Week 6 QB/TE Waiver Wire Targets: Kirk Cousins, Colby Parkinson, Daniel Jones, Tyler Conklin, Bo Nix and More

Week 5 is nearly in the books, so it’s time to start thinking about the waiver wire going into week 6. 

We’ll cover the top quarterback and tight end waiver options in this story.

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Quarterback Options

Joe Flacco, Bo Nix, Daniel Jones, Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence and Geno Smith are the quarterbacks we’re going to discuss this week.

Of course, Flacco only is a starting option if Anthony Richardson is out again in week 6. Since some of you might not have the luxury to wait, let’s discuss Flacco as a starting option. 

Flacco threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns while avoiding an interception in week 5. He also rushed three times for 22 yards.

It was another good fantasy performance for Flacco, and it makes you wonder why a team didn’t bring him in to be a starter this season. Anyways, he takes on the Titans in week 5, which is a pretty average matchup on paper.

Nix arguably had his best game as a pro, throwing for 206 yards and a touchdown, while adding a rushing score and nine yards on eight carries. There’s nothing crazy about that statline, but with Patrick Mahomes, Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold on byes this week, Nix is definitely worth mentioning.

Nix will face off against the Chargers in week 6. That’s a below-average matchup for him.

Jones had another pretty good outing on Sunday and helped the Giants beat the Seahawks. Jones was 23-of-34 for 257 yards, two touchdowns and no picks, while adding 38 rushing yards on 11 carries.

Jones has over 200 passing yards in three straight games, and has just one interception since week 1. He did well this week without Malik Nabers around, and has an average matchup awaiting in week 6 against the Bengals, who were just torched by the Ravens.

Cousins threw for 509 yards and four touchdowns back on Thursday night. He was 42-of-58 passing and also threw a pick. Atlanta is highly unlikely to throw that much most weeks, but Cousins has at least 230 passing yards in four straight games, and that number alone makes for a good fantasy option.

Cousins has a fantastic matchup in week 6, going up against the Panthers. Carolina was just shredded by rookie Caleb Williams, so things look very promising for the Falcons and Cousins.

Lawrence finally got going in week 5, passing for 371 yards and two touchdowns. He was 28-of-34 overall, but one of the incompletions was a pick. It was just his second game over 200 passing yards, and second in which he’s had multiple touchdown passes. Lawrence does only have two interceptions on the year, so he hasn’t been negatively affecting his fantasy score in that way.

Lawrence has a tough matchup against the Bears awaiting him. It’s another early start game being that it’s in London, so if you want to play Lawrence, make sure he’s in that lineup Saturday night or very early on Sunday.

Smith had 284 passing yards and a touchdown on 28-of-40 passing in week 5. Again, Smith had a healthy amount of yards, but a single touchdown to go with it. He has one touchdown pass in each game despite throwing for over 250 yards four times (the past four weeks).

Smith and the Seahawks play on Thursday night against the 49ers. That’s a pretty tough matchup on paper for Smith.

In terms of how I’d rank these six guys as week 6 streaming options, I don’t know how you don’t take Cousins after his monster week 5 showing and fantastic week 6 matchup.

I’d take Flacco after that. If he gets the start, Flacco should be in quite a few standard league fantasy starting lineups. He’s proven to be a good fantasy option over the past two seasons and has a good enough matchup to trust him to deliver again.

After that, I like Jones. I know it’s hard to trust Jones, but really you just need to trust his production this season, not what he’s done/or hasn’t done in the past.

I’d take Smith here then. He continues to rack up yardage, but the lack of touchdowns is a very concerning trend. The tougher matchup keeps him from placing any higher in this list of week 6 streamers.

I’d take Nix before Lawrence for the last spot. Nix has looked just a bit better this season, and I trust his matchup more. 

As for the best season-long waiver pickups, Cousins needs to be your top target as well. He seems to be improving every week, has a proven track record and has a pretty favorable schedule ahead. 

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but Jones is my second option. He continues to post good fantasy outings and has a great schedule ahead of him, so this is definitely sustainable.

Smith has a very tough schedule ahead, but I also trust him the most among the remaining full-time starters, so he goes third here.

I’d take Lawrence slightly ahead of Nix here. While I like what Nix brings as a fantasy player right now, I need to see a bit more before taking him over a vet like Lawrence for the remainder of the season.

Flacco falls to the last spot by default because he’s not a locked-in starter. He’ll remain a top streaming option any week Richardson misses though.

Tight End Options

Charlie Kolar, Colby Parkinson and Tyler Conklin are the three tight ends I want to write about.

Kolar was probably not the Baltimore TE who you expected to perform the best. He had 64 yards and a touchdown on three catches and four targets in week 5. Mark Andrews got going a bit with 55 yards on four catches and five targets, while Isaiah Likely had 13 yards and two touchdowns on three catches and targets.

Baltimore threw 42 times on Sunday, which is definitely not its recipe for offensive success, but it ended up winning the game. Kolar only played 21 of the team’s 78 snaps, so his fantasy success is probably not sustainable for the long run. Andrews played 43 snaps, while Likely was on the field for 55 snaps.

Kolar will face off against the Commanders in week 6. Washington is actually one of the better defenses when it comes to slowing opposing tight ends.

Parkinson was targeted 13 times in week 5, making seven grabs for 52 yards. It set season highs in catches, targets and yards for the Rams’ TE.

Los Angeles doesn’t play in week 6, but Parkinson needs to be mentioned at a weak fantasy TE position. There’s also a chance Puka Nacua (unlikely) and Cooper Kupp (pretty possible) return in week 7, which would take away potential targets and production for Parkinson.

Conklin caught six of his nine targets for 55 yards in week 5. He now has two games over 50 yards and five catches, while having three games at four or less catches and under 20 yards. Conklin hasn’t scored yet this season.

Conklin plays Monday night against the Bills in week 6. That’s a decent matchup for Conklin, as Buffalo allows 10 fantasy points per game to opposing TEs.

Parkinson is out of the week 6 streaming debate, and Conklin is clearly a better option than Kolar, so we won’t spend much time on that.

As for the season-long targets, I also like Conklin first. He’s got a better chance to produce in his offense than Parkinson, who is second on this list. Parkinson could still be involved offensively with Kupp and Nacua back, but he’ll also likely eventually lose snaps to Tyler Higbee when he’s healthy, so view Parkinson as more of a streaming option until his usage/playing time falls way off.

Kolar is simply not a great waiver target outside really, really deep leagues. I know a lot of fantasy owners already know that, but at a weak TE spot, some fantasy owners might be desperate enough to try him out. At this point, it’s just not a good decision.