With the injury to Deebo Samuel, fantasy football managers are left with a potential void on their roster. Let’s check out the extent of the injury and players you can target on your waiver wire this week.
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Injury Replacement Pickups
Injury Outlook
Deebo Samuel exits with shoulder injury in Week 6 loss
Deebo Samuel caught 0-of-1 targets for zero yards in the 49ers’ 19-17 loss to the Browns.
Fantasy Impact
Samuel also added 11 yards rushing on two carries before exiting with a shoulder injury. Fantasy managers will want to monitor Samuel’s status heading into Week 7. The 49ers will have an extra day to get healthy with the team playing the Vikings on Monday. Night Football.
Jesse Garcia
Waiver Wire Replacements to Target
Quentin Johnston (LAC): 32% rostered
- Next Opponents: @KC, CHI, @NYJ
- True value: $3
- Desperate need: $6
- Budget-minded: $2
Analysis: The stage is set for Johnston to assert himself coming out of the bye. His upcoming matchups aren’t kind, but he does face Chicago and Detroit in Weeks 8 and 10. Those two teams have allowed the 10th-most and 13th-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. We’ve seen this Chargers’ offense lift the fantasy stock of players such as Gerald Everett and Josh Palmer in recent seasons, so what do we think can happen for Johnston if he hits the ground running coming out the break? Johnston could develop into a weekly WR2/3. Buy in now before the boom.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA): 48% rostered
- Next Opponents: ARI, CLE, @BAL
- True value: $3
- Desperate need: $6
- Budget-minded: $2
Analysis: The breakout for Smith-Njigba could be percolating. In Week 6, he set career marks for routes run and snaps played (per PFF). His yards per target jumped from 3.1 to 9.6 in Week 6. I’ll be curious to see where his average depth of target was this past week once that data is available. The arrow is pointing up for him, which makes sense after the bye, and as he gets further and further away from his wrist injury. As with Quentin Johnston, I want talented rookie wide receivers with first-round draft capital on my roster before the eruption happens.
Josh Downs (IND): 33% rostered
- Next Opponents: CLE, NO, @CAR
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Entering Week 6, Downs had an 18.6% target share and 17.5% first-read share, with 1.86 yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Downs already has two top-36 wide receiver finishes this year (WR32, WR18) and could have another one after this week has concluded. Sunday against Jacksonville, Downs had a 14.5% target share (eight targets) with five grabs, 21 receiving yards and a score. Gardner Minshew threw the ball 55 times as the Colts got blown out. Downs’ upcoming matchups are brutal, but they offer volume upside, especially if Indy gets down early. Downs is a weekly WR4 who has WR2/3 upside in PPR.
Jameson Williams (DET): 49% rostered
- Next Opponents: @BAL, LV, BYE
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Williams remains a wild card for the rest of the season. In Week 6, he played on 22% of the snaps, running only nine routes. He did manage to draw a target on 33% of those routes (three targets) and turn his two receptions into 53 yards and a score. The big play ability is there. All we need to see is Williams kick Marvin Jones to the curb and assume a full-time gig in Detroit. Once that happens, we could be buying moon real estate for Jameson Williams.
Rashee Rice (KC): 45% rostered
- Next Opponents: LAC, @DEN, MIA
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Rice borders on stash-only, but the upside is there for him to be a huge difference-maker if he can ever establish himself as a full-time player in the Kansas City offense. Rice’s route run rate has jumped all over the map this season (last week: 39.1%), with only two games above 45%. Justin Watson‘s elbow injury could change that moving forward. Unfortunately, the convincing argument to buy into Rice feels like a tired story that we’ve heard before with Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore. I don’t know if Rice can break the cycle, but his per-route metrics are impressive, with a 36% target per route run rate and 3.14 yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). If he is out there, taking a flier on him likely won’t cost you much to mess around and find out.
Josh Reynolds (DET): 49% rostered
- Next Opponents: @BAL, LV, BYE
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Reynolds returned to a full-time role in Week 6 as the team’s deep threat. He entered Week 6 with a 14.5% target share, a 26.5% air-yard share, and 2.65 yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data) as the WR30 in fantasy. Reynolds has three top-30 fantasy wide receiver finishes. If you grab Reynolds off the wire, I would look to sit him against Baltimore and Las Vegas, who have held passers to the ninth- and fourth-lowest passer ratings when targeting players 20 or more yards downfield. After the bye, Reynolds’ schedule opens up, with games against the Chargers, Bears and Packers. Look to plug Reynolds in as a flex play in any of those weeks.
Rashid Shaheed (NO): 32% rostered
- Next Opponents: JAX, @IND, CHI
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Shaheed had another banner day in Week 6, turning his 12% target share into 85 receiving yards and a score. Shaheed has been the Saints’ deep-threat specialist and zone-beater all season. It’s time to ride the wave with Shaheed, who could stack three straight WR3-worthy performances in a row. Jacksonville, Indy and Chicago all operate in zone coverage at top-10 rates (ninth-, third- and fourth-highest zone coverage rates). Chicago (second-worst) and Jacksonville (fourth-worst) also rank among the bottom five for the most deep passing yards allowed this season. If you need a weekly flex or WR3 with upside in the upcoming weeks, Shaheed is your guy.
Jayden Reed (GB): 20% rostered
- Next Opponents: @DEN, MIN, LAR
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Reed has a 16.1% target share and a 19.7% first-read share as the WR50 in fantasy. The rookie has logged two top-36 fantasy wide receiver weeks and has been a wonderful source for high-leverage usage in the Packers’ offense. He ranks 10th in deep targets and third in red zone targets among wide receivers. In four of his next five games, he faces middle-of-the-road or basement-level secondaries (DEN, MIN, DET, LAC). Reed is one of the best “sneaky” pickups of the week who could pay huge dividends during the heart of the fantasy season.
Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG): 17% rostered
- Next Opponents: WSH, NYJ, @LV
- True value: $2
- Desperate need: $4
- Budget-minded: $1
Analysis: Robinson played 59% of the snaps in Week 6 with an 88.8% route participation clip and team-leading 22.2% target share. Robinson’s 14.2 PPR points would be a nice boost to any fantasy lineup from the flex or WR3 position. The Giants likely won’t field an explosive offense at any point this season, but we can’t shy away from a team that looked revived in Week 6 against the Bills. The Giants were a functional offense, which is something considering how bad it looked in the first five weeks of the season. Robinson should battle with Darren Waller weekly for the team lead in targets moving forward.
Stash Candidates:
Pick up Mims and stash him now. If you wait until Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton is dealt, then you’re already too late. Mims just needs playing time to explode in fantasy. Among 153 qualifying wide receivers, he ranks second in yards per route run (4.32) and first in yards per target (20.5), per Fantasy Points Data. These are immaculate per-route metrics that display Mims’ difference-maker upside when he assumes a full-time role in this offense.
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