There’s something about fantasy football where you expectations get totally flipped on their head on a seemingly weekly basis. It’s been a crazy year for expectation subversion already, but much of that has been tied to injury issues throughout the league, starting from the 1.01 on down the draft board.

As you’ll see, the top two players on our waiver wire podium this week are players who have totally flipped their preseason expectations on their head. In Week 6, we’re going to have to take our medicine and invest in what they’re putting on tape.

Quick reminder: I’m primarily going to discuss players with below 50% ownership on Yahoo, with possible exceptions if the number is very close.  There will be a section for players closer to 75-80% owned later in the article, which will include names to make sure aren’t owned in your league, but those names likely won’t be available in most cases.

The Podium

Gold Medal: Jaguars RB Tank Bigsby (23% rostered):

Fantasy managers, and especially dynasty managers, left Bigsby for dead this offseason. Bigsby has been an analytics darling this season, leading the league in rush yards over expectations, and erupted in Week 5 for the No. 1 overall RB performance.

The situation in Jacksonville is still complicated. The team is terrible, Travis Etienne is still heavily involved, especially in the passing game, and the odds of an in-season regime change look high. All that said, Bigsby has been undeniable, and the preseason read about his long-term viability and quality looks dead wrong. If he’s out there, you’ve gotta go after him. FAAB Suggestion: 30%

Silver Medal: Chiefs WR Juju Smith-Schuster (6% rostered):

I don’t even know what to say here, but Monday night was hard to ignore. Smith-Schuster opened the season with two catches and 17 yards in four games, but with Rashee Rice done for the season, Juju caught seven passes for 130 yards in Week 5.

Rice was one of the best WRs in fantasy for the first three weeks, and Smith-Schuster appears to have stepped directly into his role. The quality drop must be noted, but Patrick Mahomes seems to thrive when he’s throwing to players he’s comfortable with, regardless of their current on-field ability. Juju has to be added everywhere. FAAB Suggestion: 25%

Bronze Medal: Vikings RB Ty Chandler (28% rostered):

Significant drop off to the bronze medal here, especially with the Vikings on a Week 6 bye. This offense continues to succeed under the magic touch of Kevin O’Connell, and we have one of our two Aaron Jones nagging injuries. Chandler is a clearly startable player now that the Jones injury song-and-dance has begun, and his backup is somehow 2024 Myles Gaskin. FAAB Suggestion: 15%

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