Fantasy Football Buy-Lows? Unlucky Star Players (Week 6)

October 15, 2026

John's fantasy football buy-lows, breakouts, trade candidates to target for Week 6 in 2026. These unlucky players are underperforming early for fantasy football.

You should always be trying to buy star players that are in the midst of poor stretches of performance in fantasy football. It's fine to have a healthy dose of skepticism about them meeting their full potential this season, but it's not always their fault when they're not scoring a lot.

There are numerous things that can happen to change their fortunes as the season goes on. For example, offensive coaches being fired and replaced with new coaches with better schemes, improving health after a serious injury, and seeing easier defensive opponents after a tough stretch.

There are a mountain of examples of star players having a poor game (or multiple poor games) in the middle of a huge season where they finish as one of the top players at their position. So let's break down five of those guys that you should buy low ahead of Week 6 of 2026!

Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants

Skattebo is still recovering from a devastating, season-ending injury he suffered last season. In an interview, he said he broke his fibula, tore a ligament that connects his foot to his ankle, fully dislocated his ankle, and tore the lower ligament that connects his two leg bones together.

He's probably talking about the syndesmotic ligaments. So four serious injuries all in one. It makes sense he's not already back to 100 percent, and it's hard to blame him for poor performances recently. You can see a video below. It may be hard to watch for some.

This is awful-- Giants standout rookie RB Cam Skattebo just suffered an ankle injury, and it's bad... https://t.co/sXbr0HwCPx

— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) October 26, 2025

Through five games, he's the RB21 in PPR fantasy leagues. It's hard to blame him for his lackluster 3.6 yards per carry. That should improve as he gets healthier. And the Giants offense is actually playing well right now.

Quarterback Jameis Winston, filling in for the injured Jaxson Dart (knee) has done a good job so far -- he can be turnover-prone, but he moves the ball down the field and gets the team in scoring range.

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

Jeanty (foot) has been struggling with several lower-leg injuries. He's working his way back from a high-ankle sprain he suffered in the offseason that was initially thought to be a season-ending knee injury. And he's currently dealing with a foot issue. It's unknown if the two are related.

But he's averaging just 3.3 yards per carry, and his fantasy value is mostly being propped up by his receiving usage. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said he's been feeling better recently, but he also said he expected tight end Brock Bowers (knee) to play in a game he clearly couldn't play in.

#Raiders HC Klint Kubiak says RB Ashton Jeanty is starting to “feel a lot better” physically.

Kubiak stated Jeanty will get more reps in practice, more “full speed reps”

When asked about a report that surfaced regarding resting Jeanty, Kubiak said “He’s Playing” https://t.co/k77gb6Eaxb

— TheRaiderRoom (@TheRaiderRoom) October 14, 2026

On film, he's looked quite sluggish, and shows hesitancy to hit the holes he needs to run through. He doesn't appear to be running with the same shiftiness and power he's known for. There's a stark difference between how he looks this season and how he looked in his big games last year.

The Raiders have played well on offense aside from in Week 5, when they were stomped by the New England Patriots. It is a much-improved unit overall, though, which should help Jeanty score plenty of points when his ankle and foot start truly feeling better.

Ashton Jeanty vs Houston https://t.co/BkpEij0BWg

— Theo Ash (@TheoAshNFL) February 17, 2026

Fantasy managers that drafted him in the first round may be getting impatient, and now is the best time to pounce, before he has a bounce-back game and they decide to hang on to him for the foreseeable future.

Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints

Olave (illness) really only had one "bad" game -- in Week 5, when he caught four of his six targets for 46 yards, totaling just 8.6 PPR fantasy points. But that was against the Minnesota Vikings defense.

Their front has been arguably the best in the NFL through five games. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been on a tear, calling blitzes at an extremely high rate and getting home with them on a regular basis.

First play of the game, and Brian Flores schemes up Blake Cashman as a free rusher https://t.co/mebIETVQL6

— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) October 15, 2026

Olave shined as one of the best receivers in the NFL in a high passing volume offense in the first four weeks. Week 5 should be treated as a blip against an elite defense that's been shutting down some of the NFL's better offenses this season.

With rookie first-round WR pick Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) still on injured reserve and not expected to return to practice soon, Olave is still the dominant target-earner in this offense. He scored 19 or more PPR fantasy points in all his other games this season.

CHRIS OLAVE GOATYYYY https://t.co/1Z9qaz5qRI

— wok (@wokdior) October 6, 2026

He's a lock for WR1 production when he's not facing an unbelievably good defense like that of Minnesota's. In many leagues, you probably won't be able to get him for a discount, but there's a solid chance that in some you can make an offer and get him for somewhat cheap considering his value.

Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Hampton's rest-of-season fantasy football outlook isn't glowing. He's simply not played well this season, despite being healthy. The new Chargers offense, run by offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, has been massively disappointing.

The second-year pro has regressed in pretty much every area of his game. He's not hitting holes with confidence, not breaking tackles at a high rate, and not making explosive plays with his acceleration and speed. And he's being phased out of the offense by his OC.

Omarion Hampton goes 54 yards for the TD!

LACvsNYG on CBS/Paramount+
https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV https://t.co/G9X4Jx5KPG

— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

There are a few major problems this season. Firstly, McDaniel's zone-heavy run scheme is simply not a good fit for Hampton. He's one of the best RBs in the NFL on man-gap blocking scheme runs, but one of it's worst on zone runs. McDaniel is not adapting the scheme to fit Hampton, though.

Another huge problem is that the Chargers are taking away Hampton's touches and giving them to backup RBs Kimani Vidal and Keaton Mitchell. Neither are as talented as Hampton, but the scheme evens the ground so much that it may seem like that.

KIMANI VIDAL OMG 42 YARDER https://t.co/yMneCOVRyO

— wok (@wokdior) October 11, 2026

The Chargers offensive line is also, once again, absolutely decimated by injuries. The starters that have missed time include starting left tackle Rashawn Slater (ankle), starting left guard Trey Pipkins III (knee), starting right tackle Joe Alt (neck), and starting center Tyler Biadasz (knee).

Slater and Biadasz are on injured reserve, with Biadasz set to miss the full season and Slater set to miss extended time. They've not been a great run-blocking unit.

The silver lining is that McDaniel could, and probably should, be fired sooner rather than later. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh should probably also be canned, though that might not happen until after the season.

Omarion Hampton explosive runs (gain of 12+ yards) in the 2025 season. https://t.co/FmQ2HdiXle

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) June 11, 2026

McDaniel's stubborn scheme is not good for Hampton at all. A change of play designer could immediately help him return to rookie season form.

Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers

Coker (quad) made a huge statement with his first game of the 2026 NFL season. He scored 33.8 PPR fantasy points by catching eight of his nine targets for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Most surprisingly for many, he easily outproduced his teammate, first-round WR pick Tetairoa McMillan.

In that game, McMillan caught five passes for 75 yards and zero touchdowns. He was targeted eight times. Coker having more targets than "Tet", as he's called, should have been a big sign that a season-long stretch of great play was on the way for the undrafted free agent signing.

Bryce Young goes long to Jalen Coker!

CHIvsCAR on FOX/FOX One https://t.co/y4dv1AgdzS

— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

He's been working his way back from a quad injury. In the meantime, McMillan caught 14 of 16 targets for 192 yards and two touchdowns in Week 4, in a game Coker couldn't play in. Many fantasy managers likely believe he's reclaimed his clear WR1 status.

But it wouldn't be a surprise if Coker out-targeted and outproduced McMillan in future games this season. And the Panthers offense is much improved over previous years. Even if you feel like you have to slightly overpay to get Coker, it's a risk worth taking for his upside.

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