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Alex's fantasy football WR waiver wire pickups for Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season. Free agent wide receivers to add, stream, and stash off waivers.
Welcome in, RotoBallers, to our Week 6 edition of fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups. Last week was packed to the brim with blowouts and some nice individual performances, but an alarming trend continues in 2025 -- the decline of the passing game. It's only a five-game sample, but we're sitting at 210.1 passing yards per team game -- the lowest mark since 2006 (204.8).
Completions per game are down, attempts per game are down, and, perhaps most disturbing of all, the current average of 10.5 yards per catch is an all-time low -- besting the previous low mark of 10.9 (2022-24). Unfortunately, that's showing up in the box scores, as the number of viable No. 2 pass-catching options has seemingly bottomed out. That's where we come in.
Bye weeks, coupled with the recent rash of injuries, have left the waiver wire pickings slim for the upcoming cycle, but this week's suggested adds are still available in more than half of leagues. As a reminder, the wide receivers below are listed in priority order, and this feature typically assumes PPR scoring. Please consider the individual settings in your leagues before making any claims.
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Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders - 46% rostered
Tucker's stat line from the Raiders' Week 5 loss won't wow anyone (4/62), but he led Las Vegas in yardage output and ranked second on his team in receptions and targets (six). Furthermore, his chemistry with quarterback Geno Smith is building, despite the latter's recent bout of inaccuracy. The Raiders were one of the more run-heavy offenses through four weeks, but Tucker is trending up.
The third-year pro has run right alongside teammate Jakobi Meyers regarding snaps since Week 3, forming more of a 1A/1B situation than a clear-cut leader. However, over that stretch, Tucker has out-caught (14-11) and outgained (220-125) Meyers, while matching him in targets (17).
Perfect placement ✨#LVvsIND | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/7r8BUBEsxf
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 5, 2025
Smith hasn't looked right, so when he turns it around, Las Vegas' offense should run more efficiently. While Meyers may sport the higher weekly floor between the two receivers, Tucker is the better bet for an explosive play -- having already picked up four receptions of 20-plus yards through five contests. That's only two behind his total from all of last season.
Isaiah Bond, Cleveland Browns - 6% rostered
Cleveland ultimately lost rookie Dillon Gabriel's NFL debut, but he looked fine and didn't turn the ball over. It might not be enough to stave off the Shedeur Sanders truthers, but Gabriel at least earned another start. More importantly, fellow rookie Bond continued his upward trajectory.
The 21-year-old again boasted a less-than-ideal catch rate, pulling in just 2-of-7 (or eight, depending on where you look) targets for 29 yards. With that said, he placed second on his team in yards and targets, picking up two more than fellow wideout Jerry Jeudy on 23 fewer snaps. That's significant, as Bond has commanded more opportunities each week while his snap share steadily increases.
Currently, Bond's floor is on the lower side, but his ceiling is uber-high. His time is coming. I'm buying on the cheap in dynasty where I can.
Kendrick Bourne, San Francisco 49ers - 4% rostered
Holy Bourne. The 30-year-old put up a massive line in his team's surprising 26-23 OT win over the division-rival Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, reeling in 10-of-11 passes for 142 yards. That figure easily led San Francisco on a night when it was missing its top two options, WRs Ricky Pearsall (knee) and Jauan Jennings (rib, ankle), due to injury.
What's more is that Bourne didn't even lead the 49ers in snaps, with that honor going to Demarcus Robinson (73). Bourne wasn't far behind (70), but he'd be a higher priority this week if the situation weren't so murky in San Francisco. Pearsall and Jennings will be back in due time, forcing the veteran to third in the pecking order, and that doesn't account for running back Christian McCaffrey.
KENDRICK. BOURNE.
📺: @NFLonPrime
NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/0bAdsYoVRo— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 3, 2025
I would consider Bourne for a short-term rental if at least one of Jennings or Pearsall is unavailable for the team's Week 6 meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even if they're both active, Bourne could be a nice dart throw with Tampa Bay's offense rolling. However, he'd be far less of a priority if that were the case.
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts - 47% rostered
Out of nowhere, Downs paced all Colts pass-catchers in receptions (six) and targets (eight), while falling one yard behind team leader Ashton Dulin in receiving yards (55). Indianapolis' pass attack has been weird over the past few weeks, with Alec Pierce (concussion) out with injury and Adonai Mitchell falling out of favor following an inexcusable fumble.
I still think Pierce will be the one to own when he's eventually healthy, but I've always believed that Downs was the most talented of the Colts wideouts. He's an exceptional separator in the short area and a threat after the catch. That might make him redundant with tight end Tyler Warren essentially operating in the same role, but the North Carolina product is a good bet if Pierce sits out another week.
Christian Kirk, Houston Texans - 31% rostered
Houston's receiving room isn't the most exciting at this time, but its offense is starving for another playmaker, and it doesn't seem willing to commit to rookie rusher Woody Marks just yet. Surprisingly, Xavier Hutchinson led the Texans corps in snaps -- not Nico Collins. Still, I'm willing to bet that it's Kirk who settles into the WR2 role here in the short term.
Kirk was the team's leading receiver in the 44-10 obliteration of the Ravens, hauling in all four of his looks for 64 yards. Admittedly, it's mostly pedestrian, but it could have been more significant if Baltimore had put up a fight. I think rookie WR Jayden Higgins will eventually become the second option, but I also don't think Kirk is totally healthy quite yet.
The former Jacksonville Jaguar has the safer floor of the two for now, though I'd be remiss not to mention that he'll be on bye next week with the rest of his team. If you're looking for upside, Higgins is a stash and barely rostered (14%). If you're in a pinch for points, go with the veteran.
Deeper Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Pickups
Tory Horton, Seattle Seahawks - 6% rostered
Through four weeks, the Seahawks were the most run-heavy team in football. That isn't necessarily a team's third wideout's recipe for success, so I'm suggesting Horton as more of a stash if that's something your roster can handle. The rookie still requires some seasoning, but he's caught a touchdown in three of five games now, and will always be a threat for a special teams score.
In truth, Horton seems like a second-half breakout candidate in the making, but not someone who can help your team consistently right now. With that in mind, veteran teammate Cooper Kupp has clearly lost a step, and it feels like only a matter of time before the rookie pushes him for snaps.
That's how you answer on fourth. 😮💨
📺: @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/I9tppE8WmF
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 5, 2025
You can skip over the Colorado State product if you're not patient enough to wait for him to figure it out. You'll still want to keep tabs, though.
Darius Slayton, New York Giants - 46% rostered
I'm less excited about Slayton (hamstring) and the Giants offense as a whole compared to a few weeks ago. Still, Jaxson Dart mostly played well in New York's loss to the Saints, and this unit can't live on dinks and dunks forever.
Slayton's three-catch, 31-yard effort isn't enough to make a dent for fantasy, and he had a few miscues on Sunday, including a rough fumble. However, he should have had a much bigger day, as he and Dart failed to connect on what would have been two field-flipping plays (and one potential TD). If those pan out, we might be talking about him as this week's primary pickup.
There's a minor hangup here, and it's that the seventh-year pro suffered a hamstring injury late in Week 5. Not much was said regarding Slayton's ailment, but he is likely due for some imaging. Obviously, he's less add-worthy if he's forced to sit next week. But eventually, he and Dart are going to hit on a deep shot.
Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins - 26% rostered
Yikes. We never had the chance to discuss Washington in last week's article, as the injury to teammate Tyreek Hill (knee) occurred on Monday night. The 24-year-old failed to produce for fantasy managers who took a chance on him, gaining exactly zero yards on his four receptions (five targets). That isn't easy to do, but I'm willing to give him one more shot.
Strangely, Washington was third at his position in snaps behind teammates Jaylen Waddle and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. The strange part? Westbrook-Ikhine was out there for seven more snaps and didn't draw a single target.
Tight end Darren Waller is apparently a thing, and De'Von Achane will get his, but Miami's run game is ineffective. There are worse receivers to take a chance on, considering the lack of options on the waiver wire.
Thanks for reading, and happy hunting!
Who Should I Pickup Tool
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2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Tre Tucker, Kendrick Bourne, Josh Downs, Malik Washington, Isaiah Bond, Darius Slayton, Tory Horton. These are some common searches for 2025 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2025. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Tre Tucker, Kendrick Bourne, Josh Downs, Malik Washington, Isaiah Bond, Darius Slayton, Tory Horton:
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