Week 6 is here, and the bye weeks are making managing fantasy rosters even trickier than the usual glut of injuries and under-performers does. Week 7 is just around the corner, and the bye weeks only worsen. These are the players you should be picking up now to get ahead of your league mates.

Daniel Jones (QB – NYG) – 28% Rostered

The Giants have been one of the pleasant surprises of this season, and Daniel Jones is playing at a solid level and averaging 46 yards on the ground to slightly boost his floor. Jones isn’t blessed with options in the receiving game, but he continues to be able to use that rushing floor to keep himself having slightly more fantasy-relevant days than some other quarterbacks. The next few weeks aren’t imposing for Jones with games against the Seahawks, Lions, and Texans. Throw in this weekend’s game against the Ravens, and Jones is facing three of the bottom four teams in fantasy points allowed. We’re scraping the barrel here, but if you’re in need of a bye-week cover, or had enough of your current start, Jones might have some okay weeks ahead.

Marcus Mariota (QB – ATL) – 15% Rostered

Another quarterback who has been able to add to his floor through the ground game is Marcus Mariota. Against the Buccanneers, Mariota had his second game of the season with over 60 rushing yards, and whilst this weekend’s game against the Niners will be a tough assignment, Mariota has been able to put up over 16 fantasy points in games against the Saints, Rams, and Buccanneers.

#NFL Most rushing yards by a QB this season#Ravens Lamar Jackson – 374#Eagles Jalen Hurts – 266#Giants Daniel Jones – 230#Bills Josh Allen – 225#Bears Justin Fields – 194#Falcons Marcus Mariota – 156#Cardinals Kyler Murray – 133#Browns Jacoby Brissett – 112

— NFL Numbers 🔢 (@nflnumber) October 12, 2022

Michael Gallup (WR – DAL) – 50% Rostered

Since his return from injury, Michael Gallup has steadily seen more involvement and, in Week 5, was responsible for 40% of Cooper Rush‘s completions. With Dak Prescott nearing a return and now training in a limited way, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gallup’s usage and returns increase even more. After this week’s tough matchup against the Eagles, the Cowboys take on the Detroit Lions, who have allowed the seventh-most passing yards.

Michael Gallup, that dude pic.twitter.com/D7R7d3mdJ5

— Joey Hayden (@_joeyhayden) October 9, 2022

Isaiah McKenzie (WR – BUF) – 50% Rostered

In Week 5, Khalil Shakier took 89% of his snaps from the slot, filling in for McKenzie, who missed with a concussion. As well as Shakir played, it’s unlikely that he will stop McKenzie from returning to the majority role of a slot receiver, where he has played well so far this season. In three of McKenzie’s four starts this season, he has scored a touchdown, and the team continues to design plays for him. This Bills offense hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, and the third receiver on a great offense is better than the second receiver on a bad team quite often.

Alec Pierce (WR – IND) – 36% Rostered

Alec Pierce went over 80 yards for the second week running in Week 5 and has now had 15 targets and 12 receptions in two games. With such a thin group of wide receivers, the Colts need players such as Pierce to step up and help Matt Ryan, and so far, Pierce has done so. For deeper redraft leagues, or teams facing a multitude of bye week issues, Pierce is worth a look ahead of friendly-looking games against the Jaguars and Titans.

Rachaad White (RB – TB) – 34% Rostered

As is often the case with rookies, Rachaad White has started quietly but is steadily being given more work. In his last two games, White has played almost 40% of the snaps and has had 8 touches in each game and a total of nine targets in that spell. The Tampa Bay offense is starting to click, and with very little depth behind White, it’s very possible that White could end up with a huge workload if anything happened to Leonard Fournette. The Waiver Wire is starting to look thin with bye weeks, and White has combined for 23.8 PPR points in his last two games. That’s the kind of production that can sometimes help you get through a tough bye-week situation.

Gus Edwards (RB – BAL) – 15% Rostered

On Friday, John Harbaugh said that Gus Edwards was looking very close to returning off IR soon. This weekend’s game against the Giants may come too soon for Edwards, but the Week 7 matchup with the Giants is within expectations. The Ravens are unlikely to pile a huge workload onto ‘The Bus’ straightaway, but Kenyan Drake and Mike Davis have been uninspiring. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Edwards return to being the RB2 immediately upon return. This Ravens team is itching to return to having a competent running game, and Edwards will always have touchdown-scoring upside in this electric offense.

Joshua Kelley (RB – LAC) – 14% Rostered

On limited opportunities this season, Joshua Kelley has looked by far the best option behind Austin Ekeler, has rushed 23 times for 104 yards, and notably averaged a missed tackle on every 3.2 attempts. Ekeler spent much of the summer saying the team needed someone to step up behind him in the running back room, and Isaiah Spiller is yet to be active for a regular season game. In Week 5, Kelley played on 38% of snaps and scored 16.2 PPR points. If the Chargers are as good as many hope, then it’s entirely possible he continues to spell Ekeler and make contributions.

Joshua Kelley and the @Chargers find the end zone! #BoltUp

📺: #LACvsCLE on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/psZXYKrNKH pic.twitter.com/RzwqfuhpJt

— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022

Hunter Henry (TE – NE) – 36% Rostered

With Jonnu Smith sidelined with an ankle injury for Week 5, Hunter Henry saw season-highs in snaps, targets, receptions, and yardage. Smith was listed as questionable heading into this weekend, and it’s possible he will miss time again. The Patriots invested a lot of money into Jonnu Smith, but if Hunter Henry can wrestle control of the TE1 job back to himself, then perhaps we start to see some fantasy-worthy days as we had in 2021, where Henry finished as the TE11. After a trip to the Browns in Week 6, the Patriots face less than threatening matchups with the Bears and Jets, it’s not pretty, but the bye weeks can make us turn to dark corners.

Juwan Johnson (TE – NO) – 1% Rostered

Johnson’s solid start to the season has been overshadowed by the escapades of fellow New Orleans tight end-eligible Taysom Hill, who is currently the TE3 after an explosive Week 5. Johnson deserves some recognition, though, having averaged four targets per game, and whilst he hasn’t found the end zone yet, he ties Michael Thomas to lead the team in red zone targets (3). After a Week 6 matchup with the Bengals, Johnson will play three games against teams who are in the bottom six for fantasy points allowed to tight ends as he faces the Cardinals, Raiders, and Ravens. We’ve yet to really see it from Johnson, but sometimes it’s better to be too early rather than too late.

Cincinnati Bengals – 33% Rostered

The Bengals’ defense is starting to find its footing and looks slightly more awake than the offense at this point, having allowed just four passing touchdowns in five games. The Bengals now start a string of games where their defense should be able to shine with games against Andy Dalton, Marcus Mariota, Jacoby Brissett, and then whichever quarterback Carolina can put out. Not exactly imposing.

Miami Dolphins – 18% Rostered

Sooner or later, the Dolphins will get Xavien Howard and Byron Jones back on defense, at which point they should be able to lock the passing game down a little better than they have been, and that will likely result in a few more turnovers. This Dolphins team is struggling in tricky circumstances, but it hasn’t the talent to turn it around.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.