Fantasy Waiver Wire Week 6: 5 to add, drop, buy low, sell high

• Add Ken Walker: The second-round rookie will take over as the Seattle Seahawks’ lead rusher for the foreseeable future.
• Cut Tyler Conklin: The New York Jets tight end was the biggest surprise at tight end to start the season, but he lost the third down-receiving role in New York.
• Sell High on Dalvin Cook: The Minnesota Vikings running back has slowly lost playing time this season while the new coaching shifts more to a two-man committee.

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

This piece is a fantasy manager's one-stop shop for managing their fantasy roster early in the week. For more players to add, check out the weekly waiver wire, and for more on this past week's games in general, check out the fantasy football recap.

5 PLAYERS TO ADD

1. RB Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks

Rashaad Penny suffered a fractured tibia and will likely need surgery.

• Penny’s playing time was already decreasing before the injury. Penny played a majority of third downs last week but lost that role to DeeJay Dallas this week. 
• Ken Walker was rotating in more this week on early downs compared to past weeks.
• Walker became the clear early-down back after the injury.
• We can expect Walker to play close to 100% of the early-down snaps while Dallas takes close to 100% of the third-down snaps and two-minute drill snaps for as long as Penny is out.
• This makes Walker a fantasy starter as long as the Seahawks can be competitive.
• Seattle has one of the more difficult remaining schedules, which could make Walker a frustrating player for fantasy managers.

2. WR Rondale Moore, Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals were the healthiest they’ve been at wide receiver all season, which meant Greg Dortch barely played and Moore could play the role we all expected.

• Moore played more offensive snaps than A.J. Green in 12 personnel, with an eight-to-five lead.
• Moore returned to his usual slot receiver role while Green played the majority of 11 personnel snaps out wide.
• When Green needed a break, it was Andre Baccellia taking his spot out wide, rather than Moore going out wide and Dortch playing in the slot like last week.
• Dortch can be safely dropped in all formats.
• This was also a good sign that Moore will remain third on the depth chart even when DeAndre Hopkins returns and play all the time in 11 personnel.
• Moore caught seven passes for 68 yards and ran the ball twice.
• Arizona cut backup tight end Maxx Williams this past week, which led to fewer two-tight end sets. This is also good news for Moore.
• This game was exactly the kind of usage fantasy managers were hoping for this season, but it just came a month into the season due to injuries.

3. WR Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts

Ashton Dulin suffered a foot injury near the end of the first half on Thursday Night Football and didn’t return to the game. Pierce was already playing well, but this allowed him to shine.

• Dulin was a clear fourth on the depth chart in the first half, taking roughly one-third of the snaps in 11 personnel from Alec Pierce.
• Pierce played more consistently in 11 personnel in the second half.
• He’s gained at least 60 receiving yards in each of the past three games.
• He’s received a high 27.4% targets per route run rate and 3.08 yards per route run over the past three games.
• It’s no guarantee that Pierce’s strong play will continue, but he’s earned more playing time, and it always makes sense to gamble on a highly drafted rookie wide receiver who is playing well in October.

4. QB Carson Wentz, Washington Commanders

Wentz finished 25-of-38 for 359 yards and two touchdowns.

• He joins Josh Allen and Justin Herbert as the only quarterbacks with 1,375-plus passing yards and 10-plus passing touchdowns this season.
• He has scrambled 11 times, which ranks top 10 among quarterbacks.
• Wentz has consistently been a top-eight fantasy quarterback when he hasn’t faced an excellent pass rush and has consistently been unstartable when facing a good pass rush.
• This makes him a great complementary quarterback, as he can be inserted into fantasy starting lineups depending on the matchup.