ranks eighth at the position, and has scored at least thirteen points in three straight games. His team is a one-point home favorite with a 22.75-point implied total.

• FAAB: 1%
• Redraft: Add if Butker is unavailable.
• Dynasty: Weekly streamer.

No ALL IN bid this week. Pierce has the ugliest useful workload, Marks has the best backfield opportunity, and Bernard has the cleanest combination of playing time and targets. Spend like an adult, which means somebody in your league is already eliminated.

ZeroChalk is not affiliated with the NFL, NFL teams, or the NFLPA. Injury and role calls are best-guess reads from public practice and camp reporting, not inside information.