Week 6 is wrapping up and chaos continues to roll on. Backfields continue to turn over and the new realities the NFL reveals constantly remind us not to clinge to our conceived notions. It's a reminder that pain is always present in the joy that is fantasy football. Now we must look forward to options to assist in beefing up our fake teams to move forward, whether it be long-term replacements or a streamer just to get by.
It's just those sort of symptoms that the Deep Dive is prescribed to help alleviate. NFL Fantasy's editorial overlord Alex Gelhar dutifully attacks the waiver wire to give you the top adds for the coming week in hopes of bolstering your roster. However, in this arena, we'll look at options to help those of you looking to go a little bit further down the rabbit hole, whether you play in a deeper format or are at the mercy of your incredibly sharp league-mates who scour the waiver wire relentlessly. A player can only qualify for the deep dive if they're owned in less than 10 percent of NFL.com leagues. With that, here are 11 players you can consider adding before Week 7 either as deep FLEX plays or simply as bench stashes.
Unless you play in 2QB or SuperFlex leagues that permit the use of multiple quarterbacks, there's probably no wisdom to adding Teddy Bridgewater right this second. But with an utter dearth of high-quality low-owned streaming options this week, it's worth examining his return. ESPN's Chris Mortenson reported that the Vikings will take Bridgewater off the PUP list and plan for him to practice Wednesday. Sam Bradford's healthy return to the field seems like miles away and there's no official timetable for his return. The Vikings continue to get solid play out of Case Keenum but it would seem unlikely they wouldn't give their 2014 first-round pick every shot to usurp the journeyman passer. The steady Bridgewater could soon return to an offense that seems to unearth playmaker after playmaker no matter which one of their stars get hurt.
Out with a rib injury since Week 3, Rex Burkhead was close to returning for last week's matchup with the Jets but was declared inactive. As long as he has another good week of practice, he should be back for a Week 7 shootout with the Falcons in Foxboro. He'll return to a backfield in flux. Mike Gillislee's painful lack of versatility (zero targets through six weeks) is a deadweight for this offense. They're too predictable with him on the field and he's not a difference-maker as a pure runner. A first-quarter fumble was the final straw for Gillislee and the Patriots pulled him off the field until there was less than five minutes in the third quarter. With Gillislee on the field for just 11 total plays, Dion Lewis went out for 43 percent of the plays and James White held his passing down role. Lewis looks great and could hold onto the job but Burkhead makes for a sneaky pre-Week 7 add as he's the most versatile of the running backs and could make some headway in the early-down rotation if Gillislee gets phased out.
Devontae Booker was much more active in his second game back, seeing 23 snaps to just eight in Week 4. He mostly played when the team was in supreme negative game script while chasing the
Giants but his passing game usage was intriguing. Booker saw six targets, hauling in four for 78 yards. He was the team's third-leading receiver in 2016. Again, it may have been a factor of game script but
C.J. Anderson saw a season-low 46.9 percent of the plays. Nevertheless, monitor this situation in case Denver intends on crafting a specific role for their 2016 fourth-round draft pick.
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Don't consider this outside of super deep formats but Corey Grant is a player to at least have earmarked on the back pages of your waiver-wire phone book. The Jaguars are clearly committed to the run game and Leonard Fournette's injury scare reminded us yesterday that all running back depth charts are tenuous. It sounds like Fournette will be fine but having a "break glass in case of emergency" kit is never a bid idea. Chris Ivory would be the obvious beneficiary if the Jaguars stud rookie misses anytime but don't rule out Grant as a potential committee option. He's looked explosive in limited reps, including the Jaguars' London game and Week 17 last season (18-122-TD). In today's NFL, with the running back position being an ever-turning path through the dark, we should know every possible stone to unturn.
Jalen Richard was the headliner of
deep dive last week and all the enthusiasm for his ability remains.
DeAndre Washington returned from injury in Week 6 but Richard still took more plays (15 to 4) than his backfield-mate. Sitting at 2-4 and sporting a poor defense, the
Raiders are looking less like a team that needs a
Marshawn Lynch-style back by the day. Strike the name off his jersey and it becomes apparent that the 2017 version of
Marshawn Lynch is merely a clock-killing committee back on a team that is never in position to salt away leads.
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In my Next Gen Stats column last week, we looked at how much the Lions offense missed a vertical threat presence and how Kenny Golladay could provide one. Detroit will need him more than ever now with Golden Tate set to miss " a few weeks" with a shoulder issue. If Golladay can finally get back from a multi-week hamstring injury he likely walks right into a starting job following the team's Week 7 bye.
Josh Doctson keeps making plays whenever he hits the field. He's scored a touchdown in two of his last three games and was inches away from a game-winner in Week 4 against the
Chiefs to make it three-straight. The problem is that he's simply not playing enough to be in consideration for fantasy just yet. He's actually seen his playing time go down over the last three games, with snap shares of 52.9, 34 and 25.7 percent.
Kirk Cousins looks for Doctson to make big plays in key moments so it would make sense for Washington to up his playing time with
Jamison Crowder and
Terrelle Pryor underwhelming. Until then, he is merely a stash.
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The Chiefs offense was without both Albert Wilson and Chris Conley thanks to injury in Week 6 and then Tyreek Hill missed the team's final possession after getting checked for a concussion. Hill should be good to go but it's worth monitoring with the Chiefs on a short week. If Wilson is able to get back for Kansas City's game against a moribund Raiders defense, he has deep flex appeal in Week 7. This AFC West rivalry game has a chance to be a sneaky shootout if the Raiders come out of their shell.
Roger Lewis predictably didn't do much in his first game as a starter with just one catch against the vaunted Denver secondary. He gets another tough spot this week with the
Giants welcoming Seattle in Week 7. However, his schedule opens up with games against the
Rams,
49ers,
Chiefs,
Redskins and
Raiders in the next five. Plenty of targets are still set to go his way and he'll likely get overlooked once again in this week's waiver runs thanks to his Week 7 matchup.
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George Kittle's four-catch, 46-yard stat line wasn't what many hoped for in a great matchup against Washington in Week 6, but his usage remains positive. The rookie was on the field for a whopping 91 percent of the team's plays and saw eight targets. Now a sneaky narrative may well be in place to boost his stock even more. New rookie starting quarterback
C.J. Beathard was a teammate with Kittle at Iowa last season. Seven of Kittle's eight targets came from Beathard this past week. The
49ers welcome the subpar Dallas stop unit in Week 7.
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Emmanuel Sanders' ankle injury should open up a major slice of the in Week 7. The Denver pass-catching corps is painfully shallow, as Sanders and
Demaryius Thomas account for about half of the team's target market share.
A.J. Derby was on the field for over 60 percent of the
Broncos plays in Week 6 and looks to be gaining momentum as their starter at that position.
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Matt Harmon is a writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of #ReceptionPerception, who you can follow on Twitter _@MattHarmonBYB_ or like on Facebook.
