Week 6 Waiver Wire: Tank Bigsby, Darnell Mooney, Tracy Highlight Pickups to Know

Week 6 Waiver Wire: Tank Bigsby, Darnell Mooney, Tracy Highlight Pickups to Know0 of 3

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It’s never easy to tell which waiver-wire targets will wind up delivering season-long value in fantasy football.

There are reasons to believe a few of the sleeper stars from Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season could have staying power.

While we can’t promise that the following three players—all rostered in fewer than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues—will maintain fantasy relevance, we can let you know why we like their chances.

Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (23 Percent Rostered)1 of 3

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On Sunday, the Jaguars did two things they hadn’t done all season: score more than 20 points and win a game.

On a quite possibly related note, they also leaned more heavily on second-year running back Tank Bigsby than ever before. His 13 carries were the most of his career, and his one target in the passing game was his first of the season.

That volume feels unlikely to decrease based on what he did with it. His 14 touches yielded 129 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. His one reception spanned 28 yards. He keeps showing big-play ability—he had a 65-yard touchdown run, one week after producing a 58-yard carry—which has to excite an offense that entered the week averaging just 15 points.

Bigsby, who’s averaging an absurd 8.0 yards per carry, doesn’t have to unseat Travis Etienne Jr. to become a viable option in fantasy. Even as a secondary back, Bigsby is making an impact. Still, it’s fair to get giddy over he might do should his role see the kind of expansion that his numbers say it should.

Darnell Mooney, WR, Atlanta Falcons (48 Percent Rostered)2 of 3

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Remember how excited everyone was about the potential impact Kirk Cousins could have on Atlanta’s incumbent playmakers? We probably should have applied that excitement to Darnell Mooney, too, considering the less-than-stellar quarterback play he had to deal with over the past four seasons in Chicago.

Mooney is five games into his Falcons tenure, and he already looks like a new receiver. He’s been a home-run threat in the past, and while he’s still delivering some big plays, he’s also hinting at better consistency than he’s shown in the past.

Through five games, he’s a top-20 producer in receptions (24, tied for 17th), receiving yards (330, 13th) and touchdown catches (three, tied for sixth)—and that’s despite debuting with one reception for 15 yards. Over the last four games, he’s at 23 receptions for 315 yards and three scores.

The Falcons entrusted him with 16 targets on Thursday, and he delivered nine receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns. It’s the kind of effort that should keep him heavily involved with this aerial attack going forward.

Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, New York Giants (23 Percent Rostered)3 of 3

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Devin Singletary’s absence created an opportunity in the Giants’ backfield, and fifth-round rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. took it and ran with it.

Literally.

The dynamic freshman, who started his college career as a wide receiver at Iowa and finished it as a running back at Purdue, added electricity to this offense. His 18 carries yielded 129 rushing yards. His primary competition for carries, Eric Gray, meanwhile, had four rushes for four yards and lost a fumble that was returned 102 yards for a touchdown. And just for reference, the last time Singletary was healthy, he had 14 carries for 24 yards.

This doesn’t ensure that Tracy will maintain his involvement, but it’s a lot harder to form good arguments against it.