Fantasy Football Week 6 Waiver Wire pickups feat. Tank Bigsby, Darnell Mooney, and more 

The fantasy football season has reached its second set of scheduled bye weeks, as the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings will be off in Week 6.

With many fantasy starters unavailable, the waiver wire can be an excellent tool for optimizing your fantasy lineups with players with the best matchups. Here's a closer look at the best options for running back, wide receiver and tight end positions to assist managers with your waiver priority and FAAB allocation for Week 6.

There's a wide net of potential targets to consider all players under a 70% ownership threshold on popular platforms like ESPN and Yahoo! Sports.

Best Fantasy Football Week 6 Waiver Wire targets ranked

Top Fantasy Football Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

Waiver Wire Week 6 Running Backs to Target

1] Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars

ESPN 10% | Yahoo! 23% | FAAB Range 15-30%

Are we witnessing a status change in the Jaguars backfield? Jacksonville picked up its first win on Sunday as the team leaned more toward second-year back Tank Bigsby than presumed starter Travis Etienne in Week 5.

Bigsby led the team in rushing for the second consecutive week and displayed explosive big-play ability that experienced managers desire to add a month into the fantasy season. Bigbsy eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career and will lead our Week 6 fantasy football waiver wire pickups priority list for all positions.

Jacksonville's backfield has been trending to a 60%-20%-10% timeshare through five games, with Etienne leading while Bigsby and D'Ernest Johnson rotated in times. That all changed against the Indianapolis defense last week as Bigsby turned in career-highs in touches (14), snaps (23), rushing yards (101), and receiving yards (28).

Bigsby hasn't been a threat in the passing game, but he received his only target last week on a designed screen pass. Bigsby took the floater from quarterback Trevor Lawrence and made an explosive gain of 28 yards down the sideline while displaying his size and speed.

Meanwhile, Etienne had 12 touches last Sunday and only six rushing attempts (yikes) but did contribute six catches for 43 receiving yards. Etienne shouldn't hit any waiver wires, but proactive fantasy managers will compete to get Bigsby rostered on waivers where available.

Bigsby has passed the eye test and looked more effective than Etienne at times through five games. Bigsby has 42 more rushing yards than Etienne despite playing 155 fewer snaps and may have earned himself the early down role in Jacksonville.

2] Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys

ESPN 53% | Yahoo! 56% | FAAB Range 10-20%

Rico Dowdle has appeared on this waiver wire priority list for the third time this season. Hopefully, this will be the last time after an impressive performance on primetime last Sunday. Suppose you have been following along this season. In that case, Dowdle should have found a spot on your roster as he has been trending toward taking over the Dallas backfield over veteran Ezekiel Elliott.

Against a tough Pittsburgh defense, Dowdle turned in a career-high 22 touches into 87 rushing yards, 27 receiving yards and a touchdown. The offensive snaps were a little closer, with Dowdle leading the way at 38 snaps (50%) to Elliott's 23 (30%), but Elliott only touched the ball six times all night in Mike McCarthy's offense.

Dowdle is now a clear-cut RB1 in Dallas and should find plenty of fantasy rosters heading into Week 6.

3] Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

ESPN 66% | Yahoo! 75% | FAAB Range 10-20%

Chase Brown was top of our fantasy football waiver wire pickups list before Week 5, and he showed why. The second-year back shined last week and reminded everyone in the fantasy community that he shouldn't be lingering anywhere on free-agent lists. Zack Moss is still the lead in Cincinnati but tweaked his ankle late in the 41-38 overtime loss to Baltimore on Sunday. Moss and Brown formed a two-back duo, earning 12 touches for 24 rushing yards and 28 receiving yards.

But Brown found the end zone for the second consecutive week and led the way with 15 touches for 46 rushing yards and eight receiving yards. Brown has also led the Bengals in rushing for the third straight week and is an injury away to Moss from being in serious conversation to be an every-week starter in fantasy football.

Waiver Wire Week 6 Wide Receivers to Target

1] Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons

ESPN 69% | Yahoo! 48% | FAAB Range 15-30%

Last week, Darnell Mooney was heavily involved in a wild Thursday Night Football game that will be a strong candidate for game of the year. Fantasy managers enjoyed plenty of points scored throughout this slugfest, and evidently, it shaped matchups before the weekend started. Kudos to you if you started your week with Mooney's points in your lineup, as he turned in a monster fantasy game with nine catches for 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Was this the high-water mark for Mooney or a sign he can be trusted heading into Week 6? It was the first time all season Mooney had led the team in targets with 16, but it took a season-high 58 pass attempts from quarterback Kirk Cousins to get there.

On the bright side, Cousins has shown throughout his career that he hits the open man like a machine regardless of the player status on the team. It was a rare instance where two receivers from the same squad eclipsed the 100-yard mark in the same game. Teammate Drake London also turned in a season-high 12 catches into 154 receiving and a touchdown in this contest.

Don't get caught point-chasing in a once-a-year game from Cousins and Co. We expect Mooney to contribute more like a flex play in future weeks rather than the WR1 performance he turned in on Thursday night.

2] Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts

ESPN 35% | Yahoo! 40% | FAAB Range 7-15%

Josh Downs appeared in our Week 5 Wide Receiver Rankings and Picks column last week after his immediate and impactful usage since making his season debut in Week 3. Downs delivered against a poor Jacksonville pass defense and led the Colts receivers in targets (12), receptions (9), and receiving yards (69). Downs has 17 catches over the previous two weeks and is second on the team with 26 targets despite missing the season's first two weeks.

It'll be interesting to see how productive Downs will be once Anthony Richardson returns to the lineup. Downs had caught three of the five targets from Richardson for 20 receiving yards in two games. With veteran Joe Flacco in the lineup, Downs caught eight balls for 82 receiving yards and a score in Week 4, and last week, he turned in his best game with Flacco starting in Week 5.

Is this recent production quarterback-dependent, or is Downs here to stay regardless of who the signal caller is?

3] Jalen Tolbert, Dallas Cowboys

ESPN 8% | Yahoo! 7% | FAAB Range 5-10%

Jalen Tolbert flew under the radar last week as the primary benefactor of veteran Brandin Cooks' injury. The Cowboys announced late last Wednesday that Cooks would go on injured reserve due to an infection in his right knee. The 31-year-old receiver will be eligible to return in Week 10 at the earliest, which opened up a golden opportunity for Tolbert.

In Week 5, the third-year receiver led all Dallas pass catchers in targets (10), receptions (7), and receiving yards (87) against Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football. Even before the Cooks injury, Tolbert had been on the field for the Cowboys as he turned in snap percentages of 67%, 86%, 75%, 70%, and a season-high 89% last week.

It'll be interesting to see where Tolbert ranks this week, with a home game against the Lions next on the schedule. Tolbert is worth a roster spot if you have room to add a receiver, and he should be a priority on the fantasy football waiver wire pickups list going into Week 6 action.

Waiver Wire Week 6 Tight Ends to Target

1] Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams

ESPN 48% | Yahoo! 28% | FAAB Range 3-5%

It'll be hard to suggest a player heading into his bye week, but Colby Parkinson is worth adding this week when looking ahead into Week 7. Anytime a tight end leads a team in targets after five weeks, he deserves to find rosters in any fantasy format. Parkinson appears to have gained the trust of quarterback Matthew Stafford as the fourth-year tight end leads all Rams pass catchers with 32 targets this season.

He turned in a massive 13 targets in Week 5 and should remain involved as long as Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua stay out of the lineup. Kupp could return after the bye, which could impact the usage of the 25-year-old tight end. Still, with the state of the tight end position this year, you can't complain about how productive Parkinson has been in a typically fantasy-friendly offense.

2] Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens

ESPN 58% | Yahoo! 56% | FAAB Range 1-3%

I never expected Isaiah Likely to appear as a target after being featured in the debut article before Week 2. Likely turned 12 targets into nine receptions for 111 receiving yards and a touchdown in the season-opener against Kansas City and was our second overall player to target in the waiver wire.

Since that game, Likely has only seen nine targets in four games from Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson. He has turned those targets into seven receptions for 69 receiving yards, which is surprising considering how Week 1 went. Likely has led all Ravens tight ends in snaps in four of the five games this season and outproduced veteran Mark Andrews in fantasy points, 44 to 17.

The third-year tight end led the team with two red zone targets last week and continues to be a threat in high-scoring situations. Likely is a true boom-or-bust option, but you might live the busts when he hits in favorable matchups.