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Dan's fantasy football quarterback waiver wire pickups for Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season. His free agent QBs to add and QB streamers for 1QB and 2QB leagues.
Welcome back RotoBallers to our Week 6 quarterback fantasy football waiver wire pickups and streamers. Today I will taking a look at names like Sam Howell, Desmond Ridder and Gardner Minshew as QB options to help bolster your fantasy teams.
In this article, I will be focusing on players under 65% rostered in fantasy leagues while adding a couple of deep sleepers for two-quarterback leagues (less than 25% rostered).
Let's break down who you should consider picking up for Week 6.
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Single-QB Waiver Wire Options and Stashes
Sam Howell, Washington Commanders
Yahoo: 33% rostered
The story of Thursday night’s game was the explosive plays generated between Justin Fields and D.J. Moore in Chicago’s first win in nearly a year. This storyline overshadowed another strong performance from Washington’s quarterback Sam Howell.
Howell completed 37 of 51 passes for 388 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in a loss against Chicago. It was the third time this season the second-year quarterback has had at least 39 passing attempts and his second game with at least 290 passing yards. The Commanders’ secondary has looked overmatched throughout the season, which has forced them to air it out.
The Commanders have a tough defensive matchup against the Falcons in Week 6, but Howell will continue to be an efficient QB2 that offers a moderate level of rushing upside. With heavy bye weeks on the horizon, he’s worth a stash as a bench quarterback that can be streamed in positive matchups.
Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons
Yahoo: 5% rostered
Desmond Ridder’s production was underwhelming through the first four weeks of the season. And it looked like Week 5 would be no different for most of the game against the Houston Texans. Then the offense opened up and was forced to pass, which led to Ridder having a solid day against a strong defense.
Ridder finished Week 5’s last-second victory with 329 passing yards and a touchdown while adding four rushes for 10 yards and an additional score. It was the first time all season that Ridder threw for over 240 yards in a game even though the team had at least 31 passing attempts in their last four games.
The Falcons have a matchup against a Washington secondary that just got torched by the Bears offense on Thursday night. The Commanders have allowed 21.1 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season, which is the fourth-worst in the NFL. There is a risk starting Ridder, but his weapons could carry him to a big day in a plus matchup next week.
Two-QB Waiver Wire Options and Stashes
Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts
Yahoo: 1% rostered
Anthony Richardson, the Colts rookie quarterback, was knocked out of another game this week with a shoulder injury against the Tennessee Titans. Richardson was seen jogging off the field with his throwing arm close to his body, which could suggest a stretch of games without the dynamic rookie quarterback. That means veteran backup quarterback Gardner Minshew will have fantasy appeal for the short term.
Minshew completed 11 of 14 passes for 155 yards in relief of Richardson. If Minshew draws the start in Week 6, he will face a matchup against a Jaguars secondary that just surrendered 359 yards and two touchdowns to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in a win. At the very least, Minshew is worth a stash in deeper leagues (or 2QB leagues) considering how many games Richardson hasn’t finished this season.
Zach Wilson, New York Jets
Yahoo: 9% rostered
We have seen Zach Wilson look far more in control the past two games, even if the results haven’t been stellar for fantasy. Wilson followed up his 245-yard and two-touchdown performance against the Chiefs with 199 yards passing against the Broncos. Wilson nearly went a second straight week without an interception before a misplaced ball late in the fourth quarter led to his first turnover in nearly eight quarters.
While we would love to see more fantasy scoring, this is still a player that can have fantasy value going forward. Garrett Wilson is one of the most talented young receivers in the NFL and Breece Hall is starting to look like his old self as he continues to get stronger after an ACL tear in 2022. Wilson has plenty of physical tools at his disposal but had struggled with decision-making during his previous seasons as the starter.
Wilson is on the fantasy radar against an Eagles defense that features a stout defensive line and a porous secondary. The Eagles came into Week 5 giving up 20.6 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks before allowing Matthew Stafford to throw for 222 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-14 win.
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