At various points during the fantasy football season, injuries, bye weeks and breaking news can cause you to need reinforcements for your fantasy lineup. Every Friday throughout the 2026 NFL season, Matt Bowen will offer some late-week pickup options at each of the primary fantasy positions to help fill those holes, with an emphasis on deeper leagues.
Because of that, this column will focus mostly on players rostered in under 50% of ESPN leagues, with occasional exceptions.
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With four teams on a bye this week, we'll start with a pair of quarterbacks, one with a positive Sunday matchup and another who gives managers a higher level of upside due to his play style. I also have three receivers to look at and multiple tight ends. Now, it's really lean at the running back spot in deeper leagues, so I have two targets this week (and the ceilings are low). As always, we'll finish with a D/ST to stream, and this unit has a Week 6 tilt versus an offense posting league-low numbers.
Quarterbacks
Cousins had a season-low 13.72 points in the Week 5 blowout loss to New England Patriots, but he gets a much more positive matchup at home this Sunday versus a Buffalo Bills defense ranking in the bottom five versus quarterbacks. Cousins has 20 or more points in three of five games played, and he has thrown multiple touchdown passes in four. He fits as a fringe QB1 in 12-team leagues or as a high-end QB2 in superflex formats.
Jameis Winston, New York Giants (26.3% rostered; vs. Saints)
Winston offers managers some upside due to his aggressive (and sometimes reckless) throwing mentality. Winston scored a season-high 25.74 points versus the Washington Commanders in Week 5, throwing for 326 yards and three touchdowns, plus he added 27 yards rushing. Winston has scored 18 or more points in back-to-back games, and he gets a Week 6 matchup against a New Orleans Saints defense ranking in the middle of the pack versus quarterbacks. Yes, Winston can turn the ball over (two interceptions in Week 4), but he also is more than willing to take shots down the field.
Wide receivers
Keenan Allen, Indianapolis Colts (39.1% rostered; vs. Titans)
Allen stays in this space for the second straight week because of the consistent volume he is getting in the Colts' passing game. Allen has seen nine targets in back-to-back games, catching 11 of 18, and he scored a touchdown in Week 4 versus the Houston Texans. He stays in deeper-league lineups for this Sunday's matchup with a Tennessee Titans defense that ranks in the bottom half of the league versus wide receivers.