Week 6 Early Waiver Targets
Fantasy Football: Devontae Booker could be must-add on waivers after Saquon Barkley injury, plus more to add
Written by luck on October 10, 2021
Saquon Barkley fought his way back from an ACL tear this offseason and had re-established himself as a must-start Fantasy option heading into Week 5, so it was a supreme disappointment to see him leave Sunday’s game against the Giants with one of the worst-luck injuries you’ll see in an NFL game.
Barkley sprained his ankle in the first quarter when he stepped on a Cowboys defender’s foot at the end of a play. Barkley was away from the ball and slowing down with his head turned when he rolled the ankle, which immediately started swelling, via the broadcast. He had the ankle taped up and was carted to the locker room to be ruled out almost immediately.
Obviously, we don’t know the extent of the injury, but it is worth noting that it was not on the leg where he suffered the ACL tear, and it did look more like a classic sprain than the trickier high-ankle sprain. However, that does not necessarily mean he avoided a serious injury — that is something we likely will not know until the team can have an MRI and X-rays taken of the ankle to determine the full severity.
However, if Barkley does have to miss time, at least we do know who the likely replacement is for the Giants: Devontae Booker. Booker has been Barkley’s primary backup so far, and should be a big part of the offense if Barkley does have to miss time — he had 16 carries, four targets, and scored a pair of touchdowns Sunday. If Barkley is out, that makes Booker the clear top waiver-wire target ahead of Week 6.
Booker hasn’t really been a starter since 2016 with the Broncos, and even that was only for six games. However, he has carved out a solid career as a backup most notably in 2020, when he rushed for 423 yards (4.5 yards per carry) while adding 17 catches for the Raiders. Booker isn’t anywhere near Barkley’s level as a player, but I would expect he’ll get something like 15 carries and a handful of targets if Barkley does miss time, which should put him in the No. 2 RB conversation for as long as he’s in that role.
Obviously, we could find out tomorrow that Barkley’s injury wasn’t as bad as it looked and he’ll be able to play through it, but as of Sunday night, Booker looks like he’ll need to be the top priority on waivers this week.
Here’s who else we’ll be looking at this week from the 1 p.m. games on Sunday:
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